Rudolph Ramble 8K - 12/13/15

While it’s a relatively small and short race, the Rudolph Ramble was something I’d been looking forward to for quite some time. It’s not often I can jog to the start of a race from my front door, and Chicago races never disappoint in terms of seeing friendly faces or racing with some quick competition. But most importantly, the race was an 8K, the same distance I’d competed at in college.

See, me and this 8K had unfinished business – namely, I sucked at it during my brief collegiate years, despite literally dedicating my life to training for those 5 miles. With my recent success, new PRs at various distances, and some sick new kicks (thanks Hoka!), I was looking forward to having a little chat with the ol’ 8K distance.

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Waking up race day morning to the weather-equivalent of ‘meh,’ I yogged the 2.5 miles through the puddles and rain to get to the race’s start. Located at Diversey Harbor, the majority of the race was to take place on the paths I’ve been running on since I moved here (it’s not hard, though – there are like, 2 routes to run in all of Chicago).

Despite the rain, feeling pretty meh, and REALLY craving one of those donuts they were handing out (BAD IDEA SAM), I was instantly put into a great mood by all the wonderful faces I saw! From high school teammates (hey Em!) to Fleet Feet staff (hey Bobby!) to college friends (hey Allie!) to my dad (hey Dad!), it was like a mini-reunion with all the runners in my life.

Don't worry - I beat him:)

Trotting over to the start, I made my way towards the front, only to find Logan, another Fleet Feet associate who I’ve been able to get to know thanks to my constant lurking at the Fleet Feet Sports in Lincoln Square. We share similar PRs over the 8K distance, and agreed that we’d stick together, going out in 5:30 pace for the first mile and seeing where that would take us.

After some muddy strides, the national anthem, and a silent pledge to myself to not get chicked by the really fast-looking girl next to me, we were off!

Soaking my feet instantly, I was resigned to stomping around in soggy sneakers the rest of the race; the consolation: everyone else was in the same boat. Logan and I settled into 6^th and 7^th place, along with 2-3 other Fleet Feet racers, as we watched 1^st and 2^nd take off, never to be seen again.

We rolled together nice and easy through mile 1, hitting 5:26 and feeling pretty fresh. Our pack stuck together as we wound our way back on the course, hitting mile 2 right at 11:00, maintaining a consistent 10-second gap from the 5^th runner in front of us. I took the lead of our group here, trying to subtly catch 5^th ahead of us, but the gap remained the same as we came through mile 3 in 16:30ish.

#SQUAD

Here, I told myself I’d start to pick up the pace, as I’d felt relatively relaxed all day. In looking back at my splits, I did no such thing, but managed to keep 5:30 pace and gap myself by 5ish seconds from the group I’d been running with. Rolling through mile 4 and missing my split, I told myself to make the push to catch that 5^th place runner, and actually got within 2-3 seconds of him. However, I was really starting to strain, and hitting the slightest of uphills coming up from beneath the bridge, hit a wall, hard. 5^th place took off, and out of nowhere another runner came flying past me – he ended up beating me by 7 seconds, all in the last 400 meters.

The last stretch was pretty interminable, and my horrendous form combined with trying to avoid the massive puddles made for a pretty ugly finish. But, with a goal of 28:00 going into today’s race, my official finishing time of 27:26 was a mere 6 seconds off my college PR.

Stoked, I turned around to see Logan finishing not too far behind me – later, we rejoiced upon hearing that we’d both won our respective age groups (me, 25-29; Logan, 20-24). Chugging some delicious apple cider, I made the slow trek home, content with the near-PR race and hungry for the next! Which, unfortunately, won’t be until the New Year; alas, I’ve got a pretty awesome schedule lined up for 2016 already, so stay tuned for my next post!

In Step Trail 7-Miler + Brookfield Zoo 5K + Apple Cider Century + Run&Roll Duathlon + Chicago Marathon + Lincolnwood Turkey Trot 5K+ Arnold Turkey Trot 5K

This race report will be a bit different than past posts, simply because I’m lazy and haven’t kept up with blogging. Since my last report (http://samwelchruns.blogspot.com/2015/10/ironman-madison.html), I raced a 7-mile trail race, a 5K, biked 100 miles, and jumped into my first duathlon (have I mentioned I’m an idiot?). Then ran the Chicago Marathon, and followed that up with a local Turkey Trot 5K suckfest, then a new 5K PR (maybe) at another Turkey Trot. So here’s a quick recap of the past two months, compressed into soundbites you might actually read (maybe).

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In Step Trail 7-Mile (9/19/15): 6 days post-Ironman, I started this race with very minimal expectations, minimal sleep, but maximal shoes (wow that was terrible). Racing in my demo Challenger ATRs, I ran the first 3 miles relaxed in 2^nd place, then took the lead at the halfway point and ran scared all the way home, setting a new course record in the process.
TL;DR: pwned the guy racing in Vibram FiveFinger toe shoes, setting a new CR (1^st overall, 43:53); HOKA ONE ONE FTW.

Brookfield Zoo 5K (9/20/15): Literally less than 24 hours later, I definitely ran on less sleep and even fewer expectations. Warmed up for literally 2 minutes, viewing the extra 18 I’d normally do as precious energy I’d need to actually finish. Managed to run relatively not terrible despite literally EVERYTHING, plus ran into old IWU alum Mandy! 
TL;DR: 2^nd overall in 17:16 around various enclosed fauna. Maybe I’ll sleep/recover/not be an idiot next time?

Apple Cider Century (9/27/15): Teaming up with vO2 max extraordinaire Chelsea, she towed me along for your casual 100-mile bike ride through hilly Three Oaks, MI. You’d think having raced that Ironman the weeks prior would’ve have me somewhat prepared, but this sufferfest was only ameliorated by the unlimited access to cookies at each aid station (and biking behind a pretty girl).
TL;DR: 100 miles in 8ish hours (?), getting emasculated by Chelsea (who did the whole thing in a fixie).

Run & Roll Duathlon (10/4/15): Racing with roommate Erik “Squanchy” Bergstrom, I was able to figuratively and literally race some uncharted territory. 2-mile run followed by 20K on the bike, and finishing with a 2-mile run, I managed to make it through the first transition in 1^st place, only to get lost on the bike, only to find my way back onto the course, but substantially further back. Split the fastest run legs of the day, which confirmed that I’m not a biker and should probably practice that some more.
TL;DR: Ran 10:40 first 2-mile, 37:XX bike leg (for who knows how long), and another 10:40 2-mile for 1^st in age group, 3^rd overall.

Chicago Marathon (10/11/15): Working the expo and standing on concrete floors for consecutive 12-hour days leading up to racing a marathon is definitely not ideal. Nor is solely living off Clif Bars for breakfast/lunch/dinner and sleeping a solid 3-4 hours each night. Despite that, had the race of my life, netting a much-needed PR and stoking the desire to legitimately train for one of these things.
TL;DR: Ran 2:48:01 (I know – couldn’t have gone 2 seconds faster?), with a BIG negative split (1:28:XX, 1:19:XX) and lots of stoke for the next ‘thon.

Lincolnwood Turkey Trot 5K (11/22/15): Teaming up with Chelsea again, we braved the near sub-zero temps on near sub-zero sleep. Despite the cold and snow, we both somehow medaled in our age groups, neither of us at our prime.
TL;DR: 3^rd overall in 17:20, feeling like death and hungry for a new PR.

Arnold Turkey Trot 5K (11/26/15): Looking to redeem myself after the previous Trot’s lackluster performance, I actually slept the night before this race, and apparently that makes a difference. Took the lead immediately, and rolled off 5:15s on a somewhat hilly course (at least compared to Chicago standards) for the dub.
TL;DR: 1^st overall in 15:57, though my Garmin tells me this course must’ve been a tad short…

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So there you have it! A crap ton of racing, and some big plans for the future! In fact, my next race will be this upcoming Sunday at the Rudolph Ramble 8K, as I seek to hone in on my college 8K PR (and thus totally shitting on my 4 years of collegiate training). Stay tuned!