Chicago Half Marathon

Not only is my internet still on the up and up, but I had quite a fabulous day. It was gorgeous outside – honestly, 75 degrees and not a cloud in the sky? I’ll take it.

Anyways, what I want to tell you all about is the second half marathon I completed this morning!  The Chicago Half Marathon is one of the largest halfs (halves?) in the country – the one I previously ran in May was fairly small (a couple thousand) for the Chicagoland area, so this was a huge shock.

I woke up this morning around 4:30, and was very very happy I had slept well last night. No tossing and turning, no cell phone alarms screeching in the middle of the night. It probably helped that I was asleep by 9:30 as well. When I woke up this morning, I had a big bowl of overnight oats for some pre-race fuel. It is really important (to me anyways) that I do not eat something different for breakfast than I usually do. No need to test the waters the day of a big race.

Mommasita picked the husband and I up at 5:30, and we were on our way! I live about 40 minutes outside of the city, but with no one on the roads, it was a breeze of a drive. Once we got to the venue, they dropped me off and I immediately went and waited to use the bathroom. The last race I ran, I waited 40 minutes to use one, and I did not want that to happen again. Luckily, the Chicago Half Marathon had more than enough bathrooms and I only had to wait 5 minutes to use one!

When I was waiting/stretching in the holding area (I lined up with the 2:00 racers), I saw a couple of familiar faces. My old friends Krystyn and Alex had traveled a couple of hours up to Chicago to run in the race too! We all used to waitress (waiter – ?) together at a steakhouse when I was in college. It was great to catch up with them and so ironic we were standing in almost the exact same location!

There were so many runners – my number was 17785, so you can only imagine how many people there actually were. When the clock struck 7:00 a.m., the first round of runners were off! It only took us 7 minutes to get to the start line, which is great and almost unheard of when in a race with that many people. The first three miles were a breeze – kind of frustrating because there were so many people though. It is hard to find a good pace when you are constantly darting through people to find your stride. Once we finally hit Lake Shore Drive, I was able to go at my own pace comfortably. I have to say, though, I wasn’t really “in the groove” until about mile 5. I was happy to see my mom and the husband around that point as well. I was feeling the heat by then, so it was nice to throw (literally) my long sleeved zip up at Mommasita so I could run without it around my waist.

can you find me?

I felt so good from miles 5 through 9. I picked up my pace, passed a lot of other runners, and was just feeling really good. The turn around point was around mile 8.5 (it was actually going up an exit ramp, running on an overpass, and then running down the other side of the exit ramp – too funny!) and my legs were going faster than I thought they would! Unfortunately, around mile 9, my stamina was really lacking. I find miles 9 through 11 to be the hardest and the lonliest when running a half alone. Those are the “hump day” miles to me – that is when I feel as if the race will never end. Most of the spectators have made their way to the finish line – uggh it was really tough to keep going. It didn’t help that I honestly felt like I was about to puke (probably from keeping a much faster pace than my previous race).

Around mile 12, I saw Mommasita and the husband again. It is fun to be on the lookout for your “cheering section” – it gives you something to look forward to and really makes you keep going. My mom handed off some raisins/almonds to me (which I really did need – although I kind of felt like I was going to throw up … again) and I ate a few of them before throwing them away. By that point, I needed to book it!

I also realized then that I could definitely get the PR I wanted! The last time I ran a half, I ran it in exactly 2 hours. When I got to mile 12, I was only at 1:48 (or 9) – I wanted my PR so badly, so I pumped my legs as fast I could to sprint to the finish line.

I finished in 1:57:58. My legs were burning, my chest was caving in on itself, and I can honestly say I had never been that wiped out after a race. I was really proud of myself – especially because I really couldn’t give training my 100% effort this summer.

post race refueling is not complete without the coconut water!

Oh, and these headbands totally rock. Not once did I have sweat dripping onto my face/neck. It also NEVER MOVED!!

thanks for ALWAYS being my cheerleader Momma!

So, will I do another half again someday? Definitely. Most likely sooner than later. It gives me such a high and sense of accomplishment.

I think I want to get him a shirt that says, "I don't have to run... my wife runs enough for us both."

Question: What is something you have done lately that you have been proud of?