Now that the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon is over, it’s time for me in step up my training towards Dumbo Double Dare; which I am not worried about since I just did the half marathon in Chicago. But the Marine Corp Marathon is what I am concerned about.
The Marine Corp Marathon is October 25 and I need to get my training runs done. I finally sat down with my calendar and planned it all out. So the reality became the truth for me today. I have to put in a long run this weekend. No more sleeping late. Maybe I can get away with a nap, but it is time to teach my body to endure the long miles again.
I feel that I have been lazy with my training. Alright I said it out loud. Now I have to buck up and start to suck it up and get it done! I haven’t been skipping my runs. I just haven’t been putting in longer runs. Chicago last week was the longest run I did since the Mystic Half Marathon on May 29.
So why does it feel like I am starting all over again when I begin my training for my fall marathons? Lately I feel like I can go out and run a half marathon without putting in as many miles. It wouldn’t be my best race and it wouldn’t be a pretty race, but I could finish.
My friends were reminding me that the Disney races are all about fun and picture stops and costumes and socializing so that I think is also why I don’t have the feeling of pressure to be my best. But I was lucky to be chosen to run the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington D.C. so I don’t want to be a lazy runner for this race. I want to finish before 6 hours.
So I made my schedule in my calendar and now I need to view it daily or weekly and let the numbers on it sink into my head and I have to accept that it is time to stop being lazy and start putting in some miles. It’s time to download a lot of good podcasts or continue to listen to my audio books and enjoy my training time in the roads. I think as I write this, another reason is because I have been enjoying a lot of family time this summer which include late nights and a few weekend getaways.
So now it is time to start training for Dumbo, Marine Corp and The Dopey Challenge.
The race morning was finally here! What I love about travelling to other states is when I travel through different time zones and the wake up time for the race isn’t as early as it feels! I woke up before 5:00 a.m. CT and had my tea and oatmeal and got ready. I was supposed to meet Susanna at the Bean but I had to walk from my hotel and when I arrived it was almost 6:00. I also had a funny situation happen to me… I couldn’t get out of my room! The hotel was very old and the paint on the doors made the door stick so I couldn’t pull it open! I started to get a little scared that I’d have to call someone to help me get out, but I finally got it open. (This stuff seems to only happen to me).
When I walked out of the hotel I immediately felt the rush of heat towards me. It was extremely hot and humid. There were heat warnings for the day that it was going to be up in the high 80s with high humidity. I planned ahead of time by making sure that I filled my fuel belt with Nuun. I met up with Susanna and Liz Driscoll but was too late to get my photos at the bean.
So when I am at the start line area Susanna and I headed over to the VIP area. I met up with fellow Team Chocolate Milk runners and got some pictures. I met Jean Draper, Peter Dettmer and Loren Rappaport Sanders there. It was great to finally meet some team members. The VIP tent was a great experience. There was food, a gear bag check area, couches, water and drinks, porta potties and lots of race support.
Jean Draper and I
Loren Rappaport Sanders, me and Jean Draper
Peter Dettmer and I
It was time to lineup for the start of the race and Susanna and I started in the same corral together.
At the start line
Our plan was to run four minutes and walk one minute for the beginning of the race and see how we felt during the race. I hadn’t done for and one in quite some time so I wasn’t sure how I would hold up but it worked out nicely for the first 4 miles. Then it was just too hot so we dropped it down to 30 seconds walk 30 seconds run. I was happy that I was able to maintain a 4/1 ratio but in conditions that warm I wouldn’t have been able to maintain it for the entire race.The race went through most of downtown Chicago and luckily the buildings provided shade. It was also great to find bags of ice at the medical tents. We put the ice on our necks and heads to help cool us down. We needed to do everything we could to keep cool. Around mile 6 I noticed that the runners were quieter. Everyone was digging deep to work through the heat and get through the miles. At that point in the course there wasn’t much entertainment.
At mile 7, we spotted Loren. Susanna and I went to gather her up and have her run with us to the end. Loren was struggling with bad calf cramps. She got some medical grade Gatorade at the med station and was walking when we saw her so I told her to join us doing the 30/30 intervals. She did and she said he was liking those intervals a lot. It helped loosen her up a little and you saw her spirits lifting. We told her that around mile 8.5 our Mickey Milers team supporter would be out with frozen water and oranges. I couldn’t wait to get some of those oranges! We found Charlie Gessner right around the point where Laura was and had a little visit with her while we refueled with some oranges and frozen water. It’s great to have supporters out on the course for us. Especially when they were a chicken hat despite the heat!
Loren, Charlie, Laura, Susanna and I with our great support Laura Smith Ozo!
After a little pick me up we headed back on the road to getting closer to the finish. We came up to the Mile of Music I believe around mile 11 which was a good pick me up for me. I wish ALL 13 miles had that type of entertainment! We also picked up another runner at mile 11 who was running her first half and was disappointed that her first half was so challenging. She stuck with us till the end and at the last .25 she made her push to the finish. We helped Loren keep it going despite the cramping still acting up. She wanted us to leave her; but as promised, we leave no one behind!
This race was one of the hardest. Any summer race is hard; but this is up there on my list of hot races. We were smart about it and didn’t push too hard. There were a lot of runners down on the side of the road or at the med tents. When we finished Loren and I got pictures at the Team Chocolate Milk tent and enjoyed a refreshing chocolate milk; and then I had to say goodbye to the girls and rush back to my room to shower and pack and catch the train to my flight home.
I made it to the airport with little time to spare. Security took a while to get through and then just as I went through, it was time to board the plane, and silly me, I was standing in the wrong boarding line! I was in the Raleigh, NC boarding line. Thankfully I realized it before it was too late and got on with just a middle seat as a choice. Poor guys sitting next to me had to listen to my snoring because the minute we were up in the air I passed out. I felt extremely exhausted. I think the heat just got the best of me. Fortunately I didn’t get heat sickness where I had a dehydration headache. I attribute that to using Nuun during the race to keep up with my electrolytes. But the heat did take a lot out of me. I also felt like that when I landed and my family picked me up at the airport. We went out to dinner and ice cream and I couldn’t wait to got to bed!
This was a great race and I plan on going back next year to run it. I am hoping to convince some of my other friends to join me! What an incredible city and I did enjoy the Rock ‘n’ Roll Race. Now that I see you can receive bling for running multiple Rock ‘n’ Roll Races, I am going to have to look into more of the R’n’R races!
Thank you Team Chocolate milk for the race entry and gear and for the experience to run in an incredible city!
As a member of Team Chocolate Milk, I went to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon last weekend. My first stop after landing in Midway and taking the train into the city was to go to the Expo to pick up my race bib and my VIP packet from Teach Chocolate Milk.
My first surprise when I landed was that there is a train that runs directly from Midway to the city. I had made a reservation for a rental car and when I saw there was a train, and it only costs $3 to ride it I cancelled my car reservation and got a ticket for the Orange line! That was so convenient. Especially since I have never been to Chicago before. I am so glad I took that train because once I saw the way people drive in that city I would have not been a happy camper, especially on the return trip to the airport when I had very little wiggle room to make my flight home (more on that in my race recap post).
I arrived to my hotel around 2:30, checked in and dropped off my luggage. I left the hotel to walk to the Expo and used my google maps to help me find my way. It estimated that it would take me 45 minutes to walk 2 miles! I found that hard to believe and now that I know that I could have just taken a right out of my hotel to get there rather than the left and right, and left and right, and left and right (see the pattern here?) that my google maps told me to take.
What a mess! I did get to see some beautiful sights of Chicago; but there were also some dark clouds starting to consume the buildings when I looked behind me. I checked my weather radar on my phone and there was a decent size thunderstorm coming right towards the city. I started walking faster, walked past the Chicago Aquarium, Soldier Field and then made it to “McCormick Place”. Just as I was about 15 minutes away from where I needed to be the skies opened up and a traffic director told me to get under a bridge overpass for safety because of the lightning. Great! It was now coming up on 3:00 and I was going to meet a fellow Mickey Milers team mate Susanna Cruz at the expo and she was already there. I stood there for about 5 minutes and then snuck out because the rain had stopped. By then I was a drowned rat. I continued on the route to the expo, but ended up in the basement of the Expo building which is a big old parking garage, but there weren’t cars in it!
I continued to walk through this deserted area and decided I should video the experience in case something happened to me! I was a little nervous. Here I was a little country girl from Connecticut wandering around in an empty parking garage in a city I have never been to before! Finally I had seem some people. I felt a little relief. I kept walking to the other end of the long and empty garage and found myself in a parking lot. Now the thunder and lightning was getting more intense. I was lost and I was scared. Susanna called me and asked me where I was. I had NO idea! She asked for some help and I did see 2 people and they told me how to get into that building… I had to go BACK into the garage! Once back in there I saw 2 more people who told me to go inside the doors and up 3 floors and then I’d find the expo. Phew! I made it! I found Susanna and hugged her and checked in for my race gear.
I checked in with Team Chocolate milk and picked up my VIP bracelet and then Susanna and I walked around the expo, played games in some of the booths to receive some free gifts and I purchased a Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon shirt. The expo was decent. We stayed there until it closed because it took me forever to arrive! But compared to other race expos I have attended it was a good expo.
After the expo we went out to dinner at the Cheesecake factory. The storms had passed and we were able to sit outside for dinner. It was a beautiful night and I was really enjoying my time with Susanna. This is what I love about racing. It’s not just the races, it’s the friendships you make at each event. After dinner she gave me a tour of the city and we walked around at Millennium Park. I was blown away by the beauty of the city, the cleanliness and how their park was such a welcoming atmosphere for families to come and walk around, play mini golf, enjoy a symphony at their outdoor theater while sitting on the large lawn with a blanket and a picnic dinner or perhaps some wine and snacks. It was so beautiful! Especially as the sun was setting. There was a splash pad area for children to enjoy the water and also lots of art. Chicago is now my new favorite city. I thought I loved NYC, but I’m sorry, there is something special about Chicago.
We said goodbye to each other around 9:00 after she dropped me off at my hotel and I went to my room to say goodnight to my family and start to lay out my gear for the race. It was a fun and exciting time, even if I was only just there for a few hours. I was loving every minute of it!
Stay tuned for the race recap in my next blog post!
As a member of Team Chocolate Milk I was given a free race entry to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon and running gear.
I’m on my way to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half marathon. This race snuck up on my quickly. I hadn’t booked my room until I think July 1 and I was very lucky to still get a room at the Congress Plaza host hotel which is right near the finish line. I wanted to be close to the finish line so I can get back to my room and shower and maybe have a chance to get out and see a little more of Chicago before my flight home.
I am flying in and out of Midway which I had never flown into before. I have no idea hat that is like. Like my hotel, I didn’t book my flight until about 10 days before the race! I was waiting and watching prices; but now I see that they do rise 2 weeks prior to the departure date so I won’t wait as long anymore.
Thankfully this race is a race sponsored by Team Chocolate Milk. I am running for Team Chocolate milk and was told that there will be an area at the finish line for Team Chocolate Milk members to refuel and take photos and meet fellow team members. There will also be a booth at the expo. I am looking forward to seeing the Expo at this event. I have never done a Rock ‘n’ Roll Race before so I can’t wait to see what is there. I also haven’t been in the city of Chicago before. I have only flown into and out of O’Hare and from what I have seen from the air; the city looks amazing being right on the lake.
I have also seen pictures from fellow Mickey Milers Team Member Susana Cruz while she was out on some of her training runs. It looks like such an incredible city. I wish I could stay longer to really take in the sights but I know I’ll be back. I am determined to come back to run the Chicago Marathon one day once my name is chosen from the lottery.
I am hearing the weather is going to be HOT HOT HOT and humid. Even though the race starts at 6:30 a.m. we are going to feel it. I started hydrating with my Nuun tablets and water today and will continue to do that all day. I was going to rely on the race support for my water on the course; but at the last minute I put my fuel belt into my suitcase. I was sure to take my altitude sickness medication beginning yesterday so I won’t get my dreaded flying migraine. So far I have had success every time I used it.
My training is not where it should be for a half marathon and what I am training for now after this race needs to be stepped up as I work towards the Marine Corp Marathon. So this will be like a foundation for me. But the hard part is, my longest run in the last 2 weeks has been 6 miles. And my last 2 long runs were 5 miles. So I need to safely increase after this half to avoid any injury. I am running in the heat and sometimes at the hottest part of the day so that I can acclimate my body to running in heat; but that also means my speed is slow. But according to Jeff Galloway that is completely ok. You are supposed to slow down with the heat. I want to enjoy my race and especially the time after the race. There have been several instances where I had post race sickness headaches because of the heat and humidity and exertion during those conditions.
Stay tuned as I fill you in on the rest of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon Race Weekend!
I am excited to share that I have a new sponsor for my races! Mintz & Hoke gladly chose to sponsor me for my upcoming fall races such as the Hartford Half Marathon and the Marine Corp Marathon.
They were one of my first companies I reached it to in search of sponsors. Asking for a sponsor for my races and also reaching out to do advertising on my blog are my first attempts on my own to build my brand and support my racing endeavors. Ron Perine, the President of Mintz & Hoke will also be participating in the relay for team Fidelco at the Hartford Half Marathon.
I reached out to several racing brands of products I use and used Twitter as my avenue to directly contact them. I had some success in starting a dialogue with some businessss and KT Tape said they would send me product samples. Timex passed my information along to their team and I am hoping to hear something positive from them.
I am ask working on making a media kit so I can also back up my request to companies with my social media stats and blog stats.
Thank you Ron for providing me gear and funds for my races!
If you are interesting in sponsoring me for my races or if you are interested in advertising on my blog, please email me at Pamela.frost@comcast.net. I look forward to working with you.
I was on a weekend escape to New Hampshire with the family this weekend but still needed to get some miles under my belt. I have the Team Chocolate Milk Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon in Chicago next Sunday and want a longer run done prior to that. I am not so sure it is going to happen this week but my goal is to get in at least 7 miles on Tuesday or Wednesday night.
This is so out of character for me. It’s now how I trained when I first started running half marathons and I would stick to the training plan to a T. While I have several races under my belt this Spring I could stand to have been more diligent with my training; mostly my long runs.
So I was sure to get in at least 5 miles while away on this trip. I am familiar with the area because we stayed there before and I had to do my long run while we were on vacation last year.
It was good and it was bad getting this run in over the weekend. The good part was that I got it done m. The bad part was, I took my time sleeping in, having tea and visiting with my family on the deck, so I didn’t hit the pavement until after 11:00 and it was already over 80 degrees. My husband had to run to the store so I told him to grab me a water and meet me on the way back. That was a good plan. I was feeling ok for the first two miles. But I was in full sun at that point. So as I turned around to head back I met up with him and drank some water and poured some on the top of my head which was awesome!!! We continued this for the rest of my 2 miles home up hill and it saved me from getting sick from the heat.
When I got back to the cottage I wasn’t quite up to 5 miles so I walked on the grass and beach area near the kids to top it off to a 5 mile route.
Despite the high sun and heat at that time of day I was enjoying the run. I was listening to the Mickey Miles podcast and Jeff Galloway was on and he was talking about controlling your fears and emotions with your conscious brain. This is something I have been doing and also applying to challenges I face outside of running as well.
I was also enjoying a run in the beautiful area of Newfoundlake in New Hampshire, glad I was feeling better again and glad that I was sticking to my commitment to run during this mini vacation.
I wish my mileage were higher than I have been doing and I am going to have to work on that when I get back from Chicago. Marine Corp marathon is not too far away and I need to get my act in gear! I am still training and juggling the delicate acts of work, life and training but I need to get more serious about putting in the miles required so that my races will be more enjoyable.
