Chicago Spring Half Marathon

Alicia and I arrived in Chicago the day before the race to a chilly 60ish degrees and overcast sky. I had been checking the weather all week to prepare myself for what was to come, hoping that the rain would hold off at least until Sunday afternoon. Luckily, Saturday ended up being a pretty decent day as far as weather goes as we walked around downtown, accumulating a total of 10+ miles as we checked out many of the touristy things Chi Town has to offer.

After checking out Millennium Park and 360 Chicago, including all of the sites in between, dinner was consumed early as we wanted to beat the crowd This ended up being an excellent idea as by the time we left the restaurant around 7:30 p.m., there was a long line out the door. We made our way back to the hotel and were settling in for the night by 9:30. The race was set to start at 7:00 a.m., but I had to be in my corral by the 6:45 a.m. cutoff, which meant a 5:30 wake-up call. Luckily, Chicago is in the Central Time Zone so it didn’t feel as early as it was.
The next morning, I woke up after a less-than-stellar nights sleep and peeked outside – no rain, but definitely some cloud coverage. After dressing for the day in my usual running gear – shorts, t-shirt with a long-sleeve tech shirt over top, hat and race belt, I headed out the door to make my way one-mile down the city streets to the start line.

I’ve always been excellent with time-management, and this morning would be no different. I allotted myself 45 minutes to get to the start, hit the porta pots, and then wait in my corral for the officials to announce the start of the race. Much to my dismay, however, after letting the first 3 corrals go off with only a 45 second break in between, the race director shared that they would be waiting a full 4 minutes before letting the subsequent corrals cross the start. This meant 35 minutes of total waiting time in the corral – getting a little more anxious and a whole lot colder as each minute passed. While shorts and a long-sleeve tech are great 40 degree running attire, it’s not necessarily the picture of warmth for standing around for half an hour.

Twenty minutes after the official start time, my corral was able to begin our 13.1 mile journey at 7:20 a.m. My plan was to do my regular 3:1 intervals throughout the race, but because I had gotten so cold from standing around for so long I decided to run at least one mile before taking a break; I was definitely looking forward to warming up some. My plan was slightly foiled ¾ of a mile in when I had to stop for a potty break – something I hardly ever do during a race. It slowed me down by 2 ½ minutes, but I was able to make up at least some of that time as I decided to run the second mile straight through as well. Although I was going at a nice pace (9:10 – 9:30), I knew I couldn’t keep that up for long and decided to being a 4:1 interval plan from then on out. I was at least somewhat warmed up by that point, so the one-minute walk breaks didn’t feel so frigid.

Moving right along during this out-and-back route, I felt great and was able to get into a good groove considering the somewhat congested course. The race was mostly flat which always helps and, unbeknownst to me, we were feeling the effects of a nice tail-wind which would prove to be a significant game changer after crossing the 10k turn around point. Running a bit closer to the lake on the way back to the finish, runners got a little splash from the water smashing against the rocks for the first half-mile or so. This coupled with the air that was now blasting against my torso made for an even chillier jaunt as my hands became more and more numb. Because the wind was such a force to be reckoned with, I changed my intervals to a 2:1 and noticed my pace decrease to a 9:45 pace. Since I had had such a stellar first-half, I wasn’t too concerned about how I would finish the final 7 miles – my goal was to just keep up the shorter intervals to the end, no matter how much I needed to slow down.

At some point I began to do the math, and calculated the pace I would need to keep in order to get a PR. Because I was feeling so good, despite the conditions, I was confident that I could at least beat my KDF Mini time from 3 weeks prior. My PR of 2:14 would’ve been a long shot, but if I could end this race having finished in one of my faster speeds, I would be completely satisfied. Having only a 5k left to go, I needed no slower than a 13 minute/mile pace to beat my KDF time – piece of cake.

Rounding the last corner, seeing the finish line up ahead, I checked my watch one last time to see that I would need to finished .2 miles in a little over 1 minute in order to get a sub-2:20 race. The headwind had made my legs feel like I was running through mud, so I knew that increasing my pace to complete such a finish was next to impossible. Regardless, I reached down and pulled out what I could, trying to finish as strong as my body would allow, and ended up with a 2:20:23 official time – my third best finish of what was now 36 total half-marathon races.

As cold as it was standing around at the start of this race, I am now a firm believer that the cooler weather (45-55 degrees) is exactly what I need to perform as fast as I can (fast for me, at least). My PR of 2:14 was in Indianapolis in 2014, and I recall it being in the 30’s that day. I also believe that my hiking adventures on the AT have helped with leg strength, and it will be interesting when I complete the Chicago Fall Half Marathon after another 4 days out on the trail, if this theory holds true. Regardless, I stand firm to a statement I’ve made in the recent past that I am now judging races based on how I feel rather than the time I finish. It just so happens that in this particular race, feeling great and finishing “fast,” were equally applicable. Here’s hoping I can keep up this trend for the Tri Louisville 3 weeks away!