Sunday morning rolled around and I woke up early. I had all my stuff set up the night before so I wouldn't forget anything. So it was quickly getting dressed then out the door. On the train platform waiting for the brown line, I met several other people heading down to the race, so we all started talking about the race and the weather, random chit chat. When the train came, I ran into my friend, Kyna, (also running) so we talked for a while until I got off to switch to the Red Line. Then when I got off the train at Harrison, I ran into Jessica, also on her way to the race. Then, after she and I split up, I ran into Roger and Erin. So yeah, many coincidences.
Oh yeah, the weather. It was cold! Probably upper 30's. I honestly forgot to check. But the crappy part was the timing of the start. I had a jacket and sweatpants to keep me warm before the race. They had a place to check your gear in, so I wouldn't have to carry it during the race. However, you have to check your gear by 9:00 AM. And my start corral wasn't to start until 9:30. So for 30 minutes, I was wearing very light clothes in windy Grant Park.
So I dove into the crowd and used them to buffer the wind.
Slowly we started working our way up to the start line, and I crossed it right at the 30-minute mark, making it very easy to keep track of my pace. Once I crossed the starting line, things got warmer pretty quickly. Pretty soon we went through an underpass heading north towards the river, and runners started whooping and hollering in the tunnel, which was pretty cool. Everyone was clearly excited! Then on the other side of the tunnel we emerged onto one of the bridges crossing the Chicago river. Great view! Then through a bit of River North and I hit the 1 mile marker. I was on an 11-minute mile pace. Considering my vague goal was to break 1 hour, that was a good pace. I hadn't actually ever run a 5-mile race before, so this was going to be unknown territory as far as evaluating the condition of my body through the race. I had set a conservative pace, something I thought I could keep up for 5 miles, and doing that first mile in 11 minutes while feeling good was a real boost for me.
The start of Mile 2 took us back across the river and along Wacker towards West Loop. We hooked around the corner where the river bends, then under the green/pink line tracks and before I knew it I had finished mile 2 at 22 minutes. This was also very reassuring because I hadn't lost any time or slowed down since mile 1 and I still felt fine and on a sustainable pace. Oh, and somewhere in that second mile, the skull cap and shamrock headband got tucked into my belt waistband. I was plenty warm enough by then.
Here I should add that one thing that was really helping me out was my iPod. I had made a 50-song playlist (many more than I'd need) of songs that I knew would keep me pumped up and jazzed. I had it on shuffle, so every three minutes or so I'd get a little uplifting surprise when the new song would start. I should also add that the various people cheering along the route were awesome! It's a big mental help to help you keep going.
Next was the 2.5-mile mark, where we hit the aid station (water and Gatorade). I honestly wasn't that thirsty, but I remembered that you should drink before you need it to avoid becoming dehydrated. So I had my cup of Gatorade and kept on. Knowing I'd hit the half-way point was another motivator that kept me going. I don't know about other runners, but for me, I need several shorter goals to focus on to keep me from thinking of the race as one long ponderous thing. The mile markers and aid stations were part of that, and the 3-minute songs on the iPod were also significant in helping me break down the race into digestible chunks.
Before I knew it, I had hit the 3rd mile marker. It was somewhere downtown after we'd come back from the West Loop and heading towards the Sears Tower. Again, I was still on pace right around 11-minute miles. The fourth mile was relatively uneventful as we cruised through downtown. The second aid station was during this portion, so I got another cup of Gatorade and kept going. Finally we turned onto Columbus around Dearborn and started heading towards Michigan Ave and Grant Park.
Then we hit the 4-mile mark, which was a big boost for me, knowing I only had 1 mile to go. I was on the same pace and felt fine, so I decided to increase my speed. It was really cool when we hit Michigan Avenue, turning south towards Roosevelt. There were people all along the street cheering, including many racers in earlier corrals who'd already finished. Very cool of them to come out and cheer us recreational runners on!
Finally we turned east onto Roosevelt. This was the last big hurdle because the street rises into a large overpass over the Metra trainyard. Basically an uphill climb. I decided to keep my same pace and use more energy so as not to slow down. I was able to do that, and then when I hit the top of the overpass I could look down into Grant Park and see the finish line in the distance. From there, it was down the overpass then one more turn into the final straightaway and then I hit the finish line in a total time of 54:20 according to the electronic timer chip, 40 seconds under an 11-minute mile pace.
The only annoying thing about the race was the post-finish line setup. They have these big fences set up to funnel you north, but it's so crowded that you can't even walk at a normal pace. The crowd slowly plodded north, and all I wanted to do was walk normally and warm down. That kinda sucked. But eventually I got out of the crowd and went straight to my gear check for my jacket and sweats. I was able to meet up with my friend Josiah and his pals. We got our free post-race beer, then headed up to Ann Sather for a post-race brunch.
All in all, it was a tremendously positive experience and is what jump-started me into the running season. In the wake following the race I've now signed up for the Wrigleyville 5k, the Ravenswood 5k, the Soldier Field 10-Mile, the Rock and Roll Half Marathon and the Chicago Half Marathon.
So the next big step is to start training for the Soldier Field 10-miler. I'll be posting my training schedule soon. My first run will be tomorrow, Thursday. I'm planning on 4 miles.
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