I don’t know a whole lot about Chicago.  Yoga Kerri, who used to make an appearance on this blog every now and again before she moved to Cali lived there for a time.  And I met one of my favorite camp friends, Lindsay, who came from Chicago to grace us with her presence.  We spent an entire summer not really showering and talking about how much fiber our favorite meals contained.  Both good.

So it seemed like sort of a no-brainer to apply for the Chicago Marathon, especially given the fact that as soon as I got into Marine Corps, we got a save-the-date for a wedding that we really couldn’t miss.  So MCM was out (and I’m trying to unload that bib if you’re into it), and Chicago was in.  Tuesday morning, when we were due to hear about our status in the lottery, I checked my email nonstop, refreshing it by swiping it down on my phone with no results.  I checked Twitter and saw the tweets trickling in, that some folks had gotten their results.  I sort of assumed (annoyingly) that I hand’t gotten in, but found out later by way of a tweet that the approvals were being made on a rolling basis.

Anyhoo, so I got tired of waiting, and logged into the Athlete Center, and right on top was a banner with the word “Approved” along the top!  I sort of waited to say anything, especially given that that protests in Baltimore were still full-swing, and I didn’t want to come of insensitively.  But this came later…

…And just like that, I’m running one of the major marathons in October.

I’m pumped.  A little nervous.  Already got my training plan together.  And taking extreme measures to make sure that we can get my knee back to working order, to where it’s not so stiff.

Have you ever been to Chicago?  What should I do while I’m there?