2012 Soldier Field 10 Mile Race Recap

Saturday, I had the pleasure of running the Fleet Feet Soldier Field 10 Mile race here in Chicago. I was really looking forward to running this course since it was this time last year I was diagnosed with my stress fracture, just two days before the 2011 Soldier Field 10 Mile. The other reason being I’m working on solidifying my A corral for all the upcoming Disney races (I should already be good, but have time to improve my standing).

Overall, the race was very professional and well done, and while being a die-hard Buccaneers fan, running on the Soldier Field grass was kind of amazing. Also, I was super impressed with Fleet Feet’s social media team, they were on the ball all weekend with updates and personal Facebook replies. They are a top-notch organization. Kudos, Fleet Feet Chicago!

The week leading up to the race certainly wasn’t without drama. The weather forecast looked to be in the high 80’s, which would be murder, and then changed to severe thunderstorms to happen right as we were to step off. Therefore, the EAS warning watch was set to YELLOW (best to keep your wits about you as anything could happen).

Saturday morning, I was up at 4a (my corral started at 7a and Devin’s 7:30a).  We had to get to Soldier Field and while we live in the city, it’s a tough journey to get to there through public transportation, so we were going to have to cab it. I was nervous remembering how we almost missed the Hot Chocolate race in November due to the jack hole cabbies that wouldn’t pick us up as they knew they could get larger fares farther north.

Luckily, we caught a cab without much issue and got to Soldier Field with time to spare. The sky looked a thick grey and ominous, but I knew we’d be okay as I checked the weather before leaving and the storm was going to skirt us by about 10 miles (looking north looked like a hurricane as the sky was black). The air was damp and cool, perfect for running, but the wind was howling making it feel colder.

My corral closed at 6:40a, while my wife was in a later one giving her more time to settle in. I wished her luck and headed over to my area. The runners around me looked like they just got off the Olympic Trials bus, so I just closed my eyes and visualized the racecourse and went over my strategy (which really was anything under 1:24:00). The course was to take us south to Hyde Park and then back to Soldier Field where we would finish on the 50 yard line.

After some well-done Memorial Day fanfare (and the announcement the EAS warning had been downgraded to GREEN (all clear)), the elites set off and we moved into the chute just as one or two rain drops started, but quickly dissipated. The horn went off and we headed on our way.

As expected, some runners quickly gobbled me up, but I just moved over to the right and kept to my race strategy. Oddly enough, later in the race I was able to pick off most of them, which felt great. The first 4.5 miles were all tail wind so I could just set my legs on cruise control let the wind do all the work which really helped me conserve energy for the back half which would be all headwind on a path right next to the lake.

The race put us on Lake Shore Drive, supplying us runners ample room to run our own race. However there was still a lane for car traffic, which always makes me nervous. All it takes is one idiot on a cell phone and serious damage could happen to me, my wife, or any other racer.

Making the turn at mile 4.5, I could immediately feel the headwind which must have been about 20-25 mph and made me feel like I was standing still. I popped a Tri-Berry GU gel, took some Gatorade at the 5 Mile water stop and then tucked in close behind a runner who was taller than me to draft for a while. I never really believed runners could “draft” off of a single runner, but I could really feel it working so mental note for next windy race. I rode that guy’s coattails until about Mile 7 where he started to fall back and I shot by him Ricky Bobby-style (“Shake and Bake!”).  Mile 8 was such a tease in that you could see McCormick Place, which seemed so close, but it really wasn’t. Plus, by this time I was so close to the lake the whitecaps were spraying me (it was that windy). I knew that if I could keep this pace until Mile 9 adrenaline would take me the rest of the way.

As anticipated, at Mile 9 I felt that warm bubble of energy know as the “runner’s high” and picked up the pace as I neared Soldier Field. Upon getting to the stadium we turned left into the player’s parking lot and then into the bowels of the stadium. Turning left, through a tunnel of light and boom, we were on the field! To be honest, I can’t remember the finish only that my final kick was what I am calling “the stuff of legend”. My legs took off like Usain Bolt and I jammed past about 60 people who appeared to be just standing still, it was awesome! Passing the Finish Line, I checked my Garmin, 1:20:50! I had just PR’d by over 5 minutes from my previous 10 Mile race and also killed my 10k time! Although excited to PR, at the same time I felt like I didn’t leave it all on the course, but there’s always next time. 

The Finish Line

BOOM!

I picked up my Soldier Field medal (kinda meh, but then Disney medals kinda blow all others out of the water) and branded blanket and headed into the stands to wait for my wife.

My wife did a great job too! This wasn’t a PR for her, but she had not been feeling well and put in a solid effort.

Overall, this was a tremendous and well-executed race, both by Fleet Feet and myself. The course layout was fast and relatively flat, allowing for some serious running. Again, hat’s off to Fleet Feet, they really have their act together when putting on a race. I can’t wait for next year’s!

Official Time: 1:20:36

Overall Place: 1,623 (12,845)

Gender Place: 1,234 (5,526)

Age Place: 208 (1,012)

***NOTE*** I wanted to call out that some of my loyal readers are not runners and keep asking when I am going to be putting up a Disney Parks related post (that’s not running). Therefore, in the near future I will be launching a blog specific to running (both Disney & non), while keeping All Things WDW specific for Parks posts. Stay tuned!

2012 Walt Disney World Marathon Recap: Part III

Okay, it's taken 4 months, two posts and now a captive seat at 33,000 feet for me to finish this marathon report (a marathon, itself).

Sunday morning, race day! I was up way earlier than needed, but c'mon who really sleeps the night before their first marathon? Devin's coughing fits subsided enough for about 3 restful hours and she was out cold (thanks, codeine!) I took a quick shower and tried to eat something, but I'm not much of a breakfast person and my body was really fighting my attempts to get some food in it. So I downed a Powerade, ate some performance jelly beans and grabbed a bag of mini Chips-A-Hoy from our snack bag and headed out the door. It was early, like 3:05, early and like yesterday, the Wilderness Lodge lobby was devoid of any and all human life, save a few runners who had the same idea I did which was to get to the race early. We hopped on a somewhat full, but very quiet bus. Sensing the tension, the bus driver shut the door and said, "Off to the airport!" We all sat up in our seats and he said, "Just kidding!"

The trip to the race was very quiet, so much the voice in my head was screaming for me to hop out the emergency window and steal off into the night so as not to have to run. In a bit of a panic, I sent off (as I was expecting due to the hour of the morning) a feeble post on ROTE asking for "some love." To my surprise, a good many of ROTErs were online and shot right back with motivation (love you guys).

Got to the race, but there were just so many people, I couldn't find any ROTE folk, which bummed me out, but in the line for the bathroom found some nice folk from Chicago so spent some time with them. When it was time, I made the death march with everyone else to the starting line and noticed just the sheer amount of people running as I made my way to Corral A. The anticipation and excitement was simply too much and I just wanted to start the race immediately. No fanfare, no DJ chatter, just start the race!

Finally, the time had come and after seeing the fireworks shoot up into the air I was off, hoping the lack of training wouldn't lead the paramedics on a 500 foot trail of poop to a frozen corpse on the side of the road. My goal was to run a steady, easy pace for the 1st half of the race and then bump it up for the second half, but I was about 1 mile in and at that point, anything was possible. As we hit about Mile 2, I ran into Fundulidae and DeltaPilot (from ROTE) who were humming along at a good pace. We hung out a bit and then parted ways (Thanks for the kind words, guys).

The course led us into Epcot through the auto toll, where I encountered a wheelchair athlete in a standard wheelchair struggling. I wasn't sure what to do so I told one of the race people as I headed into Epcot. The course took us through Future World and backstage through Mexico, heading back around to where we started the race. After making the loop, we turned onto World Drive towards the Magic Kingdom through the TTC. I absolutely loved this part of the race, since it was really the first chance to get close to the folks who were cheering us on. Seeing them was more than inspirational, and quite frankly, I don't think there is a word in the English dictionary to describe the feeling a runner gets when first encountering a group of people cheering them on. So, I'll establish a word: Motivationarunneralabalous! Yes, seeing the people was Motivationarunneralabalous! It was so cool, I sped up to a 8:30 mile. "Holy shit!" I exclaimed, scaring the runner next to me , "I gotta slow down." As I motored through the TTC, I felt great and headed towards the Contemporary. Heading down the incline underneath the boat crossover, I started running backwards and sticking out my thumb to the passing cars, getting a bunch of laughs from all the other runners.

We were reaching Mile 11 and the point everyone single runner was anticipating, the magical run down Main Street towards the castle, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. Making the turn onto Main Street and seeing all the people cheering, with the castle, I would be lying if I said I didn't well up with a tremendous feeling. And then it got better, running through Main Street, I caught eyes with the most gorgeous looking woman in the crowd and low and behold, it was my wife! She was there with my mom, and her parents. Let me tell you, that moment was über-Motivationarunneralabalous!!!!!!!!!!  At that, moment I felt like was I was going to shoot right into the lead and win this sucker (a fleeting thought for sure).

We headed to the right, through Tomorrowland, Fanatsyland and then that magical trip through the castle (which was amazing). We rounded out our Magic Kingdom visit through Frontierland, backstage through Gate 6, and left towards the Grand Floridan. I knew this would be the last place for awhile where there would be onlookers so I drank it in as much as I could. I knew right ahead of me was dreaded Mile 13 and the dark forest of nothingness.

Mile 13 was near the Hess station and banana distribution. I absolutely hate bananas, but knew I had to eat something, so I muscled it down and prepared to shift into the second piece of my strategy. My Garmin beeped Mile 13 and my mind shifted towards a new focus, "Speed. I am pure speed." I got a hungry look in my eye and looked to up my game. One problem, my legs never seemed to have gotten the memo. I was still running, but my run was something akin to your first car where it could never seem to cleanly find second gear. Grinding, straining, and with the occasional backfire, I was stuck in neutral and slowly losing time. Worse yet, we were at the sewage treatment plan, no man's land. So, I immediately came to grips with not hitting my goal time and figured I'd just do my best and leave it at that. Making out way though the back areas, Disney had some signs up to keep us occupied, the funniest of which being a sign that read, "If you believe in telekinesis,  raise MY hand." Clever.

The second half of the race was rough, and I was wrought with emotion. Sadness, anger, denial, depression, all the emotions every runner feels as they attack a marathon, but I kept moving forward.  It also helped that a few runners patted me on the back when I had to walk,  cementing my belief that runners are the most compassionate athletes. 

Passing through Animal Kingdom which the course layout was "meh" at best, we turned onto Osceola Parkway which was built for the sole reason of making runners die.  After being on OP for what seemed an eternity, we headed through the Studios, past the Boardwalk, Yacht & Beach and back into  Epcot. Running through World Showcase, it was just a mere 4.5 hours before I was jamming along feeling great. I motored through the Finish in a sad, but I guess respectable 5 hours, 1 hour past my goal time. Who cares, though? I did it! Adding to my 13.1 membership, I had just been inducted into the 26.2 club, and man, is that Motivationarunneralabalous!

Never been so tired and happy!

Highlights:
Running through the castle. Amazing!
Seeing my family along the route
Running into ROTErs
Course entertainment

Downsides:
Osceola Parkway

2012 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Part 2

The alarm came fast and early Saturday morning as the day belonged to my wife, Devin who was running her first Donald half marathon and 2^nd half overall. She was still fighting a nasty chest cold and had been up most of the night (as was I ) with coughing fits. I planned to meet up with her folks and my mom (who were not staying on property) later in the morning, so I wished my wife luck as she sped out the door and slept in about an hour. At around 4:30 I got up, texted Devin to see if she made it to the race okay and got about my day. The lobby of the Wilderness Lodge is impressive even at its busiest points, but at 5am it’s incredible and quite cavernous. There weren’t many stirring about so I stopped and just enjoyed the tranquility of the lobby for a moment. As I walked outside, I realized a very serious problem staying where we did, there wasn’t any spectator transportation. I had planned to meet everyone at the TTC, so I started walking in the pitch blackness. If you’ve ever been to the Wilderness Lodge, it prides itself on being tranquil and not exactly on the “Diney grid.” Therefore, there was no walkway, only road. I tried to stay on the grass, but it was wet and cold, so I hugged the road. About 3 minutes into my walk a pickup truck pulled up behind me, it was a Disney security guard. “You aren’t allowed to walk on the road,” he said, “it’s dark and you might get hit. Where are you going?” I told him my situation and I was only going to the TTC. His response, “Well, you can’t walk.” Mind you, I was almost there. “Well,” I said, “you wanna give me a ride?” He then just drove off.  From what I’ve learned from my beyond extensive experience with WDW is if you ever meet with any castmember resistance, just explain common sense to them and they tend leave you alone.

I made it to the TTC no problem and met up with my mom. It was about the 6 mile mark and it was empty. It was also about 38 degrees out, yowza! My in-laws parked at Epcot and took the monorail over to meet up. We proceeded to wait until we started seeing the wheelchair racers come through and then the “elites.” I saw a few friends of mine, a couple of ROTE hats & shirts, and after a little bit saw Devin.  She looked good was happy to see us. After the fanfare, we hopped a monorail to the Magic Kingdom to see her again. I have to applaud Disney for opening up the MK early for folks to cheer on the runners, and seeing that castle in the morning had me pretty excited for my race on the following day.

 Unfortunately, for us, Devin was a little faster than I had expected and she had already passed by the time we got there. But, on the monorail trip to Epcot, I was able to pick her out on World Drive (having that pale, Chicago winter tan certainly helped). We caught up with her a few more times at Epcot and then it was all over. Devin had a blast and knocked 20 minutes off her previous half time!!!! The only hassle was trying to get out of the parking lot, it took over an hour. We all went back to Wilderness Lodge and had lunch and then all headed back to our respective hotels to take much deserved naps. 

Great job, Hon!

I had done my job as a husband, cheered on my wife and had a blast seeing her run. Now it was time to focus on my task at hand. I had to change gears and start mentally preparing for the monster that was less than 24 hours away. My focus was on a Finish Line, but 26.2 miles were in my way and they had something to say about it.

2011 Running Year in Review

Well, 2012 is upon us and with it a whole new year of miles and Disney trips, starting next week with the Disney Marathon. Due to Christmas travel and a cold I haven't run in a week and are nowhere near my training schedule for the marathon so I'm betting on being close to death upon finishing.

Looking back at 2011, I really stepped up my game and made it through quite a journey. Some highlights:
 - Setting new PR for the 5k (22:14) and knocking 5 minutes off my time.
 - Demolishing my 10 mile time (1:25:55)
 - Running 1 mile with the elites and nearly passing out
 - Breaking my leg
 - Running and completing my first half marathon 75 days later
 - Winning a race (in my age group)

Disney Royal Family 5k in Feb - Our 1st Disney Race

Champion 5k at ESPN Weekend - March

1st Place!!!

The result of trying to win. Womp Womp.

Can't race, but can cheer!

Disney Halloween 5k - Sept (W& D weekend)

1st Half Marathon in the books!

Here's to 2012 with more miles and prolly more injuries. Looking forward to the Spring thaw and more long runs. What are your running plans for 2012?

Walt Disney World Marathon is Getting Closer

Here we are in December, 30 days away from the Walt Disney World Marathon. My first full marathon to be exact. I can't say I'm counting down the days in excitement, rather counting the days to my inevitable collapse. Thanks to some rather severe knee issues I haven't been able to put in large mile chunks like I had wanted. Plus, the below freezing temps of the Midwest aren't making it easy for me. I'm really wishing I had signed up for the half like my wife. Well, I guess we'll see.

Anyway, the final instructions for the race are out, here are links:
Full Marathon
Full - Relay
Half Marathon
Goofy Challenge (If you're nuts) - Best of luck to my ROTE friends running this!

Plus, I'll be doing the fun run 5k. It's at Epcot and themed after the 3 Caballeros (bah)
Fiesta 5k

If you haven't gotten your waiver or bib# here's the link:
Bib # & Waivers

And if you want the official race program, well, here you go:
WDW Marathon Official Race Program

For those of you running, Best of Luck and one way or another I'll see you at the Finish line!