General Discussion Race Reports! » Chi Town Half Marathon Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

Chi Town Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Chicago, Illinois
United States
All Community Events
55F / 13C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 49m 35s
Overall Rank = 410/1593
Age Group = F25-29
Age Group Rank = 49/255
Pre-race routine:

I took Friday and Saturday off from any workouts and stayed off my feet. Put together gear bag on Saturday night. Went to bed around 10ish, but I didn't fall asleep until after 11. Woke up at 6a and ate oatmeal with PB and banana. Got dressed in a short sleeve, shorts, compression socks and visor, put in contacts and left around 6:50a. Got to the bus stop just in time to miss my bus, so tried to chase it down for about 2 blocks, gave up, and waited for the next one that came 20 minutes later. Sipped on 12 oz Gatorade and about 10 oz water. Stopped drinking at 7:30a.
Event warmup:

Got to the race site around 7:40ish. Stood in line at the port-a-potties. Took off sweats and then went to gear check. Finished that stuff around 8a, so did some stretching. Got in line around 8:10. The corral wasn't seeded, but there were pacers. I really wanted to finish sub 1:50 and had been trying to dial in that 8:20 pace on my tempo runs while leading up to this race. Lined up about three or four rows behind the 8:24 pacers. The half-marathon and 10k people all started at the same time. Mmost of the racers were running the half.
Run
  • 1h 49m 35s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 22s  min/mile
Comments:

After the horn sounded, a little bit of a bottleneck to get to the starting line. The pacer ended up being a good 15-20 rows of people ahead of me once I crossed the starting line. But after the start, the course wasn't too bad at all. Crowded, yes, but plenty of room to run. Ran south on one of the paths around the Zoo and then took a ramp down to go underneath LSD. I meant to look at my watch so I would know how long to expect the finish to be, but forgot. Ran through a tunnel then up the ramp. Ran the first mile by effort, settled in at what I thought would be the right pace.

I ended up catching up to the pacer around the first mile. I just use a regular stopwatch so used the mile markers for my splits. I ran it just over 8 minutes, so a little bit too fast. Stuck with the pacer for the next mile and it was right on target. I was feeling pretty good, and it was crowded behind the pacer, so I moved to be right in front of the pacer instead. He was really good. Constantly yelling out paces or if we needed to move over for cyclists. So I knew that as long as I could hear him, then I would be at a good pace. Water at 2 miles, took in a shot blook at mile 3.

Saw my husband, sister, brother-in-law and their two kids at 3.5. My nieces had made me a sign that said "Go Aunt Silly!" (that's what they call me) and one of my nieces was dressed as a mermaid (she's 4) and banged on a cowbell, so it was pretty funny to see. Definitely got lots of encouragement right then! My paces continued to be pretty consistent - we ran around Montrose Harbor and the parts of the path weren't in the best shape, but it wasn't too bad. Water again at 4.5 and 6.5, took in another shot blok at mile 5. Saw my family again at mile 7.5. At this point the course goes off the LFT and goes around Divesey Harbor. The paths here are a little bit wider and there were lots of spectators. The longest I have run at this pace was 7 miles, so when I got to mile 8 at the same pace I was wondering how much longer I would be able to go for. I was feeling pretty good - my legs felt fine, I had some general ickiness in my belly area, but it wasn't terrible. I took another shot blok at mile 8 and the taste was starting to get to me. I can take them like clockwork on training runs, but in races the taste bothers me after a while. I meant to take one at mile 10 or 11, but I forgot.

My miles 9 and 10 were both a little bit slow. but I still knew I could break 1:50 if I kept it up. At mile 10 it was just a 5k more and I knew that even if something happened and I couldn't make my goal time, I would definitely set a PR. Mile 11 also was a little bit slow, but I kept telling myself that for the last two miles I could pick it up. And just when I got to mile 11, Kanye's "Stronger" came on the iPod and that song is my jam! Around this time I play mental math games, so told myself 18 minutes max, or 6 more songs. And then just counted down from there. I increased pace a little bit, but looking back, I think I was still holding something back. Kept the same pace for the last mile. At the mile 13 marker I knew I was definitely going to make a sub 1:50, so I was pretty excited! Saw my family again in the finishing chute and crossed the line at 1:49:35

1: 8:02.78
2: 8:20.80
3: 8:25.55
4: 8:19.31
5: 8:19.31
6: 8:23.0
7: 8:22.97
8: 8:17.91
9: 8:29.68
10: 8:26.61
11: 8:30.18
12: 8:17.97
13: 8:17.63
.1: 1:02.01
What would you do differently?:

I don't think I went as hard as I could have in those last two miles. When I crossed the finish line, I was tired, but more so I wasn't panting super hard or had a really high HR, which happens when I'm doing speedwork. So I know that I'm capable of making myself go into that pain to get a fast time, but I didn't do that in this race. So I'm wondering if I pushed as hard as I could have? Looking at the big picture, my paces were more consistent than in the past for this distance and I was able to maintain that same pace throughout.
Post race
Warm down:

Met up with the fam. Walked around, got my gear bag and post-race treats (banana, pretzles, water, granola bar). Couldn't stomach eating the treats so put them in my bag. Did some stretching. Walked back to the bus and got home. Did some more stretching and foam roll.




Last updated: 2012-01-31 12:00 AM
Running
01:49:35 | 13.1 miles | 08m 22s  min/mile
Age Group: 49/255
Overall: 410/1593
Performance:
Course: Start just south of LP Zoo and make your way to the Lakefront Trail. Take that north up to Montrose harbor and do a little loop, then go back south on LFT to Diversey Harbor and do another loop. Back on LFT south and take that back to the start/finish.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
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] 5

{postbutton}
2012-04-02 1:02 PM

User image

Regular
641
50010025
Chicago
Subject: Chi Town Half Marathon


2012-04-02 1:22 PM
in reply to: #4124987

User image

Master
2005
2000
Silverton, Oregon
Subject: RE: Chi Town Half Marathon
Very well executed race, and great pacing! Fantastic!!! Congrats on making your goal and the new PR!!!
2012-04-02 2:40 PM
in reply to: #4124987

User image

Veteran
336
10010010025
Yorktown, VA & Langley AFB
Subject: RE: Chi Town Half Marathon

AWESOME Pacing!!  Congrats on the nice PR!

2012-04-02 3:01 PM
in reply to: #4124987

User image

Veteran
291
100100252525
Chicago
Subject: RE: Chi Town Half Marathon
Congrats on the PR!  It was a great day to race!
2012-04-02 3:36 PM
in reply to: #4124987

User image

Elite
3072
200010002525
san francisco
Subject: RE: Chi Town Half Marathon
What a great race for you!!!!  Excellent strategy and a terrific RR to boot.  Can't wait for your next race!  Keep up the great work, Auntie Silly!  
2012-04-18 1:33 PM
in reply to: #4124987

User image

Expert
1145
100010025
Ann Arbor, MI
Subject: RE: Chi Town Half Marathon

Wow, you completely nailed the pacing and nutrition, congrats on a super race.  

Oh, and I agree, Kanye is the best music late in a race.  Stronger and Power almost always make the playlist.  "Go Aunt Silly"!  Love it.  



2012-04-19 7:56 PM
in reply to: #4124987

User image

Champion
7163
500020001002525
Verona WI--Ironman Bike Country!
Subject: RE: Chi Town Half Marathon
You had a great race!  Congratulations on such consistent pacing all the way to the finish line!
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » Chi Town Half Marathon Rss Feed