On Tuesday evening, I ran the Strike Out ALS 5k.  It was my second time running this race and by far was a much better experience than last year.  I ran this race with Team Manuela’s Peeps.

We’ve had such unusual weather this week in Chicago resulting in very cool weather for July. However, on Tuesday it was a bit too cloudy and it looked like it might rain.  I thought for sure it would be a similar experience to Saturday’s race.

I arrived at U.S. Cellular Field at 5:45, sent a text to various friends, and waited in my car for a bit because it started raining.  OK, maybe it was just a little rain.  Finally it stopped and I made my way to pick up my bib and meet up with my team members.  Then I had to go back to my car to drop off some stuff (not sure why I didn’t just leave them at gear check) and on the way ran into Eric and Emily.  A few minutes before the race I saw Natali.

I saw Emily again at the start line and knew that she was attempting to PR.  I did mention to her earlier that it was perfect PR weather and to go for it.  Well, I meant for me too. However, my coach’s instructions were to run this as a training run @10:45 pace.  I told Emily I was going to run this race based on feel.

The course was a bit different from last year.  We ran through two parking lots but there were more turns which definitely annoyed me.  I swear you get dizzy!

The best part of this race is running AND finishing inside the stadium.  Since this was a new course, that meant the finish line was not inside the stadium.  I was disappointed but it was still cool to run inside.

I ran my fastest mile ever @8:57.  Definitely improving since on Saturday it was 9:00. Yay!  Finish time is 30:12. Ugh, just 24 seconds from my PR.  But I wasn’t really attempting to PR.  But still, right?  I wore my watch but did not glance at it once during the race.  I ran by feel and boy did I feel it after that first mile.  I took a short break as I drank two cups of water and went along the rest of the race.

It began to rain a little and it actually felt really good because I was hot.  As I exited the stadium, I knew the finish line was close so I forced myself to pick it up a notch and finish this race.

It seemed like my team members were running close together because we quickly met up, got some water, and proceeded to go inside ChiSox Bar and Grill to eat, drink, and celebrate.  And indeed we did.

A few minutes later Emily joined us.  We then found out that she had placed 1st in her age division. Congrats Emily!  Read her race recap here.

Another great race for a wonderful organization.  The only thing that sucked was the course.  It is much more fun finishing INSIDE the stadium.  I had a great time and was glad the weather was so much better this year.

I like running 5ks.  They’re short and over before you know.  However, they’re also difficult because I struggle with finding a comfortable running pace and start off too fast. I don’t have plans to run another 5k this year but definitely enjoyed the two I did this month.

My next race: ZOOMA Half Marathon, August 2.

Today I ran the Chinatown 5k in the rain.  The last time I ran a 5k was the Strike Out ALS 5k in July. Despite the rain, it went much better than this one.

I did not pick up my packet prior to the race but chose to do so the morning of the race.  I wasn’t sure where exactly (just had an idea) the race began but I just took Archer Avenue until I got to Chinatown. From there I could see a group of people in Chinatown Square so I knew that’s where I had to go.  I looked for free street parking, didn’t find any, so I just went to the lot.  The cars in front of me that also wanted to park at the lot were instead turning away and later on I found out that the machine was no longer giving out those tickets that allowed you to get in the lot.  No problem at all.  I found street parking across from the lot.  It wasn’t free but wasn’t expensive either.

Once I was settled I noticed that my friend, Rachel, and her family was two cars in front of me.  From there we walked to pick up my packet and to get as close as possible to the start line.  Did I mention that it was raining?  Nonstop.

A few minutes before 8am we walked over to the start line but still had to wait a few more minutes before we were actually allowed to run.  Not sure why there was a delay.

The new route was supposed to go through Bridgeport along 26th street, Princeton and Wells.  A few days before the race I got an email letting me know that apparently the request for the new route was not approved.  Now we were to run through the original route.  

So basically we ran along Wentworth Avenue to 34th Street and back.  I didn’t pay too much attention to the route because I was too busy dodging the puddles.  Who wasI kidding?  I was soaking wet anyway.

As usual I started off too fast, slowed down, and then picked it up at the end.  Finish time is 30:33 for 3.12 miles for average pace of 9:45.  Pretty happy with it.  Coach Sara asked me to run an average of 9:25.  Umm, no, but close enough.

Overall, I did like the race.  I say that now that I am warm and dry.  I am glad it wasn’t cold because running a race when you’re cold and soaking wet is not fun either.  It is a small race and close to my house.  Definitely two pluses in my book!  If you haven’t ran this race, make sure to do so next year.

Coach posted this on Facebook and it made me smile.

There was a raffle after the race but I did not stay for it.  I had only paid for one hour in the meter and it was time to go.  Plus, I was getting cold.

Oh, and I made a huge mistake.  I ran with my phone but did not put it in a plastic bag.  After the race I couldn’t turn on my phone.  I was planning to take more pictures after the race but that didn’t happen.  Right now it is in a bag of rice where I shall leave it for a few days.  If that doesn’t help my phone then it means a visit to the Sprint store.  I know that means I won’t have a phone for a few days.  I am OK with that since I took a trip to Ecuador and Peru and didn’t have electricity nor Internet (for two trips) for a few days and I survived.  I am more worried about having to cough up the money to buy a new phone.

This past weekend I made another trip to Washington, DC.  I have to say that it is one of my favorite cities.  I’ve been there numerous times and each time I always have a great time.

I got in on Saturday afternoon and made my way to the hotel.  I was meeting up with a few girls from the Nike Training Club.  I dropped off my luggage and made my way to the expo.  I am used to an expo being in one building.  Well, this expo was different because you had to go to three different locations to get your bib, your shirt, and other miscellaneous stuff.  There weren’t many vendors plus it was crowded so I did not stay too long.  I then found out that Shalane Flanagan was there.  Dang!!

As soon as I got my bib and shirt, I saw this.  Pretty cool!

 The course map.

Found my name!  It was so cool to also see my mother’s name next to mine.

Then I met up with the rest of the girls and then went to lunch.

I woke up at 5 on race day.  I quickly got dressed and ate a ClifBar with some coffee.  Then we proceeded to take the metro to the start line.  It was a bit chilly and part of me wanted to go back to the room for a long sleeve shirt.  However, I knew that eventually it would warm up and then I would be too hot.

Ready to run!

There were so many runners on the course.  Even after one mile, the course was still crowded.  It was then that I saw JB.  She had flown in the day  before after running The Garmin Half Marathon in KS (where she got to meet Meb). She is pretty amazing!  She was running with a coworker and I managed to tag along.  Yeah, we ran together till the end.

It was a gorgeous day for running.  At various points there were so many spectators cheering for us.  I did get hot and thirsty but overall felt good throughout the race.  I began to feel a bit tired around mile 11.  I told JB to go ahead while I walked.  However, she is such a good pacer and part of me still wanted to run with her so I picked up the pace until I caught up with her.

Less than a mile to go.  That is me by the letter “E”.

So close to the end.

Finally done.  I love that instead of a medal, I got a Tiffany necklace.

It is a great race!  It is not a flat course but isn’t too hilly either.  The weather was gorgeous.  I definitely recommend doing this race.  I enjoyed it so much that I plan to go back next year.

On Saturday, April 5, I completed my 2nd ultramarathon.  I ran my first one two years ago.  This race was a fun experience but I will admit that I also felt some disappointment.

I spent the week leading up to the race just relaxing and not thinking too much about it.  I know that if I think about it then I worry and what good does that do?  Absolutely nothing.  I made sure to drink plenty of water and carbo loaded on Friday.

The weather was perfect on race day.  It was sunny and no wind.  I saw Amanda from Too Tall Fritz and Michelle from This Momma Runs.  I was so nervous that I went to the bathroom 3 times. Luckily there weren’t too many people running the race so the lines moved pretty fast.

I got in line at 8:25 and realized that I did not have my iPod.  I thought I had lost it.  When I couldn’t find it, I went to my bag to leave my headphones and saw that my iPod was already clipped to my waterbelt.  By then the race had started and I was still trying to get myself together.  There was no chip time so it is important that you start on time.  I was finally ready and was probably the last one to cross the start line.  I did not worry at all because I knew I would catch up to the other runners.

My friend, Rhoda from Relentless Rhoda, agreed to run with me for 9 miles.  I saw her before mile 1 and we ran till the first turnaround on North Avenue (5.2 miles) and then continued on till mile 9.  It was great running with her.  Thanks Rhoda!!

Mile 15.5.  I was in a lot of pain and took two ibuprofens.  Thank goodness I did because it would have been tough to run another 15.5 miles.

I ran and walked the rest of the way.  I turned on my iPod but for some reason the battery had died.  It was weird because I made sure to charge it the night before.  Ugh, I was annoyed because I spent a few minutes before the race looking for the darn thing.

By the time I got to mile 20.7 (start/finish area) there were a few people that had already finished. What?!?!?!?

Just before the finish line.  Not sure why it is blurry.

Done.  Finish time is 6:39:08.

Luckily I finished before the watch battery died.

Post-race food.  I had two bowls because I was hungry and one wan’t enough.

I keep thinking about the race to figure out what went wrong.  The weather was perfect.  I felt really good.  I did not have any hip pain.  So it should have gone just perfect right?  I know I cannot PR at every race.  However, I did not think my finish time would be 20 minutes more/worse than my first ultra.  I had such a great experience at the Bank of American Shamrock Shuffle and thought for sure that it would be the same on Saturday.

Overall, it is a well organized race.  There was packet pickup on Friday and also on Saturday morning. It is so much cheaper than a full marathon.  There is no crowd support but there were so many runners out there and a few of them cheered for us.  There are 3 aid stations on the course with plenty of water, gatorade, potato chips, pretzels, and other goodies.  I realized I did not have to carry so many gels and Perpetuem solids with me because I could get them each time I passed by the pass/finish area where I left my bag.  I like that there are 6 legs and each one is a little over 5 miles. This helps to mentally break down the miles and not focus so much that you have to run 31 miles.  If you are thinking of running an ultra, then this is THE race to do.

Part of me does not want to run another ultramarathon but then another part does want to and hopefully get a better finish time.  Third time is a charm right?

The chafing is so painful.  I took my time taking a shower.  I did get three blisters on my left foot and thought for sure I had lost a toenail.  Oh, and I am constantly HUNGRY!

I saw this tweet from Kara Goucher (love her) and it made me feel a little bit better.

My next race is the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in DC.  I’ve heard so many great things about the race and am so excited about it.