Sunday, May 5, 2013

9th Annual Run to Remember 5k

Stats:

22:13 a PR by 5 seconds!*

2nd AG/ 379**

8th woman overall out of??

107th finisher out of 3230.

Three words to describe this race: cowabunga! Wheeeee! Yippee!

I love this race.

I ran this Race last year and loved every second of it. It was a no brainer for me to sign up again this year because- it is practically in my backyard out by soldier field, is extremely well organized, and also is a fund raiser for the families of fallen police officers- something close to my heart since my cousin was shot in the line of duty last year. (And thankfully is doing well now)


The last tenth of a mile contains the photos of all the Chicago police officers who were killed in the line of duty.


I was even fortunate to have my boys cheering for me. This was Churro Bear's first time spectating, and he did a wonderful job- although I had a feeling he would have rather been running.


I did this race "old school" with my 2008 timex. I would have used my antique one from 15 years ago, but the battery was dead. (I also had my Garmin but didn't look at it more than 3 times). It is truly psychologically defeating to rely on the garmin so much. I felt liberated by wearing the Timex and not knowing my exact pace to the second.

Before the start, an officer sang the national anthem, and the police chaplain said a prayer. There was also a bagpipe band playing as we started/finished the race.


Screen grab from L's video

Soon we were off and I settled into a comfy hard pace. I really wish I could say something brilliant about the whole 3.1 miles, but I just did exactly what I set out to do which was keep pushing and not give into my mind saying I was tired. The race went by quickly.

My splits were 7:00, 7:17, 7:12, and 42 seconds.

I really enjoyed the massive CPD helicopter flying low with its sirens wailing along the lakefront while we were running.

I grabbed some water around the halfway mark, and remembered why I usually bring my own- it's hard to drink out of paper cups without inhaling the water up your nose and I get thirsty & hate my throat being dry.


L took this photo of me up off of Solidarity road near the aquarium.

I really tried to kick it in after this point because I knew it was less than half a mile to the finish. My body just wouldn't go much faster. Soon, I ran up the tiny hill and kicked it in to the finish and nearly collapsed.


I'm freaking happy.

*My previous 5k PR (22:18) was from November 2011. How long are PR's good for anyways?

All last year I couldn't beat 23:30, due to injury, and training for the Fox Valley marathon. 5ks have never really been a priority in my life. It felt fantastic to take 1:20 off of my time from last year in this race.


And why I'm bummed. A little...

**We waited around for the awards to start but ended up leaving after an hour. I really didnt think I'd place in a race this size, especially since there are so many fast ladies running in the Chicago area. A 22 minute 5k is not very fast in the grand scheme of things when there's a lot of ladies in the area capable of running sub 20. But... You never know who will show up or not.

Turns out I was wrong. I saw the results an hour after we got home and was surprised at 8th woman, 2nd AG. Bummer!!


CB and I with Olmec head #6 by the field museum.

It was a great day for running- perfect weather and a great time to celebrate being healthy. I struggle with injuries a lot and this race, while slightly slower than what I had wanted put a huge smile on my face.

What's next?

Another 5k, Soldier Field 10 miler and the Chicago Women's Half marathon.

I'm really excited to keep building a good strong base for Fox Valley Marathon version 2.0 this year.

- xaar

26 comments:

  1. Wow, nice job on your PR and being second in your age group! That's awesome! And what a cool race to run for a good cause. Glad to hear your cousin is doing okay.

    When we still only had one dog, I used to take Jude to spectate nearby races my husband ran, and he just went nuts watching all the runners. I'm sure CB had fun :)

    I'll see you at Soldier Field and the Women's Half!

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    1. Thank you :) I bet Jude enjoyed watching all the crazy people running. CB was exhausted when we got home!

      Cant wait to see you in a few weeks at Soldier Field!

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  2. ack I didn't know you FVM again this year! I am doing the half for the third time.

    Awesome job on the PR!

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    1. Thank you! Wow! I didnt realize youve done FVM 2 times already :) I fell in love with running at that race last year.

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  3. Congrats on your PR and 2nd in your age group!!! Awesome job! I'll be at Soldier Field as well!! :)

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    1. Thank you! Awesome youre doing Soldier Field too! Its a great race.

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  4. Congrats on the PR! I like the pics especially the one of you flying down Solidarity Drive. Even though you were trying to kick at the end and weren't able to turn on too much extra speed, you were focused on finishing strong and that's what counts. By the way, nice splits. Almost completely even. Are you going to make any changes to your race tactics for your next 5k? Congrats again.

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    1. Thank you! I think i went out a bit fast but was happy with how it went. Im sure these short races take loads of practice since you dont have the luxury of a few miles to settle in- like in a half.

      For the 5k next week, i'm not sure what the plan will be. :)

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  5. Congratulations on the new PR!

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  6. Xaar!!! HUGE CONGRATULATIONS on your new PR!!! It is the cherry on top of the sundae to PR at races that are so personally meaningful to us, too. I am sorry to hear about your cousin but really glad to hear is doing okay now - please thank your cousin for that your cousin does. The pictures of the police during the last tenth of a mile bring tears to my eyes!

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    1. Thank you lady! Yes, races that have some sort of meaning really make a difference. It was hard not to cry before the race when they had the prayer, and had a wounded officer start the race. And that last tenth, with all the photos was very emotional.

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  7. You rock so hard!! Congrats on the new PR and 2AG! You've got a big year ahead of you :)

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  8. AWESOME!!! Yesssss!!!! What shoes are you wearing? And two thumbs up for using the old school way of timing. Love ditching the garmin just to see what happens, apparently that means you run faster ;)

    And I've been wondering the same thing lately, how long are PR's good for to say that it's current. My 1/2 PR is about to turn 2 in September, was thinking that once they start having birthdays in numbers that would consider them a toddler they begin to become moot.

    So proud of you wheels!

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  9. and shoot, wish i was doing sf10 this year. i'll miss seeing you there :(

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  10. Wow, congrats girl! That's such a great time! I haven't been wearing a garmin lately either and I love it!

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  11. Gosh. I am not sure how to follow that stellar commment from Farin Armstrong... but I am going to try... ha ha ha.

    I am SO DAMN PROUD of you! You trained your ass off for this 5K, were smart and took breaks when you needed to, and had a stellar race! So happy for you!

    This seems like what a great event! Did you get a bit choked up seeing all the signs at the end? I feel I would!

    And what a turnout! I can see why you didn't stay around. Did you ask if they can mail you whatever you got for being 2nd in AG?

    So awesome the boys could go. And that you ran by feel and FINALLY beat that PR!!! Although, at 1.5 years old the other one wasn't THAT old. Hee hee :)

    Congrats! You're getting a big hug from me on Sunday!!!

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  12. Congrats on the PR! You ran a nicely paced race, though maybe started off just a tad too fast? Seems to suggest that you likely could PR again next race if you put together an even split race. Crazy about your cousin getting shot, glad that he is recovering. That would be emotional running the last 1/10 of the race with all the pictures.

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  13. Great job! I love that race. I was sad to miss it. They have good prizes so make sure to get whatever it is.

    I ran Quarryman w/o looking at my old school watch from mile 1 - 5 and alas I was going way faster than I thought. I try not to look now!

    Um. My PRs are all really old and I am keeping them. No expiration date! I have new "over 40" PRs now. That makes me happy!

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  14. Woo hoo, congrats on the PR!! Also I'm glad to hear your cousin is doing well.

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  15. Congrats on the PR i run cross country in college and i know how great it is to see the hard work pay off

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  16. Amazing job! New PR and an AG place- pretty awesome day.

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  17. Damn lady! You are getting so speedy! It's all those track workouts I've been seeing you do on DM! And, CB you cute little devil, you!

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  18. Obviously, CB needs to spectate all your races! Congrats! Bummer they took so long for the awards ceremony. I would love to run this sometime

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  19. Woohoo! Congrats, girl! That is an amazing accomplishment!

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