Cold is nothing.... (Chi-Town recap)

Cold is nothing compared to what it feels like to give in.

40 miles this past week.
240 miles for the past 6 weeks... wow!

(who said running is simple?? For this race: Nike headband/ear protector from the cold, iPod, chomps, salt stix, bloks for pre race, Nike longsleeve, Saucony jacket, moving comfort sports bra, race number, garmin, gloves, fluid recovery mix for post race (drank muscle milk instead) Nathan pack to hold my transit card, road runner sports capris, CEP compression socks, Nike lunaracer +2)

It was bitter cold for the Chi-Town half. Maybe 30 degrees at the start? And it was a little windy.

I achieved a PR by almost 7 minutes. I ended up with a 1:53.17 I am thrilled. I cut nearly 12 minutes off since my last half marathon- the soggy,cold US half in November 2010.


Race highlights:

• There seemed to be an ample supply of port o johns
• The race started on time
• The start was one of the smoothest I've experienced in a while. I wasn't dodging walkers for the first few miles like other races. Everyone lined up by their anticipated pace. It was a dream!
  
  

• The course was scenic, but I wasn't a fan of the parts of the course where runners would cross each other going in different directions.

• There was ice in some of the tunnels... happy I didnt slip, or see anyone else slip

• There were some a lot of TALENTED runners out there. In fact, I was surprised at how good the field was. For such a small field- 640 something finishers, the times were SMOKIN! 

• I got 20th in my age group. For a "local" type race in the san fran area, I would have been in the top 5 (for AG) with the same time I ran for this race. Chicago is a running city for sure. I am motivated to train harder and do better. I know i am not at full potential yet. I plan on joining a club to train for the Chicago Marathon.

• I am happy I did this race. I had some thoughts the day before about how cold it would be, but after watching "Spirit of the Marathon" the night before, I was pumped to run. I especially wanted to see if all the training Ive been doing the past 6 weeks had paid off.

• The training definitely PAID OFF. quality miles= much better time!

• This race was the first half/ full marathon where I wasn;t looking for a port-o-john during the event. That is huge for me- every long run, every half marathon I've done- i needed to stop. I didnt drink anything before the race- except a sip of water to wash down my luna bar an hour and a half pre-race. I also drank at nearly every water/ gatorade stop. I ate some watermelon chomps, and a few salt stix and felt GREAT! YAY!
• This is the first race I've used music. I'm not sure if it helped or not. Although about 5 minutes before I was to cross the finish, Chariots of Fire came on... I pushed the pace even more. :)

No injuries, no muscle soreness. I jogged back a mile to the L to catch my ride home. (maybe i could have run harder? lol)



The medal! (wish the date was on it...)

Post race had an awesome eggs Benedict with the most delicious bloody Mary EVER. Mmm




Life is so good. Im ready for the running season now!