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American Brain Tumor Path to Progress
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American Brain Tumor Path to Progress - Run5k
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Comments: We were definitely seeded too far back for a charity race since no one seemed to be where they should have been. I spent the first mile running mostly in the grass to the side of the pack so I could pass without getting blocked in. Unfortunately that meant I had to dodge puddles, trees, and spectators but at least they were stationary. My time for the first mile was 9:51 and I knew I had to pick up the pace if I wanted to make my goal so I lengthened my stride a smidge and sped up. It was somewhere between mile 1 and 2 that a guy with a dog crept up on my left and passed me. While I was watching them I got strollered on the right by a woman who was just flying along. Both of them were required to start at the back to stay out our way. Riiiiight. Just after that I could see the front runners on their way back. I saw Chris and watched for Quincy but with all the trees between us I missed her. My second mile time was 9:25 and I knew I could PR the race if I could keep up my pace so I kept pushing through and decided to skip the water station with its slow moving crowd. It helped that I was still passing people left and right and not getting passed much myself. A lot of the people running were wearing t-shirts with messages about why or who they were running for so I read those as I went along. By the time we got back to the area by Soldier Field we were passing the walkers. There were two columns of the packed on the paths like sardines and they stretched on forever calling encouragement to the runners. I was getting tired and my heart rate was climbing but I couldn't see the finish nor could I remember where exactly it was. We finally veered away from the walkers and I saw the tunnel leading to the stadium where I assumed we would finish on the other side. The finish was on the other side but it required a quick little climb followed by a 180 degree turn then a little further to the line. I decided I wanted to pass as many people as I could so as soon as I hit the turn around I sprinted to the finish. I tried to keep my head up and wait to stop my watch until after I crossed but I don't know if I managed it. What would you do differently?: Seed myself further up and run harder for the first mile to avoid having to pass the entire pack.  Post race
Warm down: I grabbed a drink then headed back to the tunnel to watch for Ryan and Laura. After cheering them to the finish we met Quincy and Chris, who both got their PRs, and picked up our stuff from the gear check. We then walked a few blocks to a cafe that Ryan and Laura suggested and got some breakfast. My breakfast burrito was as big as my head and I didn't even manage to eat half. What limited your ability to perform faster: The crowds. Event comments: I enjoyed this race a lot even though it was quite a hike. I would consider doing another race at this venue, but probably only once a year. Last updated: 2010-05-10 12:00 AM
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 2010-05-23 10:08 AM |
Extreme Veteran  612   Chicago-ish |  Subject: American Brain Tumor Path to Progress |
| 2010-05-23 5:51 PM in reply to: #2876407 |
Expert 1358  Albuquerque, New Mexico | Subject: RE: American Brain Tumor Path to Progress Just thought you'd chuckle...Chris ran in the heat today after sleeping off his night shift. And I quote, "It was like I had never run before." Maybe it was a good thing the race was cool...but, hey, yay for PR's! Nice job on the run. Like we talked about at breakfast, I am convinced your run times are going to continue to drop and drop rapidly. Nice race report and congrats on your PR! |
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United States
65F / 18C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 187/772
Age Group = 30-34
Age Group Rank = 33/149
Got up at 5:15 and immediately started questioning why I wanted to do a 5k downtown, but dragged myself out of bed and got ready. I ate a bagel with peanut butter, grabbed a water bottle and headed out. The drive to the city took about an hour and at 7:05 I was parked and heading for Soldier Field.
A nice twenty minute walk from my car, past the Field Museum (with the dinosaur out front wear a Blackhawks jersey which made me smile) and around Soldier Field to the starting area. When I got in line to get my packet I saw Ryan and his wife, Laura, so I hopped out of line to say hello. After getting my packet I hit the port-a-potty then we checked our gear. At the gear check we met Quincy and her husband, Chris, and discussed our race strategy. Quincy and Chris were going for PRs and planned to be at the front of the start. I was looking for a PR too, but my goal was breaking 30 minutes which Laura said she wanted to try too so I said I'd run with her and Ryan.
At the start we thought we'd seeded ourselves to far up so we moved back a bit which was probably a mistake. They were running behind so we didn't start until almost 10 minutes to 9. I spent some time in the chute stretching and trying to keep my muscles loose.