Last month I participated in my third Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon. I was pretty excited for the race as my training was going well and I thought I had a good chance to break the 2:30 time barrier. We drove in early and unfortunately did not leave quite early enough. All of our usual parking spots were taken and I got a bit stressed trying to find a place to park. I had plenty of adrenaline to get me started. Also last year they used a wave start and held each wave for at least one minute so I figured I had at least a half hour until my wave would cross. Nope. I was across in 10 minutes!
The race itself went great. It was a cool morning and it even rained a few times. My Ipod stopped working around Mile 5 but that as OK. I turned it off and just tried to concentrate on the race and runners around me. I saw Dave a few times and felt bad that he was in the rain! I felt pretty good the whole way and was holding back a bit. By the time we turned around on Lake Shore Drive and headed back to the finish, I felt strong and started speeding up. It's so much more fun to pass people at the end than to get passed. I saw Dave at the end and was yelling for him, but he didn't hear me. I actually backtracked and made sure he saw me so he wouldn't be waiting for me to cross the finish line. That cost me a few seconds. It didn't matter since I met my goal. A new PR. 2:22:45. VERY HAPPY!!!
Overall it was a good race. Too cold at the end with the rain and wind to stick around and enjoy the post race festivities. It was great to meet my fellow Team All Ears teammate Laura. Thanks so much for volunteering!
I'm excited to do my fall marathons and am hoping for a nice PR in Omaha as well.
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