Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon; A Great Race for a PR

In late Spring, my running buddy Ryan and I were looking for a flat fast course to attempt to break 1:30 in a half marathon. We found the Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon, a very flat course taking place in mid-August. The average high temperature for Chicago for this time of year is around 80 degrees.

In order to meet our goal, we were going to need the perfect storm of proper training and cool weather. We trained throughout the summer, hitting all of our speedwork goals despite the hot weather here at home. We made it into race week well-trained and with a weather forecast of high 60s for race morning. It appeared that everything was coming together to reach our race day goal.

On the morning of the race, the temperature was in the mid 60′s with an overcast. There were plenty of portapotties so waiting in line was minimized. There were a few celebrities participating in the race so they gave a little pep talk before the race, and a former Biggest Loser Contestant did the National Anthem.

Once the announcer started the race (I cannot remember if there was a gunshot or not), we set into our goal pace. Just before mile four, Ryan looked at me and said that he did not have the 1:30 goal in him. As we reached the four mile mark, I realized we are about 40 seconds slower than we should have been at mile 4. At that point he gave me the okay to go at it alone. At that point I still felt as if I had the ability to reach the my goal and plenty of time to make up the 40 seconds.

Between miles six and seven along West Jackson Blvd, the crowds along the streets seemed huge. There were no barriers along the street and the cheering crowds were in the road leaving about a 6-ft path to run through. If you have ever watched a mountain stage of the Tour de France, you can imagine the scene. During that section of the race, I definitely lifted my pace for a little while.

My Garmin 305 that I have had for about 3 years quit in May; therefore, I was having to calculate my times in my head based on the race clock times at each mile. Maybe it was the euphoria of the run and cheering crowds, but in my head I thought I was making up time at every mile. By my calculations at mile 10, I was just 22 seconds off of my goal of breaking 1 hour 30 minutes.

At this point, I was having to fight every step to maintain pace. My legs and lungs were on fire. It was taking everything I had to maintain proper form. At mile 11 my calculations had my time at 12 seconds from breaking 1:30. As I approached the finish line and the race clock came into view, I realized I had made a miscalculation. My actual time was 1:31:11. Somehow I miscalculated my time by one full minute.

Though I did not reach my goal, I still set a PR beating my four-year best time by 3 minutes and 13 seconds. It was a great day!

Overall, the Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon was the perfect race to attempt a PR. It was a flat course with cooler temperatures for August and had ample portapotties.

Next Attempt At Breaking 1:30 in the Half Marathon — March 10, 2012 Tom King Classic

Next Event First – Ultra Marathon — October 1, 2011 Stump Jump 50K

What is your favorite event for setting a PR?

Who needs a treadmill?

At the beginning of this year one of my goals for the year is to run a mile everyday for the whole year.  Since making those plans my life has gotten crazy.  Our almost 7 month old who has spent his whole life in the NICU has had surgery, has come home, and had to go back into the hospital.  The surgery and the 5 days at home made it difficult enough to get a run in but the trip back to the hospital last week is when the running got a little weird. 

Due to my dislike, okay maybe it is hatred, of the treadmill I do not own one.  I never miss a run due to weather.  I always tell everyone that you should always run outside because you never know what the weather will be on race day.  It has been about 5 years since I have been on a dreadmill.

We also have three other children.  While my wife was at the hospital with the baby, I was at home with the other three.  Oh yeah I almost forgot, she also took the van to the hospital with all the car seats in it.  So, we were kind of stuck at home until one of our great neighors went by the hospital to get our van on day 4. 

The weather had been bad and our triple jogger is broken anyway.  In order to keep my running streak alive, I did the only thing any sane person would do.  Did I mention I do not have a treadmill?  I took a quick measurement of the longest run I can get in my house.  Now I have a measured “track” in my house from my front door around the island in our kitchen and back.  Yep, I ran laps in my house.  Because of all the turning it took me about 17 minutes to get that mile done, therefore I did not run more than a mile.  Maybe I should consider buying a dreadmill.  Either way, the running streak is still alive!

How are your New Year’s Goals/Resolutions going?

 

Running For Mercy

I’ve joined an exciting effort to help women in need in my community. I signed up for the Run for MercyTeam in the Country Music Half & Full Marathon on April 30, 2011. Please support my effort to help provide residential care, Christ-centered counseling and life-skills training free of charge to hurting young women by becoming one of my sponsors. Whatever you can give will make a profound difference.

Conventional treatments cost an average of $1,000 – $2,000 per day and there is usually little evidence of a changed life. The Mercy Ministries program is free of charge and we provide care for full-time residents (whose average stay is six months) at our homes. The cost to care for one girl for one day is $175. It is our goal to fully fund our homes each year through contributions from the local community. Anything you raise will help us reach this goal.

Please visit my personal fundraising webpage where you can make a secure credit card donation (click either of the links below). Your gift to this worthy cause is tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Jim

Click here to visit my personal page.

If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:

http://mmoa.convio.net/site/TR?px=1084087&pg=personal&fr_id=1320&et=Yj5AyKNOZ5vlgNXBptfl5w..&s_tafId=2773

Goal Setting for 2011

Every year most people make New Year’s Resolutions and every year by February most people have forgotten or given up on those resolutions. Below is my list of most effective tools to help make you reach your fitness goals.

- Writing down your goals.  Doing this makes you more likely to reach those goals. I suggest writing them down somewhere you have to look at them every day, such as the bathroom mirror or the refrigerator.

- Sign up for an event. Having something to train for other that just the sake of training always helps to justify why I am missing sleep to exercise.

- Make your goals public. Start a blog or put it on Facebook or other social media to add accountability. Once other people are expecting you to do something it is harder to back out.

-Link your event to raising money for a charity. Linking your event to a charity cause you to make your training more than just a selfish act. Also, by raising money it gets other people involved which also adds more accountability.

Here are some of my goals for 2011 (this is me making my goals public).

 
- Complete a Marathon – I have already signed up for the Country Music Marathon and I am raising money for Mercy Ministries. If you would like to donate click here.

- Run Everyday for 365 Days Straight – I am doing this as a unique challenge and to help add consistency to my training. You can sign up to make it official here.

- Complete an Ultramarathon – I have wanted to do this for several years. I am considering two this year StumpJump 50K and Lookout Mountain 50 mile.

- Run a 50 mile week - Another goal to help add consistency to my training. I hope to exceed this goal. Once I reach it, I will increase it.  You can follow my training log here.

What are some of your goals for 2011?

What are some tools/tricks you will use to reach them?

The Relay Experience

I recently participated in an overnight running relay by R@gnar.  The event was designed to have teams of 12 or ultra teams of 6.   I was recruited to the team by a friend from college to participate in a team of 12.  We ended up having only a 10 person team so we all had to contribute a few extra miles to effort.  Since I knew only my friend on the team I was not sure what to expect.  After meeting a few of the team members in a training run I was at least a bit more comfortable with the folks I was about to spend 24 + hours in a van with little sleep, some running, and no shower. 

 The relay was one of the best experiences I have had while competing in a race.  My team members were great and the race was great.  We ran through day and night, sunshine, rain, sleet, and snow all in a little over 27 hours.  The vans definitely did not smell very good after the race.  I suggest renting two of the 15 passenger vans for the race.  The vans give plenty of room to stretch out between legs and somewhere to sleep when you can.  They were worth way more than the rental fee.

I would definitely recommend participating in at least one relay for the experience itself.  My new friends and I are already looking for another race.  The particular company who hosted the event offers a service on their website for teams looking for runners.  So whether you have a team or want to join a team it is possible.  Also, the legs of the event can be divided up in a manner so that more and less experienced runners can all participate.  For example, the runner who ran the most on our team ran 23.8 miles and the person who ran the least ran about 14 miles.  Those were not consecutive miles but total miles over 3 to 4 legs.  Therefore the relay will be a fun time for all skill levels.

Have you participated in a running relay?

If so, what was your experience like? 

If not, why not?