Today I ran for pie.  What an awesome race!!!  The race began at 8:30 am and luckily a friend called me a little after 7 or else I probably would have missed it.

I arrived at the race site a little after 8 and was happy to see that we had access to a high school which meant a warm area to wait and real bathrooms.  I dropped off my bag, went to the bathroom, and then waited in the gym for a little bit.  A few minutes later I made my way outside.  I LOVE, LOVE hearing the National Anthem!!!  I do not get tired of it.

We ran through the streets of La Grange.  Great course!  No inclines which made me happy.  I did stop a few times because I was running too fast.  🙁  I need to learn to pace myself.   As soon as I saw the finish line I ran as fast as I could.  I passed several people which made me smile.  I accidentally pressed the “start/stop” button on my Garmin before mile 2 so I don’t know my official finish time.

I was one of the first 500 runners to register so I got a free pie.  Since I did not win a medal I was happy with it.  Yummy!  Next year I will just have to run FASTER!

Of course I had to get pictures with them.

This year was the first time this race was held and I thought it went very well.  However, the only thing I question is how the finish time will be determined because they was no chip on the bib.  As I crossed the finish line I gave a volunteer a perforated piece of the bib with my number in it.  I was told that the volunteers were supposed to keep them in order for finish time purposes.  Huh????  Another volunteer told me that a scanner would scan my number at the finish line to determine finish time.  Well, regardless I hope I find out soon.  😀

Happy Thanksgiving!!!  Enjoy this special day.

Today I ran in the Chicago’s Perfect 10 Race.  One had the option of running 10 miles or 6.2 miles (10K).  Since I am training for the New Orleans Marathon in March I chose 10 miles.  Packet pick up was at Navy Pier but I don’t like going there because it is a hassle to get there.  Luckily I could pick up my packet on race day but that meant I had to be there earlier.  That is OK.  Friday night I went to bed at 9pm and work up at 5 on Saturday morning.

I arrived at Navy Pier around 6am and was shocked to find out that parking was $18.  I inquired about a discount and was told that the price is already discounted…regular is $24.  Yikes!!  I made my way to the expo to pick up my packet.  I was happy to be in a warm place and with real bathrooms.  It was a cold morning so I was happy to be indoors.  I looked outside and saw the sunrise.  Gorgeous!

The race started at 7am and off I went.  It was such a beautiful morning for a race.  Yes, a little cold but not too bad.  My goal was to run each mile a “perfect” 10.  Well, that is less than 11:00 minute.  Yeah, that did not happen.  I was close though.

Mile1-10:36
Mile 2-10:31
Mile 3-10:52
Mile 4-11:07
Mile 5-10:33
Mile 6-11:11
Mile 7-10:22
Mile 8-11:11
Mile 9-10:38
Mile 10-11:22

It felt good to be running.  I ran 10 miles last Sunday and it was tough for me.  That was not the case with today’s race.  I had energy and felt good towards the end.  Well, sort of, since it did take me a little bit longer to finish that last mile.  Overall, I was pleased with the race.  I even saw Forrest Gump at the end!

What truly shocked me is that according to my Garmin the race was EXACTLY 10 miles.  That had never happened before in a race.

Yes, I did have an issue with location and parking fee but overall I give this race a perfect 10!!

On Saturday, October 15 I ran my 4th marathon.  I first signed up to do this race two years ago but due to some back issues I decided not to run the race.  Fast forward two years later and I can finally cross it off my list.

I took the day off from work on Friday and was on the 6am flight to Hartford.  There was a stop on Baltimore but I still managed to get in at a very decent time.  A friend picked me up at the airport and then dropped me off at the Hilton Hotel.  The XL Center (to pick up packet) was right next to the hotel so I was very happy about that.  I got chills when I got to XL Center.  So many people there!  I was not impressed with the expo.  I guess I like the Chicago Marathon expo a lot and compared it to that.  Oh well.  I bought a few things that I “needed” and met Dane Rauschenberg.  On the wall was an interesting quote “If I didn’t hear you telling me this was impossible, it was because I was too busy doing it.”   Definitely motivated me.

After the expo I met some friends at work and waited there till it was time to go to dinner.  We went to Bertucci’s.  I had some rigatoni with marinara sauce.  Very simple dinner.  My friends had some eggplant dish and chicken piccata.  Looked so good but I was still happy with my food.  I was having a great time with them that I was sad when it was time to go.  However, I knew I had to get a good night sleep and rest up before the race.  I went back to the hotel, got my things ready, and was asleep by around 9:30pm.

Race morning I was up at 6:30am.  I got ready and ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  My friend’s daughter had made them for me.  So nice of them!!!  Once I was ready, off I went to Bushnell Park which was about a 5 minute walk.  Lots of people there.  I could feel the energy and the excitement.  It was a gorgeous morning for a race!

My plan was to finish the race in 5 hours.  That is about an 11:30 minute pace.  No problem.  Well, at least I thought so.  I joined a group to ensure I finish the race in 5 hours.  However, I did not know that the pacer was doing a run/walk method.  She was running at about a 10:00 minute pace and then walking to “make up” the difference.  I ran with the group for a few miles but could not keep up with them.  Darn!!!  I was annoyed because I did not know she would be running at a faster pace.

I made it to the halfway point in 2:30:30 (11:30 pace).  Then it went downhill.  I got to mile 20 in 4:00:00 (12:02 pace) and finish line in 5:25:21(12:25 pace).  So what happened?  Well,  being from Chicago I am used to running in flat ground.  Hartford had inclines.  Many of them.  More than I am used to.  Also, the turnaround point was a little before mile 17 and from then on it was WINDY.  I know I live in the “Windy City” but I do not run 9 miles in the wind.  Ugh!!!  I felt some pain in my quads and took an ibuprofen around mile 17 to take care of that problem.  I had minor foot and hip pain but not enough for me to walk.  Overall, I felt good.  It was the wind that made me walk (I know, excuses, excuses).  I wanted to cry.  The marathon gods were not being nice.  I should have been glad that it was windy instead of rainy.  According to my friends I got lucky because it had been raining for a few days in Hartford.  It was raining when I got in Friday morning!!

Overall, the ING Hartford Marathon is a great race!  It took me about 4 minutes to get to the start line versus 30 minutes in the Chicago Marathon.  It was a very scenic route that went through several towns near Hartford.  Along the way there was more crowd support than I expected.  There were volunteers in bikes passing out GU.  They were also encouraging the runners but at one point I wanted to tell him to just be quiet.  He was all cheerful riding a bike while I was struggling to get to the finish line.  Did I mention the inclines?  I should have paid more attention to the elevation map and trained better.

The best part of the race was the finish line.  All runners passed through the Soldiers and Sailors Arch, a monument to honor the 4,000 Hartford citizens who served in the Civil War, and the 400 who died for the Union.  Beautiful!!!

I am very glad I did this race.  I got a PR!  Yay!!!  Next year I would like to run the New Orleans Marathon.  According to the website the course is flat.  Yeah right!  We’ll see about that.

The plan for now is to rest.  I have a well deserved massage scheduled for Thursday and am looking forward to it.  I plan to do the Carrera de los Muertos 5K on October 29 and am debating about the Trick or Treat 5K/10K the next day.  Then it is back to 18 weeks of training for another marathon.

Yes, that is exactly what I did!  I have a PR in my last two races.

The first one was the Alivio y Salud Run for Health 5K on Saturday, May 21.  This year was my third time running this race.  The first time I did it I placed 3rd in my age group and got a medal.  I like this race because it is FLAT.  Seriously.  I know Chicago is known for its flat course but there are a few inclines which I have yet to be friends with.  It was a bit cool so I wore a long sleeve underneath my Fleet Feet running shirt.  I am a member of their running team so I wear my shirt at every race.  It is a small race for runners because there are many more walkers than runners.  Also, this race attracts a lot of grade school kids.  As it got closer to the starting time I made my way up to as close as possible to the front.  I was not going to be stuck behind the walkers.  However, instead I was passed up by kids.  Well, I ran as fast as I could and finished in 29:48.  I placed 6th in my age group.  I was so happy because finally I finished a 5K in less than 30 minutes.

The next race was the Solder Field 10 Mile Run on Saturday, May 28.  I woke up so tired that morning and almost decided not to go.  I am glad I did go.   The race began at 7:15 so I left my house around 6am because I still needed to pick up my packet.  As I got closer to Soldier Field I could see the traffic and it was not pretty.  There were two lanes (left side) to get to Lake Shore Drive (north).  However, some drivers decided that it was best to cut in front of the other drivers that had been waiting in their lane for quite a bit of time.  So annoying!!!  I finally got to the parking lot and it was a challenge to find parking.  I found a spot after squeezing in between two cars only to find out that there were plenty of other spots in the next lane.  By this time I was even more annoyed but decided to let go of it and pick up my packet.  So many people were at the race.  I found the packet pick up line but did not know my bib number so I had to go to another line.  Frantically I checked my email on my phone to look for a email from Fleet Feet.  Found it and went to the appropriate lane to get my bib.  Yes!  I even got the shirt size I asked for when I signed up.  I checked in my gear and got in line for the bathroom.  Too many people there.  I left the line and instead went inside the stadium.  By then the race was about to begin so people were leaving the stadium.  Good for me because I did not have to wait long to use the bathroom. 

I went to get in line for the race but there were so many people.  There were corrals and I did not know which one I belonged to.  I followed other runners and made my way to Corral B.  I noticed that the finish goal time was 1:30 but I knew that that was not going to happen for me.  A few minutes later off I went.  As usual I started too fast.  Below are the times:

Mile 1-10:06 (fastest mile)
Mile 2-10:09
Mile 3-10:14
Mile 4-10:34
Mile 5-10:44
Mile 6-10:33
Mile 7-11:33 (slowest mile)
Mile 8-11:05
Mile 9-10:53
Mile 10-10:27

My goal was 1:45 but I finished in 1:46:17.  I am very, very happy with my time.  Another PR for me!!  Last year I finished this race in 1:49:48.