I was up around 4:30 am and I ate my regular Kashi bar and drank a bottle of Nuun and got the kids up (they were not too pleased to be up so early, but they came around). We left the hotel a little later than I had planned - 5:45 am. We had a little over a mile to walk from our hotel to the start line, and we had to stop by gear check and the porta potties before heading to our corrals.
We saw a lot of people walking to Grant Park on our way. We could already tell that it was hotter and more humid than had been predicted. I was a little disappointed about that, but there was really nothing we could do about that obviously.
It was very crowded once we got to Grant Park, and it was a slow go to get to gear check and the potties. I told hubby and son to go ahead and I would go to gear check, as hubby was in corral 4 and son in corral 8. I was in 27, so daughter and I stuck together, dropped off our bag, and got in line for one last bathroom break. We met a nice woman in line who is racing a half marathon in all 50 states, so we talked while we waited in line. While still in line, we heard the national anthem in the distance, as well as the starting gun. About 10 minutes later, we got through the line and headed to the corrals. They were crowded. I tried to get to my corral near the 2:45 pacer, but it was so crowded, we started the race behind the 3:00 pacer (though I passed and got ahead of him early in the race).
I ran with daughter (who was running the mini-marathon/5K) until the two courses split about 1/2 mile in. The first mile seemed like it flew by, but according to my Garmin, I was running my normal pace, about 12:30. Right around this point, I found this man:
I was so impressed! I can only hope that I'm able to still be running half marathons in my 80's! He is definitely a rock star in my book!
I passed him and kept running, only walking through the water stops. I stopped for water at each one, which I normally never do, but I really wanted to stay hydrated. Mile 2 went just like mile 1, and my pace was good. Unfortunately, the tall buildings must have done a number on my Garmin, because before I hit the 3 mile mark on the course, my Garmin beeps and says I ran mile 3 in under 9 minutes. There was no way that that had happened, so I was a little disappointed that I couldn't count on my Garmin for this race. (Hubby actually said the same thing happened with his.)
At about 3.5 miles, my son texted me and said that he finally remembered to text me that he had finished the mini (about 40 minutes earlier), but he was still waiting for his sister. Once she finished and he found her, he sent another text to let me know, and I put my phone in my Spibelt, knowing they were good.
I kept up my pace, only walking through the water stations, but quickly discovered that staying hydrated was going to require me to possibly stop at a porta potty. Early in the race all the potties had very long lines, so I didn't stop. Around mile 6 I found one with no line, so I ducked inside quickly and got back to racing.
The bands and crowd support were a lot of fun. There was a band about every mile, and that always energized me. There were also a lot of groups with signs, costumes, and music.
When I got my gummies out to take at mile 8, I saw that my son had texted me again to tell me that hubby had finished. I sent a quick "thx mile 8" so they knew where I was and kept on trucking. Not surprisingly, I lost some steam pretty quickly. Right before mile nine, I decided I wanted to run intervals for the rest of the race, so I reset my Garmin and started 2:30 run/1:00 min walk.
That went well, though I was surprised how congested things were in my neck of the woods. I consider myself a back of the pack runner, but there were a lot of people nearby. Most of them were pretty much walking at this point. It was really hot, and I could tell that was taking its toll. About mile 10.5, during one of my walk intervals, I was surprised (but not really) to see the 3:00 pacer passing me. I quit walking immediately and ran to pass him, but at this point in the race, I just didn't have enough energy left to be running steady, or at that pace. The pacer was also doing intervals (which I'm sure they did from the start), and after passing him and him passing me back and forth a few times, I finally decided to not worry about having a 3+ hour time, and ran my own race.
There was a really cool part around mile 11 or so when we ran through a tunnel under McCormick place. They had lights and music and it really energized me for a brief moment. I kept up with my intervals and around mile 12, I saw hubby walking toward me. He jumped on the course and we talked and ran together for just a bit. I found out that he didn't PR either, but he had a good race. He jumped off the course to go let the kids know I was nearing the finish, and I was so happy to see them cheering for me as I passed.
I ran through the finish line strong and with a smile on my face. They gave us cold, wet towels even before they gave us medals, and a lot of people were heading directly to the medical tent. (Hubby said that he had seen several people taken away in ambulances.) I got my medal, took some pictures, got some chocolate milk, which was sadly pretty warm. I drank about half and then grabbed a bottle of lukewarm water and a Jamba Juice Strawberry Banana Smoothie, and headed out of the runner zone to find my family.
We got our medals engraved, and then headed to the stage area to watch the Walk Off the Earth concert. The sun was beating down, and I felt a little sick, but I had brought a Nuun tablet with me and put it in the water and drank it and felt a lot better. We watched the concert, which was excellent, and then headed back to the hotel.
Here's a couple of pictures from after the race:
My another mother runner shirt says "Someday my PR will come" and it totally fit for this race. My #1 and #2 goals for this race were to have fun and finish strong, and I feel like I was successful. My #3 goal was to PR, but it wasn't in the cards for me. My time was 3:01:57, which was my worst half time ever, but I finished and I am proud of that.
I am really considering incorporating the run/walk strategy for runs 10 miles or higher, at least for the time being. I know Jeff Galloway says it's important to start the intervals from the beginning, and when I did that for my last half, I was about 13 minutes faster. I've also read that he says if you start with intervals and then get to mile 9 or 10 and feel great, you can diminish or eliminate the intervals.
My next half is the Nashville Women's Half at the end of September. It will be a lot more hilly, and the temperature could go either way. I think the interval strategy will help me be more successful, and truthfully, 13.1 is 13.1, whether you finish first or last.
Like I said, I always feel like I am the last one in these races, and the sweeper is ready to make me stop at any moment. But last night, looking at the official results, hubby remarked that there were over 6000 people who finished behind me.
I can't wait for my next half - it's an amazing feeling!
No comments:
Post a Comment