Monday, May 28, 2007

Soldier Field 10 Mile Race

THIS HAS BEEN MODIFIED FOR THE SAKE OF BEING ABLE TO POST IT WITHOUT MESSING UP THE LAYOUT OF MY BLOG (SEE LATER POST EXPLANATION). PHOTOS HAVE BEEN DELETED. BOO HOO! THANKS TO SHIRLEY FOR HER HELP SOLVING THIS MONSTER!

My journey to Chicago began Friday after work. I ate my pre-race meal at my desk at the end of the day (a huge baked sweet potato, plus some small stuff). I drank as much water throughout the day as was humanly possible (as well as the days leading up to the race). I was packed up and ready to go! So off to the airport I drove. I flew to Chicago without Chasen; as I had booked this trip months ago, solo, primarily due to finances, it turned out that he needed to be in both Oklahoma and Louisiana for important events... so it kind of worked out for us to be apart for a few days.

I arrived at O'Hare. A little background info: I went to college at IIT (in Chicago), so I know my way around. I got to the taxi area as quickly as possible. What an organized place that is! I had to stand in a long line just to get a cab. But finally it was my turn. My accommodations were to be at my friend Melissa's apartment in Bridgeport, the neighborhood adjacent to / west of IIT. I used to live in Bridgeport! Melissa was headed home to visit her family for the weekend, so she offered me her bachelorette pad. As the cab dropped me off, I immediately saw that she had put up a sign on the door that said "Welcome Susan!" How nice! I got in and went to sleep pretty quickly. Although I must admit... I am not the "city slicker" that I once was; street noise took some getting used to!

I woke up just before my alarm. I was rearing to go! My friends Katie (my fellow runner), Lynn and Thi were to all meet at Melissa's place and we were going to go to the race together. Lynn had a new camera that she was excited to try out (and when you see the photos below, you'll see that I am extremely thankful for that!) Thi (pronounced "Tee") was going to drive us all.

After some minor plumbing difficulties, it was necessary for me to visit the Shell station a block away. We all know that something has to happen on race day! As I was exiting the Shell, Katie called. Finally we were reunited!!! It's funny how close two people who rarely see each other can be... but that's Katie and I! We saw each other like we had just hung out the day before - now THAT is friendship!

Lynn arrived shortly thereafter. She is GREAT, by the way. She is a wife, mother of two handsome little boys, my friend, AND a chemical engineer. And on top of all that, she is a great race photographer!

Katie, Lynn and I all sat around Melissa's table wondering what happened to Thi. She was late! So I called and - bless her heart! - her alarm did not go off! We agreed to meet at Soldier Field. Lynn drove us. Thank you, Lynn!

We got there, parked, and the photo extravaganza began!

After a few photos, and a semi-long wait for the port-a-pottie, we headed over to the starting line area. We were waaaayyyyyy back there. There were, as it turned out, 4215 runners in the 10 mile race. Katie and I had already discovered that we were so happy to get the chance to visit in person that the race itself was icing on the cake.

So the gun (or whatever) went off! And so did our mouths! Actually, as I said, they had not stopped since the minute we met up outside of the Shell station. It was GREAT! Having close friends is one of life's greatest pleasures, in my book. But to have one that you feel like is your long lost twin is something else! Katie and I are partners in crime!
The race began on the east lawn of Soldier Field. I was sure to set my Garmin precisely when we crossed the starting mat (because I forgot at the Toad Suck 10K). This time I was not distracted by my iPod. We ran without them! The course took us through a tunnel, where my Garmin lost signal for a while, and then literally onto Lakeshore Drive.

College memory: giving someone directions and instructing them to "take LSD." Ha!

We ran south on LSD (Lakeshore Drive) for just about five miles. I was determined to not start too quickly. This was my opportunity to run a consistent race. With the aid of Katie, I (we) did!

There were aid stations about every 2 miles. There were really nice, large, red Nike timers at each mile. Of course, it took us about 3 minutes just to cross the starting line, so we had to take them with a grain of salt.

Chicago is fairly flat (and that is a huge understatement...) but I am proud to say that we TOOK every "hill." Katie had previously instructed me to be her "drill sergent," so I was! We ran consistently around an 11:00 mile, overall, and walked the least amount of any race either she or I has ever participated in! That was a huge feat, in my book. Having Katie there made it all so much more easy and laid-back. We just wanted to finish well without killing ourselves... while being consistent and driven. Does that make sense?

At about mile 7-8 we each began to feel some fatigue. But we KNEW we were almost done! I must tell you that we had talked of our post-race trip to Cafe Iberico for months now, so it was definitely a motivating factor to finish the race as quickly as possible! The Sangria and tapas were waiting on us!

And I also must tell you, quickly, about my friend Elijah, age 6. In a nutshell, his neuroblastoma (cancer) has returned. So we were quick to remind ourselves that a little 10 mile run was nothing compared to what he has been through previously and is about to go through again. In a way, we felt like we were running the race for him. That's the kind of gal Katie is; she doesn't have to know someone personally to think of them and try to honor them.

Now I have to confess our sillyness; at tougher times we literally chanted "Sangria! Elijah! Sangria! Elijah!" to get us to the finish line. We're goobers! But caring goobers...

The whole second half of the race, once we turned back north, was run along the lakefront. So as we hustled to the finish, we had the scenery of Lake Michigan and downtown Chicago on our right. Not too shabby!

We called Lynn and Thi as we were at mile 8.something and told them to get ready for us! The next thing you knew, we were on the south side of Soldier Field. As we were about to run through the Chicago Bears entrance tunnel, I got my second wind. I began screaming! I was screaming to Katie and I was screaming to the world! I was on cloud nine. We had done it! The finish was mere feet away. As we entered the playing field, I was so excited that I forgot to watch ourselves on the jumbotron! Oh well - I was there, I lived it instead! We ran side by side across the finish mat.

We walked to the timing chip removal area, each got water and Gatorade, and proceeded to try to to call Lynn and Thi to meet up. With so many people there, and so much noise, I thought it was going to be impossible to find them. But Katie left me "at post" and went out to look for food and was going to try to find them. She succeeded. After a bagel each we posed in front of a statue before heading back to the car.

As we walked back to the car, we both agreed that it was the most fun race we had ever run. We each sent text messages to our "support staff" with our finish time. And Chasen called in perfect time. He was driving through Texas.

When we returned to Melissa's apartment, we each showered and had time to visit more with Lynn and Thi. We headed to Cafe Iberico next. Our friend Angela was there waiting for us. What a reunion! We had a blast there.

When we were done, we said goodbye to Angela (also a Kappa sister). Lynn drove us all back to Melissa's and we said goodbye to our excellent photographer and friend. The three of us visited for quite a while before we dropped Thi off at her car. Katie then drove me to the airport - bless her heart! - in the rain. We were lucky to have a dry run at Soldier Field!

We said goodbye and I headed to my gate. My flight was delayed an hour, so I got to finish my current book. It all worked out!

Here are my split times.

Mile 1: 12:58 (the Garmin messed up, remember.)
Mile 2: 11:06 (that's more like it!)
Mile 3: 11:10
Mile 4: 11:25
Mile 5: 11:39
Mile 6: 11:11
Mile 7: 11:46
Mile 8: 11:18
Mile 9: 12:27 (huh? This is where we did most of our walking - saving energy for the big finish!)
Mile 10: 10:32
Total: 1:55:38
Average: 11:34 per mile, 150 beats per minute (very nice heart rate!)

We came in 3937th and 3938th out of the 4215 runners. Not bad! It was an EXCELLENT run. Excellent friends = excellent experience.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent race report -I felt like I was reliving it! I had a great time!

Maddy said...

Great Race Report and what an awesome race!

That was a quick trip - in - run ten miles - out!

Great job Susan!

What's next on your agenda?

Irish Blue said...

Way to go ladies. Sounds like a perfect day! Aren't girlfriends the best? ;-)

ShirleyPerly said...

Awesome race report!!! I had so much fun reading it. I know exactly what you mean about getting together with old friends. All the photos were terrific!

Congrats on your race and thank you so much for your support the past couple days, in particular. Blogger friends rock!!

Unknown said...

You did not disappoint with your race report nor nor performance! Way to go! You ladies rocked that course... and that 10:32 last mile... Burning up the course - YOW!!!

Kevin said...

Susan,
It sounds to me like you had more fun, and will remember this day way longer than had you run a PR! Nothing like making memories with friends. Congrats and GREAT race report!
PS.. You too Katie!

CewTwo said...

Great race report and I am so happy you had a good time!

I spent my summers growing up in Chicago with my Aunt and Uncle. It was great hearing of things and places that I knew of! Thanks!

Petraruns said...

To add to the rest - wonderful race report and what a great race result as well. Well done! Love the photos - you combined running with friends, a surefire motivator. Oh - and you look great in the photos as well!