9th Annual Run to Remember 5k

Stats:

22:13 a PR by 5 seconds!*

2nd AG/ 379**

8th woman overall out of??

107th finisher out of 3230.

Three words to describe this race: cowabunga! Wheeeee! Yippee!

I love this race.

I ran this Race last year and loved every second of it. It was a no brainer for me to sign up again this year because- it is practically in my backyard out by soldier field, is extremely well organized, and also is a fund raiser for the families of fallen police officers- something close to my heart since my cousin was shot in the line of duty last year. (And thankfully is doing well now)


The last tenth of a mile contains the photos of all the Chicago police officers who were killed in the line of duty.


I was even fortunate to have my boys cheering for me. This was Churro Bear's first time spectating, and he did a wonderful job- although I had a feeling he would have rather been running.


I did this race "old school" with my 2008 timex. I would have used my antique one from 15 years ago, but the battery was dead. (I also had my Garmin but didn't look at it more than 3 times). It is truly psychologically defeating to rely on the garmin so much. I felt liberated by wearing the Timex and not knowing my exact pace to the second.

Before the start, an officer sang the national anthem, and the police chaplain said a prayer. There was also a bagpipe band playing as we started/finished the race.


Screen grab from L's video

Soon we were off and I settled into a comfy hard pace. I really wish I could say something brilliant about the whole 3.1 miles, but I just did exactly what I set out to do which was keep pushing and not give into my mind saying I was tired. The race went by quickly.

My splits were 7:00, 7:17, 7:12, and 42 seconds.

I really enjoyed the massive CPD helicopter flying low with its sirens wailing along the lakefront while we were running.

I grabbed some water around the halfway mark, and remembered why I usually bring my own- it's hard to drink out of paper cups without inhaling the water up your nose and I get thirsty & hate my throat being dry.


L took this photo of me up off of Solidarity road near the aquarium.

I really tried to kick it in after this point because I knew it was less than half a mile to the finish. My body just wouldn't go much faster. Soon, I ran up the tiny hill and kicked it in to the finish and nearly collapsed.


I'm freaking happy.

*My previous 5k PR (22:18) was from November 2011. How long are PR's good for anyways?

All last year I couldn't beat 23:30, due to injury, and training for the Fox Valley marathon. 5ks have never really been a priority in my life. It felt fantastic to take 1:20 off of my time from last year in this race.


And why I'm bummed. A little...

**We waited around for the awards to start but ended up leaving after an hour. I really didnt think I'd place in a race this size, especially since there are so many fast ladies running in the Chicago area. A 22 minute 5k is not very fast in the grand scheme of things when there's a lot of ladies in the area capable of running sub 20. But... You never know who will show up or not.

Turns out I was wrong. I saw the results an hour after we got home and was surprised at 8th woman, 2nd AG. Bummer!!


CB and I with Olmec head #6 by the field museum.

It was a great day for running- perfect weather and a great time to celebrate being healthy. I struggle with injuries a lot and this race, while slightly slower than what I had wanted put a huge smile on my face.

What's next?

Another 5k, Soldier Field 10 miler and the Chicago Women's Half marathon.

I'm really excited to keep building a good strong base for Fox Valley Marathon version 2.0 this year.

- xaar