While waiting in the start corral I noticed a girl standing next to me who had a striking resemblance to a girl I used to date. I said to her, "you don't happen to have a sister named Abby, do you?" Turns out she was Abby's sister, Brynn. Brynn and I talked for a few minutes before the race and she said she was gonna try to keep up with me. We decided to go out around 7:30 pace and see if we could finish strong.
The gun went off, and we were chatting and enjoying ourselves. I saw my mom and sister at the 1st mile, it was nice of them to come out. I must have missed the first mile marker. Our mile 2 split was 14:35, too fast. We were feeling good, but acknowledged that we had to back off the pace a bit.
The next few miles were right around 7:30 and we were feeling great. I love running through the streets of downtown Chicago and the loop. Rock N' Roll (Competitor Group) was well organized and logistically sound. I would definitely run one of their races again.
By mile 6 I could feel some fatigue setting in. By mile 8 I noticed that I had to work considerably harder to hold the 7:30 pace. This is where my low mileage training became noticeable. Usually at this point in the race I would slowly step on the gas and quicken my pace. But I didn't have it in me. I was frustrated by my lack of endurance, but I told myself "just hold the current pace and you'll find the strength in the last few miles." Brynn was struggling too, but she did a great job of hanging with me.
Despite the fatigue and having to work harder, we held onto a steady 7:30 pace. By mile 11 I was encouraged by the fact that I only had 2 more miles to go. I was ready to make a move. Brynn was struggling so she dropped back and I told her I'd see her at the finish line.
With 2 miles to go I started to slowly squeeze more out. I began passing people and working harder. I was hurting but I also felt strong and excited. With one mile to go "it was on". I don't know where this energy came from, but I told myself that I could bear down for just 1 more mile. I really sped up and felt like I was on "auto-pilot". I was passing a ton of people. There's something so thrilling and empowering about feeling strong at the end of a race. I think it's the ability to dig deep and pull something out of yourself. It's part courage and part crazy- letting go of my fears, trusting myself and laying my cards on the table. It's a special feeling and a big part of why I run.
With the finish line in sight and about 300m remaining, some guy came up on my shoulder. I could tell he wanted to race. I suspected that he had a stronger kick than I did. So I decided to kick way earlier than I normally would have. My tactic worked- he was discouraged and faded back. I slowed down when I realized he was no longer on my shoulder, but I still ran hard to the finish. I was exhausted, but exuberant and thrilled with my time. I waited a couple minutes for Brynn to cross the finish line. Gave her a big hug and told her she should be very proud. She ran a great race.
Mile 2- 14:35
Mile 3- 7:32
Mile 4- 7:31
Mile 5- 7:29
Mile 6- 7:30
Mile 7- 7:30
Mile 8- 7:31
Mile 9- 7:29
Mile 10- 7:36
Mile 11- 7:23
Mile 12- 7:10
Mile 13- 6:36
0.1- 0:42
FINISH- 1:36:41 (7:22 avg pace)
While I'm very happy with the outcome of this race, it was alarming how little energy I had between miles 6-11. It's a cause for concern regarding the marathon in October. I will have to reconsider setting any time goals for that race.
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