Spring in Chicago = Snow

It may be spring in some places, but in Chicago, it still seems like winter. Which is why I woke up to snow on the ground...excellent. The weather reports were estimating three to six inches of snow, and I'm happy to say that the weathermen were wrong, as we got more along the lines of an inch or two of snow. But still, snow is snow, and I almost cried when I woke up this morning. However, due to the glory that is Chicago weather, the snow is supposed to melt by tomorrow, leaving everything a wet, soggy mess.

People keep saying how this should be our last snow of the year, and I want to yell at them for jinxing us, as last year it snowed in May. No joke. I don't kid about these things. Why I haven't moved to Florida yet is totally beyond me.

Anyway.

No running yesterday, although I counted serving as "cross training." Running up and down stairs, running around the restaurant, and carrying heavy plates somehow fits the bill, so I think it works. It's actually quite amazing to me how often running comes up at work. There are usually two scenarios in which running pops into conversation.

Scenario 1

Sometimes I strike up a conversation, usually when someone is wearing a jacket/shirt from some running event I know about. Once a woman came in wearing a Western States Endurance Run fleece. She and her guest actually seemed kind of cold to start with, but I asked if she had ran the Western States, and she immediately warmed up to me. It turned out that she was going to do it in 2008, but that was the year it was canceled due to the fires. We then had an extended conversation and talked about which marathons we recommended. She also turned out to be a nurse practitioner who graduated from Rush (my nursing school!), so we had a lot to talk about.

Scenario 2

This scenario usually begins with the customer making some comment about how skinny I am, which then leads into a conversation about how I am skinny despite working at a restaurant with amazing food. I usually make some joke about how I don't really eat the food much (which is true), and then I go on to say that I actually run a lot so that helps as well. This generally evolves into a conversation about marathons, how long a pair of shoes lasts, the 5k they ran a few weeks ago, or how hot the 2007 Chicago Marathon was (and how someone they knew ran it). I usually end the conversation by telling them I'll run a few miles for them after we close so they can have a few more bites of pancake...

I kept my promise to my customers and got out after work to do my five miles in the melting snow. It was actually quite warm (low 40's) because the sun was shining bright! Quick run because my legs were all warmed up from running around the restaurant all day.

Sunday, March 29
5.07 miles in 39:04, avg pace of 7:42

I am definitely feeling more tired lately, so I'm definitely going to get more sleep tonight, as well as trying to eat properly...it can be difficult to fit in all the nutrition I need while working through the lunch hour.

I hope everyone had a great, snow-free weekend!