Hey. So, as some of you may know, I’ve been training for a half marathon. This past weekend, I ran the Bank of America Half Marathon in Chicago, and I want to tell you all what the deal is. What I did in Chicago, what I loved, what I thought, what stuck, and then how the race went. What my thoughts were about it, and what I learned. All that shit.
I was there for about 4 days in total. One of those being the race day and whatnot. So I’ll just break down my thoughts by day. Give some recommendations. Throw my two cents in. Cause why the hell not?
Day 1
Skydeck- Willis Tower
I got into Chicago on a Thursday around 3, and the first thing we did after unpacking and everything was the Willis Tower Skydeck. Personally, I loved it and thought it was worth the money. I’m terrified of heights yet also find them invigorating, so I ate this up. You get to see so much of the city, and let me tell you, it’s gorgeous. Stunning. Beautiful.
Niu Japanese Fusion Lounge
After Skydeck, we walked to dinner at Niu. Something I loved about Chicago was how walkable it was, so on the way to dinner, we got to do a lot of sightseeing on foot, which was neat. Also, Niu was amazing, definitely one of my favorite places I ate while in Chicago. We ordered the Wild Mushroom Ramen, Shrimp & Pork Shumai, and The Flamer specialty roll and split everything three ways. The sushi was phenomenal. I also ordered a raspberry mojito that was fucking delightful. This was the only worthwhile alcoholic beverage I got in Chicago. Everywhere else, they tried to poison me. That’s beside the point. Anyway, if you find yourself in Chi, I recommend Niu.
Day 2
Day 2 was hectic, exhausting, and a little draining, but overall super fun. Here’s what we did:
Shedd Aquarium
I’m not one to typically support zoos, aquariums, or anything similar where animals are held in captivity for human enjoyment, but I will say this was a neat experience. I absolutely loved the snake I saw. I think that was my favorite part. And of course, I thought the Wild Reef section was cool because I’m infatuated with sharks. All in all, a good experience, and I appreciate that it was centered around education rather than exploitation. If that makes sense.
Packet Pick-Up/ Shopping at Roosevelt
After the aquarium, we went to pick up my packet for race day. These are always super cool because there’s merch you can buy, places to take pictures, and the whole race community is just so welcoming and fun to be a part of. I also didn’t have to wait in line for packet pickup, which is a first. The one thing I disliked was how overstimulating it was. I love being around people, but there was just so much happening that it was a little chaotic. Lastly, I just want to say that packet pickups are awesome because you really feel like an athlete. I like to consider myself an athlete. A high-intensity endurance athlete. Just picking up her packet for race day. How fun is that?
And because the packet pickup was at a mall, we of course had to shop around. Luckily, I still had an H&M gift card tucked away in my wallet from when the Easter bunny paid me a visit, so I got myself some stuff. Which I rarely do. If you know me, you know I rarely buy myself clothes because I don’t deem it a necessary expense. I have clothes. And I’ll where them till the seams tear apart. Only then does shopping become a necessity. I digress. But yeah, it was fun. The Roosevelt Collection shops were nice. I liked looking around Fleet Feet, too. They have lots of cool shit. My sister Sue even got a new pair of Hokas there!
Starbucks Reserve Roastery
After we shopped around, we took the red line to Michigan Avenue, where we had lunch at Starbucks Reserve Roastery. The red line was a lot of fun. I love being underground. And public transportation never fails to make me smile.
Anyway, I have mixed feelings about the Starbucks we went to. I am a lady who loves Starbucks, yet this place was overstimulating, chaotic, and manic. The Starbucks greeter in the front of the shop was also a heinous, wicked, evil cunt. She wasn’t a nice woman. It’s so awkward when you have a question about a place you’ve never been and you ask a worker who is genuinely non-receptive and treats you like you’re stupid. Like bitch, this is your job. Stop being a disgraceful asshole and help me out here.
This may make me sound like a mean person. I’m truthfully not, I just have a strong vocabulary. Moving on, I loved all the food and drinks from the Roastery. The menu was so expansive, yet they did everything so well. We ordered an assortment of food— the iced ube coconut latte, the matcha butterfly swirl cake, the lavender blueberry donut, prosciutto and fontina on cornetto, funghi pizza, and the sausage and grilled pepper pizza. It was all really good—I tried the donut, matcha swirl cake, the latte, and prosciutto on cornetto and thought it was all incredible.
It was also four stories with a cocktail bar at the top, and a rooftop lounge you could go to. The inside was gorgeous, and it offers a cute view of Michigan Avenue. Overall, it was a good experience and I’d recommend going, especially if you’re a Starbucks lover like me. I would suggest going earlier, however, when the crowds are slimmer. We went around 2 pm and the shit was a mad house. Just a little note.
The Art Institute of Chicago
After the Roastery, we walked to the Art Institute of Chicago. Personally, I loved it. It was really beautiful. My mom and my sister didn’t like it, though. But again, I thought it was incredible. I recommend going, however, it is massive, so if you want to look at every exhibit, definitely take some time out of your day to do so. The only thing that sucked about it was that at this point in the day I had like 20,000 steps and my feet were screaming for mercy from my platform New Balance 574s that have been stomping around the city all day. I also needed a fucking nap. So that’s exactly what we did next. We walked our giddy asses back to the hotel and I took a nap before it was time to get ready to see one of my favorite people—The Weeknd.
After Hours Til Dawn
The last stop on day two was The Weeknd concert at Soldier Field. We walked to Soldier Field around 5:30 and got to the concert close to 6 or so. I got a little seltzer because why the hell not? It’s a concert, therefore it needed to be done. Since we got there early we kinda just goofed around, took pictures, shot the shit, chewed the fat, and whatnot til the openers started. And just be ready because I’m about to say some horrific shit.
The first opener, Mike Dean—I’d be lucky to never see him again. It was physically painful to sit through his performance. It was either purgatory or hell. I’m honestly not sure which. Fucking brutal. Someone take his instruments away. Not much better than Mike Dean, was the second opener—Playboi Carti. Straight up, I’ll just say it—I don’t like him. I don’t think his music is all that good, and it’s unknown to me why he has a platform or who is listening to his music. Of course I like Timeless, but as an artist who does this shit for a living, you need more than one good feature to make a name for yourself. Maybe I’m just cruel or an asshole, but I genuinely believe his opening set was not great. But that’s all good. Because I wasn’t there for him. I was there for Abel. My man— The Weeknd.
The Weeknd came out close to 9:30 pm with a bang. That man is talented, he’s a performer, and his set is always over the top. The dancers, the stage set, his stage presence, the setlist— it was all incredible. There were a lot of elements to unpack, or think about, rather. A lot of people were saying things about the dancers dressed in red, the statue in the middle of the stage, the shape of the stage, and this and that and whatever else. A lot of people chalk up The Weeknd’s set displays to be demonic or unsettling. The truth is, I do think some of the symbolism pointed to themes of death with almost haunting undertones, but I don’t think the premise is in any way demonic.
The Weeknd has struggled a lot in his career. With fame, identity, spirituality, substances, and the toll of success. We’ve heard it in his music, seen it in the movie, and heard him open up about it as well. This new album centered around themes of rebirth, wanting to shed his past and start new, he wants to embrace more of himself. And I think the concert needed something unsettling, haunting, and troubling to give us fans a glimpse of his struggles. I interpreted the dancers to be ghostly and haunting as a metaphor for his own demons that have plagued him during his rise to fame and his career. And I think having them on stage with him as he closes out his career as The Weeknd is supposed to be meaningful. It’s supposed to express that he’s faced his worst, and he wants a fresh start. A new chapter. I don’t like to just look at the surface and see creepy dancers and statues and automatically slap it with the title “demonic”. Because he’s trying to express regret and the pain from the lifestyle he used to live in this album, I just don’t think that would make sense. But of course, those are just my thoughts. Not gospel.
Anyway, once the concert was over, we headed back to the hotel. Another mile walk under our belts. And that is when I just knew I’d need a hot dog for the road. And lo and behold, 10 seconds after I told my mom and sister that if I could wave a wand and have a hotdog appear in my hands, I would—a man is selling hotdogs off a cart under a tunnel, a little ways from Soldier Field. My lucky day. So I ended my night with one of those. I did taste a little funky—similar to what I’d imagine a charbroiled human finger would taste like, but hey, I got my hot dog. No bitching and complaining on my end.
Day 3
Alright. Day three. We started the day at Tilly’s Bagels, where I had my favorite meal of the trip. But I’m a sucker for breakfast sandwiches on bagels. What can I say? After that was stop number one, 360 Chicago.
360 Chicago
This was another observation deck similar to Willis Tower. However, I do think I liked 360 better. We did go in the morning, right at 9 am, so there was no crowd, whereas there were a bit more people at Willis because we went there in the evening. But the view from 360 was better. And the tilt was neat. Not worth $11, but still neat. Lastly, I liked it because they have a little cafe/bar where you can order drinks and enjoy the views.
Shopping on Michigan Avenue
After 360, we walked around Michigan Avenue and some other areas to do a little shopping. One of my favorite parts of the whole trip was just walking around the city. We went to places like Nike, Artizia, Converse, Lululemon, and other shops with reasonably priced products. Because my ass does not belong in a Burberry or Tiffany and Co.
Upstairs at the Gwen
So after a little shopping, we had a brunch moment at Upstairs at the Gwen. Go here for overpriced food and poisonous overpriced cocktails. Kidding. Kind of. The food was good, nothing special in my eyes; however, my mom and sister liked it. My mom got a Bloody Mary and the Brunch Burger that she loved, and Haley got the Chicken Tinga Tostadas with fries, and she liked that. I got the pork sausage and fruit with a cocktail called the Zig Zag. My drink was $18 and tasted like nail polish remover and strawberry puree. I simply couldn’t bring myself to finish it. So that was slightly disappointing. Other than that, it was cute and everything. The rooftop was super nice. Yet the quality of food, adjacent to the prices, makes this place a pass for me.
Riverwalk
After brunch, we did some more shopping along Michigan as we made our way to the Riverwalk. We popped into Ghirardelli’s and also Goddess and the Baker, where I got the best latte I’ve ever had in my life. It was the banana foster latte, and it came with a little banana shortbread on top with some whipped cream, caramel, and cinnamon. It was super sweet yet not too much. You could still taste the coffee. But barely. Which is just the way I like it. But after I got my second caffeine fix of the day, we just sat at the steps of the Riverwalk and played smash or pass basically while basking in the sun. Truly one of my favorite things we did this trip. But moving on, next we did an architecture boat tour.
Boat Tour
We boarded the boat a little before 4 pm. I got myself a little vodka lemonade from the bar downstairs and simply sunbathed on the commercial tour boat for the next hour and fifteen minutes while getting a little history lesson about Chicago. It was neat. Worth the money. It wasn’t very expensive at all, and certainly an experience I’ll remember.
Giordano’s
We walked to dinner at Giordano’s after the boat tour. This place was also manic, chaotic, and wildly overstimulating. We got a Greek salad and deep dish to split for supper. I also ordered a Moscow Mule, and I’ll tell you about that disaster in a minute. The salad was average, and the pizza was really good. Even better as cold leftovers. But that damn drink. Why are they charging $14 for Germ-X and club soda? Really what the fuck was that. I had to order a Sprite and made a fantastic mess trying to play bartender at the table while attempting to reconfigure the horrific drink they made me. I think I know what’s up, too. Word got around that I was gonna win the Bank of America Half Marathon, so everyone in Chicago was trying to give me alcohol poisoning. That must be it. But yeah, if you go to Giordano’s, save yourself and don’t order an alcoholic beverage.
Day 4: Bank of America Half Marathon
Okay, on to the last day. Race day. I was up at like 4:45 am so we could pack up the car and check out of the hotel before my race. We also snagged some Dunkin before hightailing it towards Garfield Park. I got to my corral close to 6:20, stretched, used the bathroom, queued my music, and did everything else to get ready. I will say one of the worst things about races is the fucking porta potties. Those suck.
Once I got into my corral, I just sorta looked around, taking it all in. This was what I was most looking forward to during this trip. It’s the reason I went to Chicago in the first place. I noticed how embracing the running community is. How diverse, energetic, supportive, and inviting. I’m constantly inspired by other runners, the work they put in, and the joy they get out of running. I’m exceptionally grateful to be a part of it. That’s what was running through my mind during the race.
The Run
Now for the running part. I was in the last corral (hey, I’m slow), so we started a bit before 7:30 am. In the first miles, I felt great, and I only kept feeling better. The run typically gets easier the longer I go because my body begins to adjust to the workload. And of course, I brought my peach rings, juju fish, and electrolytes to fuel me forward.
I also have better runs when I race, too, because the supportive environment is uplifting and encouraging. All the people with signs were cheering everyone on. It’s beautiful and truly does help us keep going. Three signs stuck out to me. The first said “run if you’re gay” and had a cutout of a guy drinking a marg. Thought that was fucking hilarious. The second said, “You’re running better than the U.S. government”. Agree. And the last one that made me laugh just said “run bitch”. I liked that one because while it was simple, it was truly my lingo.
I finished this run in 2 hours and 31 minutes. Not bad. I was happy with it. I didn’t have a goal going into it; I truly just wanted to have fun and embrace the opportunity to explore a new city. And I think I achieved that. So all in all, this race was solid, fun, and memorable. I had a good time.
And of course, after the run was time for the race day festival. This was overstimulating, and all the porta potties were out of toilet paper, so after I got a few pictures and an iced chai latte, we decided to head towards WashMo.
So that’s that.
Closing
Okay guys. That was my trip to Chicago. My first time truly exploring and experiencing the city. Overall, I loved the place. I’d go back in a heartbeat. It was beautiful. My least favorite aspects however were the overstimulating crowds, the damn pictures they make you take and try to sell you everywhere you visit, and the poisonous, overpriced drinks. And my favorite parts of Chicago were the views and just how beautiful the city is, the walkability of the city, and the lattes. So yeah, do with that information what you will.
I hope you enjoyed this post, found some of my recommendations and two cents helpful, or just found it entertaining. I love everyone who reads this, and I am forever grateful for the time you take to hear my thoughts.
Til next week, soldiers.