Race Recap: Icebreaker Indoor 1/2 Marathon 1/19/13

Posted on January 20, 2013 Updated on January 20, 2013

Have you ever signed up for a race that seems so far away so you keep putting off any “real” training week after week? That is kind of how the Icebreaker Indoor 1/2 Marathon was for me. I had signed up a month or so after completing the Lakefront Marathon once I got word that my running buddy Jenny was going to use it as her first 1/2! After spending 10 of the 12 months of 2012 in training mode and struggling with an injury after Lakefront I have spent the last two months running when/how much  I wanted and focusing on strength/cross training as well. I did do some double digit runs but none of them were super planned out and really only happened around other things in life.

Race day approached quickly as I ran 10 miles home from work last Friday and then declared a taper! Friday night I stretched my usual 2 micro-brews or one bomber micro-brew to 3 micro-brews and some gin. I was more nervous for this race then I can remember being for any other 1/2. I felt under trained and knew I was walking into a brand new experience, running 47.7 laps in a DRY climate controlled area with tons of other runners. Waking up with a sore throat and nasal decongestion did not help!

Before I knew it my parents had arrived to babysit and I was out the door the drive the whole 6 miles to the Pettit National Ice Center. Even though she lives much further, Jenny had beat me there. Once I arrived we went up to the Hall of Fame room and wait and get ready. This is the first race I’ve worn an ankle chip for and I was a little grossed out picking it up, I know they probably disinfect them SOMEHOW but YUCK! We made small talk with other runners took this AWESOME before picture where you can see I look a little out of it.

Once we got down by the track we were informed we would be starting late at 9:35a because someone was still finishing from the 7am heat (which was advertised as having a 2hr cut off time). A heard of runners started walking toward the start line so we followed. As we all gathered on the concrete next to the “track” (aka thin piece of rubber over concrete) all the sudden the start gun went off. A lot of confused runners hustled onto the track and we were off. I felt really BLAH from the start and had told myself to keep around a 10:40 pace for at least the first half. I’m proud to say I did a really good job at that… except there was one problem. It seems my Garmin + Foot pod which I have found to be pretty accurate was not being so accurate. Every lap your name appears on a big screen and tells you how many laps you went, have and your lap time. Since I am bad at math I was just going off my Garmin, not knowing I was actually running closer to 10:00/10:15. This MAYBE could have been aiding in my feeling like JUNK!

Another hard part about this race was for the first 10 miles or so you are constantly passing and getting passed by people which causes for some careful maneuvering. As much as that made it hard at times to keep a steady pace it also kept my mind fresh while running in circles. People were really polite and followed the run on the outside, pass on the inside rule. Not too many side by siders and all in all serious but fun people to run with.

Miles ticked by and it was really helpful that Anthony and Shanna from the American Cancer Society who I had the pleasure of working with through Determination last year were there cheering as well as the NICEST STRANGER EVER. She was there to support her friends from Chicago and they had been sharing a table with us when we were getting ready. She cheered for me like no one’s business and counted down my laps! If by some chance you are reading this I can never thank you enough!

With 2 laps to go I was really confused because my Garmin said I still had almost a mile. I felt like crap by this time and my legs were shot. Using the same muscles do to lack of varying terrain does a number after a while. Turns out my legs are also not use to running that fast for that long.

I ended the day with a HUGE 13 minute PR of 2:11:09. Like a bad ass Jenny finished in 2:00:59 and I look forward to seeing her grow as a runner. Here is our mandatory post race picture:

Though it was a controlled environment it had it’s own challenges. I can’t wait to see what I am capable of this year when I am healthy and trained! Training for Ragnar Chicago 2013 starts this week (pending getting over this cold) and I know there are some pretty great runs in my future.

Tighten Those Laces – LETS RUN!

-Rachel