Chicago Spring Half Marathon

This is the first race of the Chicagoland Half Marathon series. As most of you know I am in for the medals and this one has a new one and it gets me eligible to get the series one I will complete in the fall.

I was placed in corral G, which wasn’t too bad, it gave me a cushion to be ahead of the end.  This is the first time that I was going to use my interval training on a Half Marathon, so I wasn’t sure how it would go. While I was waiting we saw some friends from Hinsdale. They started the race on time and they released the corrals fairly quick. This year they moved the start and finish on Columbus Drive right next Maggie Daley Park.

We headed south on Columbus Drive and then turned left just before Roosevelt and made our way through the underpass that lead us to the Museum campus. We ran down the lakefront path passing Soldier Field and the McCormick Place. From there it was all open Park and it was a beautiful day for a run. Around mile 3 I saw the lead runner and he was going at a fast pace. We continued to run south and had a turnaround just past 47th street.

I finally found a gel packet that I like which they gave out at this race, it is the Gatorade Endurance Gel, it is not as thick as Gu and it is like juice. Since it rained the night before there were a bunch of puddles that you had to avoid along the path.

When we ran back north we backtracked in a few spots, so I was able to see the last runners and I was able to gauge how much of a cushion I had, and by that time I had enough distance to now worry about it.  We again ran past McCormick Place, Soldier Field and Museums. We continued north on the Lakefront path up to Randolph street. We took a left on Randolph and then another left on Columbus and the end was in sight.

I finished in 2hrs 31min 07sec. My interval training seemed to work, I still have a lot to work with, around mile 10 I started doing double intervals run for 1/2 mile and walk 30 seconds. I am trying to get my time down again so I can use that time for better corral placement, especially in the Disney runs. We didn’t stay for the after activities because I was heading out to California in a couple hours. I did get my plant, which is one of the highlights of this race.  It was again a fun race, the volunteers were great and the medal was bigger than I thought it would be.

Chi Town Half

First half of 2017 and this is one that I haven’t participated before so was looking forward to this one and they have interesting medals. The start was at Montrose Harbor and it the kick off was at 7:00. By the time we got there it was still a bit chilly but it was clear and it was supposed to get warmer.

I was placed in the green corral, which was the last group to go.  This was the first race that I ran that they did not have the national anthem before we started. The route stayed along the lake path. We ran north and it brought us up to the turnaround by Hollywood beach. We headed down south and when we got to Foster we cut through the underpass and ran around the park and went back through the underpass and continued south along the lake path.

We continued down and went along the eat side of Lincoln Park Zoo. Just before the end of the zoo we looped back and headed back north. We ran through the path right next to St. Joseph’s hospital which is my regular route. When we approached the finish they routed us through the bird sanctuary and then had us run through the Montrose park area to complete the 13.1 miles.

The course was good, it was flat and the weather was perfect for running. The only thing was that it was on a busy path and we had to share with other runners and bikers.  At least being in the slow pack I wasn’t with a big group. I finished the in 2hrs 41min 25sec. I tried doing intervals which worked pretty well. I did run 1 mile and walk 30 sec. I kept that through mile 9, bit started getting tired. Then after mile 12 I started getting a cramp in my left thigh. So I increased the intervals. But I felt that it was a good start and I will continue with the intervals.

Infinity Gauntlet Challenge – Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon

This is the last half marathon for me in 2016 and no better way to have it with around 14,000 runners going through the parks and meeting and taking pictures with characters from the Marvel Universe.

There were many people dressed up for the half, but not for me, I cannot handle wearing a costume and accessories for 13.1 miles in a potentially hot run! That is the only thing that I would agree on starting the race at 5:30 in the morning, so it doesn’t get too hot while you are running the first part of the race.

I met up with my cousins Nanette and Todd on the corner of Disneyland Drive and Katella since they were staying at a hotel right across from us. We headed towards the start corrals, Rick veered off when we were by the Grand California Hotel because it would be too crowded by the start and it was closer to where we would see him between the two parks.

Nanette joined me in corral F and we made our way to the front again. The released the corrals fairly quickly so we didn’t have to wait too long. Once we started we ran down Disneyland Drive and took a left on the street right across from Paradise Pier Hotel. This road took us to the back streets of California Adventure where you would see the back of the backdrop of Cars Land. We entered Cars Land where we first see Ornament Valley, which is part of the Radiator Springs Racers. It was still dark so the ride was all lit up, as a side note if you ever go and ride it, it is much better when it is dark out.

The route took us to the street by Luigi’s and exited into a Bug’s Land. We did not stay too long in Bug’s Land and then they led us out to the service streets and had us enter back into California Adventure by Hollywood Land. We took a left at Carthay Circle and made our way through Pacific Wharf and into Paradise Pier. This time we ran in the back of the pier where Toy Story Mania and the arcades are located. We ran in the front side of the pier where we had a great view of Mickey’s Fun Wheel to our right (side note, if you ride the swinging gondolas on the wheel it may not be a “Fun” ride for you). We ran through Grizzly Peak and Condor Flats just before we ended up in Buena Vista Street and exited California Adventure.

In the entrance way between the two parks they had it fenced off so that spectators can cheer us on, that is where I saw Rick, just before I entered Disneyland!

Once in Disneyland they changed the route than before. We ran up Main Street and then ran through the castle. Usually they have us exit the castle, but oh well. From there we ran through Fantasyland, looped back down by the Matterhorn and entered Tomorrowland. They had us run past It’s a Small World and go through Toontown and then back to the service streets just outside of Toontown. When we ran past through the Shuttle area they released us out to the Streets of Anaheim.

They had us run through the Anaheim Convention Center, which was different than last year. In the past they had the route go up the Santa Ana River Trail, this time they avoided it. They routed us so that we would approach Angels Stadium from the West via Gene Autry Way, and entered the area by the parking lot. Just before we entered the stadium they had my favorite part of the race from last year. They had a large group of veterans in their uniform and many people in period dress from the 50’s. People were dancing and cheering us on. After giving as many high fives I could and saying thank you to the veterans we entered A’s Stadium.

When we exited they had a group of people in cosplay and some looked really good. This all was on Gene Autry Way, so I was able to see the oncoming runners and luckily I did not see the balloon ladies. Whew I knew that I had plenty of time.

Finally we were running back towards Disney property and entered the property at Disney Way and Harbor Blvd. This is where I saw Rick again and I also saw the guy that has ridden the Radiator Springs Racers since the beginning of the ride and he is now up to 8,000! This part is the last stretch and just over a mile left to go. We crossed Disneyland Drive into the back parking lot just south of the Disneyland Hotel, where there were cheerleaders from several schools cheering us on. At the 13 mile mark it narrowed a bit, because they were starting the security construction as part of Downtown Disney. Once I saw the finish line I kicked it up a bit, and even heard my name, thought they botched the pronunciation they did say it!

I finished in 3hrs. 31min. 55sec. Which is the exact same time I finished a year ago down to the second! The lines for the characters were not too long so I waited to get some pictures taken with them. I was able to get pictures with Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Dr. Strange. They had Spiderman, but I wasn’t sure how long his line was, plus I already took a picture with him the day before.

The weather was perfect for running, it did get a little warm but it was manageable. The course changed a bit from last year, but I did like it. I just wish that they would have had us run a little bit more inside the park. Running the Gauntlet Challenge was fun, and I got my challenge medal, which the gem this year is Blue which stands for Mind. I had a fun time, and usually find some nice people along the course.

This concludes my Disney race weekend and Disney races for 2016 with a 5k, 10k and Half Marathon under my belt

11/18/16 Update: Official time has been released and I did much better than I thought!  My finish time was 3hrs 11min 24sec.  Wow I shaved quite a bit from last year!  Also they released the finisher certificate for the Half and also the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge.

 

 

Chicago Half Marathon

This was the final race of the Chicagoland Half Marathon Series for 2016. Different from the spring Half this race brought us through the southern area of Chicago, with this series you get to run through the north and south of the city along the side of the lake.

We arrived early and parked by the Museum of Science and Industry While we were walking toward the start I realized I forgot my ear phones, so it was going to be a music less run for me.  We started in Jackson Park, where I bumped into some Hinsdale friends. I was placed in corral L, which when they released all of the corrals at once so it didn’t take too long for me to cross the start line.

We ran up Cornell and around the west part of Jackson park. We ran through the neighborhood streets and parts of the park before we entered Lake Shore Drive. Once we passed the museum we were well on our way up the drive. Running without my music wasn’t that bad, I talked with a couple of pacers that I met at the fort to base run two years ago, heard some interesting conversations, and heard some live bands along the course.

Running along Lake Shore Drive is definitely a different experience than driving it. I didn’t notice the new walking bridge before, and it is definitely much longer getting up to 31st street where we turned around back to the finish. We really lucked out with the weather, it was forecasted to rain, but it turned out to be a really nice morning for a run.

We finished back in Jackson Park, right next to the gold statue. I finished in 2hrs 48min 28sec, much better than my last half and getting back to my average. This year is the 20th anniversary of this race and the medal reflected that with the Roman numeral 20 that spinner in the middle of the huge medal. The challenge medal was nicely designed this year, but not as big as the half medal.  This was an enjoyable race and had a lot of cheerers and volunteers that helped get us motivated to run a bit further and to get to the finish.

Dumbo Double Dare – Disneyland Half Marathon

Part two of the Dumbo Double Dare, the Disneyland Half Marathon, started again at 5:30. This year my cousin Debbie joined the race, and she was assigned the same corral as me. We met her and Charles at Downtown Disney and headed towards the corrals. The security was high this year as compared to last year, they checked all bags as well as the running belts, so it took a while to get past the checkpoint and get to the corrals. Again the weather was perfect for running it stayed in the low 70’s as the previous day. But it got warmer in the late afternoon on Saturday. So in my mind I was telling myself that I  should finish before it gets too hot.

Debbie and I were able to make our way towards the beginning of the corral, and felt that we were well placed to give us enough distance so that we wouldn’t have to worry about the balloon ladies passing us  up. Where our corral was placed we were not able to see the big screen to see the beginning  ceremonies of the race. We did hear the national anthem, but this year they did not have any fireworks  during the song. We were in corral G so it was almost 45 minutes before our corral was released.

When we started running, we went down Disneyland Drive, up until the roadway across from the Paradise Pier Hotel, where we entered the service road behind California Adventure. We entered the  park at the same point as the 10K route, right into Carsland, but this time we ran up the main drag and  turned left towards Paradise Pier. We looped around Mickey’s Fun Wheel again, and then followed the  route to exit the park and went to the cross over to Disneyland by Mile 2, here I saw Rick and then  entered the park. They changed the route so that when we entered the park we took a right to the service roads and then entered the park again by It’s a Small World and ran past Fantasyland, through  the castle and then down Main Street. We again ran through the cross over to California Adventure and  I saw Rick again. This time we ran through Hollywood Studios Backlot and then exited to the streets of  Anaheim. I kind of liked this new route, but this route bypasses Adventureland and New Orleans  Square, I think it is because they already started the Star Wars Land build and I guess the route wouldn’t  be that great right now.

Out in the streets of Anaheim was the same as previous years. Just before we got to Honda Stadium there were stretches of road that had classic cars lined up, as usual it was fun to see and they all  cheered the runners, so that gave us a boost to keep running. Once we passed the Honda Stadium  parking lot we were routed to the gravel/paved trail that lead us to the A’s Stadium. This stretch of the run was a bit narrow, so you would have to navigate between the walkers. The outfield seats were filled with spectators and kids from the cub and girl scouts cheering and giving high 5’s. This is always a treat during the race. The remainder of the race was around the street and routing us back towards the  parks. One of the notable cheer spot was a guy that had a box full of feathers that said take a feather to  help you fly. So I took one and stuck it in my hat, but unfortunately it did not make me fly!

Just before mile 12 we entered the service roadway behind California Adventure at Disney Way and Harbor Blvd. We crossed the street just by the Paradise Pier Hotel and ran through the parking lot toward the Disneyland Hotel and the finish line. Rick was at his usual spot and saw him as I approached the finish. I finished in 3hrs 26min 55sec, again not my fastest time, but did beat my time from last year.

They did not have as much characters on the course as they have in previous years, which was a bummer, but it was still a fun experience. The medal kept with the theme of famous duos, which the depicted Mickey Mouse and Pluto Running with the famous Disneyland D. I picked up my Double Dare Medal and since they were telling people to move and not wait, I hung out at the Medical area icing my knees and waited for Debbie to finish.

Spent the afternoon recovering, visiting family in the Inland Empire and hung out for a bit. The next day Rick and I spent the day at the Parks and had a fun time. This was the 5th year that I participated in the Disneyland Half Marathon and again it was a fun experience and a race that I would continue to do as I am able to.

Chicago Rock n Roll – Half Marathon

Day 2 of the weekend completes the Remix Challenge with a half marathon around downtown Chicago. Arrived in Grant park at 5:45 with plenty of time for the 6:30 kick off of the first corral. This year they placed me in corral 30, which I think they had a total of 38 corrals. They released the corrals pretty quickly, so my wait wasn’t too long.

They also made some changes with the course this year, which I think they did to accommodate the 10k running with us for a portion of the beginning of the course. Also they had us make a lot of turns in the downtown area, it kind of seemed that they did that to keep us in a lot of shade, because last year with the heat we were running a lot in areas where there were less shaded areas. This year it wouldn’t of mattered because it was overcast and it was pretty cool.  The breeze was helpful in keeping a pretty good pace.

For the first half of the course I felt really good, only stopping for a bathroom break and at the aid stations.  I saw Rick at several points along the course and he took really good pictures of me running the course. By mile 8 I started feeling drops of rain. It wasn’t bad until mile 9 it started drizzling then it started to downpour. By that time I crossed lake shore drive and was on the road headed to McCormick place. I started to hear thunder and then lightning. Some course marshals were announcing that there are thunderstorms above us and that shelter was just ahead.  I reached the shelter area which was the enclosed drive at McCormick place which was along stretch.  By the time I was at the end the thunderstorm passed, but it was still drizzling.

By the time we got on lake shore drive heading north it stopped raining, but running in soggy shoes was very uncomfortable and challenging. I took a bunch of walking breaks from mile 11 till the end.  To add to the challenge, my wireless earbuds cut out on me, so for the last couple of miles I was music less, soggy shoes and soaking wet from head to toe!  I finished in 2hrs 56min 3sec. I am happy with my finish time, with this race weekend I feel that I am back in my racing groove, and right on track with my training for the upcoming challenges.

Chicago Spring Half Marathon

Spring has finally come and the Chicago Spring Half marathon turned out to be a beautiful day for running. I was totally undertrained for this run, it has been about a week and a half since I even did a training run. So I was a bit nervous about this run.

When we arrived at the area they already started announcing that the corrals were going to close for the half marathon. So we made our way to the lakefront and found my corral “G” which there were 2 more corrals behind me. So at least there was that buffer. The race started at 7, but it took awhile for our corral to start. Once we started we went south along the sidewalk right by Lake Shore Drive. When we got to the museum campus we started following the lakefront path. We passed the Shedd Aquarium and McCormack Place, then it was just through the path to the parks on the south side. We ran all the way down to 47th street where we turned around and made our way back north. I felt good after the halfway mark and thought I could do this!

This year they introduced the 10k and their bibs were yellow. When I went north I saw a few people on the other direction with yellow bins, and I thought that they missed the turnaround, but when they got closer I saw that it was just a sign that said that they were slow runners in the back of the pack. Going south it was really warm, but going north it was very windy and there was a bit cold, but it was manageable.

The last 3 miles were tough, that when the non-training started to kick in. My upper leg muscles were getting tight, my feet started aching, which could be from my inserts, and I was getting tired. So I took a small breaks every 1/2 mile.

Well, I achieved my goal, to finish. I finished at 2hrs, 58min and 49 sec. At least I was below 3 hrs. I picked up my plants that they were giving out and we hung around for a bit. This has always been an enjoyable race, a nice course along the lake, weather is usually good, and a nice swag.

Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon

April 2, 2016

This is the 4th time running this and it happened to be my 30th half marathon. Located in Sprinfield, IL this race is one that I enjoy. It is about 3 hours drive from Chicago, so it was far enough for an overnight stay.  We stayed at the host hotel so it was really close to the start.

A half fanatic coordinated a meet up for a photo at 7 near the old capital building. Only a few showed up.after we took our picture Rick and I took our usual pictures by the Lincoln statue and at the Lincoln Museum. We still had plenty of time before the start so we hung out and we met another fanatic who was from Maryland.  I also got to take a picture with the guy with the penny costume.

After the national anthem they added something new, the fired a cannon to start the race. The course followed the same course as last year. I liked going through the old historical section, the street is gravel which is my favorite terrain to run in. Last year they had a guy playing taps, but this year he wasn’t there but instead they had Abe and Mary Lincoln giving out high fives.  The course went through the residential areas of Springfield and a couple of parks. We again went through the cemetery which was another highlight where you can see the Lincoln tomb, and that was a indication that the race is almost done.

It was very windy and the temperature was in the 40’s so it was quite a challenge running through that.  It is always nice to see the community out cheering, there were a couple of people handing out tissues, this one kid was passing out bottles of water, and at the part of the course that was on a running track a group of people were passing out popcicles which would of been good if it wasn’t that cold. Nonetheless I thanked them for their support.

I saw Rick at a few spots along the course, which is always nice to see.  For my first run of the year I felt good and I finished in 2hrs 49min 28sec.  We hung out at the finish and took my finisher photo with Abe and Mary Lincoln, and a couple of people in period costumes.

We headed back to Chicago to drive through the weirdest change in weather, sunning to snowy and then back to sunny. Not a good sign for the next race which is the next day.

Infinity Gauntlet Challenge – Avengers Super Hero Half Marathon

It was quite chilly in the morning, I used the space blanket that they gave us after the 10k the day before.  I met up with Nanette and our usual spot and Todd and Nathan joined for the half. A couple of Nanette’s friends also joined this run and actually one of them was someone that was also from Chicago when we were younger and was my sister’s classmate.

We were in corral C, so it didn’t take too long after the national anthem was sung. The difference from the Disneyland half and this one is that they didn’t have any fireworks in the beginning.

Once we started we headed down Disneyland Drive and when we got close to a Paradise Pier we turned left and entered the side road by California Adventure. We entered the park by Carsland. We ran up the main drive and exited by the welcome sign. Just outside of Carsland there was the queue for the Black Widow. I decided that I would wait for the characters since I was in an earlier corral

I met a few runners in costume while waiting, a couple of women that combined a princess with a marvel character, Loki-Belle and Cinder-Thor. I also met a couple from West Virginia which thus was their first Disneyland race and they had stuffed animal rabbit that travels and takes pictures with them.

Just before we exited California Adventure I waited to take a picture with Hawkeye. I saw Rick at the area between the parks and then we entered Disneyland. We ran down Main Street and the took a my usual picture by the Partners Statue.  Then we were routed towards Adventureland and shortly we had the opportunity to take a picture with Captain America. Before we exited Disneyland I took a picture with Thor. Unlike the DL half we were only in the park for less than 2 miles. I have to say that t characters were very convincing, especially Thor, he had the accent an mannerisms as the movie. The captain is much more convincing than the one we saw 2 years ago.

It was a different course than I ran at the DL half, it took us south and we approached A’s stadium the opposite way than the DL half. Just before we ran towards the stadium there was a stretch of the course where there were spectators in cosplay, which I took pictures with some of them. One of the best ones was a guy that looked like Loki.

At the stadium they had a couple school bands in the outfield which were giving high fives. When we exited there was a really neat surprise there were people dressed in Navy and Army uniforms from old and recent periods and also period dress of civilians and medical personnel. When we passed these people they had people dancing as if they were from the past.

The last stretch we ran towad s the park and went through the transportation area for the park and then went to the familiar road towards the end by the Disneyland hotel which had a string of cheerleaders and bands. I saw Rick and then went towards the finish. I finished in 3hrs 31min 55sec. I got my half marathon medal as well the Infinity Challenge medal.  The challenge medal has a large Infinity stone in the back which Nanette told me that each year a different stone will be given. In the Marvel universe if you collect all the infinity gems you will receive a great power. Hmmm I may have to continue this challenge to get all the gems!

One thing I found out with the Disney Races that the last runner/s are escorted to the finish line. With this race the 4 Avengers were there to welcome the last runner to the finish.  Here are Hawkeye, Black Widow, Thor and Captain America waiting. Although it would be fun to be escorted, I don’t want to risk being picked up by the balloon ladies!

Although the distance in the park is short on the half course, you run through it a lot in the 10k. The weather is much suitable for running than it was for the DL half which was really hot and humid. There are not as much character photos in this half and there were not as much entertainment outside of the park.  But overall I did enjoy this run. I assembled and I grabbed the Infinity Gauntlet!

Prairie State Half Marathon

This race took place in the northern suburbs of Chicago, the race started in Libertyville in the Independence Grove forest preserve. I didn’t go to the packet pickup so we had to leave early so we could go to the remote parking and take the provided transportation to the start and pick up my packet.

We got there early enough to get all the pre-race routine our of the way. It was a brisk morning and I am glad I dressed appropriately. This race was both a half marathon and marathon. We both started at the same time at the appointed time.

We went north along the paved path of the forest preserve. Just over the 1 mile mark we started running on the gravel path and that was pretty much the terrain that we ran.

I have to say that this course was very nice and running in nature was quite beautiful. When we passed mile 5to the left you could see roller coaster, which I realized we ran all the way north to Six Flags Great America. I didn’t know that we were that close to the amusement park.

At 6.5 miles we looped back and went south along the same course.  I felt pretty good running this course. The weather started to get warmer and it turned out to be a really nice day. I did see a couple half fanatics along the course and a diverse group of people. Around mile 10 my legs started to get tired and I took a few walking breaks.

I finished in 2hrs 46min 33sec. I am back at my normal time.  Overall it was a beautiful course, a really nice day for a run, I felt good running this half, I enjoyed this run.