March O'Madness Half Marathon Race Report

Last week was full of excitement, and to top it off I raced on Sunday.

I had to wake up at 6 AM on December 30 to register for this race, but wanted to because so many people from my running club do it and I could use it as my Boston half marathon race.  It's a tad bit hilly:

However, I could have cared less.  I've fully realized that the more pressure I put on myself, the wore I do.  If I expect nothing, and just go out and have fun, the results are much more favorable.  Therefore, I got 3 hours of sleep the night before the race.  Saturday night was full of this:

On the ride up to the race, my friend was talking about her goal (sub 1:40).  Since I had no goal, I thought i would just run with her.  I didn't know what shape my body was in, but it sounded good.  So, we started the race together....

Mile 1- 7:21

Mile 2- 7:15

Mile 3-7:19

Mile 4-7:33

At this point, I was feeling pretty good, but my friend said she wasn't feeling it, so I went ahead.  

Mile 5 - 7:11

Mile 6 - 7:23 *hills

Mile 7- 7:27 *hills

Mile 8 - 7:16

Mile 9 - 7:01

Mile 10 - 7:34 *major hills

I passed a group of runners around this point.  When I went by them, they said hi and said that we had met a few weeks ago.  We met after I did my first 20 mile run on the hills.  They drove from Chicago to the Arboretum to do their run.  It was fun to see them out on the course, as they are really nice.

Mile 11 - 7:41*major hills

A man said to me that he never thought he was going to have to worry about chocking on ice in a water cup at this aid station.  It made me laugh, because last year it was 80* at this race.  

Mile 12 - 7:21

Mile 13 - 7:03

Last 0.11 - 43 sec  (6:29 pace)

Overall time: 1:36:14 (not chip timed, Garmin time was 1:36:08)

Sex Place: 26

Age Group Place: 10/27

Overall: 100-something (can't remember) out of 1400 or something

Happiness level: high 

My friend ended up running a 1:39:01, so she was happy.  I didn't think I was in this kind of shape.  I would've probably guessed that I was in 1:43 shape, as that is my default half marathon time in the past few years.  After looking at my splits, it seems as if I could've run faster.  I shouldn't be able to have a 6:29 spring in me at the finish if I really tried hard.  I do know that my legs were so sore the next day from the hills.  I have nothing but great things to say about this race and  I would recommend it if you live in the Chicagoland area.  It brings out some really good competition and the swag (medal, sweatshirt) is pretty sweet for how cheap the race is ($40).