2:36

Today I ran my first half marathon, the Chicago Rock N Roll Half Marathon. Hooray automatic PR! I was actually hoping for under 2:30, which was perfectly attainable based on my training, so I'm a little disappointed with the 2:36. I was feeling good for the first half of the race, it was pretty hot but I was hydrating and cooling as necessary. The volunteers did a tremendous job of keeping us pumped up, and the race organizers added several cooling stations and giving away ice at the medic tents. Somewhere around 9 miles though I convinced myself to take my first walk break, and I kind of fell apart after that. The thing is, it wasn't really my legs or tiredness stopping me, it was me quitting. It was mental. That's why I'm disappointed in myself. 

I have explained to Tim and Adam about what I describe as the little devil on my shoulder. He's the one who tells me "Take it easy, you can walk. See all those other walkers? Just rest, it's okay" when I really could keep pushing. He tells me I'm not ready, I can't finish, I'm tired, it's too hot, it might rain, etc. He makes me nervous before a run because I have a fear that I'm going to somehow fail. He tells me a marathon is ridiculous, I can't do it. Well, the little devil took over a bit today, but several times I did push through and keep going. That's something. Hopefully in the future I can remember how disappointed I felt today when I let him take over, and quit listening. 

Pre race: Sunrise in Grant Park

To focus on the positives---hey I ran a half marathon today! I finished and I didn't need to quit. This is the furthest I've run and while my legs are tired, it's no worse than my other long runs. It was pretty hot and humid, but it didn't really stop me, and that's a testament to the training so far. I tackled all of the hills (or what pass for hills in Illinois) rather than letting up. And let's not forget, I've only been training for 7 weeks!  That fact kind of stuns me. I am halfway there (mileage-wise) and I have 11 weeks left. Also, I have the best athletic supporter ever. Tim is the truly the best partner and supporter. He woke up at 5am to come to the race with me, stayed with me while I stretched pre-race, cheered me on between miles 6-7, was who I was looking forward to see at the finish, and made me feel a lot better afterwards when I was down after the race. I couldn't wish for anything more.

Time for a nice recovery week, so I can come back and prove that little devil wrong--I can do it!

Race Report: Chicago Women's Half and 5K

Yesterday was the inaugural running of the Chicago Women's Half Marathon and 5K. Not quite ready for the half marathon, I stuck with the 5K. Our group long run on Saturday was 8 miles and the conditions were less than ideal on Sunday (pretty hot and humid), so I wasn't expecting much more than a nice morning run. 

I went to the race solo--Tim stayed home for this one. He is normally right there with me, but I told him he could stay home (since it was a women's race and all). I also feel kind of bad making him come out for every race, especially if I'm not really pushing myself for a goal or time. The pre-race festivities included massage stations, fancy water, warm-ups, and a variety of vendors. Lots of smiling happy faces, camaraderie, and empowering speech surrounding the race--June 23rd marked the 40th anniversary of the passing of Title IX. The benefiting charities of the race were the American Heart Association and the Go Red for Women campaign. For all the attention breast cancer gets from the world, there are many other issues that women face that cannot be ignored. Heart disease is the number one killer for women over the age of 20, and it is the cause of death for 1 in 3 women. I guess the moral of the story is we all need to be taking better care of ourselves, and I hope that my running in the last couple of years sticks with me for the rest of my life. Sorry Tim, if all goes well you still have many more races to attend in the future! In fact, I signed up for the Chicago Half Marathon in September after the race. I had planned on it, since the timing is excellent preparation for the marathon.

Because of my long run the day before, I did a lot of stretching beforehand. I'm glad I got there early because normally I'm kind of frazzled and sometimes barely make it to the start on time, let alone get good stretching in. After all of my stretching I watched the half marathoners start. I got a little weepy then, watching friends, bridal parties, sisters, mothers, and daughters heading to the start line together. I love running races with my Mom, I am so grateful for the races I got to run with both her and Megan, but I am sad about the fact that I will never get to run a race with Megan again. At just the right time though, the announcer reminded us to be kind to each other and run empowered for all the women who can't run and couldn't in the past, so I made it to the start line and focused on the race ahead of me. 

Mother/daughter team at the race

My goal for the race was to only take 1 walk break at the halfway water stop, as I have been struggling with my pace/walk breaks recently. I succeeded in that--I ran to the turnaround, mixed the water and Gatorade, walked for about a minute, and finished the race. My time was 33:46 (10:53 pace). I've definitely run faster 5Ks, but not after running 8 miles the day before! I'm totally happy with myself, and it was a great day. The race finisher prize was a yoga mat, which is actually the most useful goodie I've ever received, and they did a yoga session after the race. I wish I could have stayed for that, as increase in running and decrease in yoga has made me pretty stiff, but I was pretty beat and just wanted to get home. 

I've done a fair amount of 5Ks and this one was pretty great. Next year, let's hope for the half marathon!