Chicago Half Marathon Surprise

Everything that could go well did.

That’s what happened.

Well. Except for the wrong turn made on the way. And the wrong turn or two or three on the way back. Considering the race started in south Chicago, this wasn’t the most ideal of situations.

Thank goodness my aunt owns a Prius and gets about 50 miles to the gallon. Or we surely would have been screwed.

But nevermind that. When it comes to the race, everything was peachy.

My morning started with the usual.

Peanut butter toast. One piece already demolished. Also, did you know Friends is on at 4:30 in the morning? I watched Phoebe get married as part of my prerace routine.

I never ever ever stray from this routine. Like ever.

We got down to the race site about an hour early. Considering the wrong turn, this was surprising. My two cousins and I gave my aunt (from out-of-town) the lay of the land to give ourselves some peace of mind and so she wouldn’t be lost and frantic after the race was over.

And then we were off. To our respective corrals. I started in “F”, which was at about the 1:55 group. This was a comfortable spot for me. Going into my “training season” for Chicago Half and ZOOMA (in October), my secret goals was to PR in at least one of the two. However, because I never quite made it over 10 miles for my long runs, my new goal was to finish under 2 hours and face plant into some pancakes afterwards.

Simple enough.

The race started exactly on time (woah) and I was thrown into a first mile of dodging and ducking others. The first mile or two is always the worst for this and makes me a bit stabby.

The stabbiness subsided, however, after about the 5k mark when I saw the clock and realized my pace was sub-8:30.

“Hmm. I should chill out a bit before I crash and burn.”

So I zone out a bit, and casually observe my surroundings to keep my mind off of all the running.

Word to the wise- if you must wear running tights that are semi-see through, do not wear neon yellow undies that say “I can do anything!” underneath. Unless, of course, you wanted 10,000 runners to see them. Then it’s ok.

Made it to mile 7 under the hour mark.

“OMG I NEED TO START PAYING ATTENTION.”

Because there was still a wee bit of time to think about things, I started breaking down the math. 8:20 pace. Shit.

That’s when I made the executive decision. Which was “Screw it. Balls to the wall. Let’s just see what happens.”

And 8:20 was the pace I kept almost exactly for the next 4 miles. How? Magic, I suppose.

Then came mile 11. Mental breakdown. A bit past the marker, there was a water station. I took a cup and started a walk. I needed this.

“Come on Amy, don’t stop now.”
“What are you doing, Amy? No walking! Keep going!”

The kids at the water station were yelling at me (our names were on our bibs).

Seriously?

Well fine. If I’m gonna get yelled at. Geez…

At this point, the math in my head (as mediocre as my capabilities are), informed me that I was going to beat my old PR unless slowing down to 10-minute miles happened.

That was a really good feeling.

And so was hitting mile 13. The end was near and I was so spent. However, I like to think that the sweet new laces my friend Laura gave me:

and the recent download of tunes from the Project X soundtrack (thanks to Mary for suggesting that movie last weekend) were my good luck charms that did it.

1:50:21. 155/1583 in my division. 2117/12105 overall.

Killed my old PR by almost 4 minutes.

This took me by complete surprise. My long runs were fine, but nothing seemingly stellar. My pace for all of my mid-week 4-milers and such weren’t anything out of the ordinary.

But I’ll take it.

And since I accomplished my original goal of a new PR, this takes a little less stress off of the ZOOMA Women’s Race next month. A good thing- because I hear the hills on that course are challenging to say the least.

However, I did not accomplish the second part of my goal.

We hit one of my new favorite breakfast spots in the city- The Breakfast Club.

And by the time we were seated and ready to order, I went a non-pancake route.

They had me at chorizo.

But now I kinda want pancakes.

Sigh.

Guess you just can’t win them all…

Anyway, thanks to everyone for all the awesome comments and tweets this last week. You have no idea how motivating you can be- it is very much appreciated.

Much love on this Monday morning,

Amy B

Day One of the Year I Start Going Crazy (Chicago Undie Dash)

My mom is totally going to kill me.

 

However, since I’m officially 27 now, I feel like I can make maybe one or two adult decisions from time to time.

 

And, before we start talking about my “this is what I do when I freak out about turning 27″ that I pulled, can we please preface the convo with how it was all for a good cause?

 

A few months ago, I signed up to be a part of Bright Pink- an organization that focuses on the prevention and early detection of breast and ovarian cancer in young women while providing support for high risk individuals. This program really speaks to me because I fit their definition of “high risk individual” and also because cancer research, breast cancer specifically, is a cause that is near and dear to my heart.

 

Now that we’ve established that I am going to start volunteering for such a fabulous organization, I also was delighted to see they organize a 5k fun run every year in the summer.

 

Why the summer, you may ask?

 

Well. Because it’s called the Undie Dash.

 Fun, right?

 

I knew about this race last year before I knew about the organization that runs it and chickened out of signing up. But this year it happened to fall on the day after my birthday. And what better way to celebrate than to run around in my skivvies on the lakefront?

Bailey didn’t participate, but she enjoyed the people watching.

 

Think about it. Approximately 27 years ago I was hanging out completely naked and totally didn’t care. At least this year I had the decency to put on undies.And everyone else was doing it…

 I ran it with a friend and we partnered up to have a St. Louis Cardinals theme (duh) in honor of the Cards vs. Cubs series this weekend. At one point, I ran across some out-of-towners who obviously didn’t mean to stumble upon our race, but still gave a “go cards!” as we ran by. Thanks dudes!

 

This run wasn’t timed. Which was fine by me. I don’t think I could have pulled a 4th PR in a row. Plus it was pretty muggy.

 

The mugginess contributed to the ick factor. You know. The smell of sweat. It was gross. We were all dripping. And with no shirt to wipe the sweat on. Life is hard.

 

The run was mostly on the lakefront. Which was good and bad. Bad because the winds whipping across the lake last night were some of the worst I’ve ever ran in. My last mile was totally slow motion. Baywatch-style.

 

But there really was no other way. We needed to be shielded us from the public as much as possible. Except there may have been one part that wrapped along Lake Shore Drive. Which was at a standstill due to rush hour traffic.

 

Thank you to those who all honked. We appreciated the support.

 

Also, I feel the people on that one Segway Tour that had to pull over so we can pass will now have a good story for when they go back home to wherever they’re from. I also bet the parents on that particular tour are kicking themselves for that choice.

 

My win? It came in the form of some solid navy blue jockey underwear. All those girls in the cute Victoria’s Secret? Wedgies galore by mile 2. The girls in the gray or light colored undies? Yeah… people sweat. Everywhere. What were you thinking???

 

Sure. Mine may have been conservative in nature (no, I am not posting a picture of them). But I kept my decency throughout the race. Holla’.

 

All in all, it was a cool race. Will I do it again next year? Maybe. Maybe not. It was just one of those things to be able to say I did. In public. Legally.

 

And since I didn’t indulge or get birthday cake on my actual birthday (hello- had to be in my underwear), you can bet your bottom we splurged afterwards.

I really need to figure out how that time stamp started appearing… sorry kids.

 

The main ingredient in our dinner? Cheese. What else?

 

And that, my friends, is how I welcomed in my 27th year.

 

Now it’s your turn. Go do something crazy. Because in the words of the great Dr. Sheldon Cooper, “what’s life without a little whimsy?”

Half Marathon Happenings

Just a quick check-in…

I did it!

We can talk more about the race soon. There are still thoughts to be harnessed. But the day was definitely a good one. I even had a little cheering section:

That Mizzou flag has been to every race my mom has attended. It’s nice because I have something to watch for among the crowds. Oh and there’s nothing she loves more than for people running by to give her a “M-I-Z!” shout. So if you happen to ever see her cheering at a race, keep that in mind.

After the race, my cheering section and I headed to Ann Sathers for some post race awesomeness. Because come on- you know that’s one of the best parts about signing up for races.All that food was MINE.

I picked Ann Sather specifically for the cinnamon rolls. There’s a reason they were featured on “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”. Can you believe the two monster rolls are just a simple side to the rest of my meal? Glorious. And probably one of the reasons why the place was PACKED.They may have also stuck us in the very tight corner because I was gross.

I’m not offended because it’s true.

After a necessary shower and the departure of my parents, I went out to have a celebratory drink with this girl and this girl.Parental visit. Half marathon. Cinnamon rolls. Delicious beverages.

Solid weekend.

Hot Chocolate 15k 2011

Hello there!

Enjoying daylight savings? I’m not. My internal clock is all up in a tizzy.

However, I did find out TBS plays Saved by the Bell SUPER early on Sunday mornings. So there’s a win.

Another win? Finishing the Hot Chocolate 15k with a new PR!

Obviously, that makes me feel like this:Yay!

There were doubts. Because even after listing out all the things I knew to do better from last year’s disasterous run, there’s a pretty good chance I did not learn anything.

For example, there was only one long run done outside. And none in the colder(ish) weather. My bad…

That was ok, though. Going into the race, I really just wanted to have a good run with my friend. And it was a gorgeous day to do it:Not a cloud in the sky. And even though it was low to mid-40′s, the sun made the temps feel so much better.

Already better than last year.

What also made the race better? The bigger race course- it was ALL on the streets (unlike the narrow lake path last year). I only felt a little claustrophobic from race congestion for the first mile or two. As did the two girls who collided and ate serious asphalt around the second turn. It was a cringeworthy fall to watch.

My friend and I stayed together and kept a pretty good pace up until entering the 5th mile. That’s where he started to slow down and shooed me along. Little did he know, I was feeling the fatigue, too, but slowly crept ahead anyway.

The 6th mile is where I hit a major wall. The entire mile SUCKED. I wanted to walk. I was tired. My body was starting to ache.

It cannot be stressed enough- the 6th mile was AWFUL.

My stride came back in the 7th. My legs knew the end was near and picked up the pace to get this business over with.

From there on out, it was a breeze.

Wait, I take that back.

What genius makes the last .3 uphill?

And what genius lined that stretch with event photographers? There were 3. And I imagine those 3 pictures will look like this:

1. A pained expression because the hill started. Not realizing a picture of me is being taken.

2. An annoyed expression because the hill sucks and I cannot believe they are documenting this hot mess.

3. Me laughing at the ridiculousness of what is going down. This may also look like slight delusion.

Final stats:

1:19:08.
8:30 pace.
1133/9067 out of the females.
311/2324 out of my division.
2860/13430 overall.

Oh, and about a pound of chocolate was consumed after…Yes, I do run for chocolate.

Once again, I traded the apple and banana slices for extra pretzel rods. Fruit should not be allowed anywhere near my plate…

In summary, this race ended up being way better than my experience last year. The course was better, there was better overall organization, and I was much more prepared.

Oh happy day…Enjoy your Sunday! I shall be lounging. And after looking at the race pictures, I think I’ll also be repainting my nails. Word.

Obstacle-Free Running

After checking a million times during work (shhhh…), I finally got the official race results from the Strike Out ALS 5k my friend and I ran! 25:24- an 8:12 pace. Much better than I estimated- a pleasant surprise! This put me at 10/79 in my division and 71/381 overall. Woot woot!

Other than that, Wednesday didn’t bring much excitement. Work was busy. Rush hour was lame. Strength training with Jillian Michaels happened.

So we can just go ahead and talk about this morning instead.

The last month, I’ve mostly been heading to work early and been in the office by 7:30. Today I don’t have to be in until 9:00.

Since I’m so used to the 5:15 wakeup call, there was no way sleeping in would really do me any good. So running happened instead.

It was one of my first early-morning runs since moving at the beginning of June. And that was very obvious. After practically hopping out of bed and skipping down the stairs, actually beginning my run was slow.

But it became time to get my act together and off I went.

What I like about morning running? Crossing traffic isn’t nearly so much a hassle. Getting stuck behind double strollers doesn’t  happen. People who are walking their dogs actually have them leashed (seriously- that’s a problem).

It was just easier in general.

Obstacle-free is the way to be.

After 3.75 miles, I called it a day. Took an extra lap around the block for a cool-down. My hip hurts a little today, but because house guests will be here over the weekend, I have no plans for any serious mileage logged in the next few days- only rest. So if it’s a problem (which it probably isn’t), we’ll cross that bridge at a later time.When I go into the office later, it also gives me a little extra time in the kitchen. Sadly, the cornmeal biscuit is the last of the fabulous BBQ dinner from Sunday. It went well with my mushroom omelet, but I won’t pretend that I’m not mourning the end of the BBQ pork leftovers.

That shiz was good.

Feta is also really really good. I hadn’t bought it in a while and had a “why not?” moment in Trader Joe’s the other day.

I’ll tell you why not. It has snuck its way into almost every meal I’ve had.

I wonder if Costco sells it in 5-gallon buckets?

Anyway, guess I should probably finish meandering around the house and go to work… soon… meh.

Happy Thursday!

Time To Refocus

Good morning everyone! Happy April 18th!Wait a sec- what is this? NOT funny, dude.

I heard the forecast calling for snow. But when I got up a little early to fit in The Shred and saw this? Accumulation? COME ON.

I’m straight up discombobulated.

As is my body when it comes to my workouts since the St. Louis Half Marathon. (Did you like that transition? I enjoyed it.)

I guess I’m just feeling a little lost? Maybe because I haven’t ran once since the half. Not sure what my deal is with that one. All of my trips to the gym (all 3 of them) have been a combo of elliptical and the stairmill. Like yesterday- 25 minutes on both.

And I’ve done The Shred twice. Jillian punished me severely for letting the dvd collect dust for a couple of weeks again. Lesson learned. With this being my week of going into work a little later, I plan to spend more quality time with Jillian and get my strength back to par.

And even though the elliptical and The Shred is a workout- it’s not running. I miss it. Hopefully this week I’ll start it up again without too many issues. Because I’ve got another race in June…

The Run for the Zoo in Lincoln Park! I did the 5k race a couple of years ago with my cousin, and this year I’ll be doing the 10k with my girl, Annie! It’s a fun race because it actually goes through parts of the zoo. Totally beats the view I get from running a few miles on the tread.

And it hopefully gives me some motivation to get back into the swing of things. Annie’s already been hard at work training for it, so I’ve got my work cut out for me before June. Now that the half marathon business is behind me, I want to focus on speed a little more. All the longer races had me focusing on distance. I miss feeling fast. Can’t even tell you the last time I had an 8:00-minute mile. Time to fix that.

Alright… time for me to go scrap snow off my car and head to work.

Never thought I’d say that in April…

Hustle Up the Hancock 2011

94 floors. That’s nothing… right?

Similar to a Sunday stroll in the park?  Yes?

Um… well…

Let’s start from the beginning.

Yesterday was the Hustle Up The Hancock in downtown Chicago, put on every year by the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago. A 94-flight stairclimb all the way to the observation deck at the top.  

Mon and I set our alarms and made our way down to the city early in order to meet up with Megan before our scheduled climb at 10:45. Yes, Mon was with us. If you’ll remember from last year, I did not participate (the girl I was going to fill in for did the climb afterall) and Mon made a quick exit on the 10th floor to um… well, let’s just say she didn’t finish.

And she swore against ever doing it again.

Well when a team member from the Flyin’ Hawaiians dropped out this year, she took a deep breath and stepped up o the plate.If you’ll notice, Mon brought “Ramone” as her good luck charm.

Now you know where I get part of my crazy from. Poor Cecil had to stay home- the grandkids were coming for a visit.   

And let’s ignore that my race number ended in “666″. There was such a rush for us to get to the right line in the beginning, I didn’t even notice until much later that day. Whew… that could have really psyched me out…

Anyhoo, this was my first time as a climber and dealing with the crazy that is the “hustle” first-hand.

It’s crowded. And there are long lines. To do everything. Wanna take a group pic? Stand in line… Want to climb? Stand in line… Wanna take an elevator back downstairs? Stand in line…

You get my point.

But it’s all for a good cause. And as a member of a family that has been affected by lung cancer, I was proud to be there and amazed at how many people talked about doing this climb every year for YEARS.

This was not a real “race” for any of us. But more of a unique experience. They staggered the start (everyone waits 8 seconds before they can take off) but Megan and I climbed it together.

Thank goodness. Because 94 flights of stairs are pretty boring. And even just having someone there to say a quick word to (like “omg, only 40 more flights to go!)  helped immensely. There’s not much to look at (believe it or not). But we did have people cheering us on every 5 or 6 flights. Which was nice.

My calves started to burn a little around the 55th or so. Even our practice run didn’t prepare us for the whole thing. And the stairs were much more narrow and steep than anticipated. So it was much more of a workout than I figured it would be!

But Megan and I persevered. And kept that steady pace. Low and behold, we even passed people.  Woah!

Finish time?  19:15. Hells yeah!Balla’.

Actually, I don’t really feel like a balla’ because I’m pretty sure the fastest girl was 14 and had a time of 13:40. Seriously- did she sneak onto an elevator at some point?  What a show off…

Either way, we all made it up and celebrated from the top!

We enjoyed the view and took it in for the entire time we were standing in line for the elevator to get back DOWN. And then went next door to the Hilton for our goodie bags and snacks at the Expo…Gah! More lines!

But it’s cool. We had a LOT of fun doing it. The stairclimb was much like any other smaller race. It’s a good time and everyone is excited. What more can you ask for?Silly question.

Everyone needs a victory beer, right?  Even Ramone- who got kicked out of the bar after this. No shirt, no shoes, no service… sorry buddy…

Between the stairclimb itself and the walking to and from Megan’s place, I was exhausted. And crashed like a ton of bricks onto my bed last night.

Tonight I have a 5-mile run to look forward to.  Now that the Hustle is over, I plan to focus a little more on running versus always making sure I had enough time to get my stairmill (“crosstraining”) in. My booty is tired. And since it’s on the verge of getting its own zip code soon, I should probably give it a rest.  Seriously- those stairs are good for the butt if you’re looking to sculpt. But first let me warn you- sometimes with sculpting comes extra mass. And since all new pants aren’t in the budget, a break from the stairmill won’t upset me that much…

Have you ever done a stairclimb event?  What are you thoughts? I may do it again, not sure. Definitely more of a “run outside and see stuff” kind of girl…

So here we are… it’s Monday. The beginning of the week. Hopefully one that will fly. Because I’ve got a trip to Vegas on my radar and could not be more excited! Have a good one, kids!

Lucky 13

It’s cold out there, man.

I assume you’ve noticed.

I did after getting home from Thanksgiving dinner.  Great, I thought.  Just one more thing to count against me and my race tomorrow.  As we’ve noticed, and sadly accepted, I am no cold weather runner.  Wimpy?  Yes.  Do we remember how badly I took it during the Hot Chocolate 15k?  Yeah- not a fan.

So why did I decided to do this race again?  Oh yeah- redemption.

And maybe because I knew I’d be going back for more stuffing.

Either way, I didn’t have high expectations.  The weather, the large meal, the multiple desserts, the little I’ve pushed my speed in recent runs.  On the way to the race, I decided to just treat it like any other run.  Go whatever pace I felt like- no pushing required.

Then I picked up my bib number.Are you kidding me?

It was a smaller race held by the highschool and forest preserve behind it.  All the participants stayed in their running cars until about 5 minutes before the start.  Truth.

Totally a gunshot start.  And we were off.  Into the forest preserve we go… 

I had done a warmup lap before, so surprisingly, it didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would to get into a good rhythm.  By mile 2, I was starting to wonder if this would actually turn out to be a decent race.  I seemed to be getting faster.  And the trail wasn’t bothering me as much as I thought it would (this girl is more of a street runner).

My feet were frozen.  But at that point I was in the middle of a forest preserve- what was I supposed to do?

Did I mention I hate cold weather running?

But it does work- the last half-mile was speedy because I was DONE with all this cold weather noise.  Only to be passed at the end by a stupid little 14-year-old.  She got me in the last 10 feet.  Blah.  Stupid little blue bow was all I saw at the finish line.  Taunting me.  Grrrr….

Shouldn’t she have been doing the kid’s dash or something?

Sorry.  I’m bitter.

But either way, the race went better than planned.  And for that, I was happy. 

Then it was a matter of waiting around to find out the results.  I really wanted coffee, but all they had was hot apple cider.  Which makes me want to gag.  So I patiently waited in the cold with my ice water. 

4 miles in 32:29. (8:07 pace)  Yea!  That was even enough to put me first in my division!I even got a medal for my efforts.  No matter that the race was so small it seemed like they were handing them out like candy… 

In the end, I was happy with the race.  Maybe 13 really isn’t so bad.  Once home, I realized not only was 13 my bib number, but this was my 13th race.  oooooohhhhh…. creepy….

The rest of the day was pretty much wasted relaxing.

So relaxing that, when Marie from Cheaper than Therapy texted me last night, she sort of caught me asleep on the couch (lame- I know!).  I woke up a little groggy, but was determined to make it out and grab a beer with this chica.The more of you people I meet, the more I realize how weirdly tall I am.  Just sayin’.

Anyway, I had so much fun meeting Marie and now know someone to crash with and mooch off of when I travel through Indiana.  Wait… maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that last part just yet… 

Have a good Saturday, everyone!  Not sure what the day will bring, but I imagine productivity should happen at some point.  Later!

Meet Me In St. Louis

Why hello strangers!

I sort of did the disappearing act yesterday, but it was for the best.  My brain was a bit mushy from not getting home until a little before midnight on Sunday night and then turning around to get to work by 7:30 the next morning.  Any written words would have been a jumbled mess. 

Anyhoo, I had a great 24 hours in St. Louis with my blondies (Mary and Laura).  Like I may have mentioned, it was sort of a last-minute thing, but I’m glad it  happened.  I miss some of my college girls, so the chance to see them was jumped on!  I got in late on Saturday, but it didn’t take long for us to freshen up and hit the town for a bit…We had a great time running around with a group of their friends and then retreating back to Mary’s house.  Because of their football party earlier, there was plenty of leftover food around. 

I tried White Castle for the first time.  (yeah- FIRST time)

I really have no idea what the big deal is.  I’m positive they should have made a movie about Jack in the Box instead.

Laura and I shared a room and stayed up whispering and giggling.  Then, when Mary’s fiance left for his tee time the next morning (how grown-up do we sound???), we hightailed it into Mary’s room and jumped into bed to make a Mary sandwich and giggle and gossip some more (ok, just cancelled out the grown-up thing).

“Giggle” was the word of the weekend. 

The three of us didn’t really do too much other than chat it up all Sunday.  Since we don’t see each other nearly as often as we used to (ie everyday), that’s all I need to call it a good weekend.

Well.  That and food.  Turns out we still have similar tastes.Fiesta salad with chicken and added avocado. For all three of us.  How obnoxious is this??? The waitress looked at our table funny as we ordered our round of iced teas and the same exact salads.  I’d be embarrassed but we have good taste in food.  What are we supposed to do? 

Although Laura just HAD to be difficult by getting the sour cream on the side.  GEEZ!  It was something about trying to make the salad healthier…  whatever…

We also have similar tastes in sweets:Oh buddy.

On a separate note, after discussing it in detail and a trip to Target for the dvd and weights, Mary decided to try out The Shred.  So far I haven’t received any hate texts from her.  Then again, she also hasn’t hit Level 2 yet. 

I really should get paid for this, Jillian.

After the lovely lazy day, Annie and I roadtripped our way back to Chicago.  We had fun on both drives (to and from), but were horribly tuckered out on the way home.  We tried to remedy the situation by digging up some of her old cds and listeing to some of Top 40′s greatest of 2000 – 2002.  Yessss….  You can’t help but love the smooth sounds of Savage Garden and Mandy Moore when she was still blond.  Classic stuff.

All this traveling left me without much physical activity for the rest of the weekend.  And that was OK.  I seemed to forget the importance of stretching after a race and adding 10 hours in a car didn’t help.  So last night was just walkin’ it out a little on the ‘mill.  I’m not pushing myself back into a serious workout routine at the moment.  I’ve been saying for a while I want to take a break from the consistent running.

Not that I’m going to stop (seriously- that would be tragic), but adding a little more to the mix isn’t going to hurt anyone.  Plus, now I’ve got the Hustle Up the Hancock to train for!

Oh and by the way, here are my final stats from the Hot Chocolate 15k.  They were no surprise- I knew it wasn’t the best race. But we’re ok with that.  Promise!*Sigh.  Even though I wasn’t planning it, I may have to sign up for maybe one more race this winter just to redeem myself.  Maybe…

Ever had a crappy race?  What caused it?  Let’s discuss…

Hot Chocolate 15k- Overdressed and Undertrained

*First, I want to have a disclaimer- I am very happy to have finished the race.  I ran the whole thing and it was a pretty course.  And I got to hang out with some super cool blogging peeps.  I am not angry.  Just a wee bit frustrated.

You are now allowed to continue reading…

I made it downtown to the Grant Park area by about 7:30.  Perfect timing to meet up with Pham.

It was chilly.  Very chilly.  Which made it a real struggle for me to figure out what my layering of clothes would consist of.  This was the coldest race I’ve done- I’m a newbie when it comes to cold weather gear.  When I was walking towards the race, everything felt ok.  I had a big jacket to get rid of at gear check, but thought I had done well with the dressing.  If I had only known…

On the walk there, I saw a ton of workers out putting up Christmas decor outside of the buildings:This is the big renowned tree that sits in front of Daley Plaza for the holiday season.  Still looks like it could use a lot of work if you ask me.  But I trust it will look fabulous very soon.

Anyhoo, I got to gear check (a madhouse), met up with Pham, and we made out way to Corral B with a couple minutes to spare.

By the way, at this point I could smell all the chocolate.  It was like heaven.

So the race starts…  Pham and I had a really good pace going.  Almost too good.  Once we hit the first mile marker and I saw that we were hitting an 8-minute pace, I got a little nervous.  I felt fine, but still- it messes with you when you know what your regular pace is.  We kept going at that speed for a couple more.

The sun started to beat down on us, and that’s when I realized I was getting heated.  I really did not expect this to happen.  Or at least this early.  Yes folks, I overdressed.  A big “F” for Amy when it comes to my layering skills.

I told Pham to keep going, I was going to have to stop and strip a little.  I had no idea how crazy this process would become.  Take off the ipod, undo the bib number, take off jacket, tie jacket around waste, fumble with bib number again, put back on ipod.

Clearly I have to work on this.  Because this is where I lost an incredible amount of time.  Such an amateur move.  :p

Although it’s for the best it happened- otherwise I would have been struggling sooner than later. 

The rest of the race was decent.  I got a little tired around miles 7 and 8- averaging about 9-minute miles.  This also didn’t make me happy, but whatever, at that point time wasn’t important and I was just going to chill out and enjoy the rest of the race.  I picked it up at the end, but it didn’t matter.  I still finished over my goal time.

(The official results weren’t posted when I wrote this, so I’ll have to get back to you on that one.)

After the race, I found Pham back and met up with Kristen (I’m happy to say both kicked this race’s butt!).This was the first time I’ve met up with Kristen- and it was WAY overdue.  We’ve both been reading each other’s blogs since they were bitty baby blogs…

Going with the theme of the Hot Chocolate race, there was also a hot chocolate and a fondue tent.  Now I love me some chocolate just as much as the next gal, but it’s not often my refueling food of choice, but when in Rome…Funny thing was that these plastic trays were set out for us already and included a banana and apple slices.  Being  as how I’m so high maintenance with my “no fruit policy“, I asked if I could have one with a few more other things and no fruit.  The girl looked at me weird, but gave me some extra pretzels and pound cake.  Score…We approved. 

All in all, it was an interesting race.  A little disorganized (I blame how out of control HUGE it was), but a good time.  It wasn’t my greatest race (I also blame my lack of following the training plan), but it was still my first 15k- so it’s still technically a PR, right? 

I’m currently in St. Louis with a busy day ahead, so I’ll catch you kids tomorrow in the AM!