Sunday, July 21, 2013

Rock n Roll Chicago Half Marathon 2013


Time: 1:47.20 a new course record by one minute, 12 seconds.

78/2245 AG Top 3.5%
337/11956 Women Top 2.8%
1235/18755 OA Top 6.8%

Avg/ Max HR 177/191 My AVG HR compared to the 2011 race was 10 beats less a minute and 5 less for max. I also ran almost a minute and 10 seconds faster than that race. 

Three words to describe this race:  Fantastic, Friends, FUN

Went to the expo Saturday and did expo things. Like take goofy photos.
And took more goofy photos...  And bought the new passion fruit flavored GU that ive been wanting for what seems like FOREVER.
Was feeling awful on Saturday- like I had a fever, general state of BLAH. so we took it very easy the rest of the day before the race.Drank 1 beer and ended up with a nap and some sushi.
Met BFF Tribu at the expo. I am totally out of it in the photo.

Woke up early to eat a cinnamon crumpet and a few sips of coffee to get the day started. Took out the sleepy CB dog and then walked over to the start- luckily it only takes 20 minutes. Did I ever mention why I love living downtown and running these downtown races?!?

Found some Chicago Running Bloggers by gear check and had to take a photo.
Some Chicago Running Bloggers. I'll add their linkz in later.

After some tweets back n forth, Sara and I decided to run together. We had a similar goal and thought it would be a blast! My only goal was to negative split and not over do it. MY GOAL MARATHON IS 2 MONTHS FROM MONDAY! OMG
We lined up and had 5 minutes to wait before we were off for our steamy run through the city. While It was "cooler" than earlier in the week, 70 degrees at 6:30 am is by no means "cool" nor ideal to run 13.1 miles.
All the runners!

We even managed to get one photo right before we took off of all of us.
L, Me, Sara, Pete

Pete, Sara and I stuck together for most of the race- with Pete taking off the last few miles to stretch his legs. The time flew by quickly as we chatted and had fun running through Chicago.  I felt good and relaxed through most of the race. 
Britt was spectating and caught this wonderful photo of us around mile 8? As you can tell, we were having such a terrible time... 




The splits were negative, dont worry, just trust me. I already did the math. The 13th mile also included the ".1" for an avg pace of 7:34 because I forgot to lap mile 13. I manually lapped each mile because the tunnel, the buildings and the GPS dont mix, and sometimes I forgot until the next block. Whoops.

Saw a runner down around mile 12. I hope he is ok.

Cold Sponges around mile 11? were like kisses and cuddles from baby abominable snowmans.

The dance party in Mccormick Place tunnel was a nice touch because I f*cking hate that part of the course..

Saw Declan at the finish taking photos.


The runners who run together take sweaty post run photos together.
L, Myself, and Tribu post race

Nutritions n Housekeeping

  • Ate a crumpet at 4am/sipped some coffee
  • Took a gatorade prime 10 minutes before the start with a salt pill
  • Took a new Passion Fruit GU Roctane around mile 6. I know, I know, dont take anything new on race day. well this flavor was delicious and not overly sweet.  and my tummy didnt explode.
  • Wore my Nike sports bra/ Nike Pro shorts, Swiftwick socks, Brooks pure cadence shoes which I got some blisters from. WTF?!?!?.
  • No Ipod. Chatting with friends is way better.
Post race L and I grabbed our "beer flavored kool-aid" and chugged quick so we could meet Tribu and friends for a delicious brunch before they took off back to Tampa.

As I mature as a runner and grow in life, I realize more and more that its not always the PRs and goals surpassed that I will remember**, but instead  "that race I ran with friends and had a fantastic time."
CB is not amused to be awoken from his nap.
63 days to go until FVM!!!

**Of course i'll remember the PRs, and of course they are nice. BUT every race does not need to be a PR effort. Period. There is more to life than that. 


- xaar

13 comments:

  1. Yay for fun times! Looked for you in the beer tent but couldn't find you again! I'll have you finish photo up on my blog soon. Stupid dude in the white blocked you in 3 of the 5 shots

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  2. Congrats! Sounds like a great morning. A fun, speedy race with friends!

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  3. Even though this summer has been kind of a regression for my running, I have been having a BLAST running with friends! It's the best! Especially when you're not in PR shape like me. Anyway, congrats on a fun race!!

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  4. Congrats for having such a fun race. I totally agree with you that not every race should be about the PR.

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  5. I should really figure out to get faster just to be able to run with such a fun group - that alone would make this race worthwhile! Looks like everyone had a lot of fun this morning, even with it being hot and humid. I think you make a good point about having fun running races with friends being more memorable than PRs and goals :)

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  6. I love how happy you look running and that you had such a great race. Well done!

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  7. Congrats on a fun race! It is quite amazing that you were to run such a great and strong race despite the heat, all while finishing with a huge smile. When Coach Britt posted that photo, I couldn't believe how much fun you were having. (I got super sweaty and tired just returning some photo frames at Kohl's.) RNR really does put on a great Chicago race. I'm hoping I get the chance to do it next year!

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  8. Congrats. It was my second half marathon, had fun...enjoyed it fullest.

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  9. Congrats. It was my second half marathon, had fun...enjoyed it fullest.

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  10. Congrats on the new course record! I love the expo pics! Especially that one of you and L! And Tribu and you look fab!

    Ha ha ha. I could totally tell in that pic from Britt that you hated this race. Bummers. JK! Running with friends makes a hot race so much more fun! Did it feel hotter than Women's Half? I was surprised everyone said how hot this was - I ran yesterday am and felt not too hot, but, was in the shade... and way north of the city. So, there you go.

    I am really curious about that new GU flavor! I like the fruity ones. You naughty girl, trying it on race day :P

    Love the outfit! You look great! :)

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  11. Sounds like possibly your best race ever - racing that relaxed and still doing so well? Awesome job!

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  12. It was great running with you guys! We'll have to run again as a trio sometime again. Great stats especially top 2.8% of women. Nice!

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  13. CONGRATULATIONS on yet another amazing race!!! I really do love all of your race recaps and all the great details that you share. So cool that you had Sara to run with, and you look like you are having a BLAST in your pictures!!! I hope you had a wonderful weekend with Tribu, too! And it sure seems like L is becoming quite the running guru, as well - obviously your amazing influence must have a lot to do with that. =D

    I completely, completely agree with you that there is way much more to running life than always trying to get PRs. I am actually getting very addicted to running races purely for fun. =D

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