2014 Ravenswood Run 5k Race Recap

The Ravenswood Run 5k took place this morning in my breathtakingly quaint neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel was also on hand to cheer people on as the course winds its way near his house as well. Anyway, when I last posted, I had made a highly technical prediction that I would finish around 19 minutes. I had planned to break the race down into the following splits:

 6:20, 6:10, 6:00, 5:50

However, as the start time got closer and closer, the weather forecast - especially the wind (>25 mph gusts), was casting some doubts that I would be able to run that fast.

Pre-Race:
I woke up at 6 am for a two and a half mile shakeout run. I actually ran from my house to Lawrence and ran the last mile or so of the Ravenswood Run course. As I ran east on Lawrence - straight into the headwind coming unabated straight off of the lake - I knew that my hopes of a super fast kick were not realistic. I would just have to settle for a fast kick.

When I returned home, I had a cup of coffee, a bagel with peanut butter and a banana. My dad was ready to go, so at about 7:40 we ran over to the starting area. As I neared the starting line, I told myself that a decent plan B would be 6:30, 6:20, 6:10, 6:00 considering the conditions.

I had just enough time to do a couple of pickups as the announcer was calling the runners to the start corral. I positioned myself in the second row. The national anthem happened and then we were off!

Me (in orange) at the 2011 Ravenswood Run

The Race:
Mile 1: I started too far up in the corral and was immediately passed by about 50 runners. On the positive side I was way on the left hand side so I don't think I slowed anyone down. I glanced at my Garmin and saw I was running 6:00/pace, and knew that I had to slow down as the wind would be a factor for the last mile. So I dropped back a bit. Suddenly I saw Lynton and his dog who cheered me on. They were allegedly standing near Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, but unfortunately, I did not see Mr. Mayor. 6:22/mile.

Mile 2: This mile was nice, because the wind was to our backs pretty much the entire time. I fought the urge to push the pace a little faster as I kept reminding myself that the final mile would be a killer as the big tailwind would turn into a mighty headwind.  6:12/mile.

Mile 3: This is the "showcase" mile of the race, because the course winds through the ultra-quaint Lincoln Square shopping area right in front of the Chicago Brauhaus and Gene's Sausage Shop. It is in this area that I spectated last year (see pictures here). Anyway, the tailwind was about to end as we made our way east onto Lawrence Ave. I muttered "here we go" and got a chuckle or two from nearby runners as no one was looking forward to this windy stretch. All I can say is that it is lucky I saved up a little juice for the final 3/4 mile as it was entirely into the wind. We got a little relief as we headed south onto Damen, but once we hit the homestretch on Wilson it was all headwind. 6:08/mile.

Tera Moody at the 2013 race in front of the
 Chicago Brauhaus

Mile 3.15: I spotted two gentlemen ahead of me, and by the looks of their hair (or lack thereof) I decided that they were likely in my age group. So I snuck up behind them and in the final 200 yards "slammed down the hammer" and whizzed by them. In fact it turned out that they were in my AG!  5:16/mile.

Stats:

Official Finish Time: 19:29

Official Pace: 6:17/mile

Garmin Pace: 6:11/mile

Place Overall: 74th out of 3,334

Place Age Group: 4th out of 142

Analysis:
I missed my prediction by 19 seconds and missed placing in my age group by four seconds - oh well, it happens. Anyway, it turns out that saving up enough energy for the last windy mile paid off as it was my fastest mile.  However by not cutting the tangents properly - I ran 3.15 miles - thereby adding at least 15 seconds to my time. The old Ravenswood Run course had just 7 turns and this new course has 11. So, next time, I'll have to be more conscious of the turns. Also, props to my dad who finished 3rd in his age group!

I have a half marathon in 6 days, so to determine my half pace, I plugged a 19:29 5k into the McMillan Calculator. This yields just about a 1:30 half marathon time. So if I run a smart race next weekend, I am hoping to get a second or two under that number!

Post Race:
I grabbed some water and headed over to watch for other bloggers/friends to finish, I waved to Erica who was in the finishing chute. I then spotted Eric, who was running the last 100 yards and I yelled for him to kick it! Then I walked back over the course and bumped into Lynton again. We chatted for a minute or so, then I made my way back further. I spotted my dad and ran with him for a couple of minutes. Then I turned around and went further back and found fellow WRCE members Mo, Anne and Jennifer. I ran and chatted with them for a few minutes. I spotted a co-worker of mine a little further up in the pack and went over to say hi to him.

Wurst Runners (WRCE) post-race. (src: Anne).

I found my dad at the finish and we chatted with fellow WRCE members for a few more minutes. Then we left and ran a mile over to Julius Meinl for some post-race Austrian breakfast.

Austrian coffee at Julius Meinl

Next Up:
The Indy Mini Marathon in six days!

Shamrock Shuffle 2014

Since I have been nursing an ankle injury for the better part of the last few months, I was only able to squeeze in four weeks of low-miles training for the Shamrock Shuffle. I got in a 40 mile week two weeks before the race which helped my endurance, but it also help set off some ankle pain  (too much, too soon?), so I took most of last week off from running to try and get healed up for the race. In any case, I still wanted to "race" the Shuffle and try and score some points for my team the Bootleg Runners Coalition. However with so many speedy teammates, I expected that my time would merely serve as a "backup" in case someone could not make it.

Pre Race
My neighbor Tad and I left for the race at about 7:20 and parked at our $14 spot just a quarter mile from the start line. Unfortunately, due to security concerns, they were only allowing runners entrance to Grant Park through a couple of access points. This took us about a mile of run/walking to get to. So, after checking my bag, I only had a few minutes for a real warm-up jog, before I made my way to the A corral to scout out other Bootleggers.

Once in the corral, I spotted fellow Bootleggers Lynton, Annabelle and Ken. After a brief chat and the national anthem - we were off.

The Race:
Mile 1: I was right behind Annabelle and half contemplated trying to run with her, but I thought the better of it as she is in Boston shape and I felt it better to run my own pace. This was a complete flashback to the 2013 Chicago Marathon, where I also ran behind Annabelle for a mile or so, later in the race. 6:35/Mile

Mile 2: I started feeling really good and started to push the pace a little too much. 6:20/Mile

Mile 3: I knew I was running too fast, so actually using my brain, I slowed down so I would have some energy for the homestretch. Flashbacks to the Hot Chocolate 2013. 6:36/Mile

Mile 4: Started to get winded but I knew I had enough energy to put this one away. 6:20/Mile.

Mile 4.97: One thing I have been doing regularly in training is using the stair climber, so hitting Mt. Roosevelt was slightly less painful than anticipated. However, when I got to the top, a guy running directly in front of me STOPPED! I put my arm out in front of me to deflect off of him and try and avoid a fall. I think he was winded by the climb, but decided to choose the exact spot where I was accelerating to recover. I had to swing to the outside to get clear of him costing me a couple of precious seconds.

Climbing Mt. Roosevelt

About to make the turn...

Way on the outside after almost falling

Anyway, with only daylight ahead of me, I sprinted down the hill towards the finish line where I heard Annabelle's name being called as a finisher. I also heard my name called as a member of the Bootleggers! Very cool. 6:19/Mile.

My Official Results

Analysis: It turns out this was my 2nd fastest 8k ever. I think I did quite well, considering my short training cycle. I also ran a somewhat sweet negative split. My next race is the Indy Mini (Half Marathon). I'm hoping that if I can run 6:30/mile for 5 miles, I should be able to run 7:00/mile for 13.1. In order to do this, I need to concentrate on endurance runs and very little on speed. Hopefully, this type of training should help my ankle stay relatively healthy. Also the BRC got 2nd place and my time counted toward the total score! Although, I was the #4 runner, it feels good to contribute.

BRC will be back for 1st place next year!

Post Race: 

I walked down the finishers chute and met up with Todd, Ken and Annabelle.

Finishers' chute with the BRC

We walked over to the packet pickup, got our stuff and made our way to the Buckingham Fountain post-race party. We bumped into Mo (who had run a marathon the day before! Wow!). The group got setup by the fountain with Mo providing a mylar blanket to sit on. Then we had some libations with Eric and Jennifer. My neighbor Tad showed up and had a beer or two before he needed to split. Then Maggie, Anne and her friend showed up and of course it was time for photos:

Eric, Jennifer and Mo (who ran a marathon the day before!)

Hangin'

Lynton, Anne and her friend

Maggie, Lynton and the Green Guys

The gang (BRC and WRCE)

Then it was off to O'Donovans with some of the group for a gut-buster post-race buffet.

The Future:
I'm looking forward to some more CARA races with the BRC and am cautiously optimistic I can keep injury-free if I don't push myself too hard (fingers crossed).