Hey Mayor Emanuel, nice running the Ravenswood 5K with you

Yesterday I ran the 20th Annual Fleet Feet Ravenswood 5K.  This is only the 2nd or 3rd time I’ve ever participated in that race because in years past, it was usually the same weekend of the Lakefront 10 miler and back in the day I had more stamina and speed.  Besides getting slower, I realized that April in Chicago usually has cold rainy weather and a 3 mile race usually ends much quicker than a 10 mile one.

But yesterday was optimal conditions for both race spectators and participants.  Just warm enough at pre-race hour to wear shorts but not so hot that you experience the trifecta of sweaty, stinky, sticky after your run.

One of the cool things about a smaller race like this is the casual atmosphere mixed with professional race course set up.  I didn’t register until Saturday and that meant I had to do race day packet pickup.  My running buddy was able to get my bib because even though we made it out of the house in record time for parents of twins, we still didn’t leave

When I was running I kept hearing people call out “Go Mayor” and “Hey Rahm.”  It didn’t surprise me that Mayor Emanuel could be running this race.  He’s an avid runner and I believe he has some marathons under his belt (too lazy to look it up).  It did surprise me to look over my shoulder at approximately 2.5 miles in and see the Mayor himself running practically next to me.

I said “How you doing” as this was not the first time we met.  I bumped into him at the Belmont Blue Line Station years ago when he was campaigning for his first term.  I understand why he didn’t remember as I was in street clothes that day.

He’s the one in blue over my left shoulder, like Beelzebub

I hadn’t taken a picture with the soon to be mayor than and thought this might be my chance to amend that.  After all, in spite of how he is running this city and treating CPS, he’s still the mayor.  But he had his race day face on which means he didn’t want to be Mayor Emanuel, he wanted to be Runner with Bib #55.  So I did the next best thing and snapped a selfie with him in the background.

if you click here and search for Bib # 55, watch the video at the 17:15 mark — you can see him cross the finish line.

Which brings up another interesting thing about how racing has changed over time through the embracing of technology.  When I first started running races, you’d run the race Sunday morning and weeks later you’d get a post card.  Online results were a thing but they certainly weren’t posted right away.  A few years later it became the norm to get preliminary-subject-to-updates results that afternoon.

Now we have instant results and finish line videos for Pete’s sake.  I had joked with my Running Buddy that we aren’t too far from a Hunger Games type setup with real time tracking, video and soundtrack.

Lucky for Rahm, this wasn’t the Hunger Games 5K because unfortunately there are plenty of residence who would likely shoot more than a selfie at him.

 

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5 Things I do NOT miss about running races

A couple weekends ago, I saw a lot of posts from friends who ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon I’ve run this race before in its various earlier incarnations and I can tell you, most of the time it was too F-ing hot to run. One particular year added insult to heat because the Saturday we went to pick up our gear was perfect running weather but the Sunday was sweatyballs hot.

I miss running. I miss being able to throw on my running shoes and being 3 miles into a 5 mile run without even realizing it. I use to average 100 miles a month; now I’m luck if I can get that much done in a year. It’s a vicious cycle: I don’t have the endurance I use to have so it takes longer to run any decent* mileage. Since I am getting exhausted sooner, I don’t bang out the mileage like I use to in my marathon training days. Since I’m discouraged about running, I don’t run as much which means my endurance suffers. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

* Decent Mileage was always defined as worth the effort of changing into your running clothes!

On the other hand, there are some things I don’t miss. Here are 5 of them:

1) COST: It costs a lot of money to put a race together, especially if there are street closures involved. You have to pay the city because you are usurping public streets and or resources. There are also sometimes police involved. Someone has to pay for all of that and most of the costs get passed on to you, the runner.

Note: this is for multiple races for two people!

2) WEATHER: the only constant is that you cannot predict what kind of day you will have. Thunderstorm the morning of a 5K, no big deal. Heatwave for the marathon, there goes 18 weeks of training down the drain.

2a) EXTREME HEAT: The 2007 marathon anyone? extreme heat can not only ruin your race but give you heat stroke. In hindsight I wish I had just skipped that one. In fact, I wish they had canceled the race before the gun went off. I realize there was a lot of money involved and elites were vying for world records, and it would not have been possible to reschedule but so what.

2b) EXTREME COLD: Now that winter running is more of a thing, race organization have jumped on the bandwagon.  It’s not just a chilly Turkey Trot or freshly fallen snowy Jingle Bell 5K.  Now we have races like the Polar Dash half marathon which mean you might just be training for a half marathon in the icy cold of winter.

3) EARLY HOURS:  in order to beat the heat, and release the race course back to society, these races have to start early. Which means you have to get up at the buttcrack of dawn (or earlier) to get to them.

4) STRESS: stress of getting there in time and not missing the start. I’ve never missed a race because I was late getting to the start line. I did start a race a little late because I was in the port-o-potty, but this was okay because it was a chip timed event and I was close enough to the start line that it didn’t matter.

5)POORLY PLANNED RACES:  This happens a lot, especially with new races or when a new entity takes over an established race.  It seems like no one ever asks the previous group what worked and what didn’t and they end up re-inventing the wheel.  Sure, they’ll get it right eventually, but at the cost of the runners.  You can deal with a 5K running out of water at a water station or not having enough goodies at the finish line.  But a half marathon that has the mile markers completely off or a poorly marked course will infuriate your customer base.

 

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Are you running the Soldier Field 10? Some potential race strategy and situations to consider

Julia at Lipsticks, Lollipops & Life wrote a post the other day that got me thinking about a situation a lot of runners find themselves in when they run a race with a friend.  What do you do if, during the race, one of you is having a rough time?  Do you stay together or leave them in the dust?

Two good looking old geezers

Say you and your friend are running a marathon and at Mile 20 she is struggling but you have a legitimate shot at a BQ, or at least a new PR then you absolutely must abandon her for the greater good: your ego.

Now that same scenario with a little twist.  You are doing okay but you’re out of shot for a BQ, a new PR is even questionable and you really would just like to finish strong.  In that case, it’s probably better to slow down and stay with  your friend.

If your friend is genuinely hurt as opposed to just sucking wind, then all bets are off.  Leaving someone behind at a closed course large race like the Chicago Marathon is certainly different than the Martina Marathon in Whereverville, Idaho.  And doing it at a shorter distance like a 5K is vastly different than abandoning someone in the first half of  a half marathon.

This is something you absolutely should try to work out before the race started.

There are a myriad of different combinations, permutations and degrees for the above scenarios and no one size fits all rule. This is something you absolutely should try to work out before the race started.

It isn’t always an easy thing to bring up.  Maybe you signed up together or during your marathon training you discovered you are both running the same 10K that weekend. You’re thinking that it will be cool to have someone to chat with during the race just like your Long Runs and maybe grab brunch afterwards.  You’re not thinking negative thoughts of bad race performance or burn out.

There’s a time to be a Selfish Runner and there is a time to be a Selfless Runner.  It boils down to what is the significance of the race and what are you trying to accomplish with it?  It is not necessary a bad thing to want to finish a race strong and not be held back by your friend.  Especially if they wouldn’t do the same if the running shoes were on the other foot.

You may be further along in your running career than your friend and you really want to beat last year’s time for that course.  But then you have to ask yourself, Does beating last year’s time by three seconds mean more than catching up with your buddy during some dumb turkey trot 5K?

2012 Soldier Field 10

Race Strategy for the SF10

using a 1:20 finish time as an example here are three examples of how you could run the Soldier Field 10 if you are an 8 minute per mile pace runner.  Adjust your time accordingly.

Option1:  a steady 8MM pace for 10 miles

Option2:  start out slower, say 8:30 mm for 5 miles than bump up to 7:30 mm for the last 5 (or 8:15/7:45)

Option3:  start out faster, run 7:30 mm for 5 miles than drop back to 8:30 for the last 5 miles

In theory all three get you to the same place.  But I can tell you that the first two will have you feeling much better at the finish line than the last one.  If you think it sucks to fade out during the last mile of a race, think how much more it would suck to run 5 miles slower than your first.

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Seven things to expect when dating someone training for the Chicago Marathon

So you met that special someone this summer, perhaps at a street festival, a sporting event or even a friend’s annual 4th of July Party. You hit things off and everything is going great except you are starting to notice they have this hobby which borders on addiction.

It probably started out as a minor inconvenience. First you have to leave a Cubs game in the 7th inning because she had to get up early (no big loss), then you had to miss Sixteen Candles at Retro on Roscoe because tomorrow is Long Run Saturday, and then you found out you have to plan a weekend get-away around the infamous 20 miler.  Now that you’ve been sharing time and space on a more ongoing term basis, you suddenly that hardly noticeable hobby-addiction is becoming a third wheel.

Yes my friend, you are dating a runner!

Here are seven things you can expect to put up with when you are dating a runner.

Note:  I’m writing this from the POV of training for the Chicago Marathon where you typically start your training in June and it culminates on the Sunday before Columbus Day when you finally run that marathon.  However, this applies to other marathons and runners in general.

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Pulaski 10K is still on for Saturday

Despite weather predictions of snow and below freezing temperatures, the inaugural Pulaski 10K race is still scheduled to occur as planned Saturday morning at 9 AM, with Race Day Packet Pickup starting at 7:45 and Gear Check beginning at 8:00 AM.

Preliminary weather reports indicate snow flurries with a high of 25°, probably 18-20° around race time.

“The race will be on as scheduled,” said Derek S. Sprau, President/Marketing Director of F3 Events LLC. “we have made some alterations to the course due to ice patches however the race will go on.”

From an email F3 Events sent to registered race participants:

THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE LAKEFRONT PATH HAVE BEEN DEEMED UNSAFE FOR RACING CONDITIONS. IN AN EFFORT TO MAXIMIZE PARTICIPANT SAFETY WE HAVE ALTERED OUR COURSE AND OMITTED THE NORTHERN SECTIONS.

I like running in the snow and as long as it isn’t bone chilling cold like it has been this week, I’m okay with this decision.

Avid runners, especially Chicagoans are a hearty bunch and it takes a lot to keep us away. In fact, we’d be more upset if the race were rescheduled like the Polar Dash did a few years ago, leaving many in a pickle because of plans for the following weekend.

“There will be no warming tents but parking is easy and close to the start,” Sprau added.

Save money on The Inaugural Pulaski Day 10K race!

Other than a Rudolph Ramble or Jingle Bell Dash, most runners are not really thinking about races this time of year. At least not their 2014 races. However, it’s never a bad time to think about saving money, especially if you are trying to offset holiday shopping.

So why not plan ahead and sign up for The Inaugural Pulaski 10K & Kids’ Dash which will be held on Saturday, March 1st at 9am @ Montrose Harbor. Registered participants get a finisher medal and after the run enjoy Polish music, dancing, food and fun!

Casimir Pulaski is a name Chicago Poles knows best! Spend a beautiful spring Saturday embracing the long time influence of Polish culture in Chicago… with a chip timed 10k run along Chicago’s lakefront. Okay, let’s be honest. March 1 in Chicago can be either a sunny spring day or more likely a blizzard. Ether way, it’s still a fun way to spend a Saturday morning and you can make it the unofficial start of your plan to burn off the winter weight.

click here to register and if you do so by December 8th, you can save $10 (use the promo code PIEROGI).

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