Hustle Up the Hancock
We once again took on the Hustle Up the Hancock to raise funds and show our support for the important work of the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago (RHAMC) and to honor Matt's mom, Carol, and her fight with lung disease. So Matt and me, aka CAROL'S CLIMBERS, raised funds as "Lung Health Champions" (LHC) this year and completed the full, 95-floor climb.
We got our LHC status by agreeing to raise at least $1,000 each for the RHAMC. With the help of our very generous loved ones (i.e., YOU!) we beat our $2,500 goal with a final total of $2,565 to the cause.
Mom, Dad and John came to cheer us on and celebrate with us at the top. Their faith that we would make it all the way up was a great boost! Here we are just getting ready. I'm fairly anxious at this point!
This is us waiting in the line before the start line. They start all participants in eight-second increments, so you line up in a fifteen-minute wave and then wait your turn. This was the first corral and then we got in the line for the start.
The event went well for us--even better than last year for the half, at least in terms of how we felt at the finish. The key was starting off slow. As I say (way too often, including just this morning), that stuff about slow and steady winning the race is pretty much BS, but slow and steady will certainly help you in finishing the race!
I like this one because the building we got married in is behind us. 
Proud and happy.
There was a looooong line for the elevator down, but I sure didn't mind waiting for it!
Conquered.After the event, John cooked us all a great lunch in Munster and we got to hang out with Carol and tell her all about the event. (After a shower, of course.) The food was great and we heeded the sponsor sign posted in the stairwell that morning that told us it was "this way to eating whatever you want the rest of the day!"
Shamrock Shuffle
This morning I joined a bunch of pals to run the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K. As the announcer told us, it's the BIGGEST 8K ON THE PLANET! At 40,000 runners, I believe it. It took us just shy of an hour to get to the start line as we were toward the back of the pack to start.
The event was very fun and getting to hang out with great friends in the beautiful sunshine was a wonderful treat!
Bliss and me in our matching (yet, eh hem, not matching) green team hats.
Me and Rebecca sporting our green gear.
