Monday, March 30, 2015

Well, I lied.

This is where I left you yesterday.


I was (TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY) relieved that Harry and I were able to take public transit to the race.  I knew there'd be a whole bunch of people out there, and taking the train causes me less anxiety.:)


And this is what we had to look forward to for the day.  Gloom-tastic, very windy (wind gusts up to 40mph), and cold.  I wore shorts.  Don't ask why, because I don't know the answer.


LUCKILY, Harry and I are CARA (Chicago Area Runners Association) members, and get VIP treatment on many race days, including a warm place to chill near race starts.  They are so community involved!


And as you can see, it's not a small group.



After warming up a bit, and getting the courage to walk outside in shorts, Harry and I set off for the corral.  Despite being SUPER, BONE-CHILLING frigid, the times when the sun came out were the bestest.



"What was I thinking, shorts, ugh...why even bother with these stupid gloves..."


"CHEEEEEEEEEEEESEI'mshiveringeverywhere!"


The race went by FAST.  8K is such a silly distance for a race.  A friend of mine (who is a 2X Ironman triathlete) once stated regarding the 8K distance "You start to wonder why you're still running...", and that is 100% true.  "5K...so I'm like, done, right?"  Noooooooope.

I seriously wanted to treat this race as speedwork.  I basically know the course (it's part of the Chicago Marathon course, or at least bits and pieces), and knew it'd be over before I knew it, so might as well try to rock a tempo out of it.  Truth be told:  I swerved around a ton of people in the first mile and probably ended up adding mileage just by going back and forthsies.

Miles 2-4 were just solid work for me.  7:30-ish average paces, and hit the 5K mark around 25:42.

The best part of the last .97 distance was the crowds.  I know it was cold and miserable.  I don't blame anyone for staying indoors on a day like this.  But these Chicagoans DELIVER.  People holding up their hands for high-fives, cheering, cow-belling -- the works!


I finished up, just in time for me to dry heave, after sprinting up Mount Roosevelt and flying to the finish line.  I caught a wiff of someone's cigarette smoke (really, guy?) and it made me (nearly) threw up...right in front of a race photographer.:)  We'll see if that picture surfaces.

I got very emotional right after I didn't puke gained my composure.  This was the same finish as the marathon, and I reveled every moment all over again.  It was perfect.  Also, this was a 30-ish second PR.  So I'm sorry I lied to you.<3


I head over to the CARA VIP room to meet up with Harry, and all of a sudden, Z came out of nowhere!


Harry offered to run and grab us some Starbucks while we visited.  At one point, I glanced over and realized that they had athletic trainers ready to massage in the corner of our VIP room.  I left Z and stood in line.  It was worth the wait.


I finally finished up and got to visit more while we sipped on our hot coffee and stayed warm.  We eventually took off to meet up with some of the /R/iver /R/unners at the Kaiser Tiger for some grub and a brew.




Harry's Irish breakfast.  Good grief.


We parted ways with some of the crew and took the train home.  After being cold, then warming up, then cold, then running, then cold, then warming up, then cold and warming up again, I was ready for a hot shower and a nap.

Also, I didn't even know we'd get medals.  HAH.


*BRAIN HUG* TIME!

greek yogurt info v2

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Did anyone else race this weekend?  TELL ME ABOUT IT!

Do you ever bake or cook with Greek yogurt?  Fave recipe?

Favorite workout/running.Yoga song lately?


4 comments:

  1. Congrats girlfriend! Seriously, my legs didn't work for the first mile because of standing around outside, and I had on tights. WTF WERE YOU THINKING LADY?? Either way, it seems to have worked out for you!

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  2. Congrats on your PR! And I didn't know they were giving out finisher medals--neat! I can't even imagine what it would have been like to run that race in shorts. Brr! Hope you've warmed up!

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  3. I am so glad I saw you yesterday. Congrats on that PR!!! I love the rationale behind the 8K. I still love it though. ;-) Oh, and tell Harry that I did decide to go for the 10 Miler and thank him again for the coffee.

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