I mentioned in an earlier post what a challenge this one was to get to from Casa Teamarcia in the boonies. Modern Caveman came through with a downtown hotel reservation but it still made for an uber early race day as we had to taxi over to the shuttle bus for a 5:15a departure.
Before I get into the race, something funny that sums up my crazy life.
Night before the race, we’re at the hotel, I’m attempting to get to bed early, trying in vain to get the kids to stop horsing around and I hear cheering coming from outside. Finally I got up to see what the fuss was. It’s a huge group of cyclists riding down Michigan Ave. Upon further perusal I realize there is an inordinant amount of flesh tone. Yes they are naked. It’s the World Naked Bike Ride. It’s 9pm but the street is well lit. Thing 1 comes up next to me and goes “Are they wearing clothes? I don’t see any.” Thankfully from our 9th floor perch we were far enough away so no ‘details’ were visible, but of all weekends to find ourselves downtown. Thank heavens they did not pass by just a bit earlier when we made our pilgrimmage to The American Girl store! Sorry no pics but there were plenty of people taking some.
Race Morning: We are up and out to the cab, to the shuttle, to the race all before 6am. I endured more than my share of whining from the peanut gallery. Thing 2 was thrilled to ride a school bus for the first time. Apparently Mother Nature saw my Tweet about clearing the heat out of town because it was coolish (muggy still) and overcast with a bit of drizzle. I’ll take it.
The race goes off in waves, corrals lettered to at least P and they spaced us a minute apart–nice! And necessary because we’ll be running on 1/2 a lakefront path.
Starting Goals
Run even 9 minute miles.
Get in under 2 hours
Enjoy it. It’s a training run. No pressure!
Concerns: I haven’t run this far since Boston, and then it was at snail’s pace. Can I even cover the distance?
The wave start is awesome. No bobbing and weaving. The course is pretty: lakefront, parks, lots of overpass/underpass action and minimal spectators but that’s ok.
1. 8:37 Lots of people surging ahead of me
2. 8:39 I fear I’ll crash and burn later if I hold this so, doubting my endurance, I intentionally slow down
3. 8:50 Maybe a little too slow. Be sure to drink.
4 8:45
5 8:49 It’s an out and back course. Shortly after the 5 mile mark the leaders are looping back so I distract myself from my toil by admiring their whippet-fast bodies.
6 8:44
7 8:46 We’re at the turnaround. I’m still averaging sub-9.
8 8:42 Mentally so ready to be done. I pour water on my shoulders at the water stop just to break up the monotony.
9 8:46 A man is down with medical personnel attending to him. Hope he’s ok.
10 8:56 A long incline. Monkey brain starts chattering. “You can walk if you want to” Are you kidding me? Ok that’s a squirt of pee. Ease up on the hydration. Or maybe I’m working that hard?
11 8:52 Monkey continues: “Maybe if you didn’t eat so many damn Ritz crackers with almond butter and chocolate chips you’d be moving faster now.” He has a point.
Mentally I very much want to slow. Physically I’m pretty much fine. Here’s where I need practice silencing the monkey and pushing a solid pace through to the finish.
12 8:54 Agony. Am I even moving? Garmin says I’m still running sub-9. Maybe the joke’s on me and it’s not working. Maybe it’s too overcast. The wheels usually come off around this point for me. I need my wheels. I dig deeper.
13 8:51 We finally turn toward the finish line and the crowds. Stick a fork in me I am done!
Finish time: 1:55:31, maybe less as I forgot to turn off the Garmin. Haven’t seen the official time/stats yet.
Average pace: 8:47
Final Note: I am encouraged as I honestly wasn’t sure I had a sub-9 half in me. I’ve been so slow since the achilles injury and have only recently resumed speedwork. My mileage has been low to say the least and there certainly was no ‘training plan’ leading up to this.
Oddly all 10 of the 1/2s I’ve done have resulted in times ranging from 1:53 to 1:56. I have yet to experience any significant improvement.
