Notes
got out a bit hot having started with the half marathoners as well, so i pulled back and found a good group to run with. They were pegging of splits that were a little faster than the 650 pace i planned, but I held on because it was better than running with no one at all. One by one the pack started to thin and at 17 or so it was just me. Up to this point my joints were pretty sore but everything else was still clicking (eg lungs, muscles, form). Earlier, around the half, i had a little gut rot, but it became manageable and soon disappeared. my thought process was to at least hold this pace and stay as comfortable as possible. I slowly started picking ppl off and with 5k left I realized I might be able to pr. Then with 1 mi left I was totally in pr range. So I put on the burners, broke 6 min in the last mile and it felt pretty damn good. I need to so crazy recovery but I'm Chicago ready!
i also went through two packets of the honey stinger chews and they worked swimmingly.
The course itself was pancake flat and beautiful farm land that somehow hosted foggy mountains nearby despite the course profile. not to mention the weather was perfect and overcast for the majority.