Race Results

Today, as promised, I ran the Chicago Half-Marathon. What a day it has been. I started at 4:30 this morning so I could eat some breakfast before I left to meet a friend at a shuttle pick-up at 5:30. We arrived at the race at around 6:45 (the buses were running late) and started right around 7:15. The trail was really cool, and we ran along the highway with views of the lake and the skyline ahead of us. This race was a whole lot busier than the one I had done in April, so it was tough to bypass the slower people but eventually we found our stride.

I didn't do as well as I would have liked. I really wanted to get under 1:50 and beat my old time of 1:50:38. Unfortunately, I just couldn't do it. I ended up with the time 1:51:44 (adding 1:06 from last time). I think the problem was that I stayed with my friend for the first 8 miles because I thought it was motivation to keep me going the same speed as him, but really he was just going faster than I should have been. If I had kept my own pace I would have ended up with a time of 1:48, so I should have just done that. He ended with a time of 1:46, and I honestly didn't even think of getting a time like that as a possibility. It was definitely cool running with him though because it was fun to feel like we were running as a team, and we would split up to bypass some people and then get back together, and we were always looking out for one another. I wish I could have kept up though! Anyway, I still feel accomplished, and even though I'm disappointed, I know I can just do that much better at the next one.

Speaking of the next one, my potential (and likely) running schedule looks like this: on October 21 there is another half-marathon in Chicago called the Monster Dash (www.chicagomonster.org). I just heard about this a few days ago but I really want to do one more half-marathon before I move on to a marathon. Today's run made me solidify my choice (even more so) to do the Dallas Marathon on December 9th. I think finishing a half-marathon is pretty cool but a marathon must be a pretty amazing accomplishment. Plus, the fact that it is in Dallas is ideal because I could have a lot of friends and family cheering me on, and it would be really motivating to see people I know on the sidelines! So I definitely look forward to that, and hopefully I'll see you there! I think that will be the next time I'm in Texas, so I'm excited.

Also, my legs aren't too sore or banged-up, but usually the day after is the worst day for aches and stiffness, so we'll see how that goes. Anyway though, I'm gonna head to bed, I'm pooped! I'll post some pictures as soon as they're uploaded onto the website. Until then!