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La Salle Bank Chicago Distance Classic - RunHalf Marathon


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Chicago, Illinois
United States
72F / 22C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 37m 45s
Overall Rank = 644/8720
Age Group = 35-39
Age Group Rank = 95/713
Pre-race routine:

I totally messed this part up. Due to whatever reason (kids, poor planning) I didn't get a good night sleep for the two days prior to the event. Never a good start. I got up at the planned time of 4:30am and left about 10 mins late at 5:10. I had a bad cup of coffee at the hotel (which was about 30 min away from the race). I planned to bring another cup of bad coffee with me and get a cup of Starbucks in time for the race. This would top off the tank, but... I didn't bring the second cup and never made it to Starbucks. I'm blaming that alone for 30-60 sec of extra time. I also forgot my sports bottle of Accerlade at the hotel (another 30+ secs) and got to the start late because I forgot to put my parking stub in my window and had to sprint back to my car a half mile away. I was planning on running with the 1:35 pace group, but instead I was behind the 2:15 pace group.
I did get a Powerbar in me and a Power gel right before the race. Washed it down with Propel and water. Two visits to the bathroom and no GI problems on the course.
Event warmup:

Running back and forth to my car. I seem to do that a lot.
Run
  • 1h 37m 45s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 28s  min/mile
Comments:

I came to the race with a bad right heel, which is weird since I've been working on running on my forefoot. It started hurting out of nowhere on a rest day last week. I ran 7 miles on Friday on a treadmill and it really bothered me. As I ran back and forth to the car I wondered if I should just pack it up, but I wanted to qualify for a corral start for Chicago Marathon (hoping for the 1:35 to put me in a faster corral). The heel really bothered me and my running form.
Also, since I didn't have my sport bottle I had to drink from the cups of Gatorade. I have been training with Gatorade so the drink switch was not a problem. I was just hoping to go the first part of the race with my favorite drink.
The first part of the run I spent an enormous amount of energy trying to get around people (rule get there early to run with your pace group). This, and not having enough caffeine, really cost me later in the race. I never settled in on a pace. When I was finally with a group that was around my pace I was failing fast. At around mile 8 I knew there was no way I was going to make my goal time and although I kept pushing I did back off just a hair. Then a couple of guys passed me and I tried to pace behind them for a while. Then at mile 11 I was done. My foot was screaming, my legs were dead, and my will was shot. The last mile was pure torture.
What would you do differently?:

Not run that day. Too many things stacked up to cause problems. From my foot to the coffee to the pace group. Not to mention the heat and humidity, running back to the car, and forgetting my sports bottle. There are days you just have to realize racing that day my be worse than not.
Post race
Warm down:

I limped to my car that was close to a mile away from the finish line. I finally got that cup of coffee and drove back to the hotel.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Everything.

With all the frustration the day brought this was a smoking fast time for me. I do think I could have run faster, but I'm proud of the effort I gave. I was really shooting for under 1:36 and I missed my time by less than 2 mins. Not Bad.

Right now I'm just worried that I may have a stress fracture on my right calcaneous. I don't get it since I've really worked on not heel striking. I'll rest it for a few days, finally get back in the pool and on the bike, and see what happens.

Event comments:

This was a very well organized race with lots of volunteers. I would love to do it again.




Last updated: 2007-08-13 12:00 AM
Running
01:37:45 | 13.1 miles | 07m 28s  min/mile
Age Group: 95/713
Overall: 644/8720
Performance: Bad
Mile: 1. 7:37 2. 7:46 3. 7:16 4. 7:19 5. 7:15 6. 7:26 7. 7:15 8. 7:21 9. 7:12 10. 7:09 11. 7:31 12. 7:32 13. 8:12 0.1 :51
Course: Around the city streets of Chicago. The only hills were up and down overpasses, but they felt like mountains. Lots of running under buildings, so my GPS was pretty worthless at those times. It was really humid and warm, but better than expected. The tunnels were pretty miserable.
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Bad
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? No
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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2007-08-13 11:05 AM

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Regular
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252525
Central Illinois
Subject: La Salle Bank Chicago Distance Classic


2007-08-13 11:28 AM
in reply to: #923666

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Pro
4541
2000200050025
A farming town in MN
Subject: RE: La Salle Bank Chicago Distance Classic
Awesome race!  That's a smokin' fast pace for a half mary...congrats!  Rest...and take care of that injury...

Edited by sparco 2007-08-13 11:29 AM
2007-08-27 1:38 PM
in reply to: #923666

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Regular
65
2525
Little Rock, AR
Subject: RE: La Salle Bank Chicago Distance Classic
wow Doc! It really sounds like the fates were conspiring against you on this one!  Congrats for still finishing strong, just hope you're not out of commission too badly with that foot   Take good care of yourself!
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