Notes
A lot of frustrating things happened right before the race. We got down to the Museum of Science and Industry just before 6AM and pulled into the underground lot. As we did this, we realized both our wallets were in the other car at home. We did a turn around and actually found a decent spot on the street not far from the museum. At this point, we still had 90 minutes till race time. About 70 minutes till the start, Kelly went to find a bathroom. She came back 40 minutes later. I couldn't leave the car because she needed to get back in, so I just sat there waiting. The problem was that the port o potties were very far away and there was a long line. It's now 30 minutes till race time and I need to warm up and use the bathroom too. I ran towards the starting line and couldn't believe how far it was from the car. There was a huge port o potty area but there were about 30 people lined up at each. I had no other option than to get in line and wait. About 5 minutes till start I got in and took care of business. I got out and headed to the start. Turns out the start was still a ways away. There was a massive amount of people still waiting to use the John's and then I hear the starter say "One minute till start." It's also pouring rain the entire time and flooding everywhere. I had to run across this muddy field covered in an inch of water. I still can't see the exact location of the line, so I'm just following the masses of people. I end up getting in the back of the coral. I'm freaking out because the gun is about to blow and I'm still a 1/4 mile from the start with the 3 hour group. I'm trying to work my way through people and I hear the gun go off. Now I step out of the coral and sprint up the side and get back in 30 yards from the line. I cross I the line and start my watch and then begin to dodge through all the slow people. The first mile and a half were crazy as I kept taking choppy strides to get around everyone. I have no idea how long it's been since the gun sounded, but I was real irritated. This is the worst race start ever. I went thru the first mile in 5:36 and try to get relaxed and just find a rhythm. The rain was a constant downpour the entire race. I was clipping off consistent miles in the 5:30s and feeling good as I kept moving up thru the pack. Just before the 5 mile mark they had us do a hairpin! What the HELL! I could see the front runners coming the other way and saw a guy in a NCC jersey. I'm nearly blind without my glasses and wasn't thinking sharp, so I actually thought it was this older guy Dan who I did track club workouts with years ago and saw at this race the last time I ran it 4 years ago. At 5 miles we headed North on Lake Shore Drive into a good head wind/rain. At 7 miles my watch said I was 5:59. No way, the marker has to be off. Sure enough, my split at 8 miles was 5:14, so I'm still on track. Just before 9 miles the course turned and came back on the other side of the street. I saw who I thought was Dan again. He was now about 80 yards ahead and I was closing in. At this point I was starting to feel a bit tired but my pace was staying consistent. I think I had a 15K and 10 mile PR in there. By 10 miles I was about 25 yards back from Dan and a little annoyed I hadn't caught him yet. I was also thinking about how I would be farther ahead had I not started late. At this point I was really looking forward to each mile marker. When we went through 9 miles I thought "OK, just like coming back from 4 Lakes. Hit these last 4 hard and finish strong." That attitude was working well for the first 2 of the last 4. At 11, I was getting tight. The last 2 miles seemed so long. We got to 12 and I really thought it might be 13 and maybe I hadn’t seen the 12 mile mark because it seemed to take so long to get there. Now I just had a mile left but my body was hurting. They had markers at 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4 mile to go. To me, they seemed way off. They were each so far apart, but it was probably just me being totally drained. I finished the race and staggered a bit. Just then I saw Brian Scott. Suddenly I felt like a big idiot for not realizing it was him in the NCC jersey. I was also really impressed with how well he ran after not being able to do much the last 2 months. That just made it more frustrating I was late to start. We could have ran together.
I'm frustrated about how things started but I'm actually happy about my effort and getting a personal best time (or 3, if you count 15K and 10 mile too). It was the best I could do under those conditions. I want to do another one this fall. I know I can do better than this and want to do it now.
After the race, I ran about 5 more miles looking for Kelly. She finished in 1:47. I couldn't believe that. She was so sick and unable to do any running 3 out of the last 4 weeks.