Community Bank of Elmhurst 4 on the 4th

Saturday morning I was up for a race.  Normally I have a long run with the CES group but due to the holiday my group did not meet.  Instead, all of the groups from the various locations met on Sunday in one location.

Back to the race.  It is one of my favorites.  Very cheap-$25-and with a $5 discount if you are a CARA member.  It is 30 minutes from my house, plenty of parking, and fun/semi-challenging course. This was my 3rd time running it.  You can read my other recaps here: 2014 and 2013.

I will admit that I was hoping to get a PR.  Below are my times from last year and the year before.

I was not feeling good on Friday evening.  I was bloated and felt very uncomfortable.  I went to bed hoping that I would feel better in the morning.

Race day I was up before my alarm went off.  I got dressed, drank coffee and ate a Hammer Bar.  I did go to the bathroom 3 times before leaving the house.

I arrived in Elmhurst around 6:45.  On my way to pick up my bib I ran into Pete who was running this race for the first time this year.  We chatted for a little bit and said our goodbyes.  Packet pickup was a breeze.  I did not want my shirt so I quickly tied my bib to my race belt and got in line to use the bathroom one more time.

I was feeling a bit better but overall I felt tired.  Not so much tired like from lack of sleep but more like body tired.

Start line.  There weren’t too many people at the race so I was not too far from it.

Here are my mile splits:
1-9:15
2-9:58
3-10:49
4-10:15

I have NO idea how I ran that fast the first mile.  I felt tired but still kept going.  I remember stopping for water and walking up a small incline.  As you can see mile 3 was my slowest and I just felt very tired and HOT (I was probably dehydrated).  I walked a lot and kept checking my pace on my watch.  I also did some walking in the last mile and even up the incline to get to the finish line but it must not have affected it that much because I still finished it in 10:15. <==== Very impressed with it!

Even though I did not PR, I still enjoyed this race.  Unless I am out of town or injured, this is a race I plan to do every year.

My next race is Shipyard Old Port Half Marathon on Saturday in Maine.  It will be state #34.

Did you run a race on Saturday?  How was your 4th of July?