Run #84 Chicago Distance Classic Half Marathon UPDATED
Scheduled/Actual: 13.1 miles. Yes, the CDC Half Marathon was conveniently built right into our training schedules. Probably b/c the CDC race director is married to one of the head coaches at Chicago Endurance Sports. 
Time It Took: 2:41:39 (bib #1219, look it up if you want)
Calculated Pace: 12:21 minutes per mile 
(missed my 12:00 goal)
Temp/Time Of Day: I have no clue what the temps were, but I'd guess that at start time it was in the mid to upper 60's. To me it wasn't very humid. An AWFUL storm came thru the city on the middle of the night that seemed to cool things down a bit. Once the sun really came out and we came out of the protective shadows of skyscrapers and the blessed "EL" tracks, it got a little warm. UPDATED: Everyone else is saying it was hot, so I guess it was. Even this AWESOME runner here said so, and my fellow pace runner here said so...
Thoughts/Comments: I was sooooo tired from my crazy cookie week, but miraculously I felt a bit revived after a solid 6 hours on Saturday night. Maybe it wasn't even 6, I'm not sure. That storm woke me up and I peeked out the door only to see the umbrella fly off the table and the carpet fly off the porch. WOW! I turned on the tv to make sure there weren't any tornado warnings. Anyway, I woke up at 4:30 am for good got dressed and ready to roll because we were supposed to meet at 5:30am for team pictures. Still got there late due to parking woes...I certainly wasn't trying to wait on the bus or train on a Sunday morning. ANYWAY...
So the team is there, my pace group is there, ready to roll. I called two friends, one who was planning on running with me at the 12:00 pace. She didn't make it, she lives out in the burbs and it was still storming when she was supposed to leave, so she made a judgment call to the best of her knowledge...wish she woulda chanced it anyhow. My other friend Annah met me and picked up some GU from me and we all walked over the starting line. I didn't see her again until after the race, b/c she's way faster than me.
At the starting line I surprisingly was not nervous at all. And we're off....running, running, running...all is well. Our pace group was running together feeling as good as we ever have, it seemed. Look at us, running our pace. We hit mile 1, right on pace. Cool! Celia jumped ahead of us a few times in those first few miles to keep us at pace. I think the first aid station we came to, we scoffed at. Water and Gatorade this early? Not us! We did hit the next one. Then around mile 3, I don't know what happened. Me, Meg and Lu (half the group) were generally together for the miles after that through about 4 or 5, and then we all lost each other. So I threw on the iPod. I didn't have that early mile "I hate running" attitude that I normally get. Miles 2-7 I was pretty much ahead of pace by just a little bit. Then came Mile 8. Right at the 8 mile mark they had an aid station, followed by sponges soaked in ice cold water. NICE. Miles 8 thru 11 were TERRIBLE. Per my strategy, I walked thru each aid station. At one station I took some GU and before I realized what I was doing, I'd chugged half of my 20 ounce of water. UGH!!!! Not good. Around mile 9, I ran past a guy who saw my shirt and said "Pockets, I love you guys." Turns out HE PROVIDES ALL THE POCKETS WITH THEIR INSURANCE! Small world! I told him to check their website to find my blog. That was cool. He and I passed each other several times. He probably finished before me though, because at that point, my walking breaks went a little past each station, then at mile 10, I walked for about 3 to 4 minutes. After drenching myself in water several times, my right earphone started making this clicking noise, but I was already so sick of my iPod, so I took it off and put it in my little waist pack. I kept thinking about how tired I was, and that if I didn't finish the race, it'd be understandable after the lack of sleep I've had. But then I kept thinking about what huge excuse that was. FINISH THIS RUN AND GET THAT MEDAL!!!! My resolve kicked in and after 3 or 4 miles of 12:45 miles, I picked my pace back up from about 10.5 miles to the end of the race, only walking thru the final aid station.
I was so happy to see the finish line and I kept wondering if anyone has ever made it in sight of the finish line and then just collapsed right before crossing it, which is about how I felt. So I crossed, got my medal and that was that! Over and done!!! Me and Annah took a picture together by an American flag, then I stretched and went home. And can you believe I didn't go to sleep? I decided to go on ahead to church.
Then in the afternoon we had an impromptu birthday party for my nephew who was in town for the wedding. Jada and Zoe played for hours with all their cousins. It was fun, but tiring.
So anyway...this week is another easy week, and then we get back to the serious training mileage. I have another half marathon on September 9th, so my goal for THAT one will be 12:00 per mile. YES!!!
Alright kids, I'll right more soon. I have today off (from running, NOT WORK) and I'm going for a sports massage during lunch. I have two light days of cross training on Tu/Th, and just 2 runs this week, Wednesday and Saturday. Saturday's run is just 8 miles. Anyhoo, I'll write more soon.
-Lindy
p.s. Last year I ran the CDC in 2:52:11. Quite an improvement, I'd say.