I flew into Chicago on Friday afternoon about 2 hours later than scheduled due to an electrical error on the plane. Once I landed, I was able to navigate the CTA train downtown to packet pickup where I picked up my bib, timing chip, and rad new jacket. I found a quaint little joint to grab a bit to eat and a beer and waited for Jamie to get to the hotel. We gathered her race stuff and headed over to see our friend, Kirby, in action at the bar where he works. We grabbed a beer and a small pizza before making our way to a running store so Jamie could stock up on Gu-like substances and to Walgreens so she could try to find a costume. We were supposed to be Mario and Luigi but with all of the stuff that happens in life the Luigi costume didn't happen. It was a toss up between Cleopatra and "Sexy Pirate Lady" for costumes and since the "Sexy Pirate Lady" looked slightly more comfortable, she decided on that one.
With packets picked up and costumes purchased, it was time to eat some real food. We stopped at the grocery store and picked up some pasta and spinach to eat with some chicken breasts back at her apartment. It was an uneventful night, which was just fine since Saturday would prove to be a busy day.
I woke up without an alarm on Saturday at just the right time. I enjoyed some coffee and a breakfast bar, threw on my Mario costume, and we loaded up to go to the race start. Parking was a little more congested than we expected and we got to the race start with just enough time to put on some last minute items (Garmin, iPods, etc.) and check our bags at the bag check before heading to the portable toilets...except that the lines for the toilets was really long. It was 9:11 and the 1/2 marathon was supposed to start the run at 9:15! Knowing we wouldn't be able to hold things off for the length of the race and risking getting ticketed in Chicago, we snuck down into a bushy area and dropped trou to relieve ourselves. We were lucky with the fact that only one person come down to that area during that time and that 1) he wasn't a cop and 2) he didn't care because he was going to do the same thing. Turns out we probably could have used the toilets because the race didn't end up starting until 9:25 and we had to wait another 5 minutes to cross the start line due to the congestion of the race.
Once things go started, I felt like we moved fairly quickly. There was quite a bit of congestion, but it didn't slow me down much since I'm a slower runner anyway. Jamie and I stuck together for the first 5 or 6 miles, which was cool. We lost each other at one of the water stations and she kept up with her 10:50 pace. I slowed down a little, which was a wise plan. Miles 6 and 7 were my hardest for some reason and I got into a bad habit of looking down at the ground as I ran. I constantly had to remind myself that I was on the lakeshore in Chicago and that the view was something to be seen, not ignored! I took 2 Clif Shot Bloks at miles 4, 6, and 10-ish and actually wish I had more, something else, or that I had some Nuun in a water bottle with me, but I didn't...and I still survived. There were several mile marker flags missing throughout the race, which was disappointing. Even though I had my Garmin, there were a few times I knew it was not registering the satellites due to the bridge and I wasn't entirely sure the miles were tracked accurately. I could have used another water station somewhere between miles 9 and 10 but there was a drinking fountain available, so that wasn't so bad.
I don't have any really memorable moments from this half-marathon except for the last 1/4 mile or so. As I rounded the corner for the last bit of the race, I squeezed out every ounce of energy left in me and felt like I was running really, really fast! I passed a few people at the end, which may or may not be contributed to the number of people yelling out "Go Mario!" as my feet hit the pavement. I crossed the finish line in 2:27:11 for the race and had I not been gasping for air, I probably would have been beaming from ear to ear for my PR!
I grabbed the goody bag of food and found my bag at the check station before heading to the meet up spot to find Jamie. We hugged and I let her know my unofficial time and that I had accomplished yet another PR! After a little while we took a rather lengthy walk to find food with a few other friends. I'm sure Blue Man Group, a bee, Mario, and the Sexy Pirate Lady eating pierogies and drinking beer and this small little restaurant, but we were all smiles and didn't give a lick about what everyone else thought of us!
The rest of the weekend may or may not be shared at a later date, but here are the official stats from the race and a few post-race photos:
2011 Team Ortho Chicago Monster Dash - Half Marathon
Miranda M Age: 32 Residence: Boise, ID
11:15 per mile
Overall place: 2203 out of 3030
Gender place: 1332 out of 1966 Females
Age Group place: 247 out of 385 Females in the F3034 Age Group
Passed 450 runners
Passed by 112 runners in the overall category
Sexy Pirate Lady and Mario
Post-Race Beers!
PR!
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