Race Recap – Page 12 – Zenaida Arroyo

Category: Race Recap

07
Apr
2014

Chicago Lakefront 50K

On Saturday, April 5, I completed my 2nd ultramarathon. I ran my first one two years ago. This race was a fun experience but I will admit that I also felt some disappointment.

I spent the week leading up to the race just relaxing and not thinking too much about it. I know that if I think about it then I worry and what good does that do? Absolutely nothing. I made sure to drink plenty of water and carbo loaded on Friday.

The weather was perfect on race day. It was sunny and no wind. I saw Amanda from Too Tall Fritz and Michelle from This Momma Runs. I was so nervous that I went to the bathroom 3 times. Luckily there weren’t too many people running the race so the lines moved pretty fast.

I got in line at 8:25 and realized that I did not have my iPod. I thought I had lost it. When I couldn’t find it, I went to my bag to leave my headphones and saw that my iPod was already clipped to my waterbelt. By then the race had started and I was still trying to get myself together. There was no chip time so it is important that you start on time. I was finally ready and was probably the last one to cross the start line. I did not worry at all because I knew I would catch up to the other runners.

My friend, Rhoda from Relentless Rhoda, agreed to run with me for 9 miles. I saw her before mile 1 and we ran till the first turnaround on North Avenue (5.2 miles) and then continued on till mile 9. It was great running with her. Thanks Rhoda!!

Mile 15.5. I was in a lot of pain and took two ibuprofens. Thank goodness I did because it would have been tough to run another 15.5 miles.

I ran and walked the rest of the way. I turned on my iPod but for some reason the battery had died. It was weird because I made sure to charge it the night before. Ugh, I was annoyed because I spent a few minutes before the race looking for the darn thing.

By the time I got to mile 20.7 (start/finish area) there were a few people that had already finished. What?!?!?!?

Just before the finish line. Not sure why it is blurry.

Done. Finish time is 6:39:08.

Luckily I finished before the watch battery died.

Post-race food. I had two bowls because I was hungry and one wan’t enough.

I keep thinking about the race to figure out what went wrong. The weather was perfect. I felt really good. I did not have any hip pain. So it should have gone just perfect right? I know I cannot PR at every race. However, I did not think my finish time would be 20 minutes more/worse than my first ultra. I had such a great experience at the Bank of American Shamrock Shuffle and thought for sure that it would be the same on Saturday.

Overall, it is a well organized race. There was packet pickup on Friday and also on Saturday morning. It is so much cheaper than a full marathon. There is no crowd support but there were so many runners out there and a few of them cheered for us. There are 3 aid stations on the course with plenty of water, gatorade, potato chips, pretzels, and other goodies. I realized I did not have to carry so many gels and Perpetuem solids with me because I could get them each time I passed by the pass/finish area where I left my bag. I like that there are 6 legs and each one is a little over 5 miles. This helps to mentally break down the miles and not focus so much that you have to run 31 miles. If you are thinking of running an ultra, then this is THE race to do.

Part of me does not want to run another ultramarathon but then another part does want to and hopefully get a better finish time. Third time is a charm right?

The chafing is so painful. I took my time taking a shower. I did get three blisters on my left foot and thought for sure I had lost a toenail. Oh, and I am constantly HUNGRY!

I saw this tweet from Kara Goucher (love her) and it made me feel a little bit better.

My next race is the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in DC. I’ve heard so many great things about the race and am so excited about it.

30
Mar
2014

Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle

categories: Race Recap, Running

I got a PR today! I am so happy and still cannot believe it!!

Let’s go back to yesterday to packet pick-up. I am so glad my nephew and I went early. There were so many people and parking was a hassle.

I registered for the The Original 5K. How many candy bars in the jar?

Thinking of running the BTN Big 10k in July.

My nephew and I had so much fun with the magic tricks from Open Heart Magic. Sorry it is blurry.

Today I woke up at 5am. Why so early? I don’t know. I tried going back to sleep but couldn’t so I just stayed in bed and finally got up at 6:45. I got dressed and had breakfast. I was nervous about the weather because it was in the low 30s. I was undecided on which long sleeve shirt to wear but finally decided on a black and thin one.

I left at 7:30 to pick up my friend, ABH, to take the train downtown. Lots of people were on the train going to the race. We got off on Roosevelt and walked the 8 or so blocks to drop off my bag at the Nike Running tent. Then we walked to the start line. I was in Corral F and ABH was in K so I just went to her corral. It was a long wait. By then it was a bit warmer so I was grateful for the “late” start.

A little after 9:30 it was time to run. There were so many people. I did not wear my headphones but instead just focused on my surroundings and how I was feeling. Boy oh boy I was feeling really good! I ran nonstop for 3 miles. That has never happened. I was planning to take a break to drink the rest of my water at 2.5 miles but instead just kept on going.

Mile 1-9:40

Mile 2-9:03

Mile 3-8:59 Fastest mile!

I remember stopping at mile 4 because I had a side stitch.

Mile 4-9:48 Slowest mile.

I looked at my watch and knew that I had a good chance of a PR. However, I did not know it was going to be by almost 5 minutes. I just ran and ran without stopping.

Once I was back at Michigan Avenue, I knew I was almost done. I just had to conquer a “hill”. I’ve walked this “hill” at every race but this time I was determined to run it at a slower pace. I succeeded! Once I made it to the top and turned left, I just ran to the finish line.

Mile 5-9:43

Done! Finish time is 48:38. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it on my watch.

Overall it was a great race. I was a bit nervous about the weather but it turned out to be great. My only complaint is that there were so many walkers in the middle of the street. There is nothing wrong with walking. I’ve done my share of walking during a race but I’ve always moved to the right side of the street/road. During this race I kept moving left and right to pass the walkers. It was a bit annoying but I did what I had to do to get to the finish line. 🙂

After the race I went with ABG and her sisters to Waffles Cafe. The food and coffee was delicious.

Next race is the Chicago Lakefront 50K on Saturday.

03
Mar
2014

Walt Disney World Princess Half Marathon

categories: Race Recap, RunDisney, Running

AR and I had pizza on Saturday evening. It was good and hit the spot.

My alarm went off at 3am on Sunday morning. Dang, why do these races have to start so early? It felt like I had just gone to bed and closed my eyes and next thing I knew my alarm was going off. I stayed in bed for a few more minutes then got up and got ready. I was done in about 15 minutes but knew I had to do one more important thing but couldn’t do it because I hadn’t yet had any coffee.

I went to the lobby to get in line for the shuttle bus. The line was moving quicker than I thought it would be. About 2 minutes later AR was in the lobby and then we got on the bus. The bus ride was about 15 minutes and once we arrived AR and I looked for coffee. Well, I wanted coffee and she wanted water. We found it! What we did not know is that once we passed through the “Runners Only” area, there was free water for the runners. Boo. We had paid for the water and coffee. The things Disney does to squeeze more money from people.

photo-2

AR and I walked to the start line. I got in line to use the bathroom twice (just to make sure) and then went to my corral to wait. I did not wait too long and off we went to run 13.1 miles. I was hoping to see Jeff Galloway but did not see him at all.

This race is the same course as the one from Walt Disney World Half Marathon. Oh and it was humid too.

So pretty! Can you see how foggy it was that morning?

photo-9

This race went so much better for me. Maybe because I knew it my last race that weekend and was not worried about another race the next day like I did in January? It could have been that I knew what to expect and that the killer overpass would not bother me as much.

There were quite a few characters along the way but I did not stop for anyone except Sofia the First.

This flag too.

Finish time is 2:32:13. I did it! I completed the Glass Slipper Challenge and got 3 medals. And because I also completed the Coast to Coast Challenge, I got an additional pink medal.

I had a great time in Florida but was looking forward to coming sweet home Chicago.

26
Feb
2014

Walt Disney World Enchanted 10K

categories: Race Recap, RunDisney, Running

This past weekend I escaped the cold weather in Chicago for a warm weekend in FL. I went back to Walt Disney World for the Glass Slipper Challenge–10K on Saturday and half marathon on Sunday. After completing the Goofy Challenge last month, I was convinced that I could accomplish anything. Well, I already knew I could but the challenge “sealed the deal” for me.

Travel plans began on Friday morning. After last month’s travel fiasco to CA for Tinker Bell Half Marathon, I told myself that for future trips I would get on the first available flight. My flight was supposed to leave at 6am but due to weather conditions and other technical difficulties, it left 2 hours later.

AR and I arrived in Orlando about 11:30 or so, picked up her luggage, and then headed to Terminal B for the Disney’s Magical Express Bus. Our wait time was about 15 minutes and then we were on our way to the hotel. The bus ride was about 45 minutes but it sure went by fast.

Check-in at the hotel was fast and easy! We each got a personalized MagicBand to unlock our hotel room, enter the parks, and buy food and merchandise.

photo-1

We stayed at the All-Star Movies Resort and this was on the way to our room.

We had a quick lunch and then off to the expo. It was pretty much the same as the WDW Weekend last month. This time I bought two tops from Running Skirts. I was tempted to buy a long sleeve shirt too but realize that I have too many of them.

After walking around for a couple of hours, it was time for a drink. Check out the cool bib!

The next morning I was up at 3:10am for the 10K. I got ready and then headed to the lobby to get on the bus. I did not wait long and was at Epcot about 4:15. Then it was just to wait for the 5:30 start time. I didn’t want to put together another costume so I wore the same one from the WDW Half Marathon.

It was a humid morning. Finally it was time to run. The first 3 miles were B-O-R-I-N-G. Oh dear! It was dark and we were running on roads so pretty much there was nothing to see. The next half was the best part. The best part was running along the Boardwalk. Oh, and I ran again with Jeff Galloway. He is such a cool guy!

I only took one picture along the course. Love it! I think this was about mile 5 or so.

Finish time is 1:10:38. Definitely not my best time but I was not expecting to PR or anything like that.

I felt OK throughout the race. The humidity did not help at all. I was disappointed with the course. This was the first year of the 10K so hopefully they’ll change it for next year.

I liked the convenience of staying at a Disney property. There was an airport pick up, transportation to/from the expo, and transportation to/from Epcot for the race. Oh, and I loved the MagicBand. My only complaint is that there was no coffee maker in the room. In every hotel I’ve stayed in, there’s always been a coffee maker. The cafeteria was not open on race morning nor was there any coffee in the lobby. I am a big fan of coffee and MUST have it every single morning.

24
Jan
2014

Tinker Bell Half Marathon

categories: Race Recap, RunDisney, Running

This past weekend I made my way to CA to run the Tinker Bell Half Marathon. I had a blast running that race! However, I almost did not run the race.

My flight was supposed to leave at 10:10 am on Saturday morning with a connecting flight in Denver and then on to Orange County/Santa Ana. The Chicago flight was delayed so I was not going to make it to the Denver flight. After searching for a few minutes, the agent found a flight that would get me into CA at 3:30pm. The catch? I had to fly to Des Moines, IA, wait on the plane, head on to Las Vegas, and then get on another flight.

Once in CA almost everything went smoothly except that we didn’t get off the plan till almost 4. I ran out of the plane and airport to catch a shuttle to the hotel (thinking that I could check-in and then walk to the expo). Well, after talking to the shuttle agent he told me to just get to the Disneyland Hotel for the expo and then catch a cab to my hotel. Good idea! Except the driver was still waiting for other passengers. Boo. After about 10 minutes later we were off. Oh, and the driver had an attitude with me because I told him I had to be at the Disneyland Hotel by 5pm. And because now this post will be longer than I intended to be, the driver dropped me off at 5:10. Yes, I was late and could not get my bib. Luckily, I found out that I could pick it up on race day. That made me so happy because I was almost in tears when I found out the expo was closed.

On race day I was up at 3:00am. I made coffee, got ready, and ate two pancakes. I then walked to the shuttle bus stop and saw the bus coming along and I was at Downtown Disney in about 5 minutes. So convenient. I must have walked over a mile to the Information Booth to pick up my bib. Then I just wanted for the race to start. It was 48 degrees which is ideal running weather. Eventually I got cold so I ducked inside one of the hotels and stayed there till almost 5 and then made my way to the start line.

If you’ve ran a Disney Race you know that it is always fun and exciting right before the start of the race. I was in corral B so it took me about 10 minutes to cross the start line.

I ran, walked, and took pictures for about 3 miles. It was fun running through Disneyland and California Adventure. It was still dark and I enjoyed all of the lights.

I ran the last 10 miles with Jeff Galloway. I actually enjoyed the run/walk method. I’ve ran and walked during a race but never followed any specific time frame. With this method I was able to run at a decent pace and take quick/short breaks. This made the miles go by faster and before I knew it I was crossing the finish line.

I enjoyed this race much more than the WDW Half Marathon. It wasn’t as hot and there was more to see. Plus, I enjoyed the convenience of shuttle buses to and from the race. I stayed at the Best Western Plus Raffles Inn & Suites and there was a shuttle bus stop just a short walk from the hotel. My favorite part was running by “It’s a Small World”. I stopped for a minute or two to admire the lights.

Things did not start well for me on my way to CA but it sure ended well. My finish time was 2:28:17. My next Disney race will be next month in Disney World for the Glass Slipper Challenge.