Bunny Rock - 2013

March 30, 2013

Fourth 5k - Bunny Rock 

Montrose Harbor, Chicago, IL

Time: 32:36 Pace 10: 31 

I read somewhere that you should get a really good night's sleep two days before a race. A had a wonderful day off on Thursday bouncing all around the city on foot and public transit. I wore myself out and had the crappiest sleep that night. great. I had racing nightmares. Seriously. I never wanted to take running this serious but I guess my mind had other plans for me. 

I dreamt that I showed up late and had to run really fast to catch up. Then the screen on my phone was going haywire so I couldn't select the music player and I had to run without music. At some point the course was in a bedroom and I couldn't tell where the course was going. It was ridiculous.

I got out of work early on Friday, rushed home and turned on my computer so I could be online for the exact second active.com was giving away a free entry to the Fort to Base Race - am 11.5 mile race from Ft. Sheridan to Great Lakes Naval Station. OMG! 11.5 miles, am I crazy? I won the free entry.

I took my brand new bike out for the first time for a nice 9 mile ride around Oak Park exploring streets I had never been on in the 6 years I've lived here. About 2 miles from home on Thatcher and Augusta I wiped out making a turn from the street onto the sidewalk. I got right back up and planted my sore ass bones on the seat and realized the chain had fallen off the track. I know nothing about bikes and their mechanics but I am not without mechanical abilities and I am not one of these helpless female types so after being pissed that I was going to have to walk this bike back home 2 miles on a growling stomach I realized that I was probably capable of fixing this. Took me a few minutes to see that the chain was on this lever type deal that could be pulled forward giving some leeway to maneuver the chain back onto the gear. Duh.

Later on at home I assembled my race bib and homemade bunny tail and got out all the things I would need to take with me tomorrow morning all the while watching the bruises set in from my fantastic fall.

I got down to Montrose Harbor with about 20 minutes to spare. That gave me enough time time to check my gear and use the port-o-john. They didn't have seeding set up so runners can line up according to their predicted pace time. I found out later that they did, but the signs were on the ground. I got in before the stroller people and those I perceived to be the walkers but on the grass. There was no room within the barricades. 

It was a rough start. I should have gotten closer to the start line. The good thing was that I was passing everyone. That's always a good feeling. At the St. Paddy's day 8k everyone was passing me and it felt a little defeating.

I use the runkeeper app on my phone to track all my miles. The app gives me 5 minute interval updates which tells me my pace and distance thus far. At the first update my earphones turned off and my music and update came though externally. WTF? I thought the cord came out of the jack so, while running through the stroller brigade, I took off the arm band and tried to fix the issue. It happened again at the next interval! So this time I just ran with the arm band in my hand. I had no idea how fast I was going. There was no mile markers or timer clocks along the way so I had no idea where I was in the course. I think at 2o minutes in the problem rectified itself. 

In general I have no patience. I want everything done right now. If something seems like it's going to take a long time I don't even want to bother. I get discouraged when I see a long road ahead of me. I am getting better and am learning to slow down. I also don't think I was ever encourage to never give up. My usual MO is to give up when something gets rough. Why suffer, right?  Especially when it comes to sweating. OK, I'm getting past that too. It's not amazing that I can run it's amazing that I can endure. I can go 5 miles on a treadmill without screaming my brains out from total boredom. 

What always trips me up in a race is looking ahead and seeing some long stretch in the course. It seems so darn daunting and I want to stop and walk for awhile. At one point I glanced slightly to the right and saw a long stretch of the course after this turn I was about to make. Before I took a full on look I stopped myself and plated my eyes on the ground or on a pair of bunny ears ahead of me. I knew if I looked ahead to far I'd want to give up. That's when I decided I was going to run this thing without stopping. I told a woman next to me that her shoe was untied. She said she knew it but wanted to finish without stopping. Hey! Me too! We ran for awhile side by side keeping the same pace. I had an ally for a minute or two.

My phone announced I had gone 2.84 miles. Great, there were only 3 blocks to go! Then I saw the only mile marker on the course; the 3 mile marker. Wow! I think I exclaimed out loud, "holy crap!"  I was so amazed that I was actually about to cross that finish line having not stopped. In the photo above you can see me saying it.