July race was the Rock N’ Roll Chicago half marathon. I was nervous to sign up for a half in July incase the weather was brutal, but it ended up being pretty perfect.
It had been awhile since I’d been to a race expo, so I was pretty excited on Friday. Race expos make the anticipation of the race that much more intense. It was fun to walk through the expo, take some pictures, and check out some gear. Got me more than race ready!
The 6:30 AM start was a little rough since I didn’t go to sleep until 1 AM the night before and had to leave my parents house at 5 AM to get back to the city. But I’d rather start early to beat the heat (and in today’s case, the storm).
Getting into corrals was easy. I was in Corral 5, so I got to start almost right away which was really nice.
I took the first two miles slower, but my third mile was a 6:42. I definitely needed to slow my roll. My GPS got messed up since the race was on the actual streets, but at least I was able to keep track of the time.
I had no real time goal or intent to PR, but I felt great. I ignored my watch for the most part and just ran.
The miles flew by. I felt like I kept picking up speed. And I felt strong.
I crossed that finish line at 1:39:41. And I felt awesome. I wasn’t that tired, but I knew I ran well.
Here are my results:
527th overall out of 11,000 people?! This shocks me. Pretty proud.
This time was less than a minute slower than my previous PR, but I am still convinced that course was short, so I’m counting this as a PR. Three half marathons this year between 1:38 & 1:40! That gives me more confidence that I can make a BQ attempt at my marathon this fall.
Unfortunately, the post race party got canceled due to a storm that rolled in shortly after we finished. I would have loved to meet some insta runners! Next time.
We were able to get a couple quick photos before the rain started.
Proud of these two for strong races today! It’s so fun to have friends that take part in this crazy passion of running too.
And Jen and I are officially done with 7 of our 12 races/months for 2016.
Overall, a well run race. By the organization and by me (lol). I’m so glad I decided to sign up. And this race reminded me so much of the Chicago Marathon. Got me even more excited!!
Congratulations on a great race!