Creepers Gonna Creep

I finally got to run outside yesterday! Fresh air! Sunshine! Breeze! No more hamster-wheel feelings on the treadmill!

It was glorious, other than the one thing that happens to all of us females when we run (or heck, when we stroll) outside at one point or another in our lives: stupid cat calls.

Somehow, at some point, a horrible tradition began somewhere that made it socially okay to yell taunting things at girls who are walking or running in your general vicinity. It happened all the time in Spain, Pilsen, and it happens here too. We live right next to the Illinois Prairie Path, in a little suburb west of Chicago. Anywhere you go, it seems, people think it's okay for this to happen.

I hate the mind games that this makes me play in planning my response. How should I play this? No eye contact? Make mean eye contact? Pretend they're not there? Cross to the other side of the street to avoid people as I run in a never-ending game of Stranger-Danger-Frogger? Am I wearing the wrong thing? Should I respond with a snarky rebuttal, or completely ignore it to show that I'm not playing into their stupid power play?

When I'm running, I'm constantly looking out for the situation where I'm alone with another runner/walker/bystander (thanks dad, for the years of training on Situational Awareness!) who happens to be male, and run the mental gymnastics routine of questions listed above on how to respond to the situation.

In this case, I ran past a little restaurant, where two men were smoking outside, and instead of crossing the street to the other side, I decided I wouldn't give in to that obvious gesture that often causes even more descriptive things yelled at a street's distance. One of the old dudes whistled and called out, "Hey there! Want some company?" as I ran past, and started to take a few steps chasing me as a joke. I know this last part happened not because I saw it, but because I heard his keys jingling in rhythm with my steps for a few seconds in my direction as I kept my eyes fixed firmly on my own feet. Don't give them the reaction they want, I kept thinking to myself, so it took all of my willpower to not increase my pace or turn back to address them.

I started thinking: Are my shorts too short? Did I provoke it by running right in front of them? Nope. Stop Anna. Wrong Questions. I had on shorts and a t-shirt, but that is besides the point. The questions should be more along the lines of Why is this okay? and What do we have to do to stop it from happening? 

I asked Brian once if he had ever worried about being attacked in his life. He said he hadn't. I asked him if he had ever taken precautions not to draw attention to himself out in public. He hadn't. I asked if he had ever walked to his car in a parking lot, or been at home alone, or taken a jog on a Saturday afternoon, and have to confront the fear in his head about being assaulted. He said he hasn't. He is understanding of my crazy thoughts, feels badly that it is that way, but like me, is at a loss of how to change things. I hate the amount of mental energy I spend on being aware of these things. It's not fair that women have to jump through mental hoops to be so proactive for the sake of their own safety, instead of spending their time running thinking about productive things like work, friendships, spirituality, and how Jennifer Lawrence would totally want to be your best friend if she just got the chance to know you.

I've decided to do three things in response:

1. Call it out when it happens (hence this post), and tell smart people like you to do the same. Tell people that you think this is ridiculous so we can start changing the attitudes out there in the ether.

2. Look at insecurity and fear that causes people to act like this. Laugh at it through things like the video below, recognizing the pathetic motivators behind it.

3. Take a note from Taylor Swift, and just keep on going when the Creepers gonna creep, creep, creep. I'm just gonna jog, jog, jog. No need to give in to the fear and banish myself to the tread mills forever. I'll be out there again next weekend. You should join me.

Good Friday

It was a true Chicago day. Brian came over in the morning and kindly agreed to go on a run with me to the lakefront - a favor that was more lengthy than my usual requests. We jogged to Soldier Field and went up the lake past the Shedd Aquarium. Besides the intense wind, it was an awesome experience. The water was aqua-greenish-bluish as it splashed on the rocks, tourists were out and about taking pictures of the skyline, and life was good. I love these things that put me outside, out of the constraints of four walls, and into the fresh air and cold wind. I love to leave my apartment on foot, not knowing an exact time of when I will return, and not having anything blocking me in to necessitate my prompt return with obligations and appointments. It’s nice to get out of temperature-controlled-everything and experience the world as it is, right now.

Then, after lunch, we started the afternoon at a great coffee shop in Bucktown called The Map Room (go visit!) before meeting up with Reese and Danny, friends who guided us around their neighborhood between record stores, thrift stores, and of course, Urban Outfitters.

In his natural habitat. 

The Good Friday service at my church was Heartbreakingly Good. Every word so meaningfully spoke to my heart. It is so convicting, to sing “Ah Holy Jesus, How Hast Thou Offended?”, a hymn about the suffering of Christ on the cross, and finishing the second verse with the words “I crucified thee!” It was not just the uptight, legalistic, religious leaders who crucified Jesus Christ. It was my sin, my nature to believe that I have the ability to atone for my own shortcomings, the belief that my grace is sufficient, the lie that I have the resources and qualifications to save myself, that lie that I am self-sufficient and not quite all that terribly bad, that lie that I fall into day by day…this is what crucified Jesus Christ. Good Friday services are so meaningful. They are also so heavy. It’s remarkable how seldom I reflect on the magnitude of Good Friday. And it’s remarkable how I am so forgiven in spite of my neglect of the magnitude of Good Friday. It was a beautiful service.

By the end of the night, we hadn’t eaten a thing, so we hopped over to Estrella Negra, a restaurant on the West Side, to indulge in some fabulous goat cheese quesadillas at a delicious BYOB joint.

All in all, it was a good good good day. A good day full of friends, happy memory making, painful remembering, and thankful reflecting. Good with a “capital G.” One time, a long time ago. Brian texted me, saying that “good” is an overused, understated word in our culture. We use it too much, and don’t mean it enough. I agree with him; I think he is right. Well, then, I’m going to try and redeem the worn-out word and say that this Good Friday, to me, was truly Good.

The Colah Run

The pronunciation of this post's title is meant to help you pronounce "Color Run" as if you were an old lady from Brooklyn. As in, "Dahhling. I went out layast weekent ta do tha Colah Run. The colahs. They wah gawwgeous." And the reason this post is entitled in such a ridiculous manner is thanks to Melanie Lawrence, who has been speaking back and forth with me in said accent since 2009. She also was the one to text me expressing her deep disappointment in the fact that a post dedicated to this shared event has not yet been published on my blog. The disappointment, of course, was expressed with a high percentage of sass. One might have called it a SASS ATTACK. Little did she know that this post was already ready to be published, but that I had scheduled to put it up today, Sunday the 20th of October. I've since added this paragraph to let Melanie, and the rest of the watching world, know, that WE DID THE COLAH RUN. IT WAS FAAHBYALUSS. AND WE HOPE YAH AWWL SUPAH JAHHLUSS.

The pictures below depict the fab time I had with Mel, Becky, and Gina on a Sunday morning in September. I've been wanting to do a Color Run for forever and these were the perfect three with whom to join in on the fun. I conned Brian into driving us to the race to avoid taxi costs (suckerrr!) and we had a great time jogging around, getting plastered with paint powder, and catching up between the paint stations. Afterward we all went out to eat at Simone's, which is a nearby bar and restaurant that by now should probably just have a permanent seat reserved with my name on it.

Post-race! 

As far as this run compares to the others I've done in the recent and not-so-recent past, this one by far was the most joyous. I highly recommend it for sorority sisters and girl scout groups to sign up. It isn't, however, the most competitive or physically challenging atmosphere. Most people are walking, even just standing still, right in the middle of the road and running path, just because they're having too much fun talking and catching up and doing this fun activity with their friends. I'd call it more of the "Color Fun" than the "Color Run" but that's a-okay. I'm signing up when they come back to Chicago next year and recruiting all of yous off of the couch and out to join in on the fun!

Becky and me. For a cousin picture, of course. 

 

13.1

On Sunday, July 21st, I ran in the Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon. 13.1 miles. Yes! I did it! I'm throwing myself a small party with this blog post. I mainly do this so that one day in December when my life is a mess I can look back and see that, indeed, I was successful in accomplishing something this year. Last fall I ran the Hot Chocolate 15k so I figured I could step it up and try a longer distance. Somehow, I finished at about an 11-minute-mile rate. (All you real-life-runner-people-with-7-minute-miles, I don't want to hear your scoffs.) My next goal will be to do one with 10-minute-miles, but in the meantime I'm just giddy with excitement that I did cross the finish line and that I still have legs. It went oddly well. It made me oddly positive and happy and excited and proud all at the same time. Running will do that to you.

A gross, sweaty, yet triumphant picture of me, compliments of Brian. 

Once again, my favorite part of the race was the people watching I got to do along the way. Let me tell you about a few:

1. There was the guy in a Pikachu costume, a plush, heavy, and smelly outfit to wear on a race in the middle of July.

2. There was the engaged couple who apparently were mandated to run this race by whomever was facilitating their premarital counseling, because I spent about 1.2 miles with them as they bickered back and forth: "You go run! You hate slowing down for me anyway!"..."No we're DOING THIS TOGETHER, remember? I'll be the jerk if I leave you here!"..."Well if you wanna walk the rest of the way with me in silence then BE MY GUEST!" Whew. AWKWARD. Best of luck to you two.

3. There was this little old white-haired lady wrapped up in a turtleneck and blankets as she sat in her wheelchair and silently holding a tiny sign on the sidewalk that said "Go Sara Ann" and it may or may not have broken my heart of sweetness.

4. There was the Pentecostal church who volunteered to hand out water to the runners who said "You are BLESSED! KEEP GOING!"..."Today is YOUR DAY!"... and "GIRL I KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS!" as I went past their tables. This event was good for my ego.

5. There were the frat boys in the bro tanks and very short American flag running shorts. They wore neon green Ray-Bans and high fived a lot.

6. There was a 12-year-old who ran by me at the speed of lightning right before Mile 1 and by Mile 2 was sitting down on the curb catching his breath. Nobody gave him the pacing talk. Poor kid.

7. There were a lot of chicks in tutus. Weird.

8. Finally, my favorite people were those cheering everyone along; bystanders were indiscriminately handing out encouragement for free to just about every single runner. I saw hilarious signs that read TAKE A TAXI IT'S WAY FASTER, JUST KEEP SWIMMING, and, my favorite, at mile 12, IF YOU HAVEN'T POOPED YOUR PANTS YET THEN YOU'RE ALL CHAMPIONS.  Profound.

Other than the fact that my hamstrings still feel as tight as skinny jeans fresh out of the dryer, I'd say the whole experience was a success.

Currently...

It's been awhile since I've done a "Currently" post, which is a really fun kind of way to reflect on the state of affairs in your life from time to time. I read the last two posts I did of this installment, and had to chuckle to myself as there seems to be a theme of weddings and training for running events that is cyclical in my life. Here's what I'm up to in April of 2013. 

Loving: I am loving two things in particular these days. The first? Daylight. Not the Matt & Kim song (although I do certainly love that as well). The fact that I am driving to and from school in relative daylight outside is an unbelievable difference from the Dark Ages of November through February. How did I stand it?! I can actually get home from school at 5:30 and still have enough time to go on a run or finish an errand or cook a meal without feeling like a nocturnal vampire. Daylight has done wonders for my general happiness. The second thing I'm loving? CAPTAIN CRUNCH. I had no idea that there was an ALL BERRIES version of this cereal. Holy cow. So good. 

Reading: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safron Foer. It is all things hopeful, heartbreaking, original, and special. You follow Oskar Schell, a nine-year-old boy, around his hometown of New York City after he has lost his father in 9/11. He is on the mission of his young lifetime, and bit by bit you get to know the context, mind, and family history of the brilliant kid. It is wonderful because it reminds you the beauty and honesty of a child's brain. It is also wonderful because it shows how goodness and brilliance can still happen in the midst of darkness and brokenness and somehow it's all okay. That made no sense, I realize. Go read the book and you'll understand. 

Watching: Documentaries. I wrote a little review of the most touching one I've watched lately earlier this month. Thanks to Netflix, I have a steady supply of them to keep on my to-watch list.  I don't love to read nonfiction books, but I'm finding nonfiction movies like these fascinating. Some are definitely better than others. But a really good one takes an issue or a person or a struggle and portrays it in just the right way that you know it is true and authentic to the subject matter. I love it when a storyteller, or moviemaker in this case I suppose, can show the heart of another person without bias and discoloring.

Anticipating: June 19. People, it's on its way. The last day of school. This school year WILL one day ACTUALLY DEFINITELY EVENTUALLY CERTAINLY come to an end. That was a lot of adverbs just now. Sorry. Let's just say that you should call me up to hang out on June 20. I'll be in a good mood. 

Listening To: Hick jams. I'm not lying. Florida Georgia Line is cranked to full volume on a daily basis during my morning commute. I'm also obsessed with Darius Rucker's version of "Wagon Wheel" these days. This winter I was all into complex, introspective, alternative music (and still am), but something about the promise of warm weather coming fits the sunny, carefree, simple vibe of country music. 

Planning: The Bachelorette festivities of everyone's favorite, Karley Mae VanDyke. As the maid of honor, I thought this element of the duties would be more stress than fun, but it is totally going to be a riot. The blueness is going to abound, my friends. I get to plan it with Jordan, another one of the bridesmaids. There is a huge group of about 25 of us that are getting together to laugh and have a wonderful time. I can't wait to post details of what we do on that day/night, but as the food, plans, and outfits are all starting to come together, I just have pure joy and excitement for May 11. She is the funnest girl I know. She deserves a fun party. (That incorrect usage of "funnest" was actually in honor of Karley's interesting personal grammar rules.) 

Working On: A half marathon. The 15k last fall did, indeed, spark in me a desire to conquer another running event. Well, let's not say conquer. Let's say finish. I did the Shamrock Shuffle with Jen the first week of April and I ran 5 miles last Saturday. Both felt okay, and I'm looking to make each weekend run a little longer leading up until July 21. This week is 6 miles, so we'll see how that feels on Saturday. 

Wishing: For a bike. Like mentioned above, daylight is lasting longer these days. People are out running and walking and I want to be a part of it all. I am giddy with excitement for summer in Chicago (oh so different from winter in this city) and a bike would be a fabulous way to explore new places in the sunshine. The tax return check hopefully is coming any day now, and I think a portion of it will fund a bike. That, and a new pair of high top sneakers. Such mature purchases for a cosmopolitan girl of the 21st century, I know. 

Girls Who Run

Last Sunday morning I had the opportunity to feel amazing. I highly recommend taking any opportunity you can to feel amazing. It is fun. I ran my first 15k in the Hot Chocolate Run in downtown Chicago, which translates to about 9.3 miles! In July, just after I had decided to live with her, Kristin sent me an e-mail saying, "Hey Anna! Wanna run this with me in November?" At that point, I was like, pssshhhh, November? That's like eight million years away. Sure thing I'll sign up!" Then it was October and I was like, "AHHHH CRAP." But it actually turned out to be wonderful! I trained enough to keep up with Kristin the whole time and we kept a pace of about 9:35 per mile. The atmosphere was so positive and so inspirational, not to mention the delicious chocolate we got after crossing the finish line. I felt SO STINKING GOOD about accomplishing my goal and am now currently looking for a half marathon to do in the spring next year.

One fun element about Sunday was the people-watching I got to do for the hour and a half we were running. I don't run with headphones, so I did some hilarious eavesdropping on different types of people, particularly female runners. I've noticed that girls like to talk while they run (or maybe we all just like to talk). I decided that there are a few types of girls who run.

Kristin and I after the race, waiting for our train back to the apartment. 

1. The Divorcees. Don't mess with these ladies. They ran the entire 9.3 miles while bitching talking about their situations and never ran out of breath somehow. The rage that fueled their hatred for their ex-husbands must have spilled over to keep those lungs pumping as well. From mile 5-6 I learned about one who had to deal with quite the loser of an ex-husband who wouldn't show up to court dates. C'mon dude! Show up to the court dates...then I won't have to hear about it during a fun 15k!

2. The Hardcore 6-packers. These girls have chinese letters tattooed on their ribs and are running in tank tops in November. They were talking about things like cross-training and protein supplements. The triceps on these broads would probably not make it through airport security. I was terrified.

3. The Get-back-in-the-game-new-moms. I love this type of girl who runs. They are happy, working hard, and really proud of themselves. Many of their families were cheering them on with signs that said things like KEEP IT UP MOM! WE LOVE YOU! It was adorable and wonderful. You go girls!

4. The Type-A Workaholics. These girls were simply crossing this 15k off of their list of 6,782 things to do that Sunday. One of them had her bluetooth in her ear and was talking on that as she went, and another explained to her running partner about how her promotion offers her a greater opportunity to steer the company the way she'd like it to go. Meanwhile, I'm still learning what HMO means. #freshcollegegraduateproblems

5. The Encouraging-best-friends. I almost laughed out loud at this one pair of girls. They basically were talking themselves into believing that they were rocking the race as they were walking along the side of the path as everyone else ran past. An actual quote: "Okay, I feel great right now, and I'm totally not quitting, but I need to slow down." To which the other says, "Oh I totally know. The last three miles are all your spirit." Ha.

6. The Sorority Girls. There has yet to be a social group that fascinates me more than the sorority girl. They are some of the nicest, highly motivated, energetic people I've met. These were the BESTIES who were dressed like TWINSIES to run; they were playing the new T-Swift album from their phone as they both sang along and zoomed past us, all lululemoned out, ponytails swinging simultaneously in sync with the girly beat. Here's to you, Zeta Phi Gamma Deltas.

7. The Freshly-post-college-girls. Kristin and I obviously fell into this category. There just seemed to be tons of young twenty-somethings out there who needed a pick-me-up in November to keep the joy, fitness, and inspiration going. The race definitely did all of those three things for me. I think I'm hooked. 13.1 miles, you're next. 

(And then you have guys who run. They're not chatting, singing Taylor Swift, or talking about their exes. They're just running. What a novel idea.)

See Sam Run.

This Sunday was inspirational. Not only did the freezing air pump a little extra pep into one's step, but the Chicago marathon runners took over the city for an amazing accomplishment. Over 35,000 people came to Grant Park on Sunday to start the Bank of America Chicago Marathon at 7:30 in the morning. It was a sight to see. My favorite moments were those when people cheered on complete strangers. While people definitely were there to root for specific runners, I loved that I saw an old lady carrying a sign that said "You can do it runners! Keep going!" Stuff like that just restores my faith in humanity. Although there were thousands of runners from all over the world present, I had some serious patriotic feelings going on. I have no idea why. It just made me go all Lee Greenwood for the whole morning. I even spontaneously broke into the song once or twice.

It was even more inspirational because Karley, Mel, and myself got the opportunity to wake up at 5:15 to cheer on Sam, Karley's fiance, as he ran his first marathon ever. The kid is a BEAST. He ran 26.2 miles in 2 hours and 53 minutes. A sub-3 hour marathon on his first try!! Needless to say, we were all insanely proud. 

Just another day of realizing why I love this city. I'm starting to really feel like this could be home and not just a transient place that I'm stopping through. Of course tomorrow I could wake up and decide differently, so this might just be me romanticizing events like this as usual. But in any case, a good time was had by all, we were inspired to achieve our goals, and I got to reference Lee Greenwood in a blog post. So I'd say a good day.

Annnnnd they're off!

Faithful fans

In his final stretch - this is just after mile 25 and he was still looking good!

With the man of the hour. Good for you, Sam Coco. YOU GO Sam Coco!
(Mean Girls reference....sorry I'm not sorry.)

Scratch and Sniff

Tonight I went on a (for me) longish run around my neighborhood. It was glorious for a few reasons. For one, I haven't been running in forever. During the school year, I do Zumba (awesome), intramurals, and sometimes workout DVDs as my exercise. With all that winding down, I need some way of physically expelling stress. The other alternative is to beat up my roommates, and we wouldn't want to end the year that way, now would we? Running and I have a love-hate relationship. However. Without fail, every time when I finish even a short little run, I dig those endorphins. Best feeling ever. For another thing, it smelled SO GOOD outside. The weather has finally gotten nice again. Therefore, neighbors were out cutting the grass after work. Delish. 

This has inspired me to make a list of my top ten favorite smells. And then it turned into top 17 because I couldn't stop. I realize that a good number of them are actually dangerous and kill brain cells and all that good stuff, but I can't help what I like, right? Add your own as you wish. I can almost smell them now. 

Let's roll around in this meadow of delicious smelling grass. All are welcome.

1. Freshly Cut Grass - Okay maybe this isn't my alltime favorite, but since I just smelled it an hour ago I am still loving it.

2. Gasoline - Diesel as well. Yes.

3. Babies after a bath - Is it allowed for adults to use that Johnson & Johnson soap too? I want to smell like this.

4. Bleach - I like that whole "kills everything it touches" smell.

5. Permanent Markers - Sharpies in particular.

6. Baking Brownies - Karyn Koopmans is always good at giving our house this scent.

7. Burning Cigarettes - But the stale smell that follows is pret-ty gross. So don't smell like an ashtray.

8. Bonfires - I happen to believe ones taking place under a starry sky in my Wisconsin backyard smell the best.

9. Barbecue Ribs - I have an obsession with BBQ sauce and always want my babybackbabybackbabybackbabyback....

10. Chlorinated Pools - Smells like my childhood at the Cedar Grove pool.

11. Fabric Softener Sheets - I love my clothes to smell like this.

12. Strawberry Orbit Gum - Especially good smelling in the first few chews.

13. The Annual Gesch Family Christmas Tree - Our house smells like pine needles and sap for like three weeks.

14. Crayola Crayons - Just don't eat them. 2nd-grade Anna can vouch for this piece of advice.

15. Sevilla - Orange trees line the streets. Offer is open for you people to come with me and smell it for yourself!

16. Rubber Cement - Craft time was my fave.

17. Recently Painted Walls - I think it smells better if it's yellow. Or orange.