Too Much

Disclaimer: I received a pair of My Soxy Feet socks in exchange for my honest review. 

The theme for this week was too much. As in, everything in excess. Except for my mileage. I had hoped to hit the 20 mile mark for the week, or at least 15 miles, for god's sake. Spoiler alert: that didn't happen. But a lot of things happened this week and most of them good. Even if it was...too much!

Too much color:
My sister and I went for a bike ride last Sunday. I drove my bike to her house and we rode to the Chicago Botanic Gardens, a 16 mile round trip. If you ride your bicycle, you get in for free. It's a great deal. On the way there, we stopped for lunch at a new brewpub. I always love spending time with my sister and it was great to catch up while taking in the beauty at this wonderful place!

We missed the spring blooms but caught these amazing poppies!

Too much cold:
On Monday I ran a chilly 4 miles in the morning before work. This summer has been frustrating! Where is the heat? The sun? While the cooler temperatures make for a much easier run, I would rather be complaining about the heat and its effects on my pacing!

Yes, it was cold. But runners gotta run.

Too much rain:
And then there was Wednesday's run, which was remarkable for ALL THE WATER. We had bad storms the night before. The creek along the bike path was over the banks and licking at the pavement. I had ducks swimming alongside me. I finally had to turn around at the tunnel, which was full of water. But I got my 5 miles in for Global Running Day!

5 miles for the NYRR virtual run

Too much fun: 
My husband and I went to see the Chicago Cubs play on Thursday. We bought tickets on StubHub 2 nights before and scored some amazing seats for $50 each. Guys, we were 7 rows up from 3rd base and adjacent to the Cubs dugout!! Even though the Cubs lost, we had a lot of fun seeing our favorite players up close and personal. Yeah, Kyle Schwarber rocks left field! This is the way to baseball. Even better, there was a craft beer stand inside right by our seats. We enjoyed several yummy local beers (Revolution, Lagunitas).

We were THIS close

After the game, we decided to get dinner and avoid sitting in rush hour traffic. We drove up to Andersonville to an old favorite, the Hopleaf, where we enjoyed a really delicious dinner and yes, more beer.

I loved this amazing vegetarian dish. That's a parmesan corn cake on top of the grilled asparagus.
I've got a funny backstory but I can't share it here. 

When we left the restaurant, I reflected that we were probably really close to Half Acre, a local craft brewery. Turns out we were about a 1/4 mile away and of course, we had to stop in. At that point, I decided I had had enough beer. My husband talked me into a "tiny glass" of a coconut IPA. It was delicious. Oh man, I was overserved. But I had so much fun! Let's just say that I made it to work the next morning, but I wasn't feeling 100%. It's been a long time since we've had so much fun and partied like it was 1999. We need to do this more often. Or not.

My "small" coconut IPA. 

Too much pain:
Saturday's run was tough, in spite of the near perfect weather conditions. The first couple of miles started out ok. I was wearing my HeartZones monitor and I was running slow. I felt great. I went to the preserve with the limestone path, which has been expanded. I was excited to push myself for more miles. I don't know what happened, but by mile 3, I was toast. I forgot to charge my monitor and it stopped working. No matter, I didn't need the monitor to tell me I was redzoning even at my turtle-like pace. Frustrated, I did finish 5 miles. So I guess there's that. Pretty sure that this was the price I paid for Thursday's overindulgence. Would I do that again?

I think you know the answer to that.

Here's the thing. I'm not training for anything. I'm on a journey to accepting my new reality, which is slowing down and giving myself grace. It's all about enjoying the ride and even though I get frustrated because I can't have it all, this girl just wants to have fun. You get me, right?

I Tried it! My Soxy Feet Run Chicago
Melissa, one of the owners of My Soxy Feet, messaged me to see if I wanted to try a pair of My Soxy Feet socks to review on the blog. You all know I have a sock obsession. I used to be an ambassador for My Soxy Feet, but I was a bad blogger and I didn't tell her that. She figured it out though, and still graciously sent me a pair of these adorable Run Chicago socks.

My Soxy Feet has the cutest socks. I've always loved them. But these socks feel different from my other My Soxy Feet socks. They aren't as thick as the My Soxy Feet from the past. I love the band around my ankles that kept them in place while I ran. They were super comfy. Plus a portion of the proceeds from this sock benefits the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. If I was running the Chicago Marathon this year, I'd buy a few pairs of these. Tell me you won't...

This week was just too much! And My Soxy Feet, I tried it again! /via @oldrunningmom @mysoxyfeet #runchat #running 

How was your week? How do you feel about a bad run when you haven't been "behaving" like a dedicated runner? Stay tuned for my review of that HeartZones monitor on Tuesday! Have you run in My Soxy Feet socks?

I am linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown.