A perfect 10

Very impressive, Clucky.  Very impressive indeed.

Saturday Matt and i woke up at 5:30 so that we could run "Chicago's perfect 10"  Its a 10 mile/10k.  I was going to run the 10 mile, and Matt was going to run his very first 10k.  It was not a pretty morning.  I felt worse than ever and Matt is kind of a grouch at 5:30.  We wanted to be there relatively early, because we were meeting Matt's boss who was also running the 10 mile race, and we had picked up his number for him.  Our goal was to be there at 6:15, and per our usual, we were maniacally running around trying to locate his boss at 6:50.  Thats just how we roll.  Luckily we did find him, and with 5 whole minutes to spare!!  The nice part of this race is that you can wait inside navy pier until the race starts (a huge bonus considering it was a balmy 37 degrees.) They started herding us out at 10 minutes til start, and we were literally some of the last people to go outside.  We ended up jumping into a corral as the race was starting.  

outta my way, bitches!

Because of the cold, i wore some capri tights under a running skirt, and a long sleeve shirt with a tshirt over it.  and gloves.  Once the race started i took the gloves off, and i feel that i would have been fine without the leggings, but honestly, there was no point in the race that i felt too hot, so whatever.  I am sick anyway, i gotta stay warm.  I brought a gel just in case, even though it was a 10 mile race.  I had no pockets, so i tucked it into my waistband.  About half a mile in, it slipped from my waistband and started swimming around inside my capris like a parasite.  AWESOME.  i was able to reach in and grab it, but i definitely did not win the classiest runner award.  The first three miles, everyone was together.  This was awesome because i could run with Matt, even though he had headphones on and ignored me.  The downside is that it was not a very wide path, it was obnoxiously crowded.  It was an inaugural race, so it wasn't unbearably crowded, but i can forsee issues in the future if larger groups run it.  After the 10k turn around, i was on my own.  My plan was to haul buns the first three miles to impress Matt, and then take it easy because i felt like crap.  Right after the split though, another runner talked to me.  I am so used to being utterly and pathetically alone when running, i was completely out of my element.  We exchanged a few pleasantries about the weather, and it became apparent that we were running about the same pace.  He was aiming to run it in 1:30, which was my pre-illness goal, so i figured i would see how long i could keep up.  I saw Matt's much faster than me boss at mile 4.5, which meant the turn around would be soon. I never realized how much seeing a familiar face or interacting with other runners can give you a boost when running.  


I had planned on popping my headphones in at mile 6, but i was still going strong, and enjoying having a running buddy to interact with.  Around mile 8 we both started to slow down a little.  There was no energy drink on the course, or more so, there was and i was too stupid to find it, so i was feeling drained.  Right after the 9 mile marker, i had to stop and walk for about 30 seconds and give myself a pep talk.  I was starting to feel anxious, and the best thing for me is to stop for a second, recenter myself, and then just barrel through to the end.  I spent the last half mile slowly catching up to the guy i had been talking too.  i caught up to him AT the finish line, and i crossed at 1:29:59.  YAY!  Talk about a close one!  All things considered though, i am really proud of that time, because i did even when i felt like crap and hadn't been training.  It was really easy to find Matt, and he had finished in 55 minutes!  YAY MATT!!  i grabbed a banana and water, and we walked around the indoor expo a couple times for a cool down.  The nice part about the expo being the day of is that people were like, throwing free samples at us, so i got some protien mix, some nuun tabs, and some pain gel.  They were also giving out vouchers for Mcgriddles, but i wasn't about to touch that.

people that are winners.

All in all, it was a good race, but i don't know that i would run it again.  There was no music on the course, it was narrow in some places, and there wasn't any food or sports drink at the end.  They also gave cool shirts to the 10k people, and lame shirts to the 10 mile people, and that just pisses me off.  It is a nice time of year when there aren't a ton of other races though, so we will see.  It also is an excuse for me to go see touristy things like Navy Pier, the Shedd aquarium, and Soldier Field.

So there ARE palm trees in Chicago....I'll be damned...

the downside of being done running at 8:30?  The candy store isn't open yet :(

Having a cheesy tourist moment in the city i live.

So thats what i did this weekend, among other things.  (like baking chocolate chip cookies, and eating a dozen chocolate chip cookies, and lay on the couch whining)  I also just found out that they bumped the Boston Qualifying time down another 5 minutes, so screw you world.  I have also been looking at races in Ireland.  My family is going there next fall, and i would really like to run a race while i am there.  Not a full marathon, because my family wouldn't have the patience, and i will be drinking heavily, but a half would be awesome.  I found this one in Donegal and am considering it!  Although i can barely navigate races in my own home town....Who knows the damage i could do in another country.  It seems friendly and fun though.  And i could dress up like a cow!

I am also having Matt do a guest post on his thoughts on his first 10k!  this is because i am super proud of him, but also because a game call sky rim came out, and i haven't been able to pry him from the computer in hours.

It's ok though, because he is drinking beer out of a goblet.