This past Saturday, April 9,
2016, I participated in All Community Events’ Chi-Town 10K and Half
Marathon. I previously ran this race in
2015 and I like the swag, medal and course so I decided to register for this
year’s race. Little did I know the
tricks Mother Nature had up her sleeve. Packet pickup was a breeze and with a 15% coupon from Sports Authority, I was able to stock up on chews and gels.
The course was originally at The
Peggy Notebart Museum but was moved due to several other races taking place
along the lakefront on the same day. The
new start and finish was at Montrose Beach which is a lot closer to my house
but a little more difficult to get to, logistically speaking. The race was scheduled to begin at 8:15am,
which means I had to leave my house just before 7am to arrive in time (at least
according to Google Maps). I caught the
6:57am Irving Park (80) bus heading towards the lake. With no traffic, I made it to Marine and
Irving Park in less than 15 minutes; yet I still had to get to Montrose Beach
and there were no buses in sight.
I crossed over to the lakefront
path and started walking the 0.7 miles north to the start line. Overnight the weather Gods dumped about an
inch of snow and ice onto the grass and sidewalks. This made for a treacherous walk up the path
and made me worry about the upcoming race if the ice didn’t melt.
Within about 15 minutes, I was at the start
line and the conditions were not much better.
The temperature was about 29 degrees and the wind was whipping off the
lake. I ran into a woman from California
who did not pack for the weather and was freezing while we waited for the race
to begin.
Now for the logistics: Gear check was organized and kept the runners
informed. There were plenty of extra
pins in case a runner forgot theirs, or like me, had the bib hole break on one
of her Spi-belt loops, requiring me to pin my bib to my jacket. There were three arches/corrals set up which
I assumed would correspond to the three colored bib options (red, blue, and
green). The problem was, the DJ should
have been making announcements about where the runners should line up instead
of repeating the same lame lines over and over.
The race began promptly at 8:15
with the blue runners taking off first.
Everyone was a little tentative at first but the seasoned runners ran
like the sidewalk was clear. When my
corral was finally allowed to start, I was not going to take any chances given
that I am going to Nashville for a race at the end of April. I had decided, given my treacherous walk to
the start line, that I would be walking the entire 10k. Last year this race did not have enough water
stations on the 10k course, so I made sure to bring my Nathan handheld water
bottle. We set off north along the
lakefront path and I could see people in front of me slipping and sliding. I even caught myself sliding a couple of
times when I thought I could go a little faster. The first mile seemed to last the longest, or
so I thought at the time. Finally I saw
the mile marker flapping in the wind and I decided to have one of my energy
chews. I had eaten breakfast at 6am and
I was beyond hungry at this point. The
next mile and a half was uneventful, except for the sliding of other runners on
the slick surface. It did seem like
miles 3 and 4 were extra-long as they swept past Montrose and down towards
Irving Park. I had forgotten my earbuds so
I had to amuse myself with songs in my head.
The one I had on repeat was Meghan Trainor’s song from the Peanuts Movie: ”Better When I’m Dancing”. Usually about mile 5 of a race, Maroon 5’s “Misery”
will come on my ipod. I don’t plan it
that way, it just happens, so as I saw the Mile 5 marker, the song
automatically popped in my head.
I was super slow, more than a 19
minute per mile pace, but I did not want to fall and as a walker, I tend to get
out of the way of the runners all the way to the side of the path which can be
uneven as well. As we neared the end of
the race, we had one last water stop that contained the most enthusiastic
volunteers I’ve seen at a race lately.
They motivated me to finish off that last mile faster than the previous
ones. Unfortunately I didn’t have my
Garmin on either, so I do not know my mile splits. We went under another viaduct and were headed
for the finish line. Due to my “turtle-ness”,
I was finishing the 10k as most of the half marathoners were coming in as
well. This caused their spectators to
move out on the path to try to get a better view of their runners. I almost ran into a few people, but I dodged
them at the last minute. I jogged the
last 100 feet or so and went to get my medal.
There was a mix up and I was given the half medal as the bibs did not
distinguish between the two distances and volunteers are not usually savvy
enough to determine who ran each race.
There was beer and pizza for all
participants, but at that point I just wanted to go home. I took the path along the harbor towards
Marine Drive and the 146 bus. Just
before the last water stop, Organic Valley Protein Shakes was handing out full
size samples of their product. Little
did I know how much I needed the 26g of protein in their shakes. I am definitely a fan of their product and
will get some more to use in my training.
I am not sure if this race should
have been held given the conditions, but it was a good experience
nonetheless. It made me realize how much
more actual training I need to do to have a better showing in races in the
future. It also made me realize I may
not be up to the task of my first marathon later this month in Nashville. I will play it by ear and not make any rash
decisions. One thing I know for sure,
training and nutrition are important, but so it getting out of your head and
just enjoying the event.
Next up is my long walk this
weekend and long walk/run next weekend.
Training, here I come!!!
