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Hot Chocolate 15K - Chicago - Run


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Chicago, Illinois
United States
RAM Racing
39F / 4C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 04m 30s
Overall Rank = 8141/9663
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 822/994
Pre-race routine:

Up at 6:20 to depart by 7 and get into the corrals by 8. Forgot to make my oatmeal muffins this weekend so I had a Orgain protein shake beforehand. Didn't drink anything other than that as to minimize the bathroom issues (plus it was going to be chilly out so I didn't feel i needed to drink a ton. Did some ankle mobilization stuff and rolled out my feet, did some leg swings while waiting for the train. Was trying to figure out what to wear sine it was going to be colder than what we were prepared for, settled on long pants, long sleeve shirt, a pullover, fleece lined hat, buff and running gloves.
Event warmup:

Didn't have a chance to do any warm-ups once I was downtown as I got to the corrals just in time (they actually closed my corral early so I had to go back one and then sneak up to the right spot once the wave started. I liked not having to worry about gear check or standing around too long because it was quite chilly.
Run
  • 2h 04m 30s
  • 9.3 miles
  • 13m 23s  min/mile
Comments:

I wanted to run this faster than my marathon training pace so I switched my run/walk intervals from 3:2 to 3:30/1:30. This felt pretty good the whole way and even resulted in a (small) negative split, which might be the first time this has happened in a race longer than 5K. I was feeling a bit of stiffness in my right ankle and left hip, sort of leftover from the marathon. Didn't really impact my ability to run but it was annoying. I still hate weaving through groups of walkers who don't understand the concept of not walking in huge groups in the middle but I guess that's motivation to get faster to avoid them.
What would you do differently?:

Try to pick up the pace a little further out from the finish line. I wasn't paying too much attention and took a scheduled walk break about half a mile out from the end and I could've run the rest of the way at that point had I realized where I was. Ended up with a 29 second PR anyway but wish it was bigger!
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed some Nuun and water and headed into the post race party, grabbed my chocolate mug and signed up for a post race stretch- ate the chocolate and used the bathroom (which I AM SO PROUD OF MYSELF FOR NOT USING UNTIL THE END!) and then got stretched out. It was still really chilly and I was wishing I had another dry layer to put on. Stopped at Dunkin for some coffee and a pumpkin donut on the way to the train to warm up a little.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The residual imbalances from the marathon. I would say I'm fully recovered but there are some issues that were there before the marathon that only seem to have been amplified by it and aren't really disappearing just yet. This race came a week earlier than it did in 2015 so there was a bit less recovery/ramp up time to get prepared for it. I'll be able to rest a bit more now that my next race is a HM in January.

Event comments:

This is a pretty good race but it attracts a lot of beginners/non-runners so the course etiquette can be a little chaotic. I do enjoy that it's not just another "Chicago lakefront path" course and it does have a unique after party (the hot chocolate and fondue is seriously amazing after a long chilly run).




Last updated: 2017-10-29 12:00 AM
Running
02:04:30 | 9.3 miles | 13m 23s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/994
Overall: 0/9663
Performance: Good
Miles: 1 - 15:55 (This was off due to GPS interference) 2 - 13:21 3 - 13:14 4- 13:24 5 - 12:57 6 - 13:08 7 - 13:02 8 - 12:57 9 - 13:13 .3 - 11:18
Course: Started in Grant Park like the Chicago Marathon but then went onto lower wacker instead of into River North and meandered back around the Loop to Michigan Avenue before the course split. I still hate the beginning of this race because it's crowded with people who don't know race etiquette and it's in the gross dark lower Wacker. I like the bit where we get to run down Michigan Avenue and only spend a little time on the lake front trail getting back north. Still dislike running through the McCormick Place loading tunnel.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
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] 4

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2017-10-29 2:00 PM

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