Chicago Half Marathon (9-13-09)

I ran this race with my gf. She's training for the Chicago Marathon and is in MUCH better shape than I am. But this was supposed to be just a fun training run, and that's exactly what it was. 

We drove to the course which is on the South side of the city. When we got there the lines for the port-a-potties were astounding!  We waited in line for about 10 minutes before realizing that we wouldn't make it to the start if we kept waiting. We left the line and I peed in a bush. I tried to get her to do the same, but she declined. 

It was warm out already and it was only 7:30. I could tell this wasn't a good sign, but tried to keep a positive outlook. The gun sounded and off we went. This is a large race, ~15,000 runners. The plan was to stick to a 9:20-9:30 pace for the first few miles and see if we could drop the pace from there. Unfortunately, we didn't stick to the plan, and there were bad consequences as a result. 

We simply started out at too fast. The first mile was 8:58, mile 3 was 8:45. I felt good at the time, but I knew those first few miles would be a problem. I kept telling LRA we should ease off the pace. We tried, but it wasn't happening. It's something I'll have to work on. By mile 6 or 7 I was starting to feel fatigued. The heat was a real issue. It was in the upper 70s by now, and there was no shade whatsoever.  By mile 9/10 I was really struggling. Meanwhile, LRA is just breezing through this like it's a stroll in the park.  But she did a great job of pulling me along and encouraging me to keep moving forward. I am quite grateful for that. 

The last 3 miles (and particularly mile 12) were really tough. I was kicking myself for going out too fast, but also trying to remind myself that we were just out there to have a good time and enjoy each other's company. After all, it was our first race together. I saw about 20 pairs of LunarGlides out there. And each time I saw one I made sure to point it out. After a while my gf did not find this amusing.  Annnnyway, I didn't have much of (or any) kick in the last mile, but I tried to push harder to ensure that I left everything out there. It was not the kick I had expected or hoped for, but I was happy to be able to pick it up a bit. We crossed the finish line and gave a big sweaty hug.  We got some food, she finally got to pee, and we got the hell outta there. 

Mile 1- 8:58
Mile 2- 9:00
Mile 3- 8:45
Mile 4- 8:52
Mile 5- 9:07
Mile 6- 9:08
Mile 7- 8:49
Mile 8- 9:17 (I think this mile marker was long)
Mile 9- 8:51
Mile 10- 8:56
Mile 11- 8:47
Mile 12- 9:18
Mile 13- 8:29
0.1- 0:51
FINISH- 1:57:33

Although I know I can do better, overall I'm very happy with the outcome of this race and with my progress as a whole. I had a great time with the lady and it's just so wonderful to be running again.