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Chicago Half Marathon report

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Post  Penelope Sun Sep 08, 2013 6:09 pm

Chicago Half Marathon 9/8/13.

Goals: 1:55:00 and average pace below 8:50.
Results: 1:55:15, 8:47 average.  (Garmin 13.15 and 1:55:18, 8:46 average)
Last half 1:56:46 July 2013
PR (from 2008)--about 1:52 (the course was short so it's extrapolated from the average pace from my GPS).  The most official (not short  half a mile) half marathon I've ever done was 1:55:59 in 2007, so at least I beat that Smile  It goes to show that more miles did help now compared to then.  I've lost weight but was still about 8 lbs lighter then than now, so better training is worth more than just weight loss.


I ran this race as a follow up from the Soldier Field 10 and the Rock N Roll Chicago Half.  My average pace at the Soldier Field was 8:50, and at 10 miles, I had another 3.1 in me.  For the first race ever, I was sorry I had to stop at 10 miles.  I wasn't able to replicate that pace in the half marathon 2 months later (it was hot-- probably 25+ degrees warmer).  So, for this race, I wanted to keep my average pace below 8:50, and run faster than 1:55:00.  

Three things stood in the way of me and those 16 seconds.  1) My shoe came untied after mile 1.  How many races have I run and I made this newbie mistake of not double knotting?? That probably only took 5-10 seconds to fix, but I was 16 over my goal and thus annoyed with myself . 2) My quad began to hurt around 6.5 miles and I think it may have slowed me down a little or at least prevented a a larger negative split.  I even took a salt tab at the start and at 5 miles, so not sure what the right quad was up to.  I guess it eased away sometime later; I don't remember when.  3) it was 75F at the start and a humid day.  There was a breeze that helped, but it was pretty sticky out there.  So, I KNOW that I can get that 1:54:xx but it didn't seem to work out for today.

The past month hasn't been great for my training. Earlier in the summer was better.  Lately I've been struggling with endurance on my longer runs and dealing with an erratic work schedule that's screwing up my sleep schedule as well.  I was not as confident going into this race as a result.  I knew before today's results that I can do sub 1:55 / sub 8:50 pace, but was worried that it may not be today.  I was close though.  My runs in August just weren't great overall and my body has been feeling more achy, stiff, and run-down.  I woke up with sore quads today, too.  I have this weird thing for the past 5 years where when I don't get enough sleep, my quads hurt / ache.  I have no idea why, and neither do my co-workers.  Every time I was up all night, my legs would just ache, sometimes for 2 days.  Last night I could NOT sleep, and that stupid quad pain was back.  I took a gram of tylenol and actually soaked in epsom salt in the bathtub.  Even at 4:30, it was so humid that it was hard to dry off after that.  Yuck.  I was a little worried because my legs didn't feel particularly peppy waiting in the start line, but the aching was at least gone, and I don't think it had any effect on my performance.   But endurance in general seems to be sub-optimal.  Wonder if I'm anemic or something because after about 9 miles on my long runs, I'd be tired.  Today I was worried that I would blow up at the end, and at one point shifted my goal to just running 8:45 pace and not worrying about speeding up any more in the final few miles.  I didn't fall apart, but it really felt like I was, and my splits weren't very consistent.  In the last 3 miles,  wasn't able to actively push it where I knew / could tell I was going faster, and didn't feel in control.  It was more like hanging on for dear life and hoping I wasn't slowing down.  Not pretty.  I used my mantra of "Relax and run" and from the movie What About Bob "I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful."   When it started to seem bad, I focused on one person ahead of me at a time to pass, which really helped me a lot to focus on that instead of worrying I was falling apart.  Overall, I'm pleased with the results--an improvement in average pace of 8 seconds per mile and an improvement from 2 months ago by 1:29.  I was dying by the final few minutes and just couldn't rally for a sprint in to get my 1:54:59.  So I'm generally happy, especially since it was so humid, but I still know I can do better, and hope I can eventually break 1:53.

Splits and my thoughts were:
 
9:15 okay, didn't start too fast, yay, now get moving
9:00 even better
8:39 okay slow down or this will end in tears
8:56 that's more like it
8:46 good, hold this pace until mile 12
8:48 good, just keep swimming…
8:34 no wonder this mile hurt and I fear a blowup, what the hell am I doing?
8:44 better, just hold this pace and hang on
8:50 oh no. Keep your sh-t together now
8:36 how about a steady pace of 8:45 until mile 11 or 12, this is why this feels so bad
8:50 dammit
8:40 that felt way harder than 8:40 should
8:29 how did I do that, I'm dying just get to the finish line now
final 0.1 at 8:04 pace and I couldn't dig any deeper 
  
I would definitely do this race again.  It seemed pretty well-organized.  Only complaints were that packet pickup is at Navy Pier, which is a pain to get to unless you want to over-pay for parking, and that they should have chocolate milk afterwards.  Generally happy with this race and do recommend it and if I'm off next year on that weekend, plan to do it again.   Next up for me is the Monster Half Marathon 10/20 in Chicago, although I told a co-worker whose wife is pregnant that I would cover him that day if the baby comes early / that week. So I'm registered but it's not definite that I'm doing it.  Cheers for that race for having the option to get your number and shirt at the expo for the race today.

Some girl / hair issues:
I need to figure out what to do with my hair in races.  It's getting longer now.   I had put it in a high ponytail and then braided it--because I wanted it to look decent in the pictures, honestly, and it was humid so I didn't want a lower ponytail.  But the braid was thick and it kept smacking me, so I released it in the 2nd mile.  Then my ponytail kept blowing forward in my face with the loose ends of hair hitting my mouth, which was just as annoying.  It got all matted and gross, too--a real joy in the shower later trying to detangle it.   This hasn't been an issue on my regular runs.   I distinctly remember thinking in one of my harder miles that my hair was not helping me and that this was an absurd thing to be thinking about in a race.  I don't like lower ponytails covering my neck when it's hot, and when I do a low braid, it seems to fall out--I've had to stop on training runs because all the sudden my hair is completely loose.  I noticed other girls running in french braids, so maybe I should try that.  Cutting it is not a viable option.  I spend a lot of money getting it permanently straightened so I keep it long, and I like it long.
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Post  Michele "1L" Keane Sun Sep 08, 2013 6:13 pm

Nice work, Kathy.  I wondered about the weather as it was 70F and 100% humidity here at 8 am.  I felt bad as there was a half here as well, and I am sure the weather didn't help.  However, you handled it well and did a fantastic job.  I'm hoping the quad is just a nervous thing that allowed itself to mess with you (happens to me all the time), and as for the hair: have you tried a visor or hat?
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Post  fostever Sun Sep 08, 2013 6:55 pm

Congrats on the execution of your goal time. The weather was very sticky, but the wind helped cool things, aye. Sorry I didn't see you there. Probably wouldn't have recognized you since it's been a couple years. I saw Dave O heading back before the turn around, but think he may have DNF'd. Anywhoo, congrats again.
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Post  mul21 Sun Sep 08, 2013 8:07 pm

That's a great effort in some less than ideal weather.  I don't know about you, but humidity wrecks me a whole lot more than heat. 

Nice Job!
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Post  dot520 Mon Sep 09, 2013 8:46 am

Humidity can suck the PR right out of you.  I love it when friends say, "You must have had it great race, it was nice and cool..only 70 degrees" and not even imagine what the humidity is doing to you.  Congrats on a great race regardless of all the little issues.
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Post  Dave-O Mon Sep 09, 2013 12:56 pm

Really solid race, Kathy.  I have no doubt with better conditions you'll be under 1:55, if not by a few minutes.
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Post  ounce Mon Sep 09, 2013 4:45 pm

Great job, Kathy.  It 'ought' to be cooler for the Monster Half. 

I don't have any serious recommendations about the hair, as I don't have that issue.

Treat your quads to some rest and sleep for a couple of days.
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Post  Penelope Tue Sep 10, 2013 6:27 pm

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Nice work, Kathy.  I wondered about the weather as it was 70F and 100% humidity here at 8 am.  I felt bad as there was a half here as well, and I am sure the weather didn't help.  However, you handled it well and did a fantastic job.  I'm hoping the quad is just a nervous thing that allowed itself to mess with you (happens to me all the time), and as for the hair: have you tried a visor or hat?
Thanks Michele! I don't know if the quad was nerves...maybe? It was right in the middle of the race.  Whatever it was lasted a few miles then left without me noticing.  Hmm...for my hair, I don't like hats because I find them hot / sweaty.  But I never thought of a visor.  I could probably tuck a braid into it so the thwomping would stop....thanks for the ideas!
fostever wrote:Congrats on the execution of your goal time. The weather was very sticky, but the wind helped cool things, aye. Sorry I didn't see you there. Probably wouldn't have recognized you since it's been a couple years. I saw Dave O heading back before the turn around, but think he may have DNF'd. Anywhoo, congrats again.
Thanks, Steve! I think the breeze helped but I struggled with that humidity.  I didn't realize anyone else around was running it....maybe next time we can organize something--I am TERRIBLE with faces, like embarrassingly bad at recognizing people, so if we walked by each other, no offense taken!
mul21 wrote:That's a great effort in some less than ideal weather.  I don't know about you, but humidity wrecks me a whole lot more than heat. 

Nice Job!
Thanks Jim! Yeah, heat is okay, but humidity is really detrimental to me, too!  It was cloudy, so the sun wasn't beating down making it worse.  
dot520 wrote:Humidity can suck the PR right out of you.  I love it when friends say, "You must have had it great race, it was nice and cool..only 70 degrees" and not even imagine what the humidity is doing to you.  Congrats on a great race regardless of all the little issues.
Thanks Dot! So true, I think that's what it did for me. I felt sucked out of a PR and sucked dry.  Re friends, I know-- a few people said how nice the 75F must have been for a race....
Dave-O wrote:Really solid race, Kathy.  I have no doubt with better conditions you'll be under 1:55, if not by a few minutes.
Thanks, Dave! I think and hope you're right about that! I didn't realize you were there either.  Bad with faces....
ounce wrote:Great job, Kathy.  It 'ought' to be cooler for the Monster Half. 

I don't have any serious recommendations about the hair, as I don't have that issue.

Treat your quads to some rest and sleep for a couple of days.
Thanks Ounce! Yeah, definitely expecting better conditions for the Monster half! Fingers crossed that my co-worker's baby comes late so I can run it for sure....my quads are definitely getting some rest! They are still buckling periodically when walking.

Thanks for reading!!
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Post  nkrichards Tue Sep 10, 2013 10:19 pm

Kathy,

That's a pretty impressive result considering the circumstances.  Listen to your body and take that well deserved time off and you'll be energized and ready to improve again.

Congrats on a great race.
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Post  Jim Lentz Thu Sep 12, 2013 8:25 am

That kind of weather will definitely slow you down. Great job on that race!
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Post  Jerry Fri Sep 13, 2013 3:48 pm

Kathy, welcome back to serious training. PR is great.
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Post  amyjoann Tue Sep 17, 2013 6:08 pm

great job! your thoughts at each mile split are so funny,it sounds like you are listening to my thoughts in my head during a race. If you ran this good with heat and humidity real great things are surley heading your way woot woot!Very Happy
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Post  mountandog Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:02 pm

nice run.  congrats.  even though i have 4 daughters I can't help you with the hair thing.  Very Happy
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