We are having a perfect summer weekend here in Chicago – weather wise. It is reasonably mild, sunny and there is a great lake breeze coming in. Like every summer weekend in Chicago, there is a ton going on. We love our summers here!
Through the blog, I was invited to two cool events at the Taste of Chicago. Humana invited me and The Husband to check out “Healthier Choices” and The Decemberists show on Friday night. On Saturday, airweave offered me the opportunity to meet 3 time Olympian, 10 time Olympic medalist Gary Hall Jr. and to check out The Road to Rio exhibits. I also went to Waterfall Glen for the Xtreme 10 mile race and then got convinced to go back to WFG today to run more for San Francisco Marathon training. Phew, that was a lot of running and funning.
The Husband had never been to The Taste, so he studied up on what to get in advance. The good news was that many of the Taste sized portions that he chose were actually “Healthier Choices” – who’d have guessed? We meet up with Sapna and her friend, Neelam and started tasting. Sapna is vegetarian and Neelam is gluten free, so they went for some awesome tamales. The Husband tried some catfish bites, a pork bao from Pork & Mindy and dumplings from Taste of Siam (all healthier choices!) and a pork slider. I got a chicken slider from the healthier choices menu and some tater tots from Beat Kitchen (not a healthy choice). We got some watermelon ices, too – another healthy option.
We then headed over to the band shell to see The Decemberists. We missed the opening band, but enjoyed the full set at the concert. They put on a good show and we enjoyed the beautiful evening outdoors. Afterwards we joined Sapna and Neelam and some other friends for a drink at the rooftop bar at the Virgin Hotel. What a great evening!
Saturday morning started early with a 6:30 AM pick up for the Waterfall Glen Xtreme 10. This challenging ten miler starts and ends on grass and has an 8:00 start which can be a bit brutal some years. The temps were warm, but not as bad as some July Saturdays. I felt a bit burned out and logey from my San Francisco Marathon training. I just did my best and got through it. It may have been my slowest 10 mile race ever, but I never quit and it will serve me well for San Fran! [Note to self: You are not a summer racer!] Finds’ friend Amanda won the women’s division in a close race in her first 10 miler ever! Woot woot! Brooke, Liz and I won age group awards. We also had a lot of fun. All things considered, I am glad I went!
As soon as I got home, I showered and changed to head back to The Taste for The Road to Rio exhibit. I was invited by airweave. The Road to Rio Tour is presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance and has nine-stops. It brings “the spirit of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to fans from coast-to-coast.” Tour elements include sports like basketball, gymnastics and a zip line, virtual-reality experiences, athlete meet and greets, Team USA giveaways and more. The presenting sponsor for the tour is Liberty Mutual Insurance and the six associate sponsors are airweave, AT&T, BP, Citi, Kellogg’s and Samsung.
Airweave makes mattress toppers from recycled resin fishing line. The mattress toppers have a cult following in Japan and have been adopted by many Olympic athletes. Three time Olympic swimmer and 10 time medalist (5 golds!) is a huge fan and is an ambassador for the company. He came out to meet fans and answer questions. He could not have been nicer! He clearly enjoys meeting fans and he is a big fan of airweave. For athletes of his caliber, everything matters and a good night’s sleep can be the difference between gold and not hitting the podium! I enjoyed meeting him and asking about his favorite Olympics, Zika (he would go to Rio!) and being an Olympic athlete with Type 1 Diabetes.
I had the opportunity to meet airweave CEO Motokuni Takaoka, too! He inherited his uncle’s fishing line factory and coincidentally had whiplash. After trying all kinds of mattress toppers for his injury, he decided to experiment with recycled resin fishing line. He realized that by combining this material and other fabrics, he could create a product to improve sleep. The 1.8 inch mattress topper is washable, allergen free and improves air circulation to control body temperature. This year, airweave will provide portable mattress to Team USA, Australia, Germany, Japan and China! In 2020 at the Toyko Olympics, all athletes will have these mattress toppers. Pretty amazing!
Airweave is sending me a mattress topper to check out so, stay tuned for a full review! Watch out competition, here I come! I did try the mattress topper and saw on the infrared screens the amount of pressure relieved by the mattress topper. They say that this is great for swimmer’s shoulder and other injuries.
Today, I went back to Waterfall Glen with Josh for more SF Marathon training. Thankfully, we went slow and I felt much, much better. And, now we can let the taper begin! I tried out some new DEET free, non-toxic bug repellent from Guardian. Full review to come. It worked great until the last part of our run. I think it got washed off in my sweat and I was attacked by a mean horsefly! Full review to come!
Now, I need some food and a nap! How was your weekend? Any summer shenanigans to report?
Please note: The information on Humana Healthier Choices and Taste tickets have been provided by Humana. I will receive a product from airweave. I was not otherwise compensated to attend The Taste of Chicago by Humana or airweave. All opinions are my own.