Tricia and Paige: Chicago Marathon 2023, Day 2

October 7, 2023

A very odd kind of day, today. A little slow, a little stressful.

Tricia and Paige were making their way downtown, to attend the Marathon Expo at McCormick Place. Kirt was heading in to town early in the morning, and was looking to meet up with them there.

For most of the day, Liz and I were waiting to hear when we might meet up with them all. The Expo was a pretty big event, full of tons of vendors… and the three of them spent a good bit of time there.

On my end, I was trying to figure out how the logistics of the event, tomorrow. Tricia wanted folks at certain Mile Markers, to both help cheer them on and to also deliver snacks. Trying to figure out who needed to be where (along with navigating all the road closures) made for a logistical nightmare. I was stressing a bit, trying to work out all the details.

Liz tried at least 20 different Italian restaurants, and nearly every place was booked. Again, we waited too long to try ot get reservations… as everyone and their mother was intent on carbo-loading the night before the race. So of course, every Italian joint was fully booked up.

We ended up getting reservations at a local restaurant, Nella in Hyde Park.

Liz, Kirt and I all had some wine (Tricia was holding off on alcohol, until after the race).

I got a lovely pasta with black truffles and mushrooms. And was very appreciative that I could sit next to Tricia and Paige, and pretend that I was somehow going to burn this pasta with running. Shhhh….

On leaving, I noticed this lovely touch: across the room above where the chefs were cooking… there was a mirror. And it was positioned in such a way that everyone in the dining area could look over, and watch the pizzas being prepared. I thought this was a great attention to detail, and showed how proud they were of their cooking/process.