A few weeks ago I ran my 4th race for this year. The last time I ran this race was in 2012 and I set a PR. In 2013 I went to Boston for the Run to Remember Half Marathon but cannot remember why I did not run it last year.
I was excited and looking forward to the race this year. It was my 3rd 10 mile race and I was hoping that it would be a much better race experience that the last two, Live Grit 10 Miler and Quarryman Challenge 10 Mile.
I was up at 5am on race day. I arrived at Soldier Field around 5:45, parked my car, used the bathroom (twice) and waited for the race to start. It was cool in the morning and I debated wearing a thin jacket. I didn’t and am so glad because the sun came out and it was HOT.
Finally it was time to run. I tried not to start off too fast. I think I did OK based on my splits. There were two runners that were talking nonstop and it was driving me crazy. One of my running pet peeves is runners that talk nonstop throughout the race. Anyway, I would pass them up and then they would catch up to me. Well, towards the end I “lost” them.
The course was flat and part of the route going south was on Lake Shore Drive. The turnaround was before mile 5. I felt great till mile 7 and then my legs began to hurt. I wished I had an ibuprofen to take for the pain. Instead, I sucked it up and kept running.
I looked at my watch after mile 9 and realized that I could probably PR. I wasn’t sure by how much but I just knew it would be a PR. That last mile was difficult for me. I remember I stopped for a few seconds right before entering the stadium for the finish line. Finish time is 1:41:56 for an almost two minutes PR (Finish time in 2012 was 1:43:49). Definitely a happy moment!
Afterwards, I got a bottle of Muscle Milk, my goodie bag and sat down to rest, enjoy my beer, and wait for friends. I couldn’t stop smiling.
I hung out with two other friends and then we went to The Weather Mark to eat. It was delicious! I was tired but also very hungry. The service wasn’t that great since we waited almost an hour for our food. It wasn’t busy so Icouldn’t understand why it took so long. But I ate, it was delicious, and I was happy.
Once at home I took a shower and a long nap. Then I ate again.
Congrats on the PR!
Thanks Coach! I have a feeling this will be a good year for me.
PR!! Woo hoo! Great job. Why do runners talk during races? Shouldn’t they be saving their energy for a PR?! A pet peeve of mine is runners who listen to music – without their headphones so we all have to hear their crappy music! 🙂
Exactly! I do not need to hear about your visit to the doctor nor what you did last night. As for the music, I saw a runner during a run along the lakefront and literally stopped because I couldn’t understand why she was not wearing headphones.😁
I’ve always wanted to do this one! Sadly we are always out of town this weekend. Someday…
Great job!
Thanks. Yes, someday.
Congrats on the PR!
I love to do races with my friends and if it’s not for a goal time, yes, we will be talking 🙂 However, I too have been stuck by people who won’t STFU so I try not to be that person. Ha!
Thanks! I don’t mind the here and there talking but some people just don’t shut up. 🙂