Week 8.... Record Setting
Sunday, October 1 was the Chicago Half Marathon - my 2nd attempt at a half marathon. My goals for this race were (1) to finish, (2) to finish faster than my previous half marathon time of 2:39 and (3) to meet my super secret goal time. I didn't tell anyone my super secret goal time because I didn't want to jinx myself. Not that I'm a superstitious person. It just seemed like I should keep the goal to myself. Since the event is over, I can now tell you the goal - it was 2:30. Yes, I wanted to improve my time by over 9 minutes, which is a huge stretch. I knew it was a very ambitious goal.
Sunday morning was beautiful - the air was crisp and cool, and the sky was clear. After finding a parking spot, we (my husband, my dad and me) walked over to the start area. After making a last stop at the port-a-potties, I handed off my warmup pants and jacket to my husband and made my way to the back of the start line. I found the 2:30 pace team (way in the back!) and decided that I was going to run with them as far as I could. If I was going to meet my super secret ambitious goal, then running with the pace team would be a good way to get there.
I didn't even hear the race start, I was so far back in the crowd, but eventually everyone started moving forward slowly and as we neared the start line, we broke into a slow jog. After we crossed the chip mats, we were off! It was pretty crowded for the first few miles but the pace team leader did a good job of keeping us right on target. I saw my husband and my dad shortly after the start, and again at about mile 3. And I saw my good friends, Angie and Dani, a bit after mile 3. The pace felt really comfortable and I was having a good time listening to the banter among the other runners, and hearing some of the musical entertainment acts positioned along the sidelines. The first few miles were nice and shady, but at about mile 5, we turned onto Lake Shore Drive, where we would be under full sun for several miles. Fortunately, it never really got unbearably hot. As we were running north on LSD, we saw the elite runners coming back down the other side - just amazing! It seemed like we had just started running, and there they were, almost finished!
Something strange happened at the mile 6 water station - I somehow managed to get ahead of my pace team. I didn't see much point in waiting for them to catch up, so I just kept going, thinking maybe they would eventually catch up to me. So I kept on running, and rounded the corner to head back down LSD. I passed the 2:30 pace team who was still heading north, and I thought "Hey, I wonder if I can beat the pace team?" So from then on, it became my goal to not let them catch up with me.
It got really tough toward the end - my legs were tired and my feet hurt, and I really just wanted to walk. And I did a couple times, just for a few seconds to give my feet a break. I kept thinking to myself "Just 4 miles to go!", "Just 2.5 miles to go!" Then finally, I saw my husband and my dad at mile 13 and they reached out and slapped my hand. I yelled "I'm ahead of the 2:30 team!" and they yelled back "We know! Keep going, you're almost there!" That was all I needed to hear - I kicked into overdrive and "sprinted" to the finish. I'm sure it didn't look like a sprint at all, but I was running as hard as I could, while my legs and feet were screaming at me to STOP. When I crossed the finish line and looked down at my stopwatch, I knew I had met my super secret ambitious goal and that was really emotional for me. I walked through the finisher's area, where I was given my beautiful medal, a bottle of water and a bottle of Gatorade. My friends were waiting for me at the finish and they gave me great big hugs and walked with me back to where my dad and my husband were. I did some stretching and then stood on the sidelines to cheer for the people who were still running. It was a great day for a half marathon!
When I got home, I went online to check my official time. My chip time was 2:28:58. I had beaten my previous half marathon time by over 10 minutes. :-)
Today I am sore, but I feel great. I can't believe I met all my goals for the day.
Here is a picture of me, my husband and my friends after the race.
Sunday morning was beautiful - the air was crisp and cool, and the sky was clear. After finding a parking spot, we (my husband, my dad and me) walked over to the start area. After making a last stop at the port-a-potties, I handed off my warmup pants and jacket to my husband and made my way to the back of the start line. I found the 2:30 pace team (way in the back!) and decided that I was going to run with them as far as I could. If I was going to meet my super secret ambitious goal, then running with the pace team would be a good way to get there.
I didn't even hear the race start, I was so far back in the crowd, but eventually everyone started moving forward slowly and as we neared the start line, we broke into a slow jog. After we crossed the chip mats, we were off! It was pretty crowded for the first few miles but the pace team leader did a good job of keeping us right on target. I saw my husband and my dad shortly after the start, and again at about mile 3. And I saw my good friends, Angie and Dani, a bit after mile 3. The pace felt really comfortable and I was having a good time listening to the banter among the other runners, and hearing some of the musical entertainment acts positioned along the sidelines. The first few miles were nice and shady, but at about mile 5, we turned onto Lake Shore Drive, where we would be under full sun for several miles. Fortunately, it never really got unbearably hot. As we were running north on LSD, we saw the elite runners coming back down the other side - just amazing! It seemed like we had just started running, and there they were, almost finished!
Something strange happened at the mile 6 water station - I somehow managed to get ahead of my pace team. I didn't see much point in waiting for them to catch up, so I just kept going, thinking maybe they would eventually catch up to me. So I kept on running, and rounded the corner to head back down LSD. I passed the 2:30 pace team who was still heading north, and I thought "Hey, I wonder if I can beat the pace team?" So from then on, it became my goal to not let them catch up with me.
It got really tough toward the end - my legs were tired and my feet hurt, and I really just wanted to walk. And I did a couple times, just for a few seconds to give my feet a break. I kept thinking to myself "Just 4 miles to go!", "Just 2.5 miles to go!" Then finally, I saw my husband and my dad at mile 13 and they reached out and slapped my hand. I yelled "I'm ahead of the 2:30 team!" and they yelled back "We know! Keep going, you're almost there!" That was all I needed to hear - I kicked into overdrive and "sprinted" to the finish. I'm sure it didn't look like a sprint at all, but I was running as hard as I could, while my legs and feet were screaming at me to STOP. When I crossed the finish line and looked down at my stopwatch, I knew I had met my super secret ambitious goal and that was really emotional for me. I walked through the finisher's area, where I was given my beautiful medal, a bottle of water and a bottle of Gatorade. My friends were waiting for me at the finish and they gave me great big hugs and walked with me back to where my dad and my husband were. I did some stretching and then stood on the sidelines to cheer for the people who were still running. It was a great day for a half marathon!
When I got home, I went online to check my official time. My chip time was 2:28:58. I had beaten my previous half marathon time by over 10 minutes. :-)
Today I am sore, but I feel great. I can't believe I met all my goals for the day.
Here is a picture of me, my husband and my friends after the race.
posted by Emily at
1:44 PM
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