Unscheduled Run

At the last moment I decided I wanted to run again this weekend. One of my Mt. Vernon Running Buddies mentioned a 5k in Mansfield so I decided to go. While looking at that race and some others I kept replaying the Cleveland run. What could I have done differently to get a better time? I was just under a 10 min pace which I was happy with for not running for so long, but really the goal is to be under 2 hours.

Needless to say I was back on-line looking at other half marathons for this weekend. There was the Carmel half, but the temps were scheduled to be much higher so that didn't sound appealing. Humm, what's this? There is a race in Chicago? I love Chicago! From there I started looking at the course, checking the cost, etc.

I decided to run simply because of the fact that as an athlete if you have what you perceive as a poor performance, you immediately want to get back out and improve on it. It's a mental thing. You could can be told you did a great job by everyone you know, but unless you think you did, it doesn't matter.

So here I am in Chicago hotel room. The pasta has been eaten, the small workout has been completed, the clothes have been laid out and now the second guessing begins. What did I do right in Cleveland? Do I wear the Kinvara or the Ride 3? Do I have enough GU? Should I wear the runners belt?

Needless to say, I will be going to bed early as the race starts at 7:30 and I have to drive 15 minutes to try to find some public parking. I'm sure I will wake up a few times and run the race in my head. I have watched the video of the course a few times.  It is fairly flat (similar to Cleveland), but there is one steep hill at mile 7. The playlist for my ipod is ready and I have the song set for when I should hit the hill.

The goal for tomorrow is to break 2 hours, but realistically, that wont happen. I would like to cut about 6 minutes off my time and get down to about a 9:30 pace.  Stay tuned for the actual results.

Now I need to brag on Running Away Multisport (the folks putting on the event). This event didn't have an expo but the package pick-up was very smooth and fast at one of their stores. Parking was posted well and the store had a great selection of items from shoes to gels, to clothing.  The little bit of swag was actually very nice. We were given a few advertisements for some of the other races they are sponsoring a map of both the 5k and half courses along with a detailed map of the starting line. Now for the good stuff. The shirts they provided have graphics on the front and back plus both sleeves. We were also given a running hat with their logo on the front and reflective material on the back.  It's actually very sharp. 

Well, until tomorrow, I wish everyone well. I'll keep you posted on my results!