I positive splitted the shit out of this race! LoL
3 words to describe it: flying, freezing, frozen
I usually take loads of photos at races. This time I took 1 and it wasn't even near the race.
When I got a few blocks from my apartment, I felt the wind. It was cold and ferocious, not unlike anything I haven't encountered before, but as I was making my way to soldier field, I knew it was going to be one of "those" kind of days. I love you Chicago, but really!?!
Got to meet the speedy Pete B. before the race. I took this photo from his post ;)
Pete was kind enough to stick with me for 10 miles because he is coming back from an ankle injury otherwise I would have been eating his dust!
The first half flew by due to the tailwind and chatting with Pete. Sorry if my speech was slurred, my face was frozen. Is this how Botox feels? I felt really good running a bit faster than planned (and thought I could "bank" some time in the first half) I was wrong!?
If the race just kept going south on the path, I knew I would have kept the 7:50ish pace through to the end. But instead the race turned us back north into 20+mph headwinds and sleet-rain type stuff which stung my eyes and felt like sand or shards of glass.
I really don't know if the wind/sleet defeated me mentally or if I could have pushed more. It was much more difficult running into the wind regardless.
I got a 10k PR!! *ok not really because that kind of stuff doesnt count. Ever.. :)
My pace for the first 10k was 7:53, my pace for the rest of the race slowed to 8:48 in the wind. Ugh. If it weren't for Pete, I would have slowed even more from 7-10. It was really nice to run with someone new & super speedy. Very motivating for sure.
My L came to the finish to cheer me on. He took a video of me for the last 10 yards and I gave him a big thumbs down. Haha *I really couldn't smile. I was freaking frozen to the core and shaking.
Final race thoughts
Bag check was a cluster. If Pete and I had waited 5 more minutes to check our bags, we probably would have missed the start (we checked them about 30 minutes prior)
I brought my own water, but it seemed the aid stations were spread out further than I would have liked had I not brought water.
The volunteers were smiling and energetic despite being in awful conditions for a few hours.
Housekeeping
•woke up 4 hours before the race to eat a cinnamon crumpet. Fueling win! (Thank you Kim!)
•took a Gatorade prime + salt stix pre race
•gu at mile 5.5
•wore Nike hyper warm long sleeve, UA tiger print tights, Nike bears windbreaker, Nike headband & gloves, owl head hat, swiftwick socks & my brooks pure cadence 2's.
•no music which I enjoyed.
What's next?
I have no idea. Might consider the Chitown half or 10k next weekend only if conditions are *perfect* otherwise I'll just keep training, for what I don't know. Still debating between a spring full or focusing on shorter distances to get speedier.
I loving being injury free right now, and am enjoying every step. I don't want that to change.
Happy St Patricks day!
- xaar
I just ran on my own today, and definitely experienced the wind when going north. That was just awful! I really admire you guys getting out there and doing a half in that. Like you said, it's not any worse weather than we've had here, certainly all winter, but enough already!
ReplyDeleteGlad you're enjoying running now! I hope you can find something fun to do next :)
Kudos to you for going out in those conditions willingly ;) if this wasn't a race, I would have seriously considered running on the tread :) but it's conditions like these which make the "perfect" conditions feel that much better!
DeleteCongrats on the 10k PR, and way to bring your pace/mile down for the last 1.1! It was great running with you, our pace was pretty perfect for the first half of the race, the wind challenged us mentally and physically on the second half. It was definitely not a PR race, but rather an awesome strength-building training run. These were tough conditions that will make us tougher runners. It was all good, except for the ice shards in your eyes and being frozen to the core afterwards. Every other half you run this year will seem easy compared to this one (at least if it's not 80+ degrees)! BTW, you were smart to get us to check our bags when we did. It would have been bad news if we hadn't. I hope to partially spectate the Chi-Town half next weekend when I do my long run. Happy St. Patrick's Day!
ReplyDeleteIf I was on my own for this race I would have walked, cried, gave up even? ;) not sure why this one was so extremely draining compared to others I've run with similar conditions. Yes. It was a great resistance training run. The next one will be infinitely better. ;)
DeleteSorry the wind was no fun. That sux, but great job holding strong and finishing. You do look cold there at the end. Nice job with a 10k PR, I guess now you know you can run it even faster than that if you wanted since you wouldn't have 7 more miles afterwards.
ReplyDeleteLove your outfit, especially those tights!
great job!
ReplyDeleteThank you! (:
DeleteGreat job running in less-than ideal conditions! I have totally had the same Botox/cold frozen face thought before, too. Such a weird feeling to not be able to talk!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's days like this that definitely make you appreciate the good days even more :)
DeleteDude! Super impressive in those conditions. That wind was seriously brutal. I love that you ran in your owl hat too :)
ReplyDeleteHaha thanks! I attribute my ability to finish to the owl hat. Without it, I'd still be on the path. ;)
DeleteOh man sounds like pretty miserable conditions! :( Congrats on getting it done! Also sounds like this race still has some glitches. Hmm. Glad to hear you and Pete were able to meet up and run together! Yay bloggers! I randomly ran a little bit of the F3 half with Zach from Zach Runs Chicago.
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty brutal out there- but I'm sure the next one will be so much easier than Get Lucky. It's nice you created the CRB group- always cool to meet new people who share our same obsession of running!
DeleteGreat race in miserable conditions! Totally love those tights, they are awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteAww thanks ;)
DeleteWell aside from the weather sounding awful... sounds like a great race. Congrats!
ReplyDeletestill proud of you! running for time, or even to finish alive, on a windy lakefront day is challenging. that darn wind! the enthusiasm on your face in the last photo is priceless!
ReplyDeleteI agree the water stations did seem awfully spread out but I must have been too cold to notice. Love the "positive split" comment! That last half was brutal.
ReplyDeleteLOL I tried to fin at least 1 positive thing out of this race ;)
DeleteWhat a freaking hard race. Running in to that wind was brutal when I was out there later in the day. Ugh, Weather Gods, UGH!!!! :P We did the special dance for Xaarlin! Why did you screw us over?!
ReplyDeleteYou still killed it in the beginning. Congrats on kicking arse at a super challenging race! (snd you looked super awesome - yay cooruja hat!!!)
I hope the weather for your 10K next week is not ridic like this. This was just brutal. I am happy Pete was with you to make it more tolerable! I guess it's time to find a point to point HM and hope the wind is going the right way, lol!
wow that sounds like tough conditions! 20 mph wind, rain, sleet?!? Crazy. Nice job on the first 10K though!
ReplyDeleteLove those running pants! You killed is considering how cold it is- Nice Job! I am so over running in winter weather. Hope tomorrow doesn't suck to much. Come on winter- give us a break.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the crappy weather, you were still super speedy! Congrats on another half!
ReplyDelete