After two months of training, 3/30 was the day for my first 8k race. I woke up at 5 am on a Sunday, which is usually the time I get up during the week for work. I wolfed down a oatmeal raisin power bar, a banana, and a liter of water. For clothes, I wore my new black thermal headband (which covered my entire forehead and kept my ears warm), black mesh shorts, a mesh black long sleeve t-shirt, and over that, my green sleeveless "Play Like a Jet" shirt. I grabbed my Mets hoodie and drove to the Bartlett train station.
I was pretty surprised that 20 people were waiting to board the same train I was. It was still pretty cold outside, close to 30 degrees, nothing like the 60 degrees. I had seen in the forecast. So I was sitting down and this cute redhead walks by me and says hello. I must have been half asleep because I just said hi and didn't think twice about it. Two days later, I found out it was a girl I'd met on Valentine's Day and hadn't seen since. I was wondering when I was going to see her again; I guess God does have a sense of humor!
So I arrived at Union Station around 7:15. There were no buses going east to Grant Park so I walked the one mile down Jackson Street to the red gear check in station. The sun was starting to come out so I decided to shed the hoodie. I stretched for maybe ten minutes and drank two small cups of water and lemon-lime Gatorade. Around 8:10, I headed to Start Corrale A, which was the second group to begin, behind the Elite runners. We were all packed in really tight. I stood in place for maybe 20 minutes, just counting down the minutes. I kept trying to move around to stay loose. Mentally, I felt pretty ready, but it was still something I had never done before. After the National Anthem, we were ready to go.
My goal was to complete the 4.97 mile course i under 40 minutes. In the first mile, a lot of runners passed me, but I was just trying to keep a good pace. I did not want to wear myself out early. My big concern was I couldn't breather through my nose after the first half mile. Maybe I should have worn a Breathe Right strip. The first two miles went pretty quickly, but going from 2 to 3 seemed to take a little longer. I ran all three of those miles in about 7:30 each, so I felt good about my pace. Between 3 and 4, I was keeping my pace, but my legs started to get heavy. I needed to see that 4 mile sign. I had to know when there was one mile left. On Michigan Ave, I saw it and I felt that little extra life kicking in. At that moment, I was playing Metalingus, an Alter Bridge song, which was also Edge's theme music in WWE. Then, I played songs from Rocky, which always gives me an extra gear. I made a left on Michigan and went uphill and then downhill over a bridge. Then, I made one last left turn, taking me into the southern entrance of Grant Park. I could see the finish line about a half mile out.
With Gonna Fly Now playing at near full volume, I had to find one last charge. I had kept my pace the whole race, but I hadn't sprinted. After running at that pace for about ten seconds, I knew it was time to turn it on. I let out a primal scream and took towards the finish. It seemed so far way, but I knew every step would get me closer. Finally, I crossed that finish mat and I nearly collapsed. I could walk, but my legs didn't want to move. I ate a banana and drank a bottle of water as I slowly paced down Columbus St.
I picked up my gear, had my picture taken, and I went into the post-ace party. I redeemed my ticket for my free Michelob Ultra beer and drank while I stood on line waiting for a massage. Both of them hit the spot! My left calf was strained and my right Achilles felt tight. Other than that, I was okay. I also grabbed a cheeseburger and drank another beer before heading back down Jackson. there were other people I knew running the race, but I had no idea where they were. So I just grabbed the 12:30 train and went home. That hot shower felt so good!
My final time was 35:01, which put me around 1,260 out over over 40,000 participants. Not bad at all.
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