Race #7. Rock and Roll Chicago half marathon. My first time moving up to the half. Very daunting cos it’s a big distance, a big race and I’m only just getting back on the training plan.

A 6.30am start meant I had to get up at 4am. I made oatmeal yesterday so it was only a matter of microwaving it, adding yogurt and blueberries. One lesson I’d learned is to have enough food before a long run / race.

The red line was completely full by Fullerton, people couldn’t get on. Must have shocked the regular early morning travellers. I dropped my (empty) gear check bag at the CARA tent and went in search of the portaloos and water. They even had bananas before the race, impressive. The start was long, but much better organised than the shamrock shuffle. We were all allocated corals according to our bib numbers, and there were at least 28 corals. Each coral was separated by a rope and they released each group in 1-2 minute intervals. Yes, it meant it was past 7am by the time I got to the start line, but it wasn’t a scrum and for a few hundred meters I was running on an empty road cos I was right in the front of the pack.

There were bands at every mile, and loads of water and cytomax stations. I took my camera and managed to get a few pics. I was slower than usual at 5k, probably cos of camera breaks, but feeling strong. The crowds along Adams and Michigan were amazing and I wished I had someone cheering for me or waiting at the finish. Sigh. I tucked in behind the 2.30 pace group at Michigan and followed them to the south shore. Got hungry at mile 8 and was glad I brought my own GU. The south shore part of the course was tougher than the loop part — fewer spectators, hardly any cover from the sun, and tiredness. People say the wall hits at 10miles, I got tired at 11 and fell behind the pace group. Picked up a bit with 1k to go.

It was fantastic to run around the last turn and into the home stretch. Had enough to finish strong. My watch time was 2:33:47hrs, chip time was 2:33:51. Missed my target of 2:30, but I’m not bothered. It’s a good time and experience. There were bananas, oranges, energy bars, ice lollies and a cold wet towel in addition to water and cytomax at the finish. Also free beer and free concert by Five for Fighting. I only stayed for the beer, didn’t fancy sitting in the sun with soaked clothing for the band.

I was so hungry and tired when I got home. I did reward myself with a big steak, and the cheesecake I bought on friday. Went to bed almost immediately after lunch and slept for an hour or so. I hadn’t registered for the chicago half in september. Now I’m seriously thinking about it.

Placing:

• overall: 12,798/18,555
• gender: 7,375/11,757
• age division: 434/778

This was the rocker balloon at 15k, the southermost point of the race where we turned back. Other pics: flickr set

10k 1:04:28hr 6.27min/km

Race #6, fleet feet 5k/10k women’s festival.

I was stressed cos I need to take my parents to the airport this morning and I only had a short window to get home and shower. Plus horribly out of practice, with only 1 run in the last few weeks. I would have DNS’ed, or changed to the 5k. But I didn’t. And I’m glad I ran the 10k portion.

Because of the time pressure I drove, otherwise I would have taken the bus or even walked. One of the reasons I wanted this race is cos it’s on home turf — start at Montrose, up to Foster and back south, turning around at the totem pole. Finish line at the Montrose beach house. Yep, definitely home turf.

Both 5k and 10k started at the same time, with the 10k group breaking south once we got back to Montrose. It’s been so hot, and what I learned from last race is to keep hydrated. So I brought my own pocari and picked up water and gatorade along the way.

I wanted to break 1:05, and I did that, helped by a tiny bit of sprint at the end. But still slow, barely making the top half in my AG is disappointing. Time to build up the miles. Two weeks to train for the half. Gulp. Placing:

• overall: 756/1469
• age group: 42/92

5.0km 31.13min 6.28min/km

Race #5. Humana Race to Taste, as part of the Taste of Chicago event. I only registered on Tuesday when I realised I had time, and I needed a June race.

Packet pickup on the day was no problem. I pinned my number, gear checked and was out at the start line early. I knew I wasn’t going to have a fantastic race — 2+ weeks without running and the 8k I did yesterday caused some stiffness all over. I set out at a good pace, the first mile was just over 9min. But couldn’t keep it up. Fatigue, dehydration, heat and humidity got the better of me. Didn’t have any kick at the finish, I was panting by then.

The organisers set up a mobile sprinkler and it was much needed. I gobbled up a banana, half a bagel and downed lots of cups of water before I felt better. There were 3 free tickets to try out from 5 Taste stands, I had gazpacho, crab cake nugget and turkey sausage pizza. Stuck around for the raffle (didn’t win), got caught in the rain a little, was home at around10am. Placing:

• overall: 630/1358
• gender overall: 274/800
• gender age group: 16/54

5.84km 33.24min 5.43min/km

Race #4. JPMC corporate challenge. I drove in (sidebar, battery died had to get roadside assistance to jumpstart) to help transport some of the set up materials. We had a big tent, something like 200 people — participants, volunteers, family members. Nice atmosphere.

Big, big crowd at the start. There were 19,865 participants from 557 companies, no wonder. I could only get to the 9min/mile corral, knowing that people in front will be slower. How true! Took 4mins to get to the start line, luckily this year it’s B-tag chip timing, and the results are already online. It happens every race, slow people and walkers really should learn to start at the back.

Felt more comfortable than last year — experience and cooler weather helped. Time was okay, works out to be 9.30min/mile. It should be 1-2mins faster if not for the slow start and short walking break at the water station. Ah well, I’m not complaining. I had a good time. There were beer and burgers afterwards. Surprisingly, my knees feel perfectly fine. May be I should try going faster. Placing:

• gender overall: 1936/7195
• gender within team: 7/49

Race #3 — ravenswood 5k

Weather cleared up to the point that I could just wear the race t-shirt. And my coat, which I gear checked. The sun even came out just as we were lining up at our corrals. Speaking of corrals, I started at the 9.30 corral, which is a tad ambitious. But in the 2 mins it took me to reach the start line, I decided I was too conservative. People were slow around me. I found myself in a position I’m not used to — overtaking people.

They closed the roads for the race — Hermitage, Irving Park, Paulina, Wilson. Quite a few people came outside their house to watch and support. I was comfortable, I bought a knee compression band yesterday which alleviated most of the pain. Plus it’s different in a race atmosphere. I’m also thinking the longer runs recently played their part in building endurance.

One of the best thing about this race was its location. 15mins bus ride away. I was home, showered and playing mafia wars by 9.30am. The organisers are efficient, chip time came in already. 29.53mins. I’m happy. Translates to 9.38min/mile so, well, I did pick the right corral after all. Placing:

• overall: 1512/2529
• gender: 570/1587
• class: 28/102

The weather has gotten steadily worse since afternoon. Very windy. Heavy rain. Thunderstorm brewing. Gonna be cold too. Grrr, I’m hoping the rain and wind goes away overnight.

Race tomorrow at 8am. Any cancellation will be on the day, not in advance. Unless there’s a tornado, I’m determined to participate. Just a little planning with gear and i’ll should be okay. Feeling a little hardcore here, heehee.

What does “BQ” mean to me? Before, it’d be B&Q for DIY stuff (UK equivalent of Home Depot, for non-Brits). The last few years it’s the beauty queens from TAR.

But now, it easily means boston qualifying. Even though some say it’s gotten too big, the Boston Marathon is still probably the world’s most prestigious marathon.

The marathon was today, and it was won by Robert Cheruiyot in 2:05:52 and Teyba Erkesso in 2:26:11. I was also moved by the wheelchair winners Wakako Tsuchida and Ernst Van Dyk.

To BQ is a holy grail of sorts for runners. For me, it’s so out of my reach that it’s not worth even thinking about. I’ll be lucky if I finish in 5:30 for Chicago so coming in under 4hrs? Yeah, right.

This is the title of a thread on the runner’s world forum.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The Associated Press

FREDERICK, Md. — A driver who fatally struck a jogger from Zelienople who was running in the road near Emmitsburg has been fined $500 under a plea agreement.

Twenty-nine-year-old Joshua Cool pleaded guilty Monday in Frederick to failing to exercise care to avoid a pedestrian. In return for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped charges of negligent driving and other offenses.

Mr. Cool was charged in the death last April of 22-year-old Elizabeth DiNunzio. She was a Spanish major at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg.

Defense attorney Kate English says her client was devastated by the accident.

Mr. Cool’s parents were fined $200 each earlier this month for letting their son drive the uninsured pickup truck that hit DiNunzio.

I don’t know the circumstances of this case. On the thread there are opposing thoughts — that the punishment was not severe enough vs it was an accident. There’s some information that suggest to me that the driver did indeed get away with it. Although he wasn’t drunk or anything like that, he was driving a truck that he wasn’t covered in the insurance. In fact, he was specifically excluded in the policy. It also matters to me whether he showed remorse, and what, if anything, he will do to show he has learned his lesson. From some of the comments, it seems that he hasn’t. So, yes, I’m going to condemn this person and wish that he suffers from the thought of having killed an innocent 22-year old all his life.

In memory of Ms DiNunzio, there’s going to be a 5k run /1 mile walk at Zelienople PA on 24 April. If it didn’t take 8 hours to drive there, I’d go there in a minute. I started my running career on the road. Now I run by the lake, but I have to run on the street and across a couple of main roads to get there. Traffic is thick. Cars come out of alleys and make turns with very little regard for pedestrians. I’m ramping up this year, this is important to me.

My second race this year — shamrock shuffle 8k

There was still a little snow on the ground when I left, and it was chilly windy. I get to experience the first advantage to being a cara member — gear check at the congress plaza hotel. Plus waiting inside out of the cold. It was cold to be standing out there waiting for the start. Not having participated before, I was in the open corral. It took me over 28mins to get to the start line after the gun. To give some perspective, the winner came in at 23-ish mins, which means he was back when the rest of us were still standing around at the start.

There were a good 25,000 runners. I tucked in behind the crowd at an easy pace. I got passed, but I managed to pass quite a few too. It was very nice to run through the city streets and not have to stop at traffic lights. I see what people mean about the finish at the chicago marathon — the last incline into grant park sapped energy. I must make a note to have some in reserve.

Finished in 55.23mins at 6.28min/km. Big crowd at the end too, gotta be aware of that for the marathon. Got my backpack from the hotel and went back to the park for after-race beer. I can’t remember who asked me, and was surprised that there is a fee for races. It’s for the organisation, volunteers, swag and of course the beer.

ETA: official results are in. I managed 53.50min, better than my own time. Overall 18204/25559. There’s no age category, gender classification 8640/14045.

I set the alarm for 4.15am but I was up before then. Excitement. I didn’t wake mm up, got all my running gear and was out of the door at around 4.40am.

It’s marathon day. Okay, I’m only on the 10k challenge, may be next year I’ll do the half. It was dark when I started, I stupidly signed up for the first race at 5.15am. In hindsight, it turned out to be a good decision. 91% humidity made for terrible running conditions. I had my camera with me, so I took my time. I’d wanted to try to break 1hr, and in those conditions I didn’t even try. I think my time was around 1:15, it doesn’t matter.

The later races were still going on when I got back to mm’s. Because of the traffic, she didn’t make it to mass, and we stole an hour or so more together time. I tried hard not to cry when we said goodbye. We’ve spent a lot of time in different countries throughout our relationship, it’s nothing new. I just don’t know what to do with our future.

Met parents, sis and niece for lunch. While parents went off to do their own things, I went ice skating with sis and niece. I was pretty out of practice, there were too many kids, I was done after half an hour. Tired from the running anyway.

I really didn’t want to go out for dinner, so home food it was. Thanks, Mum.

Santa Shuffle results are in. I was crap. 451 out of 803 overall, 17 out of 40 in my division. Blah.

So anyway, I did a summary of results of all my races this year. Total 7 races (strictly speaking the human race doesn’t count so it’s 6). I did pretty okay in all of them. The time for the beachathlon was slower cos of all the obstacles we ran through. It seems like generally I come in the middle of the field overall and within my division (gender and age based).

I really must beat that pesky 6min/km barrier next year.

My last race of 2009, the santa shuffle 5k at Lincoln Park this morning. It was cold, luckily sunny. All racers were given a hat, beard and santa t-shirt so there were lots of red around. Some others dressed more elaborately in santa costumes, and some were in flannel pajamas — they looked warm.

The race and course itself wasn’t that great. The gear check was one corner of one table with 2 pretty inexperienced people, good thing I dropped my backpack early, some people didn’t make gear check and had to carry their stuff on the race.

The course was a loop up to the zoo then back. The highest number I saw as 1100-something so I’m thinking around 1200 people. On the narrow paths of the park, initially on the pavement along the road then there was one stretch where people running up and down were sharing the same path. Any more runners and it would have been very crowded.

My nike plus picked today to run out of battery, sigh. I had to rely on the official clock, which told me I finished at 31.29mins, the fastest I’ve been recently. Some people were saying the course was over 5k, I dunno.

Afterwards there was a breakfast buffet and beer at a pub over at Webster. It was over 1 mile and I walked over. Usually after runs we get bananas and energy bars so a hot breakfast (with Bud Light) was welcome. They had bacon, sausage, egg, bagels, french toast, pancake, something with gravy (American gravy, ie white sauce) and an egg filled deep fried thing that was actually spicy and really nice. Well worth the mile walk. There were a lot of runners and the queue for the food was long, I was lucky I got in line early and was within the first 20 people. I wonder how it was at the end, whether they had enough food.

Woke up at 6am (argh, on a sunday) to do the hot chocolate 5k. Didn’t get a fantastic start — the stupid bus ran the stop, and the other passengers and I were like “the hell?” As I was checking the bus schedules, the red line pulled up so I had to sprint up to the platform. Pulled my thigh a little, and was uncomfortable leading up to the start of the race.

It turned out to be a beautiful morning, perfect for running. I kept the running jacket on, thought I got hot and should have checked it. Finished in just over 31mins.

Afterwards, the food was chocolate fondue. It was a small plate of: 1 apple slice, half a banana, 1 marshmallow and a couple of biscuits. Pretty puny. There was also a small cup of hot chocolate. Still, better than the banana and cereal bar combinations we get at other races. There was also a Nike+ tent, and by showing the run on the ipod, we were eligible for a prize draw. I got an armband, which is timely cos my existing one is showing signs of old age and use.

Home and showered by 10am. Dealt with fb game stuff and the rest of the day will be nano.

I got up really early, like 6.30am, for the AIDS 5k run at Grant Park. I was apparently one of the top 300 individual fundraisers so I got invited for a VIP breakfast before the race. The promise of egg soufflé, country bacon, oatmeal and juice was too good to pass up. At the end, I managed to raise almost $1400, with my family, mm and my fantastic colleagues pitching in. Company match helped the cause too.

It’d been raining so the ground was pretty wet and it was generally cold. I waited and waited till I could take my sweatshirt and track pants off and spent the 15mins before the race walking around in a t-shirt and shorts, shivering a bit.

I ended up pretty near the starting line. When the horn sounded I ran off with the others, only to be hindered by slow runners and a whole bunch of AIDSmarathoners who took up the whole pavement while doing marathon pace! I know they’re all there for a good cause but they really shouldn’t have blocked the pavement like that. I know the reason I didn’t get a smooth start was because of them, I was panting and my heart was pounding the first 500m.

The great thing about this race was that along the route there were entertainers and volunteers cheering us on. It gave a huge boost. I finished just under 31mins, grrrr I hate going “if only” but this time…if only I had a smooth start I could have beaten 30mins. Sigh.

One thing about these events, and it’s my 4th race this year already, is that they’re so well organised. It’s a testament to the volunteers. There were lots of freebies from the booths, promotional material and food — water, yogurt, banana, cereal bars, isotonic drinks, and this race the official “foodstuff” was a hotdog. Every time I come away from the race with my backpack stuffed full of goodies.

One more race in November. Then it’s winter. More races next year; and I’m thinking of moving up to 10k.

I picked up the gear for the next 2 races — the beachathlon this saturday and the AIDS run walk in October.

As soon as I saw the beachathlon event, I signed up. It seems so much fun:

a 4 mile running race set along the downtown lakefront running path and incorporates 5 fun filled beach obstacles throughout North Avenue Beach, Oak Street Beach and Ohio Beach

Participants will receive a lei at the finish line, plus a free beer. There will also be pina coladas and margaritas. Definitely a good reason to participate.

The AIDS 5k Run & Walk is a big charity event, participants are encouraged to get sponsors for their run. They give us a nice link so people can donate by credit card; and there are gifts for participants reaching certain amounts. So far, between my colleagues and family, I’m almost at my target of $1000. I did try posting the link on fb, but no one responded. *shrug*

I ran in the Elvis is Alive 5k race tonight. I forgot the sensor for my nike+ so timing was done using my watch — I ran between 33.00 and 33.30mins. Pretty slow, considering the winning male was at 15.53 and the winning female 19.00. Ah well.

 

It was definitely a fun run, with emphasis on fun. Performing on the stage was Joe “Elvis” Tirrito, who did a good job. There were about 30 runners dressed as Elvis, from a baby to taichi Elvis, who I found doing, well, taichi, before the race. After the race there was a best dressed Elvis competition, which was judged according to the volume of cheers they got from the crowd. The initial favourite was a baby, and even though the martial arts Elvis trio did some moves, the prize went to a tall Elvis.

Each runner got a free beer after the race, and I bought one extra, heehee. There were also water, peanut butter & banana sandwiches, bananas, muscle milk and cookies. I found a spot on the lawn near the front of the stage, and made friends with a group of girls sitting next to me. They were dressed as Jailhouse Rock escapees. They asked me to take pictures of them, and I asked if I could take one with them. It was runners’ solidarity, I think.

full set at flickr

I was curious, after signing up for the corporate challenge, about what my current 5k time is. When I did the standchart 10k last February, I was in the 40min region which is embarrassing really. According to my Nike+, the best time was around 33mins, which was probably part of some random run along Bowen Road. It’s still a slow time, and I’ve come to terms with the fact that a) I’m not a fast runner and b) it will take time and training.

So what I did on the treadmill yesterday and today was tried a fixed 5k. Warmed up for 4 mins, then started tracking on my Nike+. Not on the treadmill cos it’s in miles. Pushed harder today than yesterday and already seeing results: yesterday: 28.40mins | today: 27.26mins.

I’m pleased that I came in under 30mins. I still need to improve on it — the goal is to do the corporate challenge in under 30mins. The challenge is 3.5miles = 5.63km. Translated to 5k terms gives 26.40mins. I’m thinking it’s doable.

I signed up for the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge, a 5k run/walk to take place at Grant Park on 21 May. I don’t know much about it, other than it’s a run, the company will pay for the entry fee and it has to be done as a company. It’ll be good to run.