Chicago Polar Dash 13.1 - 1/9/16

Sometimes, without any reasonable explanation, races just click. Whether it’s a good night’s sleep (nope) or incorporating a vegetable into a healthy diet (never), a runner can only hope for those rare days where running just seems easy.

I had no reason to expect a decent race at this past Saturday's Chicago Polar Dash 13.1, seeing as I’d spent the previous two weeks barely running, definitely not sleeping, and spending much of my waking life behind the windshield of the HOKAmobile. Minus a fast-finish long run on Christmas Day (fueled by the copious amount of cookies consumed the night prior), I had little confidence going into this half marathon that I could hit my goal of 75 (5:43/mile), much less break 80 (6:06/mile, the pace I’m hoping to maintain x2 at next month’s LA Marathon).

A PR, though, seemed feasible, considering my last attempt was back in 2012(!!) in a dismal and untrained (and just plain fat) 1:22 (6:17/mile). Based solely on my base developed these past 365 days (see last blog post!), I figured I’d start the Polar Dash at 6:00/mile, then see what would happen from there. Plus, this time I was wearing Hokas:)

~

The race itself was unseasonably warm, but still downright cold (mid-30s) and misty – pretty ideal running conditions for me. I’d opted for a t-shirt, a rare occurrence in Sam Welch racing history, and can honestly say I regret it, having definitely gotten a bit too hot throughout the race. I started the race front and center, and after the starting gun went off, found myself in the lead within the first minute of the race. Spoiler alert: that never changed. 

Thankfully, the pace bike ahead of me provided a good target to pace off of, and after rolling through the first mile in 5:45, told myself to ease it back to 6-flat. When I came through the next 3 miles all in 5:45, I said eff it and kept rolling, knowing that I had a buffer on 80 minutes.

The course itself can’t be considered hilly, but definitely had more undulations than I’d been training on (despite being on the Lakefront Path, just further south). Miles 4-7 were definitely the most difficult, but hitting the turnaround point was a huge mental boost, as was passing all the other racers making their way out. I’m convinced it was the cheering during the Chicago Marathon that led me to my current PR, and it was the cheering on the course Saturday that really forced me to realize how much fun I was having.

Of course, this was short lived, as I was getting tired AF and developing a MASSIVE blister on my right foot. Telling myself to run in a fast last 5K, I managed to just barely maintain my 5:45 pace (race splits below). Weirdly, the mile markers on the course were spot on, according to my Garmin watch; however, the last mile came out of nowhere, and definitely seemed to be a bit short. So despite a surprised and abbreviated kick, I finished 1^st overall in an official time of 1:14:23. 

Honestly, I’d put this effort at a high-75, so I’m going to hesitate on ticking this (sub-75) off my bucket list. But, I’m definitely in better shape than I thought, or have ever been in my life. To put this race into perspective, 5:45 was my race average for 8K in college; Saturday, I managed that for 13(ish) miles, and it felt relatively easy. I’ve got a couple more short races (indoor marathon relay in 2 weeks, 5-mile trail race in 3), and a far-fetched goal of running my birthday miles on the 22^nd. But, the Chicago Polar Dash 13.1 bodes well for my big race, the LA Marathon, on February 14^th!

NO DAYS OFF - 2015

The above photo would at first appear to be a testament to my weird fetish with order, numbers, or that fleeting-yet-tantalizing rush of getting to cross something off a to-do list. Instead, upon closer inspection, you’ll notice that this unique poster is in fact a calendar, with 365 numbers to represent every day of every month of 2015. I’d started the year with a lofty goal – to run on every one of those days, rain or shine, no matter what. No days off. And while those 365 red Xs may represent 365 days of consecutive running, the 267 hours and 52 minutes spent putting one foot in front of the other, the 2,290 miles covered over the course of 448 runs, it’s what can’t be quantified that makes this achievement so gratifying.

~

In December of 2014, I was stressed out, tired, and just plain out of shape (unless you count fat as a shape). I was in the throes of my first year of teaching high school, and while my sole purpose of moving out to Colorado Springs was to better my running, my homework, lesson plans, and excuses all piled up (as did the el bees).

Thankfully, thanks to some late night Facebook stalking/cookie consumption, I stumbled across a status update: someone had managed to run for the past year without missing a day. Having been at a serious level of training, I scoffed at her sappy musings of how those runs changed her, and how difficult it was at times, but how it’s all paid off blah blah blah (don't worry, I get the irony here). What irked me the most, though, was that she wasn’t even that great of a runner! I mean, I may have been tipping the scales of the BMI, but I still knew what it took to train hard and get fit. If SHE could run every day for a year, well, why couldn’t I?

Literally just days into 2015 though, I very quickly remembered why I hadn’t been running for the past 3 months. Teaching required me leaving my house no later than 6am, getting me to school by 6:30 to get ready for a 7am start to the day. If I wanted to eat breakfast, shower (not mandatory) and wear clothes (very mandatory), I had to be totally done running and stretching by 5:30am. Which meant, if I wanted to get in a minimum of 30 minutes of running, I had to be out my door by 4:50am. Which meant setting my alarm for 4:30am every morning. In January. (Interestingly enough, by the time I left Colorado, those morning runs were still being done in pitch darkness.)

The first month sucked, hard. Every run was a struggle, and I was still tired and miserable all the time. The second month wasn’t much better physically, but became easier mentally, more habitual than anything. The third month found me in a rhythm, and soon I was signing up for local races, remembering why I was doing this in the first place.

I can't not mention those days. Where I was too tired, too sore, too in-the-mood-to-play-videogames-and-eat-Poptarts. There are 365 stories there, each red X a different route or mood or agenda. In January, I ran at 11pm on a treadmill while on a skiing vacation in Keystone, sitting at 10,000 ft. March, my car broke down, and I ran to/from school almost every day, toting a backpack with my teaching attire. In May, I broke my collegiate 5K PR, then did so again in November. I raced 7 times in 6 weeks, culminating in a new best time at the Chicago Marathon and a week of DEFINITELY being injured but limping one slow, pathetic mile to keep the streak going (1 mile was the minimum, and made up ~7 days of the 365). In a blizzard in Milwaukee this past December, I stopped into a coffee shop to change into my running gear to do several laps around the block, earning my X for the day. I raced my first Ironman, met some new (and fast) friends, and ate more Clif Bars than any human should ever consume in their entire life.

My biggest realization this past year, though, has been just how easy this was. With 24 hours in a day, it’s impossible NOT to find ½ an hour to fit in for some running. Sometimes that means laps around the airport, or running just minutes after leaving the hospital, or stopping in a cornfield in Wichita, Kansas to log some miles. Obviously, these past 365 days of running have improved my endurance, and a massive shout-out has to go to HOKA ONE ONE. As a runner severely prone to injuries in high school and college, I know there’s no way I could’ve managed the past year running in anything but the superior shoe that is Hoka (shameless plug FTW).

Perhaps the most common question I’ve received since starting this journey, though, is: what are you going to do once 2015 is over? Well, hopefully this next picture answers that:

Obviously, I'd totally recommend this little experiment. The poster is a nice little reminder every day, and it's totally free (you just pay like, $2 for shipping: https://www.tracksmith.com/products/no-days-off-calendar)

And below, you’ll find my tentative agenda for the 2016 year. Obviously, lots more running (and blogs!) to come:)

January 13^th – Chicago Polar Dash 13.1

January 30^th – Icebreaker Indoor Marathon Relay (Team of 4)

February 6^th – Subzero 5-Mile 

February 14^th – LA Marathon

March 20^th – March Madness 13.1

April 4^th – Shamrock Shuffle 8K

April 30^th – Illinois Marathon