Last Sunday (Sept 18), I ran a 1-Mile race at the Chicago Navy Pier. My running muse, Beth, suggested it as just a fun run to see how fast I could run a mile (since I wouldn't have to hold anything in reserve). So I figured, "Why not?!"
I got up at 5AM so that I would have enough time to foam roll, dress, eat breakfast, and make the long drive into the city. I got there at 6:50am so I warmed up by walking to the finish line and then taking a calm jog around the route (up and back down the pier) to the starting line. It was good that I did that too because it loosened up that left hammy (yeah, it still twinges on me). I checked my gear bag and waited. I started talking with a group of women who were also waiting and in no time, we were fellow running buddies! That's when it started raining! The forecast said rain in the AFTERNOON! Ah crap! And of course, the older age groups were the first wave to go.
Crossing the Finish at 8 minutes 58 secondsSo we gathered at the starting line and at 7:45am the race began. I started out pretty strong. Then I almost embarrassed myself. I was wearing my new compression knickers with my running shorts over top. Well, I did not cinch up the drawstring enough. So with the knickers being somewhat sleek, my shorts starting falling down! Luckily, I caught them before they dropped too far (not that anything would have been showing cuz the knickers had me covered), but it really gave me a 'start'! Hahaha!
I didn't want to stop to tie them tighter so I basically ran the entire mile with my right hand holding onto the waistline of my shorts so they wouldn't fall down! Oh my gosh! How ridiculous! Hahaha
So I reach the 1/2 mile point. It is raining, I am holding up my shorts, but otherwise feeling pretty strong still! I am just running hard and I can see the finish line. So that is my only focus. I cross the timing mat and see my time being just after 9 minutes! Wow! I am so excited because before this, my fastest mile was maybe 9:40 during a training run. My Polar said 9:07 but I wanted to wait for my official chip time.
The great news was that my chip time was 8 minutes, 58 seconds!!!! Fastest Mile Ever for me!! I was so happy I could barely contain myself! I don't know if it was the compression knickers, the stretching and warm-up job, my excitement, or all of the above. But it was an awesome feeling!
So I waited for the other ladies to finish. They all were really happy with their times as well. They all kept saying that their whole goal was 'to catch Rick'! After the last people finished, they had the awards. Well, I finished fifth in my age group, so no medal for me (the other four guys were 7 minutes or faster so I wasn't too upset about it). But each of the ladies won age group medals!!! That was pretty cool, actually. They all said it was because they were chasing me that they ran so well. Hey, whatever works, right?