2013 13.1 Race Recaps #1 & #2

As I sit with my legs up against the wall at a 90 degree angle letting gravity force the lactic acid to flow through my legs, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to update my blog with my most recent race recaps!

One of my goals for 2013 was to run 13 13.1's during the year. The 1st two races are now officially in the books, and each included a PR!

13.1 #1:

On Sunday, March 17th I ran the March O' Madness half marathon in Cary, IL. This race comes with many challenges.  Due to it's hills, it is the #1 Boston training race in our flat state of Illinois. Even more challenging than the hills though, is getting into the race before it fills up. Registration opens at 6:00 AM on New Years Eve, and this year it sold out in 38 minutes! Let's just say I was really glad I didn't give in to temptation and ignore my alarm clock that morning like I wanted too!

Race day temps were in the 30's, but the skies were sunny and there was very little wind. I always dedicate each race I run to someone special, and this one was co-dedicated to both my friend Joe "Bones" Thompson, who passed away on St. Patrick's Day in 2011 at the age of 50; as well as the father of a very good friend of mine, General Harry Cochran, who passed away suddenly a couple of days before the race. Both of these incredible men inspired me to tackle this hilly course head on, and I ended up running a 1:55:44, which was a half marathon PR in my book.

Overall race rating:

 1/2

Positives: Super friendly people, inexpensive registration fee ($43), close to home, easy race day packet pick-up, great pre-race & post-race atmosphere in a local high school with indoor bathrooms, awesome race hoodie, raffle (I won a coffee gift pack), fun medal, excellent volunteers, and the best post-race soft pretzels!

Negatives: The course is a road course that is not closed to vehicle traffic, making it a little dangerous at times.

13.1 #2

Today (3/30/13) my son, Bailey. & I ran the Egg Shell Shuffle in the beautiful Busse Woods forest preserve in Elk Grove Village, IL. I dedicated this race to my grandma who passed away in 2010, but would've celebrated her 100th birthday yesterday. As a bonus, my husband and son, Connor, volunteered at the race and presented Bailey & I with our medals at the finish line. Bailey ran the 5k with no training outside of soccer, and came in 98/418 runners with a time of 28:25. He thought he could've done better, but I was totally impressed!

I ran the half marathon, and from the start I could tell it was going to be a great race. My #1 goal with Boston coming up in 16 days, was to avoid injury. I ran my 1st mile at a pace of 8:11, and knew I had to slow down to prevent burning out. I settled into a pace of 8:35 and surprised myself by maintaining that pace throughout the race, taking 2+ minutes off of my PR from 2 weeks earlier with a chip time of 1:52:02. I thought my time might be good enough to place in the top 3 in my division, but I ended up in 5th, missing 3rd place by less than 2 minutes. Nonetheless very happy with my finish! Following the races, there was an Easter egg hunt for kids and adults.  Totally fun and well done! Bailey even ended up winning a $20 gift card!

One of the highlights of the day was meeting a fellow runner who proved once again how amazing runners really are! We were taking turns passing each other during our 13.1 today, & finally I passed her up for good for the final four miles. We bumped into each other getting water afterwards & instead of being mad, she was full of compliments. It made my day, and was a perfect example of how running truly isn't about winning. It's about inspiring, and being inspired, by others who share the same passion! One of the countless reasons I ♥ runners & running!!

Overall race rating:

 1/2

Positives: Beautiful scenic course with live elk (seriously!), reasonably priced ($54), great volunteers (especially the ones who share my last name), egg hunt, variety of races (5k & 13.1), parking, ease of same day packet pick up, fun medal for finishers of both races.

Negatives: Lack of porta potties & tp, would've preferred last year's race hoodie rather than the shorts we received, post-race food options were limited.