Chicago Womens Half Marathon

1:46:09 a PR by 5 seconds.

21/675 AG Top 3%

140/3429 OA Top 4%

Three words to describe this race: Steamy, Sticky, SMART


Me, Kim, Anne, Maggie, Chris, Christina, Erica



"Lets go Blackhawks!" Can be faintly seen lit up on the building.

The Plan

Saturday morning I ran 6 miles with 5 hill repeats. The point of doing something so crazy like running moderately hard before a race was to have "dead" legs going into Sundays half marathon. Remember, bigger picture. As I sat on my couch Saturday night watching the Blackhawks beat the Bruins, I started researching running in the heat. I've always run in the heat, but never researched it. Some interesting things I learned:

•Sunscreen inhibits the body's ability to sweat. Since this race was at 6:30am & I'd be done a little after 8, the UV index would be low. I didnt wear any sun screen.

•Humidity and dew point affect your performance more than the heat. A neat calculator to see how heat/humidity affects your performance is Here.


Kim and I pre race

Anyways, since I am training for the Fox Valley Marathon, this race was a training run. Per discussions with my Coach the plan was to take the first half easy and progressively split the second half. Spoiler Alert: I pretty much nailed it.


Vicky and I waiting for the race to start.

The Race

It was warm. Very warm- I'd say muggier than Last Years race. At 6:30am we were off! With my music playing, I settled into a nice rhythm. The miles ticked by quickly and my pace felt comfortable.


At each water station I dumped water on my neck. It felt fantastic. At the halfway mark it was time to start pushing the pace a bit- I high fived some kids and started picking off ladies in front of me. The last 2 miles were brutal. No shade and the sun was shining bright.


L was near the finish and snapped this gem.

During this race I kept thinking about the bigger picture of my training. Part of me wanted to "race" and kill my PR from a year ago (confidence builder?) the other more rational side kept reminding myself this was a training run and to not over do it. In my heat research I read somewhere that over extending yourself in the heat can take several months to fully recover from.


Could I have run faster? Sure

Would that have been beneficial to my marathon training? Absolutely not. Monday morning I'm feeling almost 100% normal minus the usual post long run-slightly tight calf.


Final thoughts/ housekeeping

I am happy with the way I executed this race. And this my friends, is the biggest confidence booster- bigger than had I went all out and gotten a massive PR. I ran a smart race which will pay all sorts of dividends for the next 13 weeks of marathon training. I wouldn't change a thing.


Me, Sara and Hillary, Jenny, and I.

Wore my Nike pro shorts, Nike sports bra, newton distance shoes, lulu socks. First race without wearing a shirt and I'll probably never wear a shirt again for a hot race. Was also my first race wearing the Newtons, and I had no complaints.

Pre race- cinnamon crumpet @ 3:40am with 3 sips of coffee. Gatorade prime + salt pill 20 minutes before race.

1 chocolate gu around mile 6.

Carried my green bottle of water and drank 3/4 of it during the race- also got some Gatorade and water at aid stations.


Race thoughts

Thank you volunteers and especially Fleet feet for putting on another spectacular race. It was well organized and had ample aid stations and misting stations along the course. The new course this year was also a welcome change. The medal/ shirts/ head band were also beautiful! I can't wait to sign up again for next year!


Brunch Crew: Marla, Joanna, Vicky, L (photographing), and I

I loved the atmosphere of this all women's race. It was wonderful to be surrounded by so many strong, confident and beautiful women while all sharing in our love for running.

And a big THANK YOU to L for coming out and cheering me on and photographing me at the finish and hanging with the girls again for brunch. (I promise to find some guys for you for our next post race brunch) LOL. Thank you for your continued patience and support. I love you.



- xaar