Chicago 10k 2018 {race recap}

Time: 44:18 a new PR by 5:40!

1st AG (of 183)

7th Woman (of 955)

45th OA (of 1579)

I signed up for this race a month ago because a bunch of friends from run club were already signed up- yay for peer pressure! Additionally, it was practically in my backyard, so logistics were easier than easy. 

I had few expectations for this race since I am deep into Ironman Louisville training, but wanted to give a good effort regardless.  The days leading up to the race  (Monday - Saturday) I had run 24 miles (including a small speed sesh of 400’s) and cycled 87 miles (including 3 hour ride the day before the race). My legs were tired and heavy race morning. 

Race morning: I had oatmeal and then we walked 10 minutes to the start and waited for friends to arrive. It was a gorgeous morning, clear and 73 degrees with some humidity. 

I did some strides and dynamic stretches to warmup and lined up at the 7:00 min mile marker. My goal was to be around 7:00/mile- but didn’t know how my legs would be.

Soon we were off and I made sure to not go out too fast- and quickly settled into a comfortable 7:15ish pace. People were passing me but I just wanted to be consistent. 

A little over a mile, mile and a half  in, and I started passing folks who had gone out too fast at the start- that continued for the rest of the race. I felt really good for the most part. My legs were tired but cooperated to continue running low 7’s. I drank a few sips of water at each aid station. I felt kind of hot. 

At the turnaround I decided to push the pace slightly and start picking off more women (and men). I was excited that I would break my 5 year old PR of 50:00 officially. (I’ve broken that time - 8:00/Mile in every race I’ve PR’d in, so it was incredibly soft) clearly 10k is not a distance I seek out. 

I finished and felt great to finally stop running. A guy came over to me to say congratulations and that I helped push him to a faster time. Once I got my medal and stopped moving, I felt incredibly sweaty- like all of a sudden all the sweat just started. I took my flats off because I could feel blisters on a couple of my toes.  I usually wear them for speed work intervals, and was surprised to have  blisters. 

I cheered for friends as they finished and drank a ton of water. I was so thirsty!

I was quite happy with my time considering the 111 miles which were on my legs from the 6 days prior. I know I’m capable of something better had I been training specifically for the distance (duh)- for perspective, my half marathon PR is a few seconds per mile slower than what I did in this race. 

When we got home I fell asleep on the couch all snuggled up with CB. 

10k seems to be a great summer race distance- it was hot but I felt good. I wouldn’t have wanted to run any more at that effort. 

The race was well organized, and I loved the medal. Free race photos were also a plus. I’d definitely consider this race again. 

It was a fun day with friends. 

*technically my 3rd 10k, but only 2nd with time due to a course error in another 10k I did 5 years ago.