Soldier Field 10 Mile Recap

As reminded by Crystal, I am very behind in my updating so here we go:

Wednesday, May 22nd - 6 miles.  Ran with Mike and Justin downtown after work.  It was hot, and I definitely lost a few lbs. of sweat in the process.  Started at Bailey's Range (9th and Olive), then worked our way towards Busch Stadium and basically ran the St. Pat's course loop (not exact streets but relatively close).  I definitely didn't miss the Market St. hill much, but it was nice coming back down it.  Justin and I dropped Mike off at his place, then looped around the Arch grounds to finish it out.  I take downtown for granted since I see it all the time, but it really is a nice place to run when it's not too crowded.  Legs were pretty dead, unfortunately, but the good company made the run go by faster.  Low 8 pace average.

Thursday, May 24th - 5 miles?  I don't remember this at all, but I do remember running.  This is what was on my schedule, and I'm sticking to it.

Friday, May 25th - 0!  Travel day to Chicago bright and early.  Took a 4 a.m. bus and got into the city by late morning.  Met up with my sister, got settled in, then walked around the city.  Ended up walking for an hour through the Lincoln Park Zoo to see the new nature trail that was constructed, then walked over to Castaways which is an awesome outdoor bar off Lakeshore/Lake Michigan about 2 miles away from Anne's place.  While I didn't get in my scheduled 4 miles running, I walked a good 5-6 around the city so that has to count for something. Weather was perfect - low 80's and breezy.

Saturday, May 26th - 14 miles (2 up, SOLDIER FIELD 10 MILE, 2 down).  Woke up early, and cabbed it down to Soldier Field to run one of the races on my bucket list.  Pretty surreal to walk in the stadium, which I sadly have never been to (despite the fact of being a Bears fan my entire life!).  Weather was cold and windy, and actually not bad to run in.  Checked my gear in, then warmed up for 20 minutes outside the stadium.  Legs were heavy, which sucked, but with the weather cooperating I wanted to at least give it a few miles at pace to see how I felt.  Lined up in the second corral (behind the elites), listened to a nice Memorial Day tribute, then took off.  We basically headed south on Lakeshore, and there was a good 25 mph tailwind, which unfortunately meant we were coming back into this wonderful "breeze".  Felt ok through the first mile, but then my legs just died about halfway through the second mile and  I made the decision to drop pace.  Just jello.  So I split 6:22, 6:30 for the first 2 miles, then fell back to marathon pace and cruised in and enjoyed the sights and sounds.  We made the turnaround, then literally ran on the Lakeshore path back towards Soldier Field.  The wind was pretty brutal, and I found a lot of people drafting off me coming in.  At around the 8 mile mark, you can start to see the city line and the stadium, and I definitely got excited and picked it up a little.  Last mile, started picking people off, and made the entrance into the tunnel before heading onto the field.  Awesome experience, and I tried to soak up as much as I could.  Finished somewhere in the 300-400 range out of 12,800+ people, and I believe my time was 1:10:52, which included a few extra seconds to do the Heisman Pose on the 50 yard line.  Met up with a couple friends postrace, before picking up my medal (a football helmet!), blanket, and meeting Megan and Anne to head back to shower.  Cooled down with Anne, Ben, and Megan on Lakeshore for a couple miles to call it a day.  Nice to get in some good mileage before 10 a.m.  Congrats to Larry for running a great PR (1:03:14)!  A great race, and I definitely want to do again someday!  Had a nice day around the city, which included an awesome brunch at Orange (rosemary french toast), and concluded at 3Forks Steakhouse (prime rib - I can still taste it!) where we sat next to Barry Manilow.  Such a small world.

Sunday, May 27th - 0!  Had all intentions of getting up to do this, but was completely a waste of space.  It got too hot during the day, and heat is my kryptonite.  But Ben proved to be a much tougher man than me, as he got in a good 5-6 Lakeshore miles in the middle of the afternoon which had to be brutal.  Instead, I ended up at John Barleycorn (bar in Lincoln Park) where we had a few beverages and enjoyed the nice day.  Walked the equivalent of a 4-5 miles - does that count???  38 miles this week (ugh), 153 miles for May, 855.5 miles for 2012.

Monday, May 28th - 14 miles.  Met up with Larry bright and early on Lakeshore.  Ran a couple miles beforehand, and we got in roughly 11 miles headed north on Lakeshore.  Didn't feel too hot from staying up too late, and the 80+ early morning temps, but made it through ok.  Hit every water station coming back, and couldn't drink enough water.  Saw quite a few runners out there, but was nice to be on my favorite running trail.  Averaged right around 8 minute miles, was done before 9 a.m. which was nice.

Tuesday, May 29th - 4.5 miles.  Was completely tired from travel, so skipped out on the Mile Time Trial at Big River Speedwork.  Went home, and Tim texted me that he was running at the Collinsville High School track, so headed up there to help run and time him.  They re-did that track, and was in very good shape so was pretty impressed at the conditions of their track - may be the home of a future workout, albeit may also be a mosquito/buy deathtrap since there are woods closeby.  Warmed up with Tim, then timed him through the first couple quarters.  He asked me to rabbit his third lap, but I felt ok and rabbited him on the fourth as well.  He hit a pretty decent time (~5:50), so was glad I could help.  Cooled down to finish the workout.  Warm evening, but cooled down a bit which was nice.  Still trying to get acclimated to summer, ugh.

Wednesday, May 30th - 0!  Came home and went to bed.  Just exhausted.  Slept 14 hours straight.  I apparently needed it.

Thursday, May 31st - 0!  Headed towards a deadly cycle here, but I did have an excuse because of the Festival of Miles!  This event is put on every year, and showcases many of the local high school runners, as well as some of the nation's elites as they come to race for a sub 4 minute mile.  Had a quick dinner at Local Harvest Cafe, which specializes in all local and organic foods.  Headed over to SLU High School to watch the festivities and watch my buddy Stephen Pifer make a run at the Elite Mile event.  Well, the weather Gods were not in our favor, as it was rainy (well misty) and 50's - yes 50's!  Just about the worst conditions you could ask for a track meet.  Anyways, Pifer lead the charge through about 1300 meters or so, before he fell back.  I believe he ran 4:02 - a great time for such an awful day.  Anyways, another awesome event run by Big River Running, and for a great cause.  Got home too late, and the rainy weather deterred any late running.  171.5 miles for May, 874 miles for 2012.

Friday, June 1st - 2 miles (a.m.).  Got up for a tortuous 2 mile run.  I am just not a morning person.  Planning on doing track work tonight to finish out the day.  I think I ran 17-18 minutes?  Actually pretty cold this morning, and contemplated busting out the tights.  What is going on with this weather?  Tights in June???

Because of the unseasonably cold weather, I contemplated racing tomorrow but opted not to basically because I'm a little burnt out and need different speedwork other than a 5K.  So I will be enjoying a nice long run around the STL area instead.

Last week, I finally received my Illinois Marathon Age group prize.  Wasn't overly thrilled with this award, as I have a billion of these bags, but I guess it's better than nothing and it is somewhat practical.  I hope that this race changes their awards someday - such a fun, well-ran race, but mediocre prizes.  And I'm not the only one!!!

Solder Field 10 Miler!

Me, Stephen, and Abe