July 20, 2014
First half Marathon (13.1 miles) - Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon
Chicago, IL
Time: 2:36:59 (this includes 2 potty breaks) average pace: 11:59
Place: 533/889 division (F40-45); 5602/8328 Gender
Runkeeper = 2:22:02
Garmin = 2:27
I did it!
At 5:45 am on the morning of my 41st birthday I got up and headed down to Montrose Beach to start summer half marathon training with CARA (Chicago Area Runners Association). It was a chilly day but so had been the last 6 months!
I was in the run/walk group and there was about 6 of us. I never met these people before but everyone seemed pretty cool. Our group leader was Shellie. We ran 4 miles, I got in my car and ran some errands. Over the next few weeks the long run miles grew and the group shrank. By week 8 I think it was me and Kelly left. CARA was begging for another group leader for the run/walk so I volunteered and got my program fees refunded.
I tried to stick to the training schedule as much as possible. Running 4 days a week with two cross training days is difficult. I neer wanted to give in and stop, it was just tiring. My Saturdays were shot. When the weather got a little better I rode my bike to the long runs and back. Then I'd go home and sleep. I felt wiped out for the rest of the day. I didnt have much time for anything else. On the 10 mile long run day Iong run day I got no nap and spent the following 8 hours at an event. Then the next day I had a 5k...the worst 5k ever (see entry below).
Being a group leader really helped me stay motivated and kept me showing up at the long runs. One friday I went to a party and was around smokers. I couldnt sleep that night and got no sleep. If I wasnt a GL I would have not gone. It was rough waking up so early the next day to run but I stuck it out.
I never was good at follow through or setting goals or challenging myself. Unfortunately I grew up with the "if things get rough or overwhelming, panic and freak out" mentality. I'm learning to be calm and take things slowly bit by bit. I really can do whatever I set my mind to and I just proved it to myself. Things might take me a long time but I will eventually get them done.
I didnt sleep Saturday night! I learned not to panic about this. I've not slept before races prior. Adrenaline will keep me going. I ran my PR 5k at 30:01 with the worst night's sleep ever the night before.
The alarm went off about 4:15 am. By 5:00 am I was ready to go! I ordered up an Uber and he showed up less than 10 minutes later in a Benz. Woo weeeeeeee! I got to ride to the race in style.
I checked my gear with the CARA folks, went to the bathroom, did a little dynamic warm ups and strolled over to the starting corals. I was getting slightly hungry - this wasn't good. There were bananas, bagels and water available but I already had a banana and I wasn't sure if the bagel (I'm yeast free) was going to have an effect on me.
As we waited over 30 minutes to get to the start I chatted with a 63 year old lady who was about to finish her 7th half marathon! Her sister died two weeks prior and with all the related stress and travel she wasn't exactly up for what's up ahead. I wish I knew how the race turned out for her.
And we're off! I wasn't a bundle of nerves and I had no technological difficulties. Everything went really well overall. Ok, I take that back about no technological difficulties. Every race that goes down Lower Wacker seems to screw up my Garmin and Runkeeper. There is no way in hell that I ran a 3:40, or a 5:50 or even an 8:35! My Garmin and Runkeeper were so off sync I only had the mile markers to go on but I had no clue what my time was. I signed up for the runner tracker texts which sent me a text about 4 times along the way but I wasn't about to pull out my phone and look. I wasn't too concerned with time but I like to have an idea where I am.
I had to stop twice to go potty and had to wait in line. At the stop in the Loop a non runner walked out of one of the Johns. I was too shocked to say something but after I was done I quickly looked behind the potties to see if he was hanging around to give him a piece of my mind. He wasn't there!
Somewhere around mile 8 or maybe 9 my knee started hurting every time I began to run (I did a 5/1 run walk). I had to do a hobbling start each time I began to run again so the last mile I ran it in...no walk/run business. I can t believe I had the energy for it! I surprise myself all the time.
The whole deal with the Rock and Roll 1/2 marathon is that there are bands along the way. I guess it's a nice idea but unless you're an elite athlete the majority of runners have their own music plugged into their ears. I had my own carefully crafted playlist with songs that give me energy. Whenever I passed one of the course bands my music was drowned out. It bugged the crap out of me. the number of spectators on the route were so low that the bands really benefitted no one. At mile 1o there was a DJ on a bridge above the Lakefront path broadcasting into several speakers past his base location. I could hear him for the next mile announcing "3 more miles to go!" This is NOT what I wanted to hear when I only had 2 more miles to go!
I was a little bummed that the route took us down the lakefront path. I spent the last 12 weeks, nearly 3 times a week, running on that path! The good part is that it was on the far south end; a section I never run.
The weather was perfect; neither sunny nor humid but on a 13.1 mile journey it get's a little uncomfortable. Somewhere in the Loop a dude was holding a hose and making a spray with his thumb. I ran right through it. ahhhhhh! After DJ disappointment I rounded the corner to find people holding open bags of ice cubes. Oooooh yes! I grabbed and ran rubbing the ice all over my skin and then shoving the remains down my shorts to lay atop my tight as hell hamstring. About a mile later more awesome helpers handed out ice cold sponges. It felt sooooo good!
After DJ annoyance along came another annoyance. This girl was woo hooing behind me for a good 2 miles. I wanted to tell her to shut the fuck up! I know I woo hoo every now and then but these chronic exaggerated woo hooers drive me bananas. Life is awesome and all that but if you woo hoo at everything it lessens the awesomeness when there is really something to woo hoo about. The reality is that when I am struggling I hate happy woo hooing types. Ok, I hated her until she talked directly to me and gave some words of encouragement. I guess it was what I needed at that moment running through a neon lit tunnel which was actually pretty cool. I still could have done without the loudness! I was amazed at how chipper she was after something like 1o miles. She kept going; woo hooing and spreading encouraging words. Bitch.
I usually hate when people are standing on the sidelines telling me how much longer I have to go. I know how much long I have to go! But when someone else tells me it seems like forever. I also hat when I'm coming near the finish line and I see finishers walking towards me with their medals around their necks. I hate them. I'm envious they've finished and I'm still being tortured. But this time was different. There was a dude on the top of the last hill who had already finished telling me this was my last hill. Since I hate hills more than I hate the two scenarios described I was happy to hear the news. It was marvelous, actually. As I was descending I saw the finish line faintly in the distance! Oh.....my......goodness......it was almost over. I hauled ass!
The finish was amazing. After I stopped hyperventilating, that is. As I was approaching the the finish down Columbus I started to cry and then I yelled at myself. Anything could have happened in the next few yards to prevent me from finishing! What was I doing? It wasn't time to celebrate quite yet! I crossed pad one and then pad two and let it go. I took about two breaths in and suddenly couldn't breathe. The crying stopped for lack of breath. My body was only allowing one malfunction at a time. A volunteer grabbed my arm and asked if I was Ok. In between gasps for air I told him I wasn't, in fact, OK, I don't have asthma and I can't breathe. He was really calm and told me to keep breathing as best I could. He asked if I needed water and was it OK to let go while he got some. Ok sure. Let's give it a try. I chugged the water and he took off. I walked on. I wanted to get that medal! I was finally able to breathe! Aaaaaaand then the tears came. Aaaaaand then everyone wants to take your photo. Crap! Awe who cares.
I slowly headed out of the finishers chute basking in my accomplishment. One of my coworkers ran this race in the past and she was telling me that it was hard to handle all the free stuff they give out past finish line. In light of this, I took an 8 gallon garbage bag from off the roll and folded it compactly and shoved it in my bra pre-race so I'd have some where to put all my crap. Thanks for the tip Kelly!
Half way to the gear check I plopped down on the grass to stretch out, make a phone call and post photos to Facebook. I had trouble getting down and trouble getting back up. There was a lady near who got up the same time as I did and we both made old lady "my body aches" kind of noises together. It was kinda funny.
This is how cheap I am: I walked very slowly down Michigan Avenue with the strings from my dumpy backpack digging in my shoulder all the way past Roosevelt to a place called The Chicago Recovery Room. I sat for about 45 minutes in the compression boots and experience the most intense 8 minutes of pure frozen evil in an ice bath. It took my about 5 minutes just to sit down. I was like a plank in the tub trying to avoid going all in. It was all good. And Free I didn't feel too bad the next day so the ice bath must have done something good.
Next year I will run the Chicago Marathon!
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