Rock ā€˜nā€™ Roll Chicago Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Chicago, Illinois
United States
Competitor Group, Inc.
89F / 32C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 33m 2s
Overall Rank = 10027/14881
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 607/766
Pre-race routine:

Up at 4:45. My GI system has been having a lot of issues lately, so I just opted for my vitamins with a swig of OJ. Stopped at Dunkin Donuts and got a large coffee which tasted awful. Choked it down and made it downtown in 30 minutes. Thanks Grant Park Parking Garage for jacking up the rate to $30 for a "special event". Gouging bastards :)
Event warmup:

Parked right by the corral line-up, and checked my bag. It was hot @ 6AM, so I had about 1/2 bottle of Gatorade and a Hammer Gel. There were a ton of people so it was hard to find my friends.... got into the corral and met up with Sue and Di from TriSmart. Time to roll...
Run
  • 2h 33m
  • 13.1 miles
  • 11m 41s  min/mile
Comments:

It got real hot real fast. By the first mile I was pouring in sweat. Opted to walk all aid stations as part of the strategy to keep cool. I felt great, my body was fluid and the pace was a tad slow for me. I figured with a lack of training there was no sense in trying to PR, just get the miles in and resolve to train better for the rest of the summer leading up to Chicago. Staying cool was a real battle today, although they did a really nice job keeping the course stocked with ice, water, etc. I ran solid until about mile 6, and then was walking some. I took it with a grain of salt- I have been terrible about getting long runs in, and my longest run to date has been 9 miles. I was not risking injury or overheating today, just not worth it.
What would you do differently?:

Train. You get what you train for. Considering my lack of training this wasn't really that bad. You get what you train for. Period. (redundancy intentional)
Post race
Warm down:

Finishers chute had chocolate milk!!! I've become a devotee of the LF chocolate milk recovery. Grabbed a Jamba Juice smoothie, some water, and pretzels. Didn't have time to socialize, I needed to get home and nap before work. When I took my shoes off, each shoe was completely waterlogged! The sweat, the water I was pouring on myself, and the sprinklers soaked me sufficiently. Waterlogged shoes definitely slowed me down though.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My utter lack of training.

Event comments:

OK, I am not a big fan of huge corporate races, but I have to say this is one of the best 13.1's I have ever done. The organization was phenomenal, the volunteers kicked butt, and the music acts were great. After doing this race today I'm definitely planning on registering for the RnR Vegas 1/2. This is a good race- if you want to race in downtown Chicago this is one to do.




Last updated: 2012-06-18 12:00 AM
Running
02:33:00 | 13.1 miles | 11m 41s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/766
Overall: 0/14881
Performance: Average
Course: Through downtown Chicago, out to the west side, down to 31st St, then up LSD. Beautiful course.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5