Arlington Park Family Days

This past weekend we joined my women's group at Arlington Park for Family Days.  Most Sundays through the summer, they have a section of the picnic area set up with stuff for kids.  Pony rides (REALLY long line), petting zoo, bounce house, jugglers, face painting, etc.  There's a little under 30 minutes between each post time, so enough time to wander around in between.  The kids liked feeding the animals at the petting zoo (sheep, goats, llama, donkey) but skipped most of the other attractions.

We got there a bit before the first post time, so took some time to study the day's races while we ate the lunch we had brought with us.  We placed  few bets on each race.  The lowest is a $2 bet, and we each picked a horse for each race, then my husband added a couple of daily doubles and trifectas to make it more interesting.  All in all he and I each picked one winning horse (I picked Sancerre in the first - yes, because it's a kind of wine), he picked Guava Girl in the second cause he liked the sound of the name.  None of the combo bets worked out for us.  Little Hugger wanted 3 Cat Rules and Cat Bells in the 3rd and 4th races (because she loves cats).  The both came in second so no luck on those.  Still the kids had fun.  We watched the horses get saddled up and warmed up in the paddock.

We cheered for our horses as they made it towards the finish line 

And we got to see one of the starts up close when they moved the starting gates

We had to leave before the really big races because Little Reader had a birthday party to go to.  We had fun despite ending the day down (no big surprise given that we picked our horses based on names and not much else).  If we go again, I would probably arrive later in time for the bigger races, but the kids didn't know the difference.

Fort 2 Base

I signed up for this race for two reasons 1) it was the perfect distance in my training for my half and 2) I would finally earn a medal.  So far none of the races I've run have handed out finishers medals.  Tshirts are great and all but I wanted some bling.  It's a really nice medal too with a decent weight.

I'm glad I did it.  It was a great race.  There are two distances 3.5 miles or 11.5 miles.  The 3.5 is around the Great Lakes Naval Station.  The 11.5 is the true Fort to Base.  It starts at Fort Sheridan and finishes at Great Lakes Naval Station.  I did the 11.5 and got up before dawn to drive the (according to my GPS) 26.2 miles ;) to the parking area.  There were shuttle buses from there to take the runners to the start.  I got to the parking a little before 6am (last shuttle was to leave at 615).  There was only one portapotty at the lot, (which caused a few complaints) but I figured there would be more at the start so got on the bus.  There were about 15 portapottys and just under 1000 runners.  There were lines but nothing crazy.  

The starting line was a banner between two army trucks.  There were pacers for this race so I lined up near the one running my pace, but didn't end up running with them.  Overall, it was a nice but tight course.  The first two miles wind through the residential areas of Fort Sheridan so the usual two lane road.  Miles 3-8.5 are on mostly on the bike path which makes it a little tight but is actual great if you're in a group with your same pace.  People were good about staying to the right and passing on the left.  Also most of the bike path was shaded which was nice. There are a few parts where you come off the bike path to run through train station parking lots.

Water stations were run by servicemen and women as well as volunteers.  I think having the service members there was a nice touch.  

Just before mile marker 9 you run through the gates to the base - which for me meant trying to summon the strength for Heroes Hill.  There's a downhill section and then a road that runs along the water on the backside of the base.  At the end of the back side is the Hill.  It's not long, but it is steep.  I made it up 75% before I had to walk.  I think if I hadn't had a cold I would have made it.  I walked a bit but when I saw the banner and the photographer at the top of the hill, I started running again, and did my best to smile. There was a Navy guy at the bottom of the hill spraying people with water if they wanted and a few others cheering us on and giving high-fives.  After leveling off I did need to walk a bit more but managed to run the final straightaway where my husband and kids were cheering me on.  

My goal was to finish under two hours - official time 1:56:32.  Next year I will run the whole thing, and I will conquer Heroes Hill.

I saw some online complaints that there weren't enough servicepeople cheering us on, I disagree.  Water stations were manned by Army, Navy and Marines as well as other volunteers.  Once we got on base Navy people were everywhere, giving high-fives, misting us with water, and cheering us on on Heroes Hill.  

I also thought it was cool that they announced everyone's name as they cross the finish line.  Not sure how they managed that but another nice touch.  

After collecting my medal and other goodies we walked around the main area of the base a bit.  The kids had fun climbing on the deck guns and seeing the one of the old fighter jets.





If you look closely at the jet you'll see that the pilot was LCDR John McCain.  The plaque doesn't mention that but when we looked up the USS Oriskany that is the aircraft carrier he served on.

It was a fun day and I look forward to running this race again next year.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple

I had seen this book at bookstores quite a bit and the cover intrigued me, but it was only after a friend recommended it, that I picked it up. It's a story of Bernadette Fox, an architect who moved with her husband to Seattle when he was offered a job with Microsoft.  They have a teenage daughter Bee.  Bernadette was a renowned architect despite only completely one project.  When they moved to Seattle she bought a rundown former girls school and was determined to live in it, while they renovated.  Beyond some work on the house she never designed anything again (and never got very far in renovating the house to her neighbors' dismay).

Bee attends a private school and Bernadette does not fit in with any of the other parents - she refers to the mothers as "gnats" She is agoraphobic and introverted at a school where parent involvement is strongly encouraged.  She farms out all of her mundane tasks to a virtual assistant in India as she can't get herself to do them herself.

As an incentive to Bee to get good grades, her parents tell her that she can have anything she wants if she gets all A's.  Bee succeeds and surprises her parents by asking for a trip to Antarctica (they had thought she would ask for a pony).  Bee's father, Elgin Branch, is game.  At first, Bernadette throws herself into researching the trip and acquiring everything they will need to bring but she gets increasingly distressed about the trip as it gets closer.  Elgin is so concerned about Bernadette's mental state he actually tries to have her committed.

The book is an epistolary novel which can be a little confusing at times as it jumps from character to character quite a bit and not just the three members of the Fox family but also, Soo-Lin - Elgin's admin, Audrey Griffin - the Foxes neighbor, and others.  I enjoyed it and while yes I definitely thought in the beginning that Bernadette was crazy (but extremely entertaining) I could definitely understand her side of the story once it all came out in the end.  She had moved to Seattle to support her husband's new job, but never felt happy there and needed to get away from all that to find peace.

Ironically, it seems to be somewhat similar to what my Mom is going through right now.  No she didn't have a breakdown and disappear, but after a successful hip repair surgery last week she was moved to a rehab facility this week to begin physical therapy.  When I called her the other day she was very positive and when I asked if she was bored and wanted me to send her anything, she said she had been busy, so no need.  I talked to my sister and she said the same thing, Mom is treating this like a retreat.  Dealing with my Dad the past couple of years has been hard on her, especially since she can't easily get around on her own like she used to if and when she wants a break.  She's a very independent person - like Bernadette, but not agoraphobic.  Now that she's finally in a completely different environment and knows that Dad's being taken care of, she can relax and focus on herself.  Different situation in many ways but still enough similarities.