Sunday, June 24, 2012

Chicago women's half marathon recap

1:46:15 (a 1 minute PR!)

24/ 479 for my AG (top 5%)

89/ 2365 for overall (top 3.7%)

Pre race:



The day before I ran/ walked 11 miles with my man.



Then I ate a burrito as big as my head for dinner. Hey!? Rice are carbs right!?! No spicy sauce I know better than that.


I had no expectations going into this race. I determined early on (and with the guidance of my coach) Because of the heat that I would run negative splits/ progressive run for this race as this is not my goal race.


I did not see a single dude running this race. I ran the Nike women's marathon in 2010 and did see men running it. None here. Not a single one


Walked over to grant park from my place at 6:10 for the 7am start. I love the races close to my apt!


Ate a power bar smoothie berry flavor for breakfast (hour prior) and a Gatorade prime plus a salt tab 15 minutes pre race. I was a ball of nerves and don't really know why. This race wasn't a goal- I signed up for it since it was reasonably priced $65 and was close proximity to my home and gave out a shirt,medal and yoga mat too.

Wore my green Nike lunar racers (first time in a half- wear them on other long runs), MC bra, Nike sea foam tank, Aspaeris pivot shorts.


Soon we were off! I started around the 8:00 pace corral (1:45 finish) to ensure a smooth start. I quickly fell behind the 1:45 group and the 1:50 group within the first few miles. I wanted to be conservative in the heat. The course went south on the lakefront and then returned to Balbo and Columbus Dr for the finish. I always had the 1;50 group in sight- I was about 30 seconds behind them before the first half. I decided I needed to be passing them at the 6-7 mile mark.

(my splits for your viewing pleasure)

And so I did. I passed the 1:50 group and never looked back. In fact for the rest of the race no one passed me. I must have passed over a hundred people. It was fun.


I took a Gu jet blackberry at mile 4, and took a cherry lime roctane at mile 8-9 along with some mango salt strips. I also carried water with me the entire time and never stopped at a water station. Except the last one where I grabbed some water and dumped it on my head. It felt amazing By the way.

While the temps were approaching 80, I just kept chugging along the lakefront. Thank god it was overcast during this point. Soon I was back near the Shedd aquarium with a mile to go and eminems Lose yourself came on my iPod and I started kicking harder. The finish seemed to take forever and I started sprinting as fast as my legs would allow. I felt so sick to my stomach but could not allow myself to stop or slow down until after crossing the finish mat. Pain is nothing, compared to what it feels like to give in. 'Nuff said.


I was so happy to break my PR by a minute, but even more excited to have made an extreme negative split with 7 miles at or significantly below my goal marathon pace for this race. In the heat.


Post race thoughts:

#1,don't stay up until 11pm watching the UFC fights the night before the race. 

This race was fun. It seemed extremely well organized. I never experienced crowding on the course. There were ample aid stations, plus the water fountains on the course. I love the medal and thought the yoga mat was a nice touch. I also like the shirt design too. I'd definitely run this race next year. Thank you volunteers! Go fleet feet!

Post race celebrations included some IPA, Vander Mill Cider and a grilled cheese with Swiss, ham
And pineapple.

83 days until the Fox valley marathon.


- xaar

24 comments:

  1. Great job Xaar! Sounds like you ran a super smart race and doesn't it feel good to pass all those people! Great job on a new PR!

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  2. Nice job! I was volunteering at the water station and it was awesome seeing only women crossing the finish line!

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  3. Holy cow! Congrats on the PR and well run race! You couldn't have run it any smarter. I am inspired! :)

    So cool that they give you a yoga mat!

    Burritos are one of my fave pre-race meals :)

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    1. Thank you :) Training in the heat= makes running races in the heat just a tad easier. I keep telling myself that anyays...

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  4. Congrats on the PR, especially in this weather!!! This looked like such a cool race, I'm glad it was well organized and went well for you. I'm definitely keeping it in mind for next year.

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    1. Thank you! I think the low humidity helped a ton. You should have done it :)

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  5. Woohoo, congrats on the PR and the negative splits! I love that you could just walk to the start line!

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  6. You did AWESOME! Congrats on the PR! Love your hair in the pigtail braids!

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    1. Pigtails = the only way to go.. To not be bothered by flyaways :)

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  7. Great job!! Your training run is faster than any goal i could dream up, haha. Sorry i didn't get to see you out there! I liked this race alot too, the shirt is really cute!

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    1. Consistency. That is all my friend :) It was a great race.

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  8. Fantastic race! Congrats on the PR and really kicking it into gear the second half of the race. Awesome race :)

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    1. Thank you! Progressive splits= super challenging and fun all at the same time!

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  9. Awesome job! And where did you buy mango flavored salt tabs?

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    1. Thank you! The mango salt strips are from "Endurolyte" Im having a tough time ordering them since they are not found in stores.. only direct selling BOO! Maybe I'll start selling them.

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  10. Wow, congratulations on running a smart race and doing amazing, girl. I can only imagine how brutal that heat was. I know my friend ended up with an IV from dehydration.

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    1. Holy Crap! I hope your friend is OK. Im surprised it went as well for me as it did. This Florida girl has fully embraced cooler weather. lol

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  11. major congrats! that bionic hip is working for you :)

    most importantly...where did you get a grilled cheese with ham, swiss, and pineapple?!

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    1. Hackneys. It was some special they had.

      Try fish oil. Ive been taking it everyday and it seems to be helping the achy ness in my stupid hip flexor.

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  12. Wow, you just based on the race recaps I've read of yours, this sounded like your best race ever. Every mile you got faster than the last with negative splits. And you said you felt amazing at the finish line. And sounded like the course organization and everything was top notch. Well done!

    You have been running phenomenally well recently!!! Without even knowing how your marathon training is going, I think you are going to break your marathon PR in 83 days.

    On a side note, I've never ran in a girls only race before - I think I would only do it if I had a girlfriend in the race. I understand why they have women's only races, because in the past women were discriminated against with running, and so I think they should have as many women's only races as they want to have.

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    1. Eventhough this wasnt a "race" for me, I was still happy with the execution of it. Actually estatic about how it all went down considering the heat.

      Thank you for being one of the most supportive bloggers out there :) I hope not to disapoint in a few months at the marathon.

      This race was a celebration of title 9 which was passed 40 years and a day before this race. I enjoyed it only being women. Nice change :)

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  13. WOO HOO! I am so happy for you and your PR! You look so happy! And to achieve all of that in this heat? You are so my hero!

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  14. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! WAY TO PUSH THROUGH!!!!! You are a ROCKSTAR!!!!! WOO HOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Great to hear so many good things about the inaugural Chicago Women's Half, too! I was debating signing up for it but decided not to given other races on the schedule, however next year this will be a stronger consideration. How awesome that you get a yoga mat!!!

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