Home Team Charity Run 10K Race Report

This morning I ran the Home Team Charity Run 10K.  My week in running has been challenged; I’ve been feeling tired most of the week – a combination of not enough sleep and some hard workouts.  I have my final long run next weekend, so I took this weekend relatively easy/low mileage so I’ll be properly rested for pushing hard this coming week!

The Buildup:

I had had 15 miles on the marathon training plan for this weekend, and ended up deciding to take it easy.  I did 8 miles with CES on Saturday morning, and rested up for a 10K this morning!

The weather for today was not supposed to be great.  Most of the week has been predicting “Showers” for Sunday, and most of Saturday still predicted rain and heavy winds for Sunday AM.  I had a charity event to attend last night at an Irish Pub, so I didn’t get home until 10:30 pm.  I napped a few hours in the afternoon to prepare for my late night & potatoes au-gratin carb-loading.

This morning, I awoke at normal AM run time (just before 6) and was pleased to see that the rain was supposed to hold off until 9 AM or so (when I was supposed to be finishing the race).  Weather was also a little warmer than planned, so there was some last minute wardrobe decisions.  I ended up wearing my capri’s and long-sleeved pink shirt with thumbholes. Brooks Glycerin shoes (that I’ve been loving!) and Smartwool socks on my feet.  I packed the Blackhawks shirt I got at this race for my post-run shirt to change into.

The Warmup:

After munching on a Clif Bar and taking the bus to the United Center, M & I scoped out the space.  There were tons of port-a-potties (with flushing… blue water to make your stuff go down!), and gear check was on school buses.  This was an A-to-B run so they had to transport our gear to the finish! We dropped off our gear and then went to huddle out of the wind.

M & I then split to do our warm-ups.  I don’t exactly do too much warmup before most races, so I went to visit a port-a-potty again. Then went to go to the starting line!  Not a huge race, so I didn’t position myself too far back.  Some of the Blackhawks, Bulls & White Sox mascots danced about, and then we were off!

The Race:

I went out with the crowd, not quite sure what pace I’d put myself into since there was no seeding the way there is at larger races.  I was running faster than my training paces (good) but not quite sure if I was running at a pace I could sustain for the entire race (not so good). As I approached mile 1, I slowed down a bit to keep my energy up.  I did also notice my IT band twinging a little, and decided I’d slow more if it really started hurting. Mile 1 was run in 9:26.

We continued to run through the neighborhoods from the United Center south.  The residential areas were nice and there were people out cheering us on (good).  There were some industrial areas with not much to see, and some tunnels.  There was also a bridge/hill incline with the steel grates (not so good).  I ran up the center part where it was solid metal dividing the street.

I felt great through to 3 miles and passed the 5K point in under 30 minutes (I coulddha P.R.’ed! ).  More running ensued.  Miles 3.1-4 & 4-5 were the toughest mentally.  At that point I had realized I could keep my pace to P.R. at the 10K.  I didn’t remember my previous PR time (which was 1:01:51 in the 2006 Canterbury Run in Madison, WI), just that the pace was 9:57.  So my goal was to keep each mile under that pace.  There’s a nice view on the Garmin where you can look at just the time, distance & average pace for just the mile or that you’re working on – not the entire run.  I really enjoyed that setting today, and didn’t focus as much on how long I had been running for!

The Finish:

As we approached U.S. Cellular Field (where the White Sox play) we encountered more spectators cheering us on!  They were also helpful in letting those of us know (who might not be familiar with the neighborhood) how far left we had to go.  “Just head to 35th Street and head into the Cel!”  was helpful when I knew I was at 31st Street! I was getting pretty tired at the end, but maintained a fast pace.  I had my eyes set on following and trying to beat a certain runner (Mr. Guy in the “Baines” jersey) but my energy was finally lagging while he was able to pick it up.  As we approached a 1/2 mile left, I pushed as hard as I could, and started turning into the finishing chute.  Push push push!

I finished in 59:49 – official time from the race!  My Garmin said 1:00:12, which also means I did a good job stopping it soon after passing through. (At the Disney Princess Half Marathon, I forgot to stop it until several minutes later—oops!) I walked around a bit, found M—who also had a good race, and then we went off to get some water, bananas & beer.

Post run, we headed to Chinatown to refuel on Dim Sum – Chinese brunch! It was great and savory.  Now it’s the R&R needed to go into this week strong!

Lessons Learned:

• I can run harder than I usually think I can
• Positive thinking helps!
• Use the average pace-per-mile view on my Garmin helps to break the race into chunks.