Hot Chocolate 15k (11-5-11)

This morning I ran the Hot Chocolate 15k. I was kinda nervous leading into this race. I've never ran a 15k before, and I've only been running consistently since May. I wasn't sure where my fitness was at, and I didn't set any goals for this race. I just wanted to finish strong and not crash. That would have been disappointing. My plan was to go out easy (probably around 8:45) and see how I felt from there. My sister and I signed up together. She's in much better shape than I am. She said she wanted to run with me, which I agreed to, but also made it clear that if either of us felt good at the end, it was ok to run ahead.

The race was supposed to start at 8:20am, we arrived at 7:40am. It was 38* at the start. Despite doing a small warm-up, I was FREEZING. I was wearing the appropriate clothes for running, but not appropriate clothes for standing around. The race started late, and the gun didn't go off until 8:40! Standing in the starting chute freezing my ass off for an hour was NOT fun. Fortunately, I was all nice and warm by mile 2. Forty degrees is absolutely perfect running weather.

We hit the first mile in 8:36. It was faster than I had planned, but I was feeling pretty good. This second mile came in at 8:12, woah nelly! I told my sister that we need to ease off the pace a bit. We settled in to a comfortable pace around 8:25 and hung there until mile 6. I was feeling very good between miles 3-6. I knew that I still had plenty of gas in the tank, and was ready to start making the push.

We picked it up and hit the 6 mile mark in 8:06. With only about 3 miles left in the race, I was ready to rock. Mile 7 came in at 7:55. At this point, my sister started getting stomach cramps. She insisted that I go on ahead because she could tell I was feeling great. I felt badly leaving her behind, but we had agreed to this and I pulled away.

Mile 8 was 7:30. I was cruising now, and feeling strong. The fatigue had set in, but it wasn't too bad. With 1.3 miles to go, I told myself that it was time to leave it all on the course. I started really pushing hard. About halfway through the 8th mile I started hurting pretty badly. I knew it was almost over, but the discomfort was really making itself known. I found myself begging to see that "mile 9" marker, and it just wasn't showing up. The discomfort was intense now, and all I kept thinking was "where the hell is that last mile marker?!?" It was one of the longest miles that I can recall. Finally "mile 9" came into sight, and with only 0.3 remaining I knew that I could kick pretty good to the finish. We went up that annoying incline on Roosevelt which appears in all the major Chicago races. It was a great relief to cross the finish line. 

I waited for my sister who only finished a few minutes after me, and gave her a big hug. Then we gorged on hot chocolate and fondue, and walked home. Here are the splits:

Mile 1- 8:36
Mile 2- 8:12
Mile 3- 8:25
Mile 4- 8:28
Mile 5- 8:21
Mile 6- 8:06
Mile 7- 7:55
Mile 8- 7:30
Mile 9- 6:59
0.30- 1:57 (6:30 pace)
FINISH- 1:14:35 (8:02 pace)

I am happy with the way this race turned out, and with where my running is at right now. I'm gonna work hard this winter, and hopefully I can be in a pretty good spot come spring.