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I had originally planned on volunteering for the Palos Half. I sent in my information and never heard anything from anyone. I was never given a time to appear, a prep email, nothing. I sent some requests via the Facebook page that weren't responded to. So, the day before the race (when I still hadn't heard anything), I decided to spectate instead. With the out-and-back course, I met up with the FNRC and we stayed in 1 spot but were able to see the runners twice. I ran this race last year and had a fun time with all my local pals, so I didn't want to miss this race even though I wouldn't be running it this year.

As a surprise to my fellow running club members, I brought along the pup. I mean, I know she's totally adorable, but the entire club seems to embrace her. And, not to mention, Pepper absolutely LOVES all the attention she gets whenever she is out with the group. I met up with our crowd of FNRC folks and we took a group pic before the runners started coming by.

The FNRC Crew at miles 4 & 9 Thanks for the photo Diane!

Then, I got out my phone and tried to take pics of all my friends going by. Thankfully my pals were easy to spot in our bright FNRC shirts!


While we were waiting for our pals to turn around, Diane snapped this gem of me and my buddy. Pepper was really well behaved all day. She kissed the hands of the little kids that came up and wanted to pet her. She sat and listened when I needed her to. She didn't jump up and scare any runners. I know she's great with kids, but it was really great to see little ones all around her. It made me feel some warm fuzzies for Baby Wilson and Pepper's future relationship. I just know they're going to become best friends.

Pepper wore a special shirt to support her pals.

All of my friends did really well and had a fun time on race day. Spectating, this made me want to run this race again next year! It really is a fun one and the support by the local running clubs is unmached by any other race! If you haven't done it before, I highly, highly recommend it. Have you done this race before? If so, is it one of your favorites too? If not, why the heck not? Just kidding (kind of).

How far along? 20 weeks
Baby’s size/development this week: weighs about 10 1/2 ounces and measures 6 1/2 inches long; about the size of a banana (I didn't have any bananas to hold up for comparisons sake. FWP.)
Maternity clothes: wearing them? Yes. I didn't make any maternity purchases this weekend. Gotta start saving money for the wee babe!
Miss anything? Coffee. I know I can have it, my stomach just doesn't like it. I've bought it a few times, end up having a few sips and throwing the rest away. My pregnant body just doesn't want its coffee. I really could use the pick-me-up some mornings. LAME!
Food cravings? Nothing all that strange. I have zero desire to eat vegetables, unless they are in fried form, so I've been trying to eat a lot of fruit. That way, I’m still getting nutrients without wanting to hurl.
Anything making you queasy or sick? The smell of any Starbucks. That strong coffee scent makes me cringe.
Sleep: In the past few months I've had a few zombie apocalypse dreams, and now apparently my mind has moved on to vampire dreams. Although, now that I've got the body pillow, I’m at least comfortably sleeping through the night. :)
Best moment of the week: Our 20 week ultrasound!
Nursery: Nothing yet, but hopefully this week we can get rolling now that we have a 2nd dresser in the master bedroom.
Wedding rings on or off? on
Movement? The flutters and mini kicks come and go throughout the day.
Weird pregnancy thing of the week: I’m still getting over that cold and my skin is seriously still so dry! I don’t know what is up with that! So weird!
Daddy is feeling: excited to start feeling kicks soon.
Mommy is feeling: good and excited to be enjoying the 2nd trimester! :) The worrying has dropped down significantly with each week as Baby continues to grow, my belly expands, and I continue to feel more and more movement.
Workouts this week: I did 1 run this week with plans to do a second that never materialized. My pace is slow and I’m keeping the distance low. But I’m out there having fun which is what counts!
Looking forward to: Dad being able to feel the kicks next!

As I've mentioned many, many times before, the Shamrock Shuffle is my favorite race in the city of Chicago. (I'm not the only one. Too Tall Fritz agrees with me too.) This past year was my 7th Shamrock Shuffle and I thought it might be fun to share some old photos from years' past.

The year was 2007. I was a born again runner and my first race ever had been in the previous summer. My roommate at the time convinced me to sign up and I thought it would be a fun time. I started training in whatever old tees and shorts I had lying around. I didn't know what dryfit was and the sports bras I owned were probably too old to be wearing during physical activity. I laced up my old high school running shoes and got on the treadmill with my newly acquired gym membership. I was an adult now; college was over.


This race was kind of a big stepping stone in my life. I made a lot of big decisions on the day of this race and it turned my life around for the better. Perhaps this is why the Shamrock Shuffle always holds a special place in my heart? :)


I was going through some old photos last week and I found some shots that I was really excited about. They were from my 2nd ever Shuffle in 2008. I ran it with my friend Kate and it was her first race ever. I was still living in the city at the time, and she had come down to spend the night at my place before heading to the start. I remember these photos being taken, but I couldn't remember what I did with them. After finding them in a photo album (instead of in a Facebook album), it was fun to look back and reflect.


We look so young! I was wondering why I didn't have any professional photos from this race. It is because I covered up my bib like a noob! Haha. Things to note: I still wear this headband all the time in the winter. I also still have this jacket that I keep around specifically for the Shamrock Shuffle. This race also started the tradition of us (me, Kate S. and Kate LF.) doing the race together  Some years we don't see each other, some years we've crossed the finish line together, and some years we've met up afterwards for the post-race beverage. Either way, this race is something we always make time to do. I really do hope to continue this tradition in the years to come, even if I need to leave Baby Wilson at home with Dad. :)

This year was a year in which I debated whether or not to run the race. The night before, I traveled from the city to the suburbs to hang with my friends (the Kates) so we could carpool to the race together. If I hadn't been with them, I probably would have stayed in my nice warm bed instead of lacing up my shoes to head out into the snow. BUT, we got out there, and we did it!
This year, the Shamrock Shuffle only had about 13,000 finishers (compared to 40,000 registrants and usually 38,000-40,000 finishers). My friends and I were some of the crazy few that got out there and ran, despite the snow. Also, you may note that this headband may look familiar. :) The shirt I'm wearing says "Everyone Loves an Irish Girl." I still own this shirt specifically to wear to the Shamrock Shuffle. I don't think its weird that I keep around specific pieces of clothing to wear just to 1 race per year.

For more old race photos of me, check out the "Previous Races" link at the top of my blog. There are definitely some gems in there. Lol.

Is there a race that you love so much that you've done it multiple years in a row? Do you have certain clothing items that you keep in your running wardrobe specifically for a particular race?

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Chicagoland. Spring seems to finally be here and the weather had been wonderful. My cold is subsiding a bit and I've been aching to get outside and get some exercise. Last night I had planned on going for a run, but I made some bad pre-run fuel options (Baby really wanted onion rings). Instead, I decided to get up early and go for a run before work. I haven't done this in about a year (yikes), so it had been a long time coming. I laid out my outfit the night before and was ready to go when my alarm went off. My faithful morning buddy was just as excited as I was to get out there and enjoy the weather.

When running with the pup, I never leave home without a baggie, just in case. :)

My plan was to go for 2 miles, depending on how I felt. I did some loops around my neighborhood in case I needed to stop back at home. It didn't come to that because I felt great out there! The birds were chirping, Pepper was chasing all the rabbits, and the sun was coming up towards the end of the run. It was a gorgeous run and I felt great! No cramping, no pain, just some nice slooowwww miles. :) I didn't make it the whole two miles, but I had fun anyways.
Of course I had to wear my "Sweating for Two" shirt that Amanda got me from For Two Fitness. Now that the bump is getting a little bigger, I'm actually filling out the stretchy part a little bit. Haha.

This week the Runner Photo Challenge theme is "America" so I had to get in a photo of our neighbor's flag, flying proudly in the breeze.

This really was a great start to a great day! Do you often run before work? If so, how often? If not, have you ever done it before?

How far along? 19 weeks
Baby’s size/development this week: weighs approx 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches long; about the size of a mango
Maternity clothes: wearing them? Yes. I picked up a few tops on clearance this week that can work during and after pregnancy. I’m currently looking for a dress to wear to a client meeting at the end of May. I haven’t had much luck as most things I've found either aren't dressy enough or are way too expensive. I’m glad I started looking now so I have some time to decide.
Miss anything? I went to a baseball game over the weekend and I really missed having a hot dog.  I still got a brat, but it just wasn't the same. Those grilled onions they have to put on top are just the absolute best.
Food cravings? I had part of a Jimmy John’s sub when I was volunteering at a race on Sunday. Now, I have a taste for the full deal. I’ll probably have to go at some point this week. Yummm.
Anything making you queasy or sick? Smoking is still the worst.
Sleep: Because of my cold, I haven't been sleeping very well. The congestion isn't as bad but now I have a cough. On the plus side, I finally bought a body pillow this weekend! I used it last night and slept well (with the exception of my cough waking me up in the middle of the night…) Hopefully this body pillow is the new best thing ever!
Best moment of the week: I felt the baby kick! I was driving home from the grocery store and I felt Baby kick when I was close to home. Hubs was working on the yard when I pulled in the driveway and I had to run and tell him!
Nursery: Did a few small projects but nothing major.
Wedding rings on or off? on
Movement? The flutters have become more frequent, and as I was typing this, I got to feel another kick!
Weird pregnancy thing of the week: I have another cold! It is really frustrating as I feel like I just got over my last one (I had my last cold about 6-7 weeks ago). Thankfully it hasn't been too bad to impair my sleeping too much. I had 1 bad sleepless night and the rest of the nights have been better.
Daddy is feeling: excited to be a dad.
Mommy is feeling: sick, but overall I’m feeling good.
Workouts this week: I did a 1 mile treadmill run and a 1 mile elliptical workout. Then, I got sick and I’m winded just walking so cardio has been on a break.
Looking forward to: Our 20 week ultrasound next Monday!!

Yesterday I had a taste for chicken salad. When looking for recipes, Pinterest was my go-to, naturally. However, it seemed like they had a lot of recipes for salads with chicken on top, but no recipes that were fitting what I was looking for. I told my mom about it and she emailed me a delicious sounding recipe that had all the ingredients I had a taste for.

3 fake chicken breasts
1 cup seedless grapes, halved
1/2 cup granny smith apples
handful of chopped almonds
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (for your vegetarian/vegan Worcestershire needs, check out FakeMeats.com!)
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Rolls to put crap on (I opted for pretzel rolls versus the traditional croissant)
Makes 4-5 healthy servings

The recipe really called for 1 small minced onion, 1 cup chopped celery, and a 1/2 cup mayonnaise. The hubs hates raw celery so I omitted it. We also are not huge fans of raw onion either so I went with the onion powder instead. Also, to cut down on some of heaviness of traditional "salad" types, I halfed the mayo and subbed for Greek yogurt.


The best thing about this recipe is that it didn't really require much. While the 3 chicken breasts were cooking, I had time to dice the green apple, half the grapes, measure out the rest of the spices and ingredients in a bowl. Since the "chicken" only takes a few minutes on each side, everything was done and ready within 10 minutes.


I really loved that this recipe had the sweet aspects of the grapes and apples, but the savory aspects of the chicken and Worcestershire sauce. I highly recommend this recipe which is why I wanted to share it with all of you!

Right now I'm feeling extremely under the weather. What started as a few sneezes on Monday has turned into a full on head cold that intensified Tuesday night and has only gotten worse. I have had a bad cold twice in the past 6 weeks and it is not fun, let me tell you. This time, I asked my doctor what I can take for it. She said Mucinex would be alright so I took some last night before bed. Now that it is wearing off, I'm back to feeling exactly how I did yesterday. Fun times, fun times. Thankfully, before things got to be too bad, I was able to get in a workout this week. (I'm hoping to feel better by the weekend to get in another run, but we'll see.)