Disclaimer:  As a ZOOMA Chicago Race Ambassador, I received a free entry to the race. However, all opinions are mine.

It was definitely a beautiful day for a race.  I had been stalking the Weather Channel for a few days and the forecasts mentioned not just rain but also scattered thunderstorms. Nope, none of that happened on race morning but it did rain at night.

I was up at 5am and out the door by 5:30.  I decided to drive to the start line instead of going downtown to take the shuttle.  I was there by 6 and hanged around with other ambassadors while waiting for the race to start.

Earlier in the week, Emily from Out and About and I made plans to run together.  We lined up between the 2:10 and 2:20 pacers and we were soon off.  Ha, I thought I could keep up with her since I was feeling really good.  I stayed with her for 2 miles and then stepped to the side to walk a little.  I then decided to just take it slowly and enjoy the race.  And that is exactly what I did.

I love running along the lakefront.  The view is beautiful.  I ran and walked and just soaked it all in.  The first turnaround point was near Soldier Field.  About half a mile or so later there were a gentlemen with munchkins for us.  I took one.  I don’t know why I didn’t take more.

My hips were beginning to hurt and I was experiencing some discomfort on the bottom of my right foot.  I kept on running and walking.  I was also hot and thirsty and made sure to drink water at every water stop. Luckily, there were water fountains along the way and I also stopped at most of them.

I passed the finish line for the 10k and realized I was halfway done.  I was hurting but reminded myself that I was halfway done instead of that I still had 6.1 miles to go.  About a mile later, my friend Lidia caught up to me and we started running and walking together for the next couple of miles.

The other turnaround was at mile 10.  My foot was hurting even more.  I was convinced I had a blister and was annoyed.  My pace slowed down even more.  I kept repeating “Just 3 more miles, 3 more miles”.

I was so happy to see the Mile 12 marker.  Lidia and I were walking more than running.  I reminded her that we only had one mile to go.  Just one.  She was cramping and I told her to stop to massage and stretch her legs.  I also stopped to check my foot.  No blister.  I then thought it was my shoes.  I guess my feet were used to the Newton’s and did not like the Mizuno’s.

Once I saw the yellow school buses in the parking lot, I knew we were very close to the finish line. Lidia told me to go.  I started running and finally crossed the finish line.

I got my medal, water bottle, and then waited for Lidia to finish.  She looked so happy! We then got a snack box which had a grilled vegetable sandwich and chips.  It was yummy and I was starving!

We stayed for another hour or so to enjoy the after party.  Lidia got a free massage while I rested and enjoyed my free wine.  I also chatted for a few minutes with Karen from Trading in My Heels and her friends.

My thoughts on this race:

•  It was in a new location so the path wasn’t as crowded as it was last year.  I did not run it but just heard and read about it.
• There was plenty of signage.  However, you really can’t get lost on this path or not know where you’re going.
•  I don’t think there were enough water stations but it did help there were water fountains.
•  Again, the view is amazing.
•  Nice medal and cute shirt!  Swag also included Feetures! Performance socks and hat.
•  Fun after party!
•  There is no race day packet pick up but a friend could pick it up for you.  Love it when races have this option instead of “making” you attend the expo like some other race series that I won’t mention here but you probably know which one I am talking about.

Oh, and that mysterious foot pain.  It is one ugly blister.

Not running related but love this sign!

On Tuesday evening, I ran the Strike Out ALS 5k.  It was my second time running this race and by far was a much better experience than last year.  I ran this race with Team Manuela’s Peeps.

We’ve had such unusual weather this week in Chicago resulting in very cool weather for July. However, on Tuesday it was a bit too cloudy and it looked like it might rain.  I thought for sure it would be a similar experience to Saturday’s race.

I arrived at U.S. Cellular Field at 5:45, sent a text to various friends, and waited in my car for a bit because it started raining.  OK, maybe it was just a little rain.  Finally it stopped and I made my way to pick up my bib and meet up with my team members.  Then I had to go back to my car to drop off some stuff (not sure why I didn’t just leave them at gear check) and on the way ran into Eric and Emily.  A few minutes before the race I saw Natali.

I saw Emily again at the start line and knew that she was attempting to PR.  I did mention to her earlier that it was perfect PR weather and to go for it.  Well, I meant for me too. However, my coach’s instructions were to run this as a training run @10:45 pace.  I told Emily I was going to run this race based on feel.

The course was a bit different from last year.  We ran through two parking lots but there were more turns which definitely annoyed me.  I swear you get dizzy!

The best part of this race is running AND finishing inside the stadium.  Since this was a new course, that meant the finish line was not inside the stadium.  I was disappointed but it was still cool to run inside.

I ran my fastest mile ever @8:57.  Definitely improving since on Saturday it was 9:00. Yay!  Finish time is 30:12. Ugh, just 24 seconds from my PR.  But I wasn’t really attempting to PR.  But still, right?  I wore my watch but did not glance at it once during the race.  I ran by feel and boy did I feel it after that first mile.  I took a short break as I drank two cups of water and went along the rest of the race.

It began to rain a little and it actually felt really good because I was hot.  As I exited the stadium, I knew the finish line was close so I forced myself to pick it up a notch and finish this race.

It seemed like my team members were running close together because we quickly met up, got some water, and proceeded to go inside ChiSox Bar and Grill to eat, drink, and celebrate.  And indeed we did.

A few minutes later Emily joined us.  We then found out that she had placed 1st in her age division. Congrats Emily!  Read her race recap here.

Another great race for a wonderful organization.  The only thing that sucked was the course.  It is much more fun finishing INSIDE the stadium.  I had a great time and was glad the weather was so much better this year.

I like running 5ks.  They’re short and over before you know.  However, they’re also difficult because I struggle with finding a comfortable running pace and start off too fast. I don’t have plans to run another 5k this year but definitely enjoyed the two I did this month.

My next race: ZOOMA Half Marathon, August 2.

Today I ran the Chinatown 5k in the rain.  The last time I ran a 5k was the Strike Out ALS 5k in July. Despite the rain, it went much better than this one.

I did not pick up my packet prior to the race but chose to do so the morning of the race.  I wasn’t sure where exactly (just had an idea) the race began but I just took Archer Avenue until I got to Chinatown. From there I could see a group of people in Chinatown Square so I knew that’s where I had to go.  I looked for free street parking, didn’t find any, so I just went to the lot.  The cars in front of me that also wanted to park at the lot were instead turning away and later on I found out that the machine was no longer giving out those tickets that allowed you to get in the lot.  No problem at all.  I found street parking across from the lot.  It wasn’t free but wasn’t expensive either.

Once I was settled I noticed that my friend, Rachel, and her family was two cars in front of me.  From there we walked to pick up my packet and to get as close as possible to the start line.  Did I mention that it was raining?  Nonstop.

A few minutes before 8am we walked over to the start line but still had to wait a few more minutes before we were actually allowed to run.  Not sure why there was a delay.

The new route was supposed to go through Bridgeport along 26th street, Princeton and Wells.  A few days before the race I got an email letting me know that apparently the request for the new route was not approved.  Now we were to run through the original route.  

So basically we ran along Wentworth Avenue to 34th Street and back.  I didn’t pay too much attention to the route because I was too busy dodging the puddles.  Who wasI kidding?  I was soaking wet anyway.

As usual I started off too fast, slowed down, and then picked it up at the end.  Finish time is 30:33 for 3.12 miles for average pace of 9:45.  Pretty happy with it.  Coach Sara asked me to run an average of 9:25.  Umm, no, but close enough.

Overall, I did like the race.  I say that now that I am warm and dry.  I am glad it wasn’t cold because running a race when you’re cold and soaking wet is not fun either.  It is a small race and close to my house.  Definitely two pluses in my book!  If you haven’t ran this race, make sure to do so next year.

Coach posted this on Facebook and it made me smile.

There was a raffle after the race but I did not stay for it.  I had only paid for one hour in the meter and it was time to go.  Plus, I was getting cold.

Oh, and I made a huge mistake.  I ran with my phone but did not put it in a plastic bag.  After the race I couldn’t turn on my phone.  I was planning to take more pictures after the race but that didn’t happen.  Right now it is in a bag of rice where I shall leave it for a few days.  If that doesn’t help my phone then it means a visit to the Sprint store.  I know that means I won’t have a phone for a few days.  I am OK with that since I took a trip to Ecuador and Peru and didn’t have electricity nor Internet (for two trips) for a few days and I survived.  I am more worried about having to cough up the money to buy a new phone.

This past weekend I made another trip to Washington, DC.  I have to say that it is one of my favorite cities.  I’ve been there numerous times and each time I always have a great time.

I got in on Saturday afternoon and made my way to the hotel.  I was meeting up with a few girls from the Nike Training Club.  I dropped off my luggage and made my way to the expo.  I am used to an expo being in one building.  Well, this expo was different because you had to go to three different locations to get your bib, your shirt, and other miscellaneous stuff.  There weren’t many vendors plus it was crowded so I did not stay too long.  I then found out that Shalane Flanagan was there.  Dang!!

As soon as I got my bib and shirt, I saw this.  Pretty cool!

 The course map.

Found my name!  It was so cool to also see my mother’s name next to mine.

Then I met up with the rest of the girls and then went to lunch.

I woke up at 5 on race day.  I quickly got dressed and ate a ClifBar with some coffee.  Then we proceeded to take the metro to the start line.  It was a bit chilly and part of me wanted to go back to the room for a long sleeve shirt.  However, I knew that eventually it would warm up and then I would be too hot.

Ready to run!

There were so many runners on the course.  Even after one mile, the course was still crowded.  It was then that I saw JB.  She had flown in the day  before after running The Garmin Half Marathon in KS (where she got to meet Meb). She is pretty amazing!  She was running with a coworker and I managed to tag along.  Yeah, we ran together till the end.

It was a gorgeous day for running.  At various points there were so many spectators cheering for us.  I did get hot and thirsty but overall felt good throughout the race.  I began to feel a bit tired around mile 11.  I told JB to go ahead while I walked.  However, she is such a good pacer and part of me still wanted to run with her so I picked up the pace until I caught up with her.

Less than a mile to go.  That is me by the letter “E”.

So close to the end.

Finally done.  I love that instead of a medal, I got a Tiffany necklace.

It is a great race!  It is not a flat course but isn’t too hilly either.  The weather was gorgeous.  I definitely recommend doing this race.  I enjoyed it so much that I plan to go back next year.