1999 Chase Corporate Challenge
Chase Corporate Challenge 3.5mi
Chicago, IL
August 5, 1999
I ran the Chase Corporate Challenge 3.5mi last Thursday. I had set a modest goal of sub-35:00, thinking that, with the weather nice and "cool" by this summer's standards, I would have no problem with that. I had not run for more than a mile or two in the 1 ½ weeks prior to the race, so I also assumed that my legs would be sluggish. Unfortunately, I had also come to this race with negativity-partly due to how my running has been going, and a lot because this race is critically disorganized, mainly because of the vast amount of inexperienced participants.
Luckily I was able to spot ChiADead Rebecca before the race looming near where I was meeting my coworkers. We chatted for a while and she took a picture of my corporate team (thanks, Rebecca!), then left to go back to her team meeting place. At 6:45 the first wave of runners started, and the walkers in my team decided to jump in to the race after all of first start people had passed, so they would be able to finish at a reasonable time. I lined up for the 7:10 start with two of my team members and chatted with them until the race started.
The start horn went off, and it took me about 21 seconds to get to the start line, which wasn't too bad. But, because there were many walkers who had lined up before me, I was dodging and weaving, getting pissed off that most of these people were walking four and five abreast and it was difficult to find a gap to run through. After the first mile, which was a labored 10:11, it got a little bit better. I swear I must have added .1 mile to the first mile just weaving. 8-0 After the aggravation of having to maneuver subsided, I felt that I was doing pretty well considering the circumstances under which I had put myself; my legs did not feel dead.
The second mile passed in a disappointing 10:01. I thought I was going faster than that. Oh well, need to pick it up a little bit if I want to break 35:00. The third mile was not very fun, because for some reason I started to feel nauseous. I don't usually feel that way during a race, and I'm not quite sure what caused it. I try to ignore the feeling and try to maintain the pace. Mile 3 passes by in 9:48. At this point I am very glad that I only have .5mi to go.
Before the straightaway the course goes uphill, and it's not that long, but I really felt like walking the dang thing. I decided against that because I really wanted to salvage this race. Then, on to Columbus for the final stretch. I can't do what I'd like and go all out because I still felt the nausea, but I try to speed up as much as I can. I finished the last .5mi in 4:24, for a watch time of 34:24 (clock time 34:45). I had accomplished the goal I set for myself, but I was still disappointed. It wasn't a PW, it was just slower than last year by about 3 ½ minutes.
After the race I picked up my finisher's t-shirt and chatted with the few coworkers who had stuck around, looked at my watch and decided I needed to hurry to get back to my office to pick up my stuff and make the 8:30 train back home. I ended up running back to work, adding another 1+ mile to my log for the day, picked up my stuff and got to the train with over 5 minutes to spare. On the train, sweaty, red-faced (I think I would've won the red-face contest!), and freezing because the AC was cranked up, I wondered why I do this race. I don't think I'll ever come up with a good reason. Maybe because I like to torture myself every once in a while. 8-)
Happy running,
Kelly
Chicago, IL
August 5, 1999
I ran the Chase Corporate Challenge 3.5mi last Thursday. I had set a modest goal of sub-35:00, thinking that, with the weather nice and "cool" by this summer's standards, I would have no problem with that. I had not run for more than a mile or two in the 1 ½ weeks prior to the race, so I also assumed that my legs would be sluggish. Unfortunately, I had also come to this race with negativity-partly due to how my running has been going, and a lot because this race is critically disorganized, mainly because of the vast amount of inexperienced participants.
Luckily I was able to spot ChiADead Rebecca before the race looming near where I was meeting my coworkers. We chatted for a while and she took a picture of my corporate team (thanks, Rebecca!), then left to go back to her team meeting place. At 6:45 the first wave of runners started, and the walkers in my team decided to jump in to the race after all of first start people had passed, so they would be able to finish at a reasonable time. I lined up for the 7:10 start with two of my team members and chatted with them until the race started.
The start horn went off, and it took me about 21 seconds to get to the start line, which wasn't too bad. But, because there were many walkers who had lined up before me, I was dodging and weaving, getting pissed off that most of these people were walking four and five abreast and it was difficult to find a gap to run through. After the first mile, which was a labored 10:11, it got a little bit better. I swear I must have added .1 mile to the first mile just weaving. 8-0 After the aggravation of having to maneuver subsided, I felt that I was doing pretty well considering the circumstances under which I had put myself; my legs did not feel dead.
The second mile passed in a disappointing 10:01. I thought I was going faster than that. Oh well, need to pick it up a little bit if I want to break 35:00. The third mile was not very fun, because for some reason I started to feel nauseous. I don't usually feel that way during a race, and I'm not quite sure what caused it. I try to ignore the feeling and try to maintain the pace. Mile 3 passes by in 9:48. At this point I am very glad that I only have .5mi to go.
Before the straightaway the course goes uphill, and it's not that long, but I really felt like walking the dang thing. I decided against that because I really wanted to salvage this race. Then, on to Columbus for the final stretch. I can't do what I'd like and go all out because I still felt the nausea, but I try to speed up as much as I can. I finished the last .5mi in 4:24, for a watch time of 34:24 (clock time 34:45). I had accomplished the goal I set for myself, but I was still disappointed. It wasn't a PW, it was just slower than last year by about 3 ½ minutes.
After the race I picked up my finisher's t-shirt and chatted with the few coworkers who had stuck around, looked at my watch and decided I needed to hurry to get back to my office to pick up my stuff and make the 8:30 train back home. I ended up running back to work, adding another 1+ mile to my log for the day, picked up my stuff and got to the train with over 5 minutes to spare. On the train, sweaty, red-faced (I think I would've won the red-face contest!), and freezing because the AC was cranked up, I wondered why I do this race. I don't think I'll ever come up with a good reason. Maybe because I like to torture myself every once in a while. 8-)
Happy running,
Kelly
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