AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
🙂
Favorite photo ever!
Also, best roommates ever. 🙂
Theodora, Bobbi, Kelly, and I stayed up way too late last night chatting, laughing, and just being girls. We are all so pumped for this race, you can feel the energy overflowing between us. 🙂
All the excitement kept us up late, but luckily we were able to all sleep in. Waking up at 7:30 on a Saturday? I’ll take it. 🙂
4 showers, 4 blow dryers, and 4 straighteners/ blow dryers later we were on our way to Jumba Juice to meet a couple of lovely blogging runners for breakfast.
Brie and Leslie were unable to make the pre-planned meet up this afternoon, so we arranged to meet them for breakfast. Brie is a beautiful blogging inspiration who will be running Chicago with Team in Training in honor of her late father and Leslie is another beautiful blogging inspiration who I’ve had the honor of meeting up with on several occasions and was so happy I could hang out with her this morning.
I was all set to order my usual Chunky Strawberry Topper when this sign caught my eye.
Pumpkin Smash? Ummm…. YES PLEASE!! 🙂
I ordered a large and asked for a healthy serving of granola on top.
So. Freakin. Good. I must have been a pretty annoying person to eat breakfast with this morning because I kept going on and on about how great my breakfast was. It’s a shame we don’t have Jamba Juices in Orlando…or that pumpkin is only around for a short time. :/
After breakfast we said out good byes to Brie, Leslie, and Bobbi and headed to the Sears Tower (which I guess is now called the Willis Tower) with my twin bro.
There was a wee bit of a line to get to the top.
P.S. I was rockin the official Meals & Miles Shirt today…. you know you want to order your own. 😉
The line for the skydeck actually moved pretty quickly. We waiting in total about 45 minutes? They kept the line interesting with lots of random facts about the tours and kept it interactive by quizzing people as they waited.
Do you know how long an elevator takes to go up 103 floors? 60 seconds!
Ding!
We lucked out with a gorgeous 360 degree view of the city. 🙂
The sybox had to be the scariest thing ever. Mom – you would NOT have liked this at all.
We weren’t sure what to have for lunch when we happened to run into a Giordano’s right outside of Willis Tower. True, we just had pizza the night before, but who were we to turn down another chance to try some Chicago deep dish (this time stuffed style).
With a good 35 minutes to wait for pizza, we ordered some garlic bread to calm our growling tummies.
PIZZA!
We split the Ulta Veggie Stuffed Pizza. It was STUFFED with olives, spinach, peppers, onions, and mushrooms.
I’m not a fan of calzones and for some reason when people kept mentioning stuffed pizza I was picturing a dry, bready calzone. However, this was not the case. This pizza was very wet and very saucy. Yum! The pizza was good, but the crust – oh, the crust! – it was divine! It was thick, doughy, and absolutely delicious. 🙂
I had a slice (and some crust from another slice) with a little bit of the side salad.
Here is my latest rankings of Chicago Pizza:
- Gino’s East
- Giordano’s
- Lou Malnati’s
Ginos is still winning, but Giordano’s was a close second. 🙂
After pizza came dessert!
I had organized a little Frozen Yogurt meet up with some fellow bloggers/tweeters/readers in the Chicago area at Yogen Fruz. We ate, we talked, we obbsessed over the Marathon. 🙂
I ordered a small Chai Tea Latte. It was oddly tart, but I kind of liked it that way.
Good luck Girls! You ladies will rock it tomorrow! 🙂
Bean time!
How can you go to Chicago and not visit the bean? I know I just saw it in August, but there’s no shame in seeing it again and again. 🙂
These are the feet of a marathoner 🙂
Dinner was very casual this evening. We didn’t want to have to mess with reservations or have to wait hours for a table. Instead we took Matt’s suggestion and took a cab to The Pasta Bowl in Lincoln Park.
The menu was simple, cheap, and just what we needed. I ordered a veggie pasta with bow ties and bread.
It filled me up. I think I’m ready to go!
Oh My God. Oh. My. God. Oh. My. God.
It’s almost marathon time!!
I wish I had time to put together a lovely sentimental post about my journey to Chicago, but I just plain ran out of town. If you’re new to the blog you will just have to trust me it was a long one that was full of struggles, successes, and great times.
I registered for Chicago last April and in less than 12 hours I will be setting out for 26.2 miles of glory.
Wish us luck!!!!
Oh, and follow me on twitter. I’ll be running with my phone and I may or may no be prompted to tweet!
Good Night!
I’m so excited for you all! Good luck!
Good luck!!
alison recently posted..Your Daily Dose
Good luck on your marathon! Looks like you’re having a blast in Chicago! It’s one of my favorite cities I’ve been too 🙂
Kaitlyn (College Girl Runs) recently posted..Make Me Happy- Blogworld –
good luck and Have Fun !
Kristina @ spabettie recently posted..maple donut french toast
good luck tomorrow – you got this! have fun!
Good luck to all of you tomorrow! Have a blast and enjoy every minute! You know you can do it, you’ll do great 🙂
yayy good luck! you will do great!!!!
Jessica recently posted..Sometimes even the best laid plans fail miserably
Good luck tomorrow!!!! I know you’ll kick major a$$!
I just ate at the Pasta Bowl for lunch today as my pre-race meal! I am running Chicago tomorrow too, as my first marathon! So glad you are enjoying Chicago so much…I live here and am still finding new things to explore all of the time!
You got this. You will rock Chicago. I am definitely tracking (stalking!) you!
I can feel your excitement. 🙂
Good Luck Meghann!!!!
How sad that you don’t have Jamba Juice in Orlando. I work right next door to one. I’m not sure I could survive without them. I gotta try that pumpkin, though. Good luck, but also congrats. It sounds like you have come so far for this. Is this your first full marathon? You probably said that somewhere, but I miss things. 🙂
Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!
Krystina recently posted..More of My Favorite Grain
GOOD LUUUUUCK!!!
Katy recently posted..Closure
GOOD LUCK! So excited for y’all!
mindy @ just a one girl revolution. recently posted..a little of this- a little of that
A Huge Good Luck to you, your sister, Bobbi (who’s blog I also follow) and everyone else who has put so much time and energy into training for the marathon. Kick some butt ladies and above all enjoy your accomplishment!
Meghann!
I live in Chicago and you’ve got it all wrong…Lou Malnati’s is FAR and away the best pizza we have here! You must try it again! Good luck tomorrow 🙂
You go girl!! Have fun!
Good luck girl! You’re going to be AMAZING!
Jessica @ The Process of Healing recently posted..Pumpkin & Wine
Those skybox pictures are freaky!! I haven’t been to Chicago in years, and all your pictures make me want to go back. Maybe Chicago Marathon 2011?! Good luck tomorrow!
Chelsea @ Strawberry Sweat recently posted..The Happy Gnome and Half-Marathon Training Update
Good Luck! I will be cheering you on via twitter and my phone messages. I cannot wait to see you succeed and rock this race 🙂
Runeatrepeat recently posted..Late Run Saturday
your hair looked darling today! have FUN tomorrow 🙂
Lauren @ laurenINlawrence recently posted..Patriotic Union
Good luck!! Cant wait to read your race recap!
Emily [Emilyeatsclean] recently posted..Wild Lobster Mushroom Souffle
Good luck to all of you ladies! I know you’re going to be super awesome. Can’t wait to read your tweets. YOU CAN DO IT!
caronae recently posted..The LSAT Monster
Good luck to you tomorrow. I live in Chicago and I think originial Uno’s is my favorite followed by Lou’s and Giordano’s. Hate Gino’s – the crust is way too dry.
Deep dish pizza… I have to try and make something like that, looks awesome.
Good luck to you! I’ll have my fingers crossed for you!
Marina recently posted..home- comforting home
That’s not a pizza, that’s a casserole! It looks yummy. I don’t think there is pizza like that in California. I need to visit Chicago!!!!!
Giordanos is my favorite pizza. I force my sister go there every time I visit Chicago.
Katherine Morgan recently posted..Chili Beans
That frozen yogurt looks delicious! Good luck for tomorrow 🙂
Jess (My Health Pursuit) recently posted..Hello- blog world!
Yummers! That’s one heck of a pizza 😀
Wishing you good luck with the marathon! I’ll be following all the way and I know you’ll be fantastic as you always are. You’re one of my running idols and I think I’m as excited about this as I am about my own marathon in November.
You are a machine!!!
<3
~Jess~
xxxxxxxxx
~Jessica~ recently posted..Holding On…
P.S I think you’re a star for coming back from all of that Marie Claire ridiculousness with such strength and grace. Let’s see that writer call you disordered when you cross the finish line with your head held high. I’d like to see her run like you can.
~Jessica~ recently posted..Holding On…
Good luck Meghann! I’m so excited for you!!!! 🙂
Lindsey @ Gingerbread Bagels recently posted..Treats By Me Winners!
Reading all your marathon-related posts lately is making me want to sign up for next year’s Chicago Marathon!
Sarah recently posted..Update!
Aaaaah, good luck! 😀 I can’t wait to get updates on my phone!
(Hey wait, I thought you didn’t like pasta?)
MegaNerd recently posted..Budget vs Tastebuds
Good luck Meghann. You will rock that MARATHON!
Also, I am pretty sure my heart skipped a beat when I saw the sign for pumpkin smash…oh my goodness do I wish I had a JJ near me. The only time I get to go is when I am in NYC about 1x per year.
Giordanos = <3
Good luck!!!
breakingsilence @ Freshman -15 recently posted..Is this healthy
Good luck! I’m sure you’ll do amazing.
Yay pasta bowl 🙂
GOOD LUCK!
OMG that skybox thing looks SO SCARY!
GOOD LUCK! you will do great!
Heather recently posted..Yurbuds and Swag
Good luck! I hope you get to eat an even bigger pizza post-race. Can’t wait to hear about it.
good luck… looks like yall are having a killer time.
Whitney recently posted..Goo Review
GOOD LUCK TODAY!!! I LOVED Giordano’s when I was in Chicago. P.S. They have one in Orlando down by Sand Lake or something. 🙂
Raya recently posted..Pumpkin Pie Protein Pancakes
Best of luck today!!! Can’t wait to read the race recap.
Stephen and I LOVE YogenFruz. My favorite is the plain tart yogurt they have. 🙂
This brought back so many fun HLS memories. HAVE A BLAST (today)!
Hillary [Nutrition Nut on the Run] recently posted..Learning to Live
That first pic of you in the Sky Box is classic! Your pizza has me drooling 🙁
Lacey @ Lake Life recently posted..This is Halloween
Have FUN ladies!!! You guys are going to ROCK IT!
That first picture is FREAKING ME OUT!!! Too fun though. 😉
Lisa recently posted..I’ll Take a Case of Wine Please
congrats ont he marathon!!!!!!!
rebecca lustig recently posted..taking a risk- My Food Journey
Good luck, can’t wait to read all about it!
You couldn’t have paid me enough to get into that elevator! Cool shots though. 🙂 Can’t wait to hear about the race and good luck to you!
Tabitha (From Single to Married) recently posted..Leonardo Is a Stud
I saw your tweet about the pumpkin smoothie and IMMEDIATELY got envious! Your trip to Chicago looks like so much fun (I’ve never been, I’m totally jealous) and I hope you did AWESOME in the marathon today! I ran a half yesterday in Hartford and it felt great 🙂
Emily recently posted..2010 Hartford ING- The Recap
mmm, I hope all that yummy looking food gave you plenty of energy for you marathon this morning and I can’t wait to read about it.
Sarah @ EatRunGarden recently posted..Cranberry Picking Day 1
That skybox looks absolutely terrifying! Ahhh lol. I’m excited to read your race recap.
you’ll be great!
I loved meeting you and bobbi and kelly and theodora at yogen fruz this past weekend! maybe we’ll be able to run another marathon in the same city sometime 🙂
mary recently posted..Temporary Post Used For Theme Detection 76ea00ba-79f3-4fab-99c4-a8935a4162a5 – 3bfe001a-32de-4114-a6b4-4005b770f6d7