Tag Archives: Chicago

Everyday we’re shufflin’!

10 Apr shamrock13_prerace

What’s green, hunting for beer, and covers 8 kilometers?

Why, the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K, of course!

I know, it’s already April… St. Paddy’s Day has already come in a frenzy of green glitter and golden beads, and left some us in a hazy hangover weeks ago. But for 40,000 runners in Chicago, the time to celebrate a little Irish fun was this past Sunday.

Because I signed up for the Bank of America’s Chicago Marathon, Brandi thought this would be good “practice” for me. The race is put on by the same people, it runs the same streets, and just like the marathon, there are 40,000 runners.

Practice for a marathon that doesn’t involved a 20-miler? Sounds great!

The weather was pretty nice for the Shamrock Shuffle: 45 degrees, sunny, slightly windy but not bad for Chicago. The atmosphere was cheerful, the volunteers all had smiles on their faces, and a later start time of 9:15 meant I was feeling well-rested as we headed to Grant Park for the starting line.

The Shamrock Shuffle is set off in two waves. The first wave started around 8:30 a.m., with staggered corrals. If you’re a speedier runner and have a recent race time to prove it, you can start in this wave. Brandi could have started earlier, but since we were heading to the race together, she changed her corral so she could start with me in the 9:15 wave.

shamrock_crowd

As we waited to start, the announcer told us we had some special guests in the crowd running with us: Danni Allen, the most recent winner of The Biggest Loser, and Robbie Gould, the Chicago Bears kicker. I have to admit, I’m a Steelers fan so big whoop about Robbie, but Danni was running in the same wave & corral as me?! I was pretty stoked and kept looking around to say hi. That girl is amazing!

Soon enough, though, the race started and after a few minutes of waiting around, our corral crossed the starting mat and we were off.

“See ya later!” Brandi called over her shoulder as she took off. Her goal was to go for 7:30 splits, while I was hoping for 10:00 splits, so yes…she would see me much later.

It took the first mile to get used to having SO many people around. I was a little annoyed at those who started to walk right away (read: ¼ mile) in the race because they were blocking me (and many other runners) but hey—good for you for getting out there. I weaved in & out of people, got cut off a few times, probably cut other people off a few times, and strategically looked for places to spit. Yes, it was good experience to run in such a large crowd so I know what to expect in the marathon. It was fun—there were always people to pass and push yourself for, and sometimes having someone in front of you to slow you down for a moment let you readjust your pace so you weren’t going too fast.

Running around corners & the drink/aid stations were the worst parts of the run. At the street corners, everyone instinctively cut in closer, so it became a jumble of people. I would literally have to stop and walk for a couple steps as everyone spaced back out. At the drink stations, if you were off to one side or another, people would literally cut you off the whole way through the stations. One lady almost ran smack into me. There were only two aid stations I believe (because who really needs a Gatorade stop on a 5 mile run?); on the second station I stayed in the middle of the road so people didn’t cut me off so severely in their haste for some high quality H2O.

The best part were the fans along the route. At one point near the beginning of the race, we ran under a bridge and it was completely lined with people cheering and calling down at us. Fans lined most of the streets too, and lots of little kids were doling out high fives.

I felt pretty good and strong the whole race. I forgot my Garmin so I wasn’t able to keep track of splits. Instead, I went by how I felt. It was nice to let the times go and just focus on breathing and picking up my legs when they felt like they could go faster.

shamrock13_results

I finished at a strong 50:03 (10:04 average pace), which I was happy with considering my ‘long’ runs of 7 miles have been averaging around 11-11:30 in the last couple of weeks.

After the race, we met back at Grant Park for our free post-race Michelob Ultra (not too shabby)…

shamrock13_beer

And then continued our belated-Irish celebration with a few more [real] beers & lunch with some runner friends.

shamrock13_duo

All in all, a great race, a fun day, and I’m looking forward to race season as Spring warms up!

Tell me: What are your tips for huge races? I didn’t have to deal with actually getting anything from the aid stations, fueling, bathroom pit stops, etc. but I bet in the long haul of 26.2 miles that can all be a challenge. I can use some tips!

What’s your next race?
I’m gearing up for the Wisconsin Half Marathon in Kenosha, Wisconsin on May 4th. It’s the Cheesiest!

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Chicago Marathon, Here I Come

17 Feb

“Are you crazy? Heck no. I will never run a marathon!”

Famous words out of my mouth, uttered many times over the last several years. Until one day about a month ago, a tiny speck of “What if?” entered my mind. And proceeded to grow.

I guess I knew it might happen one day. I had told people, “I’m only half-crazy, I’ll stick to half marathons. Maybe when I get tired of those.”

Well, I guess I got tired of 13.1. The wonder of “Will I be able to finish?” and the rigors of training became expected and…I can’t say easy, but certainly no longer the insurmountable challenge that I once felt elated and excited about overcoming. I had done it, several times over, and I knew I could. I needed something new to conquer.

Enter the Naples Half Marathon “runcation” with my sisters about a month ago. It was the hardest 13.1 miles I had ever run, and it was certainly not my best time—in fact, it was my worst time ever. But, I had finished, something many times during that race I wasn’t sure I would be able to do, and I guess that’s when I realized that I had officially defeated the half marathon. It was time to up the ante.

It started with my sisters talking nonchalantly about the marathons they had run over some happy hour drinks after our race that weekend. Fueled by a couple fruity beverages, I decided, this was my year! I would run a marathon with them!

The next day we laughed it off—alcohol can make you bold, but c’mon guys—I still wasn’t that crazy. I would leave the marathon running up to them. But somewhere in the back of my mind, that curiosity was beginning to grow and I tried to ignore it. Did I really want to go through the time, dedication, and mental/physical strain of marathon training? Not to mention the actual race of 26 miles. Plus the .2 at the end…I always imagine that’s got to feel like the longest part.

The next night at dinner with some wine in hand (we know how to balance run + fun, what can I say), the topic came up again. The Marathon. I think Brandi and Lara could sense I was teetering, and they continued to talk it up. Lara sealed the deal when she said this year, she would be coming to run the Chicago Marathon with Brandi. Well, if they were both running it—what better race could I wait for?

I told them that was it—I was going to do it. And of course, they didn’t believe me. That’s just the wine talking, they probably thought.

A couple weeks later, I decided to hold myself accountable so I wouldn’t back out from the fear, and posted on Facebook that I was going to sign up. What better accountability than 673 “friends”! Lara asked if I had been drinking wine again.

This time, no—it was all me with a clear and focused mind. I’m ready to run a marathon, and on Tuesday at noon I will be signing up, along with my sisters, to do something I never thought I would do in my life: Run 26.2 miles.

Any advice for a marathon newbie? Any good books or training you’d recommend? I’ll take all the help I can get!

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Ragnar Relay Chicago: Part 2

27 Jun finisher_badge

AKA, “Beer-y Happy Endings”

Ragnar Relay Chicago 2012 medal

After finishing our first set of legs, it dawned on my team that with our #5 runner out of commission, one of us would have to make up his remaining two legs. In addition to that, our #6 runner had to work overnight (dedication!) so we had to make up his run as well. None of us were really eager or even felt ready to add on those extra miles, but we figured out who could take the overnight legs, and decided we’d split up the third extra leg the next day.

Around 9pm, our #12 runner came to the handoff point and started off our #1 runner once more. The temperature had finally dropped and it felt great outside. I geared up for my second leg, another 4.5 miles on a bike path…a quiet, dark, secluded bike path at night. I thought it would be freaky, but it was calming, and I felt like I was booking it because I was eager to be back around lots of people versus the croaking frogs and rustling bushes and trees that surrounded me.

I finished before I knew it, and happily stretched before hopping in the van and closing my eyes as we drove to the next handoff. I was getting so tired, that even though they were handing out free s’mores to runners at one of the exchange points, I passed right by. (And who EVER passes up a free s’more?!)

Overall, the runs overnight went better than the first legs; our two teammates who picked up the extra legs weren’t super enthused, but they did great anyway. Soon, we were finishing up our second round of legs and pulling into the next exchange zone to rest.

Our van was huge so we had lots of room to actually lay down or recline our seats. I think I managed an actual couple of hours of sleep (in and out), which is more than I have ever had the last two years I participated in the Ragnar Relay, so the next morning, I felt like I was ready to go!

It was starting to heat up again already as I lined up for my final leg around 8am, which was a little over 6 miles long. I started the leg on a bike trail, so I got some shade to run in for a while, but at halfway, the sun, heat and weariness began to take its toll. I went through a whole bottle of water, but luckily the fans along the course and other runners were SUPER helpful. One person sprayed me with a bug sprayer (filled with just water, of course); one person drenched me with a super soaker kids’ gun—it felt awesome; and another person gave me an ice cold bottle of water that basically got me through the last mile and a half. It felt like forever, but I finally spotted the handoff zone ahead, and picked it up as much as I could to get across that line.

But I wasn’t done yet! That was supposed to be my last leg, but we still had our #5 runner’s leg to make up (who was doing just fine, we had found out). I offered to run as much of the leg as I could, but considering I had to walk a lot during my 6-mile leg, I knew I would be pretty slow. I waited while runners #3-5 ran, and then took the baton for our final leg.

It was even hotter out at that point, and I was running through the middle of a (somewhat dodgy) town, in direct sunlight. A few times, some creepy dudes whistled at me—to which all I could think was, Really?! My thighs are so white they’re glowing, and I am so HOT that my face is bright red and drenched in sweat!

On the plus side, even though I felt like I needed to walk, I was kind of afraid to…so I just kept chugging along.

Almost three miles into it, though, I was just done. I had run about 20 miles total in less than 24 hours, and my body was nearing exhaustion. It was a true team effort to finish that last leg—I handed off to one of our runners, she ran for a mile and handed off to another one of our teammates, he ran two miles, and then handed off to our other runner who finished up the last 1.5 mile of the last leg. It took four of us to finish that final 5.8 mile leg, but boy, were we happy when we did! With that, we concluded all of our legs for van #1.

Finish Line at Ragnar Relay Chicago Lakefront

I hopped in with van #2 as they went to run their final legs. I felt bad because it just kept getting hotter as the day went on, but they were all champs and finished their legs with no problems. Finally, we found ourselves winding our way through the streets of Chicago, into the park along Lake Michigan where the final finish line stood. Sadly, car traffic was so heavy that our final runner actually BEAT us to the finish line, but he was in no hurry…he waited to cross it until we were all there as a team.

Beer and pizza at the finish line!
We crossed, got our sweet medals, and set off for free pizza & beer. I’d say we earned it!

Will I do it again next year?

Well…of course. ;)

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Ragnar Relay Chicago: Part 1

26 Jun Ragnar Relay Chicago 2012

AKA, “Beginning the Beast”

It’s been a few weeks since I completed the Ragnar Relay Chicago, but I thought it would still be fun to tell you all about the madness! It was a crazy 30 hours in two [smelly] vans with sweat clothes, lots of peanut butter / bagels / bananas, many laughs, 200 miles by foot, and only a few hours of sleep. Why wouldn’t you want to hear about all that?

A typical Ragnar Relay team has up to 12 people on it, which means you’re split into two vans of six people. Each person runs 3 different legs of the course, and eventually all of those runs add up to about 200 miles…from Madison, to Chicago. (Our team started with 11 people, because three people in van #2 wanted to run four legs each instead of just 3.)

I was in van #1, which meant we all ran first. We made our way to Madison, checked in and then went to the mandatory safety briefing. The officials urged us to stay hydrated in the 100 degree heat index that was coming our way for the weekend…little did we know what was in store for us later that afternoon.

At noon, it was our wave’s turn to begin. Our first runner, Amy, toed the line and took off. I was runner #2, and I was sweating just waiting for her to get to the next handoff. The sun was blazing and the temperature kept rising by the minute.

At the starting line of the Ragnar Relay Chicago.

Before I knew it, Amy was sprinting towards me and handed off the (sweaty) bracelet/baton. I trotted off for my first leg, 4.5 miles through the city of Madison. It was HOT. Two miles into it, my team intercepted me on the course to give me some water, and I took the bottle with me for the remainder of the run. At times, I felt so hot that I imagined my head was bright red and radiating heat waves like a cartoon! (It was.) I had to walk a few times just so I wouldn’t feel like I’d pass out. Finally, I came up on the next handoff zone and gave the baton to our next runner.

Our team was grooving along fine, until our fifth teammate left for his run and then was nowhere to be seen when we thought he would finish. When he finally came into sight, he didn’t look good. He crossed the handoff line and immediately I could tell something was wrong—he was staggering around, mumbling incoherently. We got him in the shade, trying to cool him down with water and ice. Half of our van decided to stay with him, while Amy and I went to bring water to our sixth runner, who was out on the course for a long, harrowing 11-mile leg (the longest of the whole race).

Amy and I met up with our sixth runner every mile of his run to give him water and make sure he was okay. Suddenly, we saw our team van come flying up behind us and screech to the side of the country road. Our fifth teammate was apparently suffering heat stroke and dehydration. He seemed totally out of control, laying on the ground and shaking. I felt helpless and scared for him, but somehow luck was on our side: One of the runners in a nearby van that had pulled off happened to be an ER doctor—she knew exactly how to treat him. We packed bags of ice all over his body, and only gave him tiny sips of water. Eventually we could tell he would be okay. But, it would be completely unsafe and stupid if he tried to run again, so he had to be taken away by an ambulance so he could be monitored for safety reasons.

At this time, runner #6 caught up with us, and he didn’t look so good either. He was bright red, hot, and ready to just walk for a while. It’s technically “illegal” in the Ragnar Relay to switch out runners in the middle of a leg, but we weren’t about to let another teammate suffer from heatstroke and dehydration. I took the baton and ran a slow 2.5 miles of his leg while he had time to rehydrate and cool down a bit. He and the van caught back up with me after 25 minutes, and he hopped back onto the road, finishing up the monster of a leg and reuniting us with our second van at the handoff point.

We were all a little freaked out, worrying over our runner who was taken away by the ambulance, and ready to just sit down in the shade somewhere and have something “real” to eat. We got to the next checkpoint and set up camp, let our nerves calm and tried to get some rest before we started back up in a few hours for our second legs…

[Stay tuned for part 2, tomorrow!]

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