Race to Wrigley 5k 2023 - Race Recap

As per my previous post, I had been spending an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out my fitness level and ergo, my pace, for the Race to Wrigley 5k. What made my pace calcs difficult was that I hadn't run a race since June and I hadn't run an all-out mile this year. If I had, I could have plugged that mile time into a race pace conversion calculator.

So, based on a hunch, I figured I was somewhere near a 20:30 5k fitness level. So, my strategy was this: Start out at a 6:45 per mile pace for mile one and then if I felt good, drop the pace down to 6:30 and 6:15 and somehow squeak out a 19:59 finish in the final 0.10.

Here's what I came up with:

Option A:

If I really wanted to go sub-20, I would need to be aggressive in the final two miles. So that would mean I would need something like:

6:45, 6:30, 6:15, 5:30 = ~19:59

Option B:

If at the end of mile 1 at 6:45/mi pace, I feel I'm maxed out, I'll just hold that pace for miles 2 and 3:

6:45, 6:45, 6:45, 5:30 = ~20:59

Pre-Race:

Woke up at 5:40am, got dressed, had coffee and ate half of a gf snack bar. My aunt graciously offered to drop me off near the race. So, I walked to her house at 6:50am. She drove a back road route to Wrigley and we were there in less than 10 minutes. So, I was there almost a full hour before the race start. 

Pre-Race before we got to run on Wrigley Field

I met my coworker at 7:30 who had my race bib, I checked my bag and did a little bit of jogging up and down Clark St. and then Addison over to corral A for the race. I stood in the corral for about 15 minutes listening to the pre-race instructions and the national anthem.

Since I was in the first wave, soon thereafter the horn sounded and we were off!

The Race:

My head is between the red and white shirts in the middle

Mile 1: The first mile goes due west on Addison and then north on Ravenswood. I looked down at my watch and saw that I was "only" running about a 6:50 pace and although it was comfortable, I needed to speed up if I wanted to hit either Option A or Option B. However, I kind of knew at this point that given that I was at the edge of my comfort level I would not be able to hit Option A, so I thought I would just run by feel and not worry about breaking 20:00. 6:36/mile.

Mile 2: This race is all about getting to run on Wrigley Field. However another bonus to the race is that mile 2 follows the "cemetery stretch" of Irving Park Road that I run on at least once a week (to get to the LFT). So I knew every contour of this part of the race. Maybe I had a "home court advantage" because I started to speed up ever so slightly? 6:33/mile.

Mile 3: As soon as we got past the "cemetery stretch" it was time for the final mile and onto Wrigley Field. I will say, that it was surreal to be running a race on neighborhood streets, run along a brick wall for a block and then suddenly be thrust onto the field of a Major League team. Wild.

On Wrigley by the Cubs dugout

On our way around the field I touched the outfield ivy, I was nervous as to whether security would admonish me, but just then saw a runner rip off a leaf. So if they were going to to after anyone it would likely not be me. Anyway, we circled around the infield by the dugouts and home plate and just as quickly as we got in there, we were leaving. As a parting shot they showed me on the Jumbotron in right field. 6:29/mile.

Mile 3.16: My only motivation at this point was to try and pass people that were losing steam, as their adrenaline rush from running on Wrigley was fading. I knew that the finish line would be after a sharp turn on Clark and that it was "blind" as we couldn't see it until we were almost there. So, I started my kick before anyone else and ended up passing 3 or 4 people.

Kicking down Clark

I stepped on the mat and raised my arms. I was finished!. 5:47/mile.

Finished!

Stats:

Official Finish Time: 20:43

Official Pace: 6:40/mile

Garmin Pace: 6:30/mile

Place Overall: 56th out of 4,085

Place Age Group: 3rd out of 250

Analysis:

My Garmin pace shows that if perhaps I had run in a straight line, I may have had a sub-20 within my grasp. However, my Garmin says I ran 3.18 miles, so I likely didn't run the tangents very well, or my GPS got a little wonky when we went under the right field bleachers. 

Anyway, here are some positive takeaways:

• My pre-race predicted fitness level was pretty spot on.
• Negative splits!
• Almost 3 minutes faster than my last 5k. I love these large time chunk gains when you are getting back into running. I think shaving off another 3 minutes may be impossible, or would require me to train constantly!

Post Race:

I met up with my co-workers and then one of them mentioned I was third in my AG, so I left them all and sat at the awards ceremony for 15 minutes just to find out that they didn't give out AG awards, just overall winners. Womp! So, I headed over to a bar to meet the coworkers and use the free beer ticket which could be used at most Wrigley bars. After a couple of beers and some conversation, I walked the 2+ miles home.

I'm not going to race for another month until Thanksgiving. Ideally, I'd like to run the Lincolnwood Turkey Trot 10k and the Schaumburg Turkey Trot Half Marathon which are six days apart next month.

Next Up:

Lincolnwood Turkey Trot 10k and/or the Schaumburg Turkey Trot?