FOOTnotes: Pre-race Routine

*Julia, I promise I'll be posting a belated FOOTnotes for the pictures, I just couldn't get out on my normal trail!*

This week's topic is Pre-race Routines. We all have them, and sometimes it takes a bit to figure out what works and what doesn't.

Day before
1. I pick out a race outfit, and then a back up, just in case, especially if the weather is iffy.
2. I eat something I know for lunch. Either a big sandwich from Jimmy John's (or other sandwich shop) or I order a big pizza and eat that for lunch and dinner, sans hot sauce (I cry a single tear when I don't get hot sauce on my pizza).
3. I put everything I need gadget-wise in one place. Garmin. Body Glide. RoadID. Key. Money. ID. etc.
4. I take it easy, relax, watch some movies, read, and get into bed as early as possible. Doesn't matter what I'm doing, but I get in there to decompress and get to sleep easy.

Morning of
I wake up about 2-2.5 hours before race time. I take my morning slowly, go sit on the toilet for some pooping action, brush my teeth, nothing out of the ordinary.
I turn on the news and just have it in the background. I eat an english muffin with almond butter and nutella or a slightly smaller than normal breakfast cookie with a bit of almond butter on top. I drink a big glass of water, get dressed and ready, stop in the bathroom again, and get going.
Once I'm at the race I just check stuff out, get in line for the bathroom, and then go hang out in my corral. I turn my Garmin on early, cuz it sucks and takes forever to pick up the satellities, to make sure it's all ready.
Then it's race time and I just have fun!

I keep it pretty chill, nothing fancy. I don't want to psych myself out!

So, what is YOUR pre-race routine?

Race Report: 13.1 Chicago Half Marathon 2011

When: Saturday, June 4, 2011
Where: Chicago, IL
# of finishers: 130 (officially), couple thousand (unofficially)
Garmin time: 2:39:27
Chip time: n/a
# of potty breaks: zero!!!
Overall place: n/a
Gender place: n/a
Age Group place: n/a

extra stats:
temperature at start (7:13am): 78*
temperature at 8:51am: 84* (red flagged)
temperature at 9:15am: 86* (black flagged)
humidity that morning: high. really high. can’t find a number, but it was high.
gallons of water i drank during race: at least 1
gallons of water i splashed on myself during race: 3…million
gallons of powerade drank: half gallon or slightly less
number of times i splashed water all over my phone: 8
amount of fun i had: infinite

I think all those stats tell you how it went. I was really hoping for the stars to align and let me have a great race and make it in around the 2:15 mark. I knew it wasn’t going to happen and I didn’t want to admit it. Until the day before when I read an email from the race director stating that the extreme heat conditions are less than ideal and they were adding aid stations, a misting station, iced drinks at an aid station, and handing out ice cold towels at mile 7. It was then I had to admit to myself that I wasn’t going to PR and I decided to have some fun. And fun was had.

The course is an out and back starting and ending at the South Shore Cultural Center in Jackson Park. The SSCC is AWESOME. President Obama got married there. And it’s on the lake and pretty and I want to go back. We started out running through Jackson Park on the street, then went to a trail, then ran through a park behind the Museum of Science and Industry, then finally made it’s way to the Lake Front Path. We headed north to 40th-ish to turn back around and bring it on home.

I took it slow. I brought my handheld water bottle. I walked whenever I felt like it and ran when I felt like. I walked at every water station, drinking at least one cup of water and one cup of Powerade (usually more). I also splashed water on myself during the aid stations. And can I just say the Powerade during races is SO MUCH BETTER than Gatorade. It’s not like drinking sugar, no need to water it down, and my tummy doesn’t hurt. I got passed by a lot of people in the first 5 miles and then I was passing people left and right. So many people were burnt out and walking and looked miserable. Maybe it’s just me but I had a GREAT time. I had FUN. I embraced the heat and listened to my body, which I know is hard for runners to do. I finished strong, I ran the entire last mile and there were far more walkers in the last mile than runners.

Overall, 13.1 gets 5 million thumbs up from me. From the way they handled the heat, the insane number of volunteers, the course, the entertainment, the race support, the location, the medals, the awesome start corrals and waves, the post race party was professional and very well managed. They still handed out medals even though the race was called. The volunteers and staff were still out. The photographers were still out. The Windy City Challenge is still on. And then they gave all runners who crossed the start line a code for 50% off next year’s registration. You can bet I used that sucker. $35 plus $5 of fees. Even if I end up not running for whatever reason I won’t feel bad. This is the first race I stayed at the post race party. First race I signed up for again so quickly.

And now it’s time for the awesome race photos…

 

somewhere in mile 11                 very happy michelob ultra turned into bud light

not sure where this was. 9ish.                 10.5 or so.

my shorts and bra match the bib.            forefoot strike! around mile 4 or so.

finishing! wish i wasn’t being blocked.      finishers photo. i’m soaked.

 

i think this is my favorite!                        mile 11.5. walking in the sun.

finish line fuel.                              my fav sign. i think he’s at all Chicago races

cold water. really cold Lake Michigan Water. felt amazing.

 

things that make me happy: awesome medals, bright blue bibs, bud light

 

*Disclaimer: I received a complimentary race entry for 13.1 Chicago in exchange for a review of my honest opinion. I can guarantee that everything I wrote are my own thoughts and views on the race. I promise, this race was awesome and I loved it. I received no compensation for this review.

I ran with Bart! (plus a giveaway)

Yes, I met, ran with, chatted with, and hung out with Bart Yasso. It was awesome and I am very happy that Puma teamed up and got him in Chicago! Bart (we're on a first name basis) is totally cool and down to earth and funny too! He even told a dirty dirty joke talking about a nude 5k he ran.

After the run portion of the evening we came back to the store and ate some pizza, drank some (or a lot of) water, Puma gave away some prizes and then we lined up to get free copies of Bart's book signed!

And lucky for you I waited to be one of the last people and there were extra books! I asked Bart if I could have an extra book and have it signed to giveaway and he said "Go right ahead!".

To enter:
MANDATORY
1. Leave me a comment answering this: If you could meet anybody and get their autograph, who would it be? You can tell me why if you want!
2. Become a follower of my blog and let me know in a comment. If you already follow just let me know!

EXTRA ENTRIES
3. Follow me on Twitter @Running_Nina. Leave a comment.
4. Tweet about the giveaway, please make sure to include @Running_Nina in it. Leave me a comment!
5. Add this giveaway to your blog either in a post or on your giveaway page/list. Leave me a comment.
6. Leave a comment asking a question you'd like me to answer or a topic you'd like me to cover in a blog post. (Minimal running, cross training, massage therapy, what's my favorite color, etc) Doesn't have to be running related!

So there you have it, up to 6 entries to win a signed copy of Bart Yasso's book! You have until 11:59pm on Tuesday July 5th to enter. Winner will be drawn and announced Wednesday July 6th!

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Race Report: Soldier Field 10 miler 2011

 

When: Saturday, May 28, 2011
Where: Chicago, IL
# of finishers: 12,313
Garmin time: ~1:42:30
Chip time: 1:42:44
# of potty breaks: zero
Overall place: 7833
Gender place: 3731/6965
Age Group place: 315/513

Ah, running my first race again. SF10 holds a dear place in my heart since it really is the first race I’ve ever actually run (I’ve walked a few 5ks before this). It makes me sad that I won’t be able to run it next year (best friend is getting married the night before, not very good for running a race the next morning.)

Well, let’s get to the recap now shall we?

First off, I must say, much improved from last year, especially the medals. The ribbon could still use some improvement but this year’s medal definitely kicks last year’s medal in the butt. Also a great touch, the finishers blanket. (Picture below).

The course was *slightly* different than last year. For some odd reason we ran across Lake Shore Drive and then back across less than a mile later. (Last year was just a straight shot down Lake Shore Drive and then back up on the trail.) Not sure what the reasoning was for that, maybe to help prevent bunching up on the skinny trail later…? We still ran through McCormick place, aka, where everybody’s Garmins lose signal and are messed up throughout the rest of the race. (McCormick place is within the first mile.) It’s also super annoying because it is dark in there. You can’t see all that well and then when you come out you are practically blinded since you go from darky dark to BRIGHT daylight. Seriously, they need to figure out a way to not run through there. I’m back in 2013, they better have it figured out by then. I know some people really hate the course because it doesn’t really allow for spectators in the first half and then it narrows down in the second half, but since it’s (for the most part) my every day running trail, I like it.

Aid support was great, as was last year. Stations approximately every 2 miles, and I believe with toilets at each, though I could be wrong as I didn’t really pay attention.

Post race was NOT as good as last year. Less vendors/booths which means less free samples of stuff. We didn’t get free samples from anywhere this year. We think only 1 place was actually handing out stuff and there was a line far too long to stand in.

Running wise, this wasn’t a great race for me. I tied my shoe too tight, my foot fell asleep, my left calf got cramped and I couldn’t run it out. I had to stop 3 times in the first 4 miles and I was just over it pretty quickly. I definitely slowed Mary down a lot, I’m just glad she didn’t want to actually race this (which was why she ran with me in the first place.) We can’t PR them all! I also didn’t want to push too much since coming up in 7 days was a half marathon…I wanted to be fresh for that and PR! (Little did I know…)

hey cameraman! look at me!

 
thumbs up-ing the camera

yay for finishing!

 
heading in for the finish!

 
finishers medal. awesome.

stadium blanket for finishers and medals are Rex approved.

I Survived...

It took me a while, 2:39:27, but I finished despite the race being black flagged. Took it slow the entire race and kept hydrated like no other. I am soaking wet from the gallons of water I poured on myself but I am happy! Also happy that the Michelob Ultra beer we were going to get turned to Bud Light (it's all Anheuser-Busch anyways).

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