You may have seen last week that I got an entry into the Rock n Roll Chicago Half for spreading the word about Humana’s cool sponsorship activities. It felt a bit like a booby prize when I saw the weather forecast of super hot, humid weather after the mild beginning to summer. I typically don’t register for this race because of the potential for hot, sticky weather and because even though RnR races have great swag and music, etc, they are pretty expensive.
I decided given the forecast that the aim for the race was fun and staying safe/healthy. I ran down to the expo to get my number and race goodies on Saturday. It was a fun water fountain to water fountain 7 miler with friends. We ran past the RnR 5K so I grabbed a photo and looked everywhere for Meb. No Meb – though I did see the Meb head pace signs. I made it to McCormick about 15 minutes early, changed into my dry clothes and chatted with folks on the line.
The EXPO Experience
The expo was pretty great! I got my number and cute Brooks tech shirt. There were some awesome Brooks stations for gait analysis and shoe customizations. I chatted up my friends at CEP and got some new Ultralite sleeves and socks to try out. I won a tech tee for The Husband and a sweepstakes entry for Westin. I chatted with the Wigwam rep and scored another pair for my growing collection. I discussed my love of Kona Cola with the Nuun guys and scored a water bottle. I then went over to check out the Pack-It from Eagle Creek. This is an awesome solution for running travel – a wet dry pack to store your clothes on the road. They also had one for shoes. The expo price was a steal so I bought one. I got some Larabar samples, too!
Then, I went over to the huge Humana booth. As promised, they had a health quiz (I rocked it!), a big selfie camera for signs, a video chat booth, a BMI tester (which involved getting weighed – I passed on that one) and more. The staff was super friendly and they had all sorts of goodies. They were also signing folks up for the Humana Vitality Squad. I had already signed up. They had water bottles and other goodies for folks who tried out the various activities. There was a little something for everyone.
Blogger Meet Up
I also saw that ProCompression, We Run Social and Protein Bar were hosting a meet up at Protein Bar. I hustled over there to meet Kimberly and Jenn and also got to meet organizers Greg and Stephanie among others. I love the opportunity to meet social media and blogger “friends” in real life. I enjoyed my coffee and talk and then headed home with my expo haul.
The Race
The afternoon on Saturday cooled off, so I was hopeful when I went outside on race day. And… well… it was beautiful out my window and STICKY even at 5:30 AM. I headed downtown in an Uber and got there in a flash. There were tons of porta-potties and the baggage system was clever (by alphabet and number so that no one line would expect a crowd at any one time.) Nice work, RnR!
I dropped my bag, found Anne and her friend Bonnie. Then I met Kristen for a quick selfie and high five.
I headed over to the corral (I was in #3) and met some nice folks while we were waiting. I took a snap of my new CEP Compression Ultralite sleeves that my friends CEP convinced me to try. I was already sweating. The race start went off every minute by corral.
I took off at a comfortable pace and was very surprised to see that mile 1 was 7:15. I was planning to run 8 minute miles. I slowed down but since I was with a fast corral, I made it to the 5K mark in ~7:30/mile pace. I was already dripping sweat. TMI?
I realized that I could try to keep up this pace, but that I would probably pay for it in the end. I settled into about a 7:50/7:55 pace and chatted with a man named Jim. Some folks were grouching that there were not enough bands in the early miles. I had not noticed. I was focused on water and mile markers. I missed some markers.
Before I knew it, I was half way done. There was still some breeze and shade in the city parts of the course. I was SO glad this was not the full lake front course as those runs have NO shade. There was only one effective water mister around Mile 5. The others were pretty weak. Less than half way there was a water stop that seemed to be running low on water. I was in corral 3. That was not a good sign! Somewhere along the way, I saw Wendy and Susana and got some needed cheers.
I got to Mile 10 and tried to remember that 5K is not that far. My goal was to keep going with a positive attitude and no heat stroke. I decided to slow down a bit but I still felt like I was going with the flow of traffic and even passing people. It was that kind of day.
I got to the Humana Vitality Squad’s “Humana’s Inspiration Mile” and I knew there was only a mile to go. I looked for personalized virtual cheers, but I didn’t really see the screen. To be honest, I just enjoyed the energy and cheers of the ton of real folks there from Humana. The water and Gatorade were a big help, too. Thanks, Humana Vitality Squad for coming out in droves!
I won’t lie, the last mile seemed to go on and on. I crossed the line happily and without need of medical attention. That was my goal for the day given the conditions. I downed a water, picked up my bag and called Finds’ friend, Jeffrey L. We planned to meet up and found each other quickly. He crushed the race winning his age group and finishing ahead of his goal for the day given the conditions. It was so fun to meet him IRL! We went back and got more water and a Popsicle and took a photo.
I tracked friends and met Diane and Kristen. We headed off to get some coffee and meet Dave and their dog, Frankie. There was an big post race party, too, but we opted out for a bit of a catch up instead.
This was my slowest half in a few years, but I was not disappointed. I ran it smart and finished with a smile and with no heatstroke. The weather shows in my placement. I finished in 1:44.02 (7:57/mile). I was 474/12025 overall, 130/7171 women and 8/798 women 40-44.
All in all, I had a great morning. When it comes to hot weather running, it is all about expectations for me. I am grateful to Humana and Fifluential for this opportunity to enjoy a fun, steamy 13.1 with the RnR spirit.
This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Humana.