Saturday morning we took the train into the city to save on parking nightmares and it worked out perfectly. We stayed at the Congress Plaza Hotel which was just across the street from the race start and finish. This was awesome! We loved the expo and had a blast visiting our favorite vendors and getting deals on the stuff we use when we run. Also had fun at the photo booths and the great merchandise offered with the RNR logo on it. We hit the streets to get some lunch and my favorite cafe was over a 1 hour and 30 minute wait so we settled for some chicken and pasta at the mall type area. After back at the hotel to go through our freebies at the expo and change we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for a light dinner and to get back to bed early.
I was able to sleep pretty well and wasn't as nervous as I was for my last half marathon. We still got up fairly early to get our bodies moving and ate a good breakfast. Banana and a promax bar! We headed over to the race and my husband was already sweaty.....not a good sign! They had plenty of bathrooms and pre race water and food which I found to be a nice perk. We checked our bags in the gear check and headed out to find our 13 corral. The corrals were not packed tight so was a night comfortable wait until the starting of the race. Even with the delayed start it only took us about 12 minutes to get to the start. The roads stayed packed, but open for the duration of the course. It was a nice course and provided with lots of fun to see as running the streets of Chicago.
I have run a number of races in Chicago, but all tend to stay on the lake side, so this was my first taste of actually running on the streets! I loved it and got butterflies thinking next time I'm doing this it will be THE MARATHON!
Our game plan was to take it easy because in fact it was hot, humid, and not a race we needed to PR in. Little did I know how tough it would get towards the end and how crappy my pace would really end up being. We stopped at every water station to drink as we took a walk break, consumed Gatorade, had our cliff shot bloks, and gladly took ice and sponges towards the end. I had never cramped during a race or a run before but I was on the verge of a charlie horse in my calf a few times. I felt a twinge jump up from the achilles to the muscle but stretched a bit to relieve it.
We made pretty good time up until about mile 7, then it all went down hill. I had to push myself hard to make it the rest of the way. I still had a blast and was glad I did the race. This was one of the best organized races and expos. The only complaint I had was they didn't have flags showing that the water stations were ahead. I guess towards the end I needed them to mentally show me I was close to them!
Felt a little better when I read this from the winner; “The race was difficult, my goal was to run 3:05 per kilometer and the morning humidity affected me a little bit. But I ran with the rock ‘n’ roll rhythm and I’m very pleased with my time,” said Sanchez, who will arrive in London on August 1st, eleven days before the Olympic Marathon.
Congrats on finishing it. Each race (each run for that matter) is soooo different. Great to know that it was a well organized race. Sounds wonderful. I love Chicago and think it'd be so cool to actually get to run the streets and not just the lake front.
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