2013 Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon Report

Here is Holly's race report from last month's Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Chicago.

Dave and I were really looking forward to a fun weekend in the city for the Rock and Roll Half marathon.  Dave was signed up for the 5k and I was going to do the half.   We had our friends Eddie and Anna coming up from Atlanta, Pam and Stan from downstate, and Laura and Richard from the Chicago area.   Unfortunately, Dave had to make a last minute trip to NY so he wouldn’t be joining us after all.

I drove into the city Saturday morning and picked up Eddie and Anna and we headed over to the Expo and met up with everyone else.    The Expo seemed smaller this year.   I picked up some compression sleeves.   I’m still not sure that I am a fan of them.  I definitely don’t see me wearing them for a race, but they did feel nice after the race.  Also picked up a pint glass, my go-to race souvenir.    We spent some time trying to find my name on the 5 Year runner wall.   I am one of 281 people who have run all five of the Rock and Roll Chicago Half Marathons.   I’m registered for next year already so I hope to keep the streak going.   

After the Expo we battled traffic and headed to our hotel to check in.   There we met up with Laura and decided to head to Wrigleyville to show everyone around.   We had a great lunch at Goose Island Brewing and then we had a few more stops around the area.  Next year we need to do more hydrating of the non-alcoholic variety!!  Before we knew it we were jumping in a cab to meet Richard and have dinner at Scoozi’s.   We all enjoyed dinner and made our way back to the hotel to try and get some sleep before the early wake up call. 

I didn’t sleep well at all and was really tired when we all met in the lobby.   I was worried how my foot would hold up.    I am suffering from Plantar Fasciitis and I had just started a painful shock treatment to try and cure it.  This treatment was making my calf really tight.    I was a bit worried but I had a great group of running concierges!  Eddie, Stan, and Richard all did a great job of keeping me going.   

We had a lot of fun the first few miles.  We even had a beer break from our great cheering section!  I was feeling good until Mile 7 when the pain started in my foot.   It just kept getting worse.   Stabbing pain with every step and it was really affecting my gait.   I was pretty much just barely lifting my foot of the ground to minimize the impact.   Also it was getting warm.   We ran through the dreaded McCormick Place tunnel and it was so warm in there and very stuffy with no airflow.   I got really dizzy but didn’t want to panic anyone so I just slowed to a walk when we got out of there and I finally felt better.   It wasn’t the prettiest finish I have ever had and I was certainly glad to be done.   My worst time of all five I have done.    The treats at the end of this race are so worth it: Popsicles, Chocolate Milk, Jamba Juice, and of course beer! 

After the race we all made it back to the hotel to shower and then headed to the Haymarket for lunch.  Good food, but the beer was just ok.   

In case you missed it, this was the race where our Team AllEars mascot, Fozzie from The Muppets, ended up swimming in the Chicago River.   To get more of the story and video, check out this post from a few weeks ago.