2008 March Madness Half Marathon

March Madness Half Marathon
March 16, 2008

I ran my sixth March Madness Half Marathon a little over a week ago. My training has been pretty sporadic since the Chicago Marathon, mostly due to injury, as I finally decided to take the time to treat my sciatica problems (aka PITA) that have been plaguing me for the better part of a year. So, my goal for this race was to have fun and get out there to see others running the race.

I arrived to the race about an hour ahead of time with Brian and Paul (thanks for the ride, Paul!). We walked over to the gym to pick up our packets and then went back to the car to keep warm. The temps were in the upper 20’s and breezy. After a little bit we went back to the gym and looked around for others. Kevin stopped to say hi and to say Janeth was warming up, and then we spotted Jim, whom Paul was planning on running with. We headed over to the start line with about 10 minutes to spare. Brian and I were planning on running together and we lined up towards the back. Brian had run 20 muddy miles at Clinton Lake the day before, so he was treating this as an easy recovery run for him. We then saw Michael, exchanged good luck wishes with him, and waited as the race started shortly thereafter.

After about 40 seconds, Brian and I crossed the starting line and began our race. I warned him that this race is a “fast runner” race, and that crowds are pretty sparse in the 10-11mpm range. My plan was to make sure that we didn’t run too fast in the early miles, which is tempting as we saw the mass of runners leaving us in the dust ahead. Brian looked behind us and noted that there were maybe about 10-15 runners there. I knew that there would be plenty more behind us once we warmed up and sped up a little in the later miles. The first two went by in 10:56 and 10:58.

Once we turned onto Hickory Nut Grove, Brian mentioned that he wanted to hit the restroom at mile 2.5, so he decided to run ahead and would catch up with me after that point. My legs weren’t quite warmed up yet so I was a little concerned he would run too far ahead, stop at the restroom, and then run ahead before I even got there, so I decided to speed up a little and keep an eye on him to make sure that I didn’t lose him. Mile 3 passed by a bit faster in 10:36, and Brian caught up with me just after the bend. On this stretch there was another runner who was doing a very frequent walk/run sequence and was leap-frogging with us every minute or two, which was actually a bit distracting. I told Brian that we should speed up to pass her. I think she slowed a little, since we didn’t do much to lose her in the next mile. Miles 4 and 5 went by in 11:00 and 10:28. Mile 6 at 11:27 was a bit slower but there was also a pretty sizable hill and I think we were trying to adjust for the faster previous mile.

It was around this time that I started to feel foot pain that I actually experienced on and off since our ChiADeads training run on that same course on February 23. It was a dull ache that started on the outside of the foot and radiated towards the inside, all in the mid-foot area. It wasn’t bad enough to stop running, so I kept going and tried to focus on other things. Overall I was having a fun time running with Brian and enjoying the sunny (albeit still chilly) day. We started to speed a bit and were passing quite a few people, especially on the uphills. Miles 7, 8, and 9 went by in 10:33, 10:16, and 9:55, respectively. Not bad!

In spite of the lingering foot pain, I was still feeling pretty good. Then we got to the big hill at 9.5 and powered up that, leaving about 10-15 runners (all except one of whom were walking) in the dust. :-) With that hill and the water station (Shot Blok break for me), the split was slower at 10:54. The next mile was 10:34…and only two miles to go!

As we turned onto Mink from Rawson Bridge, my foot felt a bit worse and took me a little by surprise. Ugh! We had to slow down a little on this stretch and saw mile 12 with a 10:43 split. By then I was in the zone and wanted the race to be done at that point because of the foot pain (didn’t want to make things worse), so we sped up and the pain stabilized as the endorphins kicked in. ;-) We got back onto Three Oaks and pushed harder, see mile 13’s 9:57 (good!) and push towards the finish. Brian, always the gentleman :-), let me go through the finish chute first -- one of the very few times I have/will finish ahead of him in a race! -- with a finish time of 2:19:12 (officially 2:19:52). Not a PR, but a solid, well-executed effort nonetheless! We met up with Paul and Jim near the finish and congratulated them on their PR performances. It looks like everyone had a great race, as later on in the gym, I found out that Michael got a PR and that Janeth won overall female! Great job, guys!

Afterwards we met up at Panera Bread for a post-race lunch. Then Paul drove me and Brian home. After the race I was limping a bit, so I iced my foot, took some ibuprofen and then took a nice, long nap. :-)

My next race is the Shamrock Shuffle, but I won’t be racing it. Since I’ll be running with Brian in the last 10 miles of the Clinton Lake 30 miler the day before, I have a hunch my legs will be a bit sore from all the hills. It should be a fun-filled weekend!

2008 P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon

PF Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
Phoenix/Scottsdale/Tempe, AZ
January 13, 2008

I ran the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon on Sunday. I didn't have any PR expectations for this race since I got really, REALLY lazy over the holidays with my training. In the 14 weeks since the Chicago Heatathon, here are my training stats:

• I ran 23 times with an average of 11 miles per week
  
• I ran 10 long runs, with only 1 run over 12 miles – the 20-miler with Paul a few weeks back
  
• There was just one week where I actually ran 4 times and stuck to my schedule

I contemplated switching to the half marathon instead, but because I had a pretty decent long run with Paul, I figured I would give it a shot. It would be a low-pressure, “walk-if-I-need-to” race. I decided that I would be happy with a sub-5 hour finish. I wanted to start out a little aggressively with the pace to bank a little time, and then see how things went later on. I don’t usually like to run a race like this (my marathon PR was a 1:xx minute negative split), but I knew I would be slowing down towards the end.

Saturday night came, and I actually started getting pretty nervous about the race. Luckily I had been at my dad’s house for a couple of days and had gotten plenty of sleep on the two nights before. I woke up every hour until the alarm went off at 4:30am. My dad and his girlfriend, Jane, and I left at 5:15am to get to the race start in downtown Phoenix. They live in Sun City West, so it took about 50 minutes to get there. We parked and killed time by walking around and then when it was time we headed over to the start corrals. They wished me luck and I made my way into the corral and stood next to a guy dressed as Elvis. Of course I had to get a picture taken of him and me. ;-)

At 7:40am the race started and off we went. Unlike Chicago, it only took a couple of minutes to cross the start line (only 6500 runners in the marathon compared to the 20,000 half marathoners). We headed north on 7th Ave. after about a half mile and we would stay on this road until mile 5. During these miles my legs felt a little stiff and my shins felt tight. I know it usually takes about 3 miles for my body to get warmed up, so I wasn’t worried about it. This time it took 4 miles. My splits were 10:40, 10:54, 10:34, and 10:55.

Then things started to feel smooth and I passed by mile 5 in 9:51. Nice! I actually surprised myself with a sub-10:00 split. We turned right onto Missouri, which carried us through the next few miles. I felt pretty good, I was in good spirits, and I was actually closing in on the 4:30 pace group. The bands and the cheer squads that were out there made it fun, too. My pace hovered around 10mpm in middle part of the race. I felt like I was in cruise control. It was fun seeing Camelback Mountain in the distance, too, knowing that I would be hiking there in a few days. I also eventually passed the 4:30 pace group. I still assumed that they would eventually pass me later on, but I figured I could push a little harder and try to delay that passing. ;-) Miles 6-13 were clocked at 10:06, 10:12, 10:13, 9:55, 10:31, 10:10, 9:46, and 10:04. The only negative thing at this point was that my PITA (sciatica) started hurting, just a little, at around mile 8. Luckily it wasn’t a big issue and didn’t affect my stride or slow me down too much.

I pass the halfway point at 2:14:52, which I was ecstatic about, to say the least! The time flew by and I was still on cruise control. Miles 14 and 15 were still at a pretty good pace, 10:00 and 10:07. Then my race changed…it wasn’t really a wall. I guess my lack of training finally had caught up with me. I was starting to hurt a little, but I tried to run as much as I could. I still was only walking at the aid stations, just a little longer this time. My dad and Jane had found themselves near the mile 21 marker, so I had that to look forward to over the next miles while I passed through Scottsdale. Miles 16-20 splits were 11:06, 10:42, 10:43, 10:21, and 10:43. During this stretch the 4:30 group passed by me for good, which I was fine with. I didn’t even try to speed up to hang onto them. As I was turning left onto McDowell from Scottsdale Road, I saw my dad and Jane, who were all smiles. I stopped briefly for hugs and a picture and then continued on. At this point I was doing the math to estimate how much I could slow down and still come in under 4:45 – a time I thought was a really optimistic but unrealistic goal I had in mind in the days leading up to the race. It’s amazing how much number crunching make the miles pass by and you don’t even realize it. ;-) Miles 21-24 were 11:31, 10:44, 11:19, and 11:30.

Yep, I was definitely slowing down. Strangely, though, I was fine with it. I knew at this point I would definitely come in under 4:45, so I took time to take pictures and enjoy the bands I was passing by. Turning onto University Drive, now in Tempe, I passed mile 25 in 11:42 -- my slowest mile but still under 12! – and then finally mile 26 in 11:26. Only .2 to go! I pulled out my camera to take more pictures, and then this woman, a fellow marathon participant, offers to take a picture of me with my camera. At first I declined because I felt guilty for slowing her down, but she insisted. I handed her my camera and then she ran up ahead and snapped a picture, gave the camera back, we exchanged congrats, and then she headed to the finish. I took a few more pictures in the final stretch and then crossed the finish line with a time of 4:38:04! (Last .2mi was 2:19)

After I finished, I called my dad and told him where to find me and then we headed back to Sun City West to shower and nap before heading back out to see Kool and the Gang at the post-race concert. :-)

Of the 10 marathons I’ve run, I believe this is the 4th fastest marathon. Needless to say, I am very happy (and amazed) with the result. This race was a lot of fun -- perfect weather, really flat, and different scenery than I usually see living in the Midwest. It was great getting supportive GO KELLY text messages from Paul (thanks, Paul!), along with a couple of phone calls from Brian (thanks, Brian!). I am also glad that my dad and Jane were a part of it, too. They enjoyed cheering for all of the runners and their day passed by just as quickly as mine.

Having a race like this definitely gets 2008 off to a good start! My next target race is the March Madness Half…once I get back in town I’ll need to climb back on the consistency bandwagon and do some real training to get myself back in PR shape!

Here are some pictures I took during the race:
Kelly's Marathon Photos

1999 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon

LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon
Chicago, IL
October 24, 1999

I ran the Chicago Marathon yesterday and enjoyed every single minute of it. And even though I knew I wasn't going to PR this year, I wanted to run a smart race and have fun along the way. My goal was to finish "around" 5 hours; it didn't even have to be under, just in the vicinity of that time. Based on my really lazy training for this race, I wanted to be realistic. I think I had maybe 3 LSD's that were 15 miles or longer. Yuck.

Anyway, after hanging out with ChiADeads at the "hospitality suite" (thanks, Chris and Kim), I headed over to the team challenge tent to locate my fellow marathon team members. I found only one of them, and hung out with her until close to the start. She was supposed to meet her training partner for the race (her first marathon), and didn't find her. :-( I ran over to the start, around the 5:00 pace people, and the horn sounded shortly after.

The start was slow, but once I passed the start line mat, I was able to run freely. It only took me 13:05 to get to the start line. 8-0 This was the only indicator of the major increase in participants this year. Otherwise, the course was crowded but not packed, so I was able to keep the pace I wanted to throughout.

I started out slow, in fact, the first three miles were my slowest string of miles, and sped up a little bit from there. My splits are kind of all over the place from about 10:51mpm to 11:39mpm, but I attribute that to water stations, where I took a short walking break to drink the water and/or suck down GU. Those, luckily, were the only walking breaks I took. :-)

I won't go into too much detail about the course, only that the course support and aid station volunteers were great. Some highlights were the Frontrunners', the gay and lesbian running club, aid station with the beautiful shimmering mini-skirted male cheerleaders and a pair of life-sized purple Tinky-Winky Teletubbies :-), Elvis, the balloon arch at the halfway point, the Penguin aid station (thanks for the hug, Tom!), the many bands along the entire course, the smell of tortillas in Pilsen (yum), the Chinese dragon in Chinatown, the REALLY LOUD EAR PIERCING band at Comiskey Park, the DRS/ChiADead sign at mile 24 (but no Penny :-( ), the infamous McCormick Place tunnel, the big, blue inflated gorilla just before the "mile to go" sign, the skyline at multiple points of the course, and the hike up the "hill" before the last .2, and of course, the finish was just AWESOME. The race, with all of this stuff, went by so fast.

My finishing time was 4:54:13 chip time and 5:07:19 clock time. Better than expected. Also, my second half was 1:14 faster than the first--a negative split race--yay! So, although this was about 16 minutes slower than last year, it was a real success for me, considering my training. I won all mental battles, only walked to take in water, and was in a great mood the entire way. I already can't wait until next year. :-)

BTW, congratulations to ChiADeads Dave, Chris, Melita on your first marathon, and Prescott (and Melita) for the Boston qualifiers, Karl for the awesome PR, and all of you others who ran great races. You all ROCK!

1999 Park Forest Scenic 10

Park Forest Scenic 10
Park Forest, IL
September 6, 1999

Here is another brief report of the Park Forest Scenic 10 (sorry it's really late!):

Well, this is probably my favorite race aside from the Chicago Marathon, and not on was the community out cheering the runners on again, but I also had the pleasure of meeting up with fellow ChiADeads and Penguins at this race. And the weather was great, too.

I didn't have any expectations speedwise at this race, I just wanted to have fun. I figured an easy 11:00mpm pace would be good to start with, and then see what happens. Before the race I was able to chat with several ChiADeads and the Head Penguin and family. I started out running with Dead Chrys and she went on ahead after a couple of miles. I still wanted to hold back a little bit until I knew that I wasn't going to bomb later on.

As others have said, the support and entertainment is great at this race. If you want to come to Chicago for a race, this is definitely one to shoot for!

After about 5 miles, I started to speed up, and felt great for the rest of the race. I finished in 1:43:54 watch time (1:44:58 clock time), a bit faster than my goal, which made me happy. Also, my second half was about 3 minutes faster than my first. I felt great, legs fresh, smile on my face (as indicated by my almost embarassingly smiley face in the picture that Chris Huffman took!) This race went by so fast for me, it was such a blast.

Afterwards I was able to meet up with ChiADeads and Penguins for a while to watch the awards and eat my very fattening Fannie May ice cream bar (yum). Overall, I had quite a good day!

Now, on to this weekend, where I get to meet up with ChiADeads again and run the Chicago Half Marathon. I'm looking forward to it!

Kelly

1999 Cornfest 10k

Cornfext 10k
DeKalb, IL
August 28, 1999

Last Saturday I ran the Cornfest 10k in DeKalb, IL. I had two plans for this race. If, after about 2-3 miles I felt good, I would make a strong effort and try to PR; if I felt that it wasn't going well, I would slow down and take it easy. The next day I would be running an 18 mile LSD, so if the race wasn't going well, I would then not trash myself for the LSD. My goal was sub-59:48, which is my current PR.

On Saturday morning I made the 45 mile trek to DeKalb-a pretty boring drive on country roads through corn fields. I made it to Christie's apartment by 7:20am, and we left for the race shortly after that. The weather was probably in the mid-70's with high humidity. Not good race conditions. Christie and I ran about a ½ mile for a warmup and the 8:30am starting time came fast and we were off. Christie went ahead (we ran together last year, but she's gotten a bit faster and I've gotten a little slower), and I stayed behind, trying to aim for a 9:45-9:50 mpm for the first few miles.

Well, by the third mile, which was 10:08 and actually felt like a 9:45 mile, I decided to take it easy the rest of the race to conserve my legs for the LSD. It was just too dang hot. I swear it felt like the temp was near 80 degrees or more, but I could have been imagining it because of the high humidity and the blazing sun. Lots of people were walking, which is always infectious when conditions are not good. Though, I really like this race for its community support which was evident during the race this year-I think I saw at least 10 sprinklers set up along the way so we runners could cool down, and some residents were out cheering. During the last mile I was blessed with the presence of local speedster Penguin/Dead Tom Soliday, who ran with me for a few minutes-thanks, Tom! Also, I know I saw ChiADead Chrys Knight during the race-we were close to each other throughout the entire race, but I didn't want to bother her because she was wearing headphones and looked like she was "in the zone," as we all were, just trying to survive!

When I saw the high school, near the finish, I sped up a little, leaving some space between myself and the person in front of me so that ChiADead Ken Wilson (who was working the finish line) could spot me ;-), and finished in 1:44:44 (1:44:49 clock), which is a few seconds faster than my PW. As I was finishing, Ken announced "And there's #52, Chicago Area Dead Kelly Roe, who ran the Bird Attack 10k two weeks ago!" Cool! Thanks, Ken!

I found Christie after the race-she also was about 3-4 minutes off her goal time-and we chowed on the post-race goomies. I also saw Tom Soliday again and we chatted for a little bit, and went over to the finish line again to chat with Ken. All in all, despite the really poor performance, I had fun.

After the race, Christie and I spruced up and then headed over to the Cornfest, and ate some free corn and walked around. It was definitely not a good day for racing-even while we were standing around I was sweating like crazy. I spent a little over an hour there and then headed home. Yep, the race was a bomb, but I had fun anyway. :-)