Schiller Chiller 5k

27:39 (approximately) for 3.45 miles (Avg 8:00/mile)

2nd Woman Overall

12th finisher out of 152 

Friday:


Friday started innocent enough. I wore my new awesome sweater to work and had a nice day- later that evening was our company's "Holiday Party."

Friday night was fun at the Holiday Party- there was drinking, dancing (not me- i had a race the next morning) and good times spent with the co-workers in a relaxed environment.  I even won a $50 gift card in one of the raffles.

       

 

Saturday/ Race Day!

Creepy Ukrainian Church out near the race. 

I woke up with a bit of a hangover after Friday night's party. Guess I shouldnt have had that last glass of wine... I had 2 small pancakes and then L and I drove up to Schiller Park to participate in the race. It was an amazingly beautiful day- the kind of race day weather you dream about- (mid 40's and calm), but never seem to experience in the Chicagoland area. It was such a stark contrast to last week's Turkey Trot in the low 20's.

Packet pickup was a breeze, and after meeting up with the lovely ladies pictured below, we dropped off our stuff at the car (no bag check- no biggie) and then I proceeded to warmup a little. I ran laps around the field after the 10am 10K start, and did a few strides across the field to get my HR going. I lined up pretty much in front for this race to get a good position for the trails which was a great decision. I really had no idea what to expect on the trail (except a few trees to duck under) but figured I could handle anything thrown at me.

The race:

Ive never felt so happy running in my life. Perhaps that is an exaggeration, because this race was pretty darn fun too, but seriously- running through the woods, no music, just running, looking out for roots-branches etc was soul satisfying. Running through the woods was nothing like the hustle and bustle of the lakefront. It was amazingly peaceful!  It was quiet minus my steps, breathing and the steps of other runners. It was stunningly beautiful in the park. It brought me back to my high school cross country days which I enjoyed immensely and wished I had participated more in.

Some of the "official" race photos. Awesome and Free!!  Thanks Muddy Monk!!!

The trail wasn't too technical- some logs to jump over (easy on the way out, much more difficult on the return), some roots, some small hills, a puddle under the bridge, and a couple of trees to duck under. On the single track portion a guy behind me tripped and took a spill.  With half a mile to go my ankle rolled and luckily it didn't cause any lasting damage- there is some tightness/discomfort higher above my ankle but no swelling.

Kelsey, Alyssa, Me, Kim, Queenie, Erin, Lindsay and Kim With our finish mugs :)

I had no goal going into this race- just to have fun and not get injured. When it became clear less than a mile into the race that I was in 2nd place (women), I wanted to keep my position because only top 3 male/female for each race got an award.
I must say a big Congrats to my man L for running this race!

Thank you to Kim and Abbi for inspiring me to run trails. I've loved reading about all your trail adventures this year!
For getting 2nd overall woman, I got a sweet Brooks spike bag, Fits socks, and a hydration belt- which will come in handy when I start hitting the lakefront for longer runs soon. All the water fountains are off now :(




Post run a few of us went for brunch and I had a huge omelet filled with cheese, beans, onions, chipotle sauce. Certainly hit the spot after a nice run!







Sunday:

We went to "La Colombe" for breakfast. Ever since watching "Dangerous Grounds" on the travel channel (Tuesdays 9pm est) we've wanted to go to this place. It didn't disappoint.  



Post race thoughts... This was my last race of 2012. Im going to end my "racing" season on a high note and call it quits. I couldnt believe that in December I was wearing a T-Shirt and arm warmers for a race and didn't feel cold.   This race reminded me why I love running so much. The past few months since getting injured before my goal marathon have been tough. Mentally I struggle with running more than a few short miles at a time, and average about 15 miles a week- a far cry from the 45+ I was averaging during the summer. I have a feeling that the mileage will slowly begin to creep back up now as I prepare for 2013.  Im so excited to run more trail races!!!


- xaar

ShamrockOn, a Shamrock Shuffle Recap

Time: 39:57 a PR by over 2 minutes!!!



Jumping for joy over a 2 minute PR despite being sidelined for 2.5 months. Folks, cross training will help keep most of your fitness!

Pre Race


This was my first "race" post hip flexor strain that I sustained over 2.5 months ago. On average I have been running 5-15 miles a week (and cycling 50-60 miles a week) because the last thing I want is to be injured again.

Wonderful wonderful and I walked over to grand park from our place an hour before the race. It was absolutely stunning out- low to mid 50's, overcast perfect racing conditions! The port o let lines were non existent which was amazing considering the size of the race. After the pit stop we headed over to corral B to wait for the start.


I have to admit I was nervous about this race. Although I did a "Shamrock Shuffle" test run last week and ran a 40:09, I really wasn't sure how running would feel since I haven't been doing much of it lately.


But the goal I had was to beat my BFF Tribu and her time from an 8k a few weeks ago. The plan was to run around 8:00 miles and push at the end. Or self destruct.



The race

Within 2 minutes of hearing the starting air horn, we were off!

It was a smooth start considering the number of participants- over 34,000! I was running by feel (garmin set to manual lap) because the tunnel at the beginning would cause us all to lose our satellite connection.


Mile 1 clocked in at 7:55. I might have gone out a little fast, but was quick to reign myself in and try to stay at a comfortably hard pace.

The rest of the miles flew by at 8:00-8:05 pace. I was pretty consistent!

Mile 4 became a mental game. I started feeling sick, hot and out of breath- I even took some Gatorade! But kept pushing on. "Come on. It's only a mile to go! You can do this!"

I knew by this point that beating my Tribu wasn't going to happen so I pulled everything I had inside of me to push towards the finish to break 40.


With the famous green guys! And they are fast!

Post Race

I can safely say that I left everything out on the course Sunday. I dug deep to finish with a PR despite all the setbacks from the hip flexor injury. I needed to run hard to get those demons out, the frustrations of not being able to participate in a sport I love. It felt damn good And disappointing all at the same time. All those "what if's" came floating into my head- like "what if I never over stretched to cause the hip flexor injury? What would I have been capable of?

I will stop dwelling on the what ifs. I know I'm stronger now and am laying a great foundation for my future running endeavors.


I'm super proud of my WW who broke 50 minutes in his first 8k!! He had just returned from a 10 hour flight the day before and tweaked his ankle running on the lakefront on our way to the expo. He averaged faster during the almost 5 miles than his last few 5ks. :)



What's next?

- hitting 300 cycle/run miles for march.

- base building over the next 7 weeks before official marathon training begins.

- strengthening my weak hips and core.

Shamrock is a fun race that I'm looking forward to doing again next year!

- xaar