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Fleet Feet Sports Soldier Field 10 Mile - Run10 Mile


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Chicago, Illinois
United States
Fleet Feet Sports
75F / 24C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 18m 36s
Overall Rank = 890/8340
Age Group = F40-44
Age Group Rank = 33/517
Pre-race routine:

Up before the alarm. Coffee. Two pieces whole wheat bread with tsp of peanut butter and honey. This was too much, should only eat one piece of bread before a race. I know this. Stretch and roll out the potentially problematic calf. The kids both decided it would be a good idea to get up with us so I got to feed them too. Babysitter was on time and we were out the door on time.
Event warmup:

I am not very good at warming up for races. Plus we stood in line for the port a potty which took up most of the pre-race.
Run
  • 1h 18m 36s
  • 10 miles
  • 07m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

Started off in the A corral, which was pretty large even though it was seeded. It is really important to start as far up as possible on a big race like this...so painful to try to pass people in a huge crowd. I felt dehydrated before the start so I made the decision to take a water at every water station. Normally I would only have hit 2 or 3, but I was a bit concerned so I just made it my plan and stuck with it. It worked fine. This was the first race I have ever entered where I wasn't sure I would be able to finish. My sore calf was really concerning me. I wore compression sleeves on both legs and while my calf felt tired at around mile 6 or 7, it never deteriorated into anything more serious. I was pretty happy with my pace...a bit uneven but no huge drop offs, even when I started to feel it.
What would you do differently?:

I didn't have my long run quite as long as I should have for this race (I'm up around 7.5mi). I really felt it musculoskeletally (is this a word?). Aerobically I felt fantastic and my upper body never got tired so I was able to hold my form together pretty well.

I skated by because it's only 10 miles, but as I look at longer races, I need to be disciplined in putting the miles in. I am still trying to figure out how to train for both running and triathlon...

I also almost paid dearly for my stupid pre-race decision to eat just a bit more than normal. Maybe I am scared straight now. I need to be very disciplined about this from now on.
Post race
Warm down:

Bud Light on the south lawn in the sunshine with my gorgeous husband. Heaven.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I think my musculoskeletal fitness is behind my cardio at this point. I think if I work on my long run and put more mileage in running I won't have the aches and pains that start to hit, or at least they won't hit as early. This is a pretty important goal for the Chicago Marathon in October. I really want to be on top of the long run early on in training.

Event comments:

This was a fun race. Running a race on the lake front path is nothing really special, but finishing in the stadium is definitely the hook and very very cool. However my most epic FAIL of the entire race was forgetting to look up and see myself on the jumbotron. I'll have to do it again next year and try to remember to look! Another GREAT thing this race had going for it was FREE PARKING! I mean, WOW! It was pretty organized too, and I don't think anyone got shut out of the parking. The volunteers were great, and the event organizers worked very hard to make it a nice experience. The only complaint I have was when they went to weather condition "black." At this point, they claimed the race was cancelled and asked everyone to stop. We were already done so it didn't affect me directly but I felt terrible for the people who were still out on the course. I would have been angry about that...especially since it was 75 and breezy. Not sure how the criteria got us to "black" but it was eye opening that the city can just capriciously cancel events like that. I'm going to be careful about what I sign up for in the future. This is the only reason I gave this race a 4 instead of a 5. I really enjoyed myself and the day.




Last updated: 2009-12-30 12:00 AM
Running
01:18:36 | 10 miles | 07m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 33/517
Overall: 517/8340
Performance: Good
1: 7:57 2: 7:45 3: 7:47 4/5: 15:58 (at the start was chatting with a gal about her 310xt...noticed she was wearing the pink Newton racers=triathlete...she caught up to me after a water station and asked me why I wasn't wearing the racers...pretty funny conversation. I found out her race schedule (we're racing one in common), where she lives, and what she does...then found out she knows a friend of mine who owns a pilates studio in my 'hood. OK, can you see why I missed mile 5?) 6: 7:50 7: 7:57 8: 7:47 9: 8:03 (ouch, wheels fell off) 10: 7:29 (I'm better, thanks)
Course: The course is a simple out and back...same as the rock and roll 1/2 marathon...you're staring death in the face on the way down south on LSD and fighting non-race pedestrians and the occasional p*ssed off cyclist on the path on the way back up north. Mostly flat with a few tiny grades...and not much in the way of wind.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2010-06-01 2:17 PM

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Subject: Fleet Feet Sports Soldier Field 10 Mile
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