Fleet Feet Soldier Field 10 Mile 2012

I first heard about this race last year when I was beginning my training for my half marathon.  At that time last year I was not conditioned to run 10 miles, so I mentally thought I'd like to try this race this year because I'd have enough time to be properly trained.  I signed my husband and I up for the race which took place on Saturday.  The race start time was at 7 am at Soldier Field and we live about 2 hours from there, so we stayed over night to be closer and not have to get up soooo early.  We still had to get up about 3:45 to get a good breakfast and use the bathroom.  I have found the earlier the run and the longer it is more important to get my body up and moving so I can pass whatever is sitting in my stomach before the run.  Otherwise I will be needing to stop soon after I start.  So anyway. We got to Soldier Field about 5:15 and parked in the FREE parking at the field.  The lot filled up fast, but we had timed it perfectly.  We relaxed a bit in the car and then walked to find gear check.  Everything was clearly labeled and in the same spots the map had shown.

We entered Soldier Field and found gear check, used the restroom again and then headed out to find our corral.  They had the race divided into two colors, blue and green.  The blue corrals was for gates 1-7 and then green was on a side street with the rest of the corrals.  They were based on estimated finish times.  We found our green gate 10 and squeezed in.  They actually checked your bib before you were allowed to enter.  I haven't been to a race where they checked, which was good because there were  A LOT OF people at this race.

Around 6:45 they started talking on the speaker and getting us ready to go.  They opening ceremonies had some pretty moving tributes to Soldiers and the theme of Freedom.  It was pretty exciting as I was thinking I was doing some CHICAGO BEAR thing, but in reality it had nothing to do with them.  As the time ticked closer to 7 am I was getting nervous/excited.  We had ran 10 the week before so I was pretty confident this was going to be a fun long run.  This race had a really cool staggered start.  At 7 the first corral was opened and the race began.  They then waited a few minutes in between each corral.  They were spacing out the race course.  This provided us a much less congested run on the streets, water stations, and at the end.

At about 7:33 our corral was opened and we approached the starting line.  They counted us down and we were off.  The first mile was much too slow for me at about a 10:49 pace.  My husband told me after the race I wasted too much energy trying to get around everyone.  Instead it was ok to run the first mile or so slower than I wanted to with the traffic.  We ran under the McCormick Place and it was funny hearing everyone's garmins beeping as we lost gps temporarily.

We skipped the first water station on Lake Shore Drive, but by the time the second one came I was ready for water.  We opted for the walk and drink method.  In previous bigger/long races we had ran through and tried to drink.  All it did was frustrate me as I got air in my stomach from gulping and never really felt refreshed.  Instead we took the 30 seconds to walk, drink, and get a mental check in.  Then eased back out and got our pace back up.  The race was very smooth and I felt good the entire way.  At the last water station I opted for a bit of Gatorade because I could feel my body getting tried and needed a bit of sugar blast.

With a mile left I started to get excited knowing we were finishing on the 50 yard line of Soldier Field.  About a half mile left I took off my headphones so I could take in all of the sites.  Last big race was my half and I was dying at the end so I was thankful how good I felt and I was able to enjoy this experience.  We turned the corner to head into Soldier Field.  We ran through some parking and then they were playing music and I saw the tunnel.  We exploded out of the tunnel onto the grass and finished strong on the 50!  It was pretty awesome.  We had a time of 1:44 with a 10:23 pace.  I was satisfied with that.

We then grabbed a water, posed for some pictures and then headed to get a banana.  They handed you a goodie bag with a banana, cliff bar and some other race hand outs.  Picked up our bags easily and then headed to the after race party.  They had a good cover band playing, plenty of free samples, and we signed up to be stretched out by the sports med group that was there.  I'd never had this done, but the girl assured me it would make me feel better the next day.  She was right I felt like I had not even ran the next day!

Over all this was the best organized race I have ever participated it and even my PACKER fan husband can't wait to do it again next year!!!