Yesterday was the inaugural Chicago Rock & Roll Half-Marathon! We made it to race day!! I don't have much time to write, but I had such a good time, I have been looking forward to posting some pictures.
The basics: The weather was perfect. It was in the 70s with less humidity (I think) than was expected. It was so perfect, in fact, that I didn't even think about the weather until a slight breeze came up from the lake front, but even that died down quickly. It was perfect.
My finishing time was 2:06:09. That's almost 6 minutes faster than I ran the (almost identically) same course two years ago (pre-baby!) and over 2 minutes faster than I ran Indy last October. My ultimate goal is to run a half in two hours flat. Of course I hoped to do that, but my realistic goal was to beat my previous best race time, and I did that. I am more than pleased!! The only thing that could have made the race more enjoyable and possibly faster would have been Meg, but there will be more races.
Brendan and Elliot came with me to this race, and my friend Lynn met them there. I saw Brendan and Elliot between miles 4 and 5. I have to be honest, seeing Elliot watch all the runners choked me up for a minute. He didn't even see me, but that was ok. Just knowing that he was part of this was touching. Brendan did a fantastic job of containing Elliot and helping him to enjoy the weekend. The only major kid-related snafu all weekend came on the trip home, when I turned around to see that he had spilled milk all over himself, the car seat, the car, etc., after he was already mad about being cooped up in the car. These things happen. We did finally make it home and even got to the tail end of N's graduation party.
One huge lesson learned this time around: it helps to know the course. Having done essentially the same course two years ago, I knew where the harder parts would be, and planned accordingly. I really believe that the combination of good weather and knowing the course helped me to lower my finishing time. After the mileage update, some pictures!
193.4 + 6 + 3.25 + 2.45 + 13.1 = 218.2 miles
Elliot with Honey at Lynn's parents' place
Lynn and me after the race
Elliot and his sweaty Mama after the race
Me (on the left in the purple shirt) somewhere between miles 4 and 5
2 comments:
Wow! I am so impressed. I can barely run around the block.
Congrats on the race. I was hoping for a 2.05 and you got close. Great PR. Next up - Detroit. Look out motor city - a runner is stalking you.
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