Race Report: Chicago Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon

(What day is it today? Is it really Friday? This two-day work week is great - I think I've caught on to something here.) I just got back from five days in the mid-west, where I was able to eat, drink and run my through the streets of Chicago. The city was amazing - the run was flat and fast - and the food and drinks made me want to stay longer. Here's a recap of the events.

Pre-Race

We flew out of LaGuardia at 6:30am Saturday morning, landing sometime around 8:00am Chicago time. Having had the week from hell in terms of work and commitments, I was running on fumes at this point but knew we had a packed day ahead of us before race day on Sunday. Seven of us were on the same flight and we met the remaining two at the Hilton Chicago. I highly recommend this location to anyone thinking of doing this race. The start and finish lines are directly across the street in Grant Park and it's super easy for anyone watching the race to get around.

After walking up to the Expo - which I considered my "shake out the rust run" since we ended up walking over 1.5 miles - we grabbed our swag and tooled around a bit, checking out what the vendors had to offer. I made an impulse decision to buy The Stick and it turned out to be one of the better decisions of my life. Amazing. I really don't know why it has taken me so long to invest in one of these bad boys. Looked at a few other items but didn't make any other rash purchases - however, SJ did get a few Christmas present ideas, hint hint.

Post Expo browsing and nap time, we hit up an architectural boat tour - highly recommend - and then we met up with our Chicago local Dave who took us to an amazing pre-race carbo load at a place called Mario's Table in the Gold Coast. (Shout out to Dave - who was absolutely fantastic as a tour guide! Everywhere he recommended was great and he knew some awesome places to go for food and drinks.) We finally made it back to the hotel to pass out for a few hours before the race in the morning.

Race Day

 We were staying in a classy hotel so we needed

a classy picture.

Since we were staying in the best location ever, we all met around 6:00am to walk over to the starting line. That was probably cutting it a bit too close, since I ended up having to literally jump an 8 foot fence and just squeaked into my corral with about 2:00 to spare before the gun went off - but it also meant I didn't have time to dawdle. I basically had time to set up Pandora and my Garmin and then we were released.

The run was flat and fast, and I knew by mile 3 that I had done every runner's worst thing and gone out too quick. Passing mile 4 in less than 28:00, I knew I would have to back off or else someone would be calling an ambulance for me around mile 8. I caught up with our cheerleaders Liz and Lauren - who were absolutely outstanding as a support team - around mile 6 and that gave me a little extra oomph to get through that middle mile. Turning the corner onto Michigan Avenue, the crowd was going crazy which made everyone on the course kick it up a notch.

We hit the Gu and Gatorade station at mile 9.1 and after looking at my Garmin - whom I have taken to calling "Alistair" - I realized I was running well over the race mileage by almost 6/10s of a mile. That threw me off big time because I thought I was on pace to PR but according to the race mileage I was well over that. I passed by our tour guide Dave - who had been bike marshaling for the big guns out front - around mile 10 and asked if the course was long. He said a few other runners had commented on the distance but he wasn't sure.

We went through the tunnel under the Expo around mile 11 and the DJs had decked out the entire tunnel in strobe lights and were playing some great running tunes - house beats and a bass - and it totally got me back into the groove. Coming up and around Soldier Field we hit a long straight away that took us into Grant Park and towards the finish. The street was lined with spectators and the crowd surrounding the chute was loud and crazy.

Official race time has me crossing the finish line in 1:39.39 - slightly slower than what I wanted to do but still a good time overall considering I was using this as a training run for NYC. However, my Garmin had me at 13.72 - so either I weaved in an out of people enough to add almost 6/10s of a mile to my route or the course was running long. Either way it was a great day.

Race Crew

Like I said, there were 9 of us on this trip (we missed you, Jade!) and everyone did a fantastic job. Liz and Lauren were our support crew and walked the streets of Chicago cheering us on and our two half-marathon virgins, Susan and Kristi, absolutely rocked it! Shannon, SJ, Ei and Laura rounded us out and we all finished with great times and smiling faces needing a drink. So that's what we did.

 Looking fly, ladies. Post-race and pre-boozy brunch!

Post-Race Party

I always love me a good post-race party, and the Chicago Half didn't disappoint. Because it was a Rock 'N Roll half, there were bands along the course and a band playing on the stage at the end. Michelob Ultra was the beer sponsor and every racer was given one free drink ticket for post-race consumption of alcohol (my favorite). Personally, I think that if you just ran 13.1 (maybe 13.7) miles you should be given more than one free bevie, but that is why I'm not a race director - my races would probably lose money on the amount of alcohol I would give away. However, I would gladly pay $10 more per race to drink my face off after - post-race buzzes are the best.

We found our way to the Mich Ultra beer tent and sat down to consume our post-race drinks. I managed to somehow talk my way into a second free beverage (it pays to be nice) and then we hit the streets to head back for even more post-race bevies at brunch.

Wrap-Up

Overall I would give this race a 7 out of 10. The run was fast and flat and the atmosphere was fun. Hearing about other Rock 'N Roll races, I thought it would have been a little bit more rockin' and rollin' but there were only really a few spots where I got into the bands. They could probably have bands/DJs every half-mile and make it a bit more festive, but it was better than other half-marathons I have done (I'm talking about you, LI Half-Marathon and running along Jericho Turnpike for 3 miles). There were a few dead spots on the run where not a lot of spectators were, but the overall package was great. I wouldn't run it again, but I would recommend it to others who haven't done it.

Beers Consumed in Chicago

The following are a list of beers I was able to get my hands on while in the Midwest. I tried to keep things as local as possible, but sometimes it was necessary to go to an old stand-by:

Outlander IPA
Wailua Ale (Kona Brewing, HI) - brewed with pomegranate, too sweet for my taste
Goose Island - 312, Green Line, Honker's Ale, Summer Time, IPA
Daisy Cutter Pale Ale (Half Acre Beer Company) - a very hoppy, very delicious beer enjoyed at the beach (really!)
Chain Breaker White IPA (Bend, OR) - delicious and smooth
One bourbon barrel Root Beer from a place in Wisconsin
Lots of Angry Orchard that made me turn a violent shade of red and break out in a rash - that's called an "Irish Sunburn" my friends

All-in-all it was a very successful journey to the Midwest. I liked both racing and getting it done early so that I had the rest of the trip to relax and enjoy a few a lot of adult beverages. It made my lack of serious training over the next few days easier to forgive. I wonder how long I can keep using the "I ran a half marathon on Sunday so I can skip my workout today" excuse?

I hope to someday return to that part of the world - anyone interested in biking RAGBRAI next year with me? C'mon - you know you want to!