The Chicagoland Spring Marathon/Half Marathon brought about 1300 runners to the Schaumburg area, a suburb of Chicago.  Sunny, hot, breezy...the race would be a challenge!  I had trouble almost immediately.  Mile two and I already had a side cramp.  This lasted through mile four where I took a bathroom break and poured some water on myself.  Felt better until nearly at the 10K mark.  Ankles, feet and legs were tired and sore.  Possibly, this was due to my shoe frenzy last week.  Add the heat and it just spelled trouble.  Official time was 3:02!  Nearly a 14 pace!  Spent much time walking and just couldn't get a rhythm going on the run.

Well, it is what it is and I crossed the finish line standing up.  There were times I wondered!  The temp was around 90 by10:30 AM, so upper 80s at the finish line by the time I crossed it.  A breeze in the woods gave occasional respite.  It was wonderful running with friends, however.  And that in itself made the race totally worth it!

Two Day Active Rest

So here we are...two days to lift off.  The race event is being yellow flagged with a high of 87 in the forecast.  My one and only other half marathon was also yellow flagged.  August 1, 2010 for the Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon.  It also was well into the 80s and VERY humid.  Much of the course was along Lake Michigan.  I had figured it would be cooler by the lake but what little breeze there was came from the west INTO the lake providing ZERO relief.  It was so humid, steam was rising off the lake.  Ozone levels were up.  There was about 20,000 people running that race.  There was rarely a time you weren't surrounded by people.  Here's a video of what it was like running that race.  Fun in the downtown area.  Not as fun once on Lake Shore Drive going south.  The crowds were gone and it was just us runners sharing the misery.  :D

The Chicagoland Spring Marathon & Half Marathon in Schaumburg, IL will only have about 1,300 racers.  MUCH, MUCH smaller.  And for a slower runner like me, there will be lots of people left on the course when I cross the finish line.

Tomorrow AM...POSSIBLY a short bike and easy at that.  Dinner out at an Italian restaurant (two nights in a row, in fact) so a bit of pasta and I'm good to go!  My worries will only be how my BRAND new shoes work (had trouble with the new stability shoes and had to take them back after getting some severe tightness in the shins....Went back to my previous pair only NEW b/c old ones were worn out...BAD TIMING!), and the hot weather.

Hoping to finish under 2:36 which was my last time on the half.  I hit a major wall on mile 8 from going to fast too soon.  Hope I learned from that and can better pace myself.  May follow the 2:30 pacer and if there is enough steam left in my tank and all goes well, maybe I can even beat that.  But given the heat....as the race director said, "The hot day is not the time to PR!"  So....playing it safe here!

Happy Trails and good luck to my friends running the race.  Best wishes Paul on your 40th birthday gift to yourself by doing the FULL marathon!  You rock!

12 Miles to the Half Marathon

It's one week before I do my 2nd ever half marathon.  The Chicago Rock and Roll half marathon was the first one I ever did on a hot, steamy, July day of 2010.  Two hours and thirty six minutes from start to finish, six minutes over my goal.  So what will half marathon of 2012 bring?  I will be happy to finish since it's been nearly two years from the first one.  But I sure would like that 2:30 or less.

To help with such a goal, I ran more often, with a bit more mileage and ended each week with a long, slow distance run.  For the past several weeks, I added a mile to a mile and a half to the long run.  Today was the last long run before the race at 12 miles.  I looked at these runs as an adventure, packing water and bare necessities for the journey.  Here's a photo journal of today's 12 miler:

From my house to Springbrook Prairie Preserve...1.25 miles to the entrance and 5.75 miles on the path that will end right at the halfway mark.  I love running in the prairie.  So much to see!  Deer, birds, frogs, other runners and bikers....   It looks very secluded, but most of the path has much civilization on the outer perimeter.

Near mile 3, a crane wades in the ponds.  This is a bed full of cranes and herons.

It looks like a giant hill up a ways from here, but it's a bit of an illusion.  Looked extra golden against the dark, stormy sky.

There was a deer under that leafy tree, but it ran off into the prairie by the time I took this.  Maybe if you looked hard enough, you could see his ears and face in the grasses.  He didn't go to far...just far enough to think I couldn't see him...or her.  It was a young deer.

Even on this cool day, I was quite sweaty.  Hydrating is super important.  Drank at mile 3.75 (these markers were not an accurate count of my run since I did not START on this path), 6.25, 8.50 and 10.25.  At 6.25, I also popped in 3 shot blocks for refueling.  :)

You can't see the red wing tip on this black bird, but they are abundant in this prairie.  One would think they own the place with their numbers and the way they proudly display themselves on tall, skinny blades of prairie grass.

Forget about all your troubles......Put on a happy face....  Certain parts of this prairie make you forget you live in a town of 150,000.

Last weekend, when I ran with my friend, Rebecca, I had to pull over three times to empty stones from my shoes.  Only had to do this once today.

Love how this path winds around.

Cyclists enjoying the cloud formation laden path...

Considering that someone once dumped an alligator in one of these Springbrook ponds, I don't think swimming here is too tempting.

Leaving the nature area at exactly the halfway point.  Six miles and still going strong.

Running past a retention pond in an unincorporated area.

Liked how these trees led the way into the neighborhood...From unincorporated...to incorporated.

Long stretch of sidewalk.  To infinity and beyond!

This is a sad, sad picture.  So many times in the past two years, I would ride my bike to that driveway where good friend, Richard and sometimes his wife, Pauline, would gather other cyclists for our weekend long cycling adventure.  Many GREAT memories of stories, jokes, prayers, chit chats that started and ended our road trips to Tour de Farms at this lovely home of Richard and Pauline.  Miss them like mad!  They live in Des Moines.  Might see Pauline in a few weeks when she visits!

YIKES....Mile 8.  Mile 8 is always a "HIT THE WALL" mile for me.  It wasn't tooooo bad this time, but as usual, it started the decline of my energy and form.  Had to keep reminding myself to maintain good form to keep light on my feet.  Muscles were getting tired.  Slouching becomes the preferred form and I have to straighten up and suck in my gut.  This really does help and yet, seems to take more effort.  An odd feeling.  It'll be a bit miserable from now to the end.

To the left....my house just two short blocks down the road.  To the right, another 3 miles of running.  Am I insane?  I turned right and went for the whole thing.  "See you later, house....I've got three more miserable miles to go!"

Didn't mind these underground sprinkler systems today.  Hit me, baby!

Mile ten was at the entrance to Knock Knolls park.  A trail I use for cycling often.  Sure do miss my bike right about now!  Seems much easier than this run!  But two more miles to go!  I can do this!

The last mile as I pass Kingsley School (on my left).  Over this hill and turning left for the final mile.  That couch is calling my name!

Home, Sweet, Home!  I did it !!!!  Next weekend....13.1 miles.  So now...the recovery begins and the taper week also begins.  No more 5 milers or intervals.  Just nice, short runs to keep things going but not building up lactic acid.

Looking forward to recovering these tired muscles!

A cup of plain non-fat Greek yogurt mixed with all natural peach preserves with no cane sugar added. Yum!  Get that protein in within 30 minutes of such a workout.  Relax...and HEAL!

Half Marathon....Here I come!

Happy Trails!