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| My shirt/packet |
Last year the race was run entirely on the lakefront path, which, while scenic, does not bode well for fast times when there is two-way traffic. Fleet Feet did a great job this year adjusting the course so that runners were only headed in one direction on the path, as well as incorporating start corrals for the competitive 10k.
Since this race was in the middle of my marathon/triathlon training this year, I decided I wanted to push hard and make this into a a tempo run. The goal was to run under 50:00 (which would have been a PR).
Race morning got off to a rough start when my cab was 20 minutes late picking us up. Arriving at Adler Planetarium (the course start) at 6:25 am, I had only 20 minutes to get to the start before corrals closed. I decided to forgo my usual pre-race bathroom break in favor of some last minute stretching before my corral closed at 6:45 am.
The corral starts for the 10k were flawless. Every 90 seconds we were released. I was luckily on the side where all the Big 10 mascots were lined up, so I got to give Sparty a high-five as I crossed the race start.
The first mile was slightly downhill, as we headed South towards McCormick Place. Hitting at a 7:20, I was a little faster then the 7:40 I wanted to maintain, but relaxed as I knew I didn't actually work at a 7:20 pace.
The rest of the course was a blur as we headed under McCormick Place, and onto a portion of Lake Shore Drive that was shut down. At the 5k mark we turned off of LSD, and took the lakefront path back towards Adler Planetarium. My splits were pretty consistent, as I stayed between a 7:35 and 7:45 mile after the first one.
At the 5 mile mark, I realized I was well under my time goal of 50:00. I hit 5 miles around 38:00, almost equivalent to my 8k PR at the Shamrock Shuffle this past spring! I knew if I pushed through the last mile, I may be able to break 48:00. With a new time goal in place, I pressed harder.
Unfortunately, the last mile was also slightly uphill. On a normal day the grade wouldn't seem like much, but after this hard tempo pace, I was definitely tired. I felt like I was checking my watch every .1 mile, and was not moving anywhere. As long as I kept under an 8:00 pace, I would make my adjusted goal.
Coming down the last .2 to the finish line, I started picking up the pace. I was with a good group that had been surrounding me the entire time, and we all seemed to be pushing each other to the finish. About 50 yards from the finish, I had a scare as a guy cut me off and clipped my front foot as he charged towards the finish. Spinning my arms, I did keep balance and crossed the line without a spill. 47:24 was the time on my watch (later to find out 47:23 was the official time). A 10k PR by about 7 minutes!!!
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| Race Splits! |
After the race, I got my obligatory water, Gatorade, banana, and beer. The after-party stuck with the Big 10 theme by giving out sunglasses from each school, and having representatives from the various alumni associations.
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| Gotta work on getting this boy into some green.... |
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| Go Green! |
After the party, Mark and I had our friends from various Big 10 schools come by for more tailgating. Jagger had so much fun, he had to put himself to bed after 8 hours of partying.
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| Sleepy Sparty Dog! |
The new 10k PR has re-ignited my passion to train for the marathon and triathlon this year. I am more confident in my running abilities, and excited to tackle these big races in the next few weeks!
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| Adding another to my collection! |
