I just realized that Emily and I have run a half together for the past 3 years* (Chicago Half Marathon in 2012 and Prairie State Half Marathon in 2013)! What a perfect way for friends who don’t get to see each other that often to catch up!
This year’s race was the same as last year’s – the Prairie State Half Marathon – but with a faster time goal!
For some reason, I’d kind of forgotten the reputation this race company (All Community Events) has**. Things like (occasional) bad race day logistics, poor communication, incorrectly measured courses… I think I’ve always gone in to their races expecting to have fun so it hasn’t been an issue.
And it still wasn’t this race, although there were some things that seemed off. Packet pickup was super easy, but they didn’t print our names as promised on the bibs. We made the deadline – maybe it’s cause we registered via snail mail? Eh, no biggie.
Everyone had to park remotely and take a bus to the start. I got there an hour before the race and it was fine. I was expecting a cluster; according to Emily, that happened later.
I found nothing online about gear check rules (must not have looked hard enough). I doubted they’d let us give them things that were not in a clear bag and I was right – but they had clear bags there. And a line to wait in to get them. No worries.
The worst thing, which again, didn’t bug me, was that the porta potties were lined along the start of the course. So… all those people like us, waiting to go and just figuring we’d cross the start line as soon as possible since it’s chip timed? Those people opened their porta pottie doors to a wall of runners. Eek! Luckily we got out in time, and it’s nice they still started the race on time. But I bet some runners did not appreciate the people exiting the bathrooms on to the narrow race course.
We started the race about 7-8 minutes late. Which worked out great with the crowds. I remember it being a bit crowded at the start last year and this seemed better, plus we got the boost of passing people most of the race.
The race is on a crushed limestone trail I run often. So why pay to race it, right? I’ve learned that course familiarity really helps me, and man, it’s awesome to share the beautiful fall foliage on this mostly shaded course with other racers.
Our goal was to finish between 2:10-2:15. To start out slower and end faster. Right away, Emily told me it was going to need to be more of a positive split race, which works well, too!
This course has ample aid stations, which Emily walked and I ran slower ahead (walking during a race bugs my knees). I stuck to my fuel every 30 minutes strategy, which worked well.
The first half flew by and I was blabbing away. It was fun to see Erica fly by (and after the turnaround, my neighbor, Jen, running her first half with her husband, Troy)! I was super surprised to see Bobbi right before the turnaround (this is an out and back course). I also saw a few club friends too, and we saw Emily’s mom! What a treat to have so many spectators and know so many people running!
The turnaround was a bit congested, but that was the worst of it! I felt really strong and determined to keep us on pace! Emily had a 2:15 pace band and according to mile markers, we had a minute banked. And… according to our watches compared to mile markers, were also a tenth short on distance. Due to that, I did NOT trust our minute bank. Ha ha.
So the last three miles I went drill sergeant and ran a few steps ahead, encouraging Emily to pump her arms, pick up her feet, find her inner push, and so on.
I was worried I was annoying to her and others, but the people around me said they liked my tips, ha ha. We kept a good pace, still passing some (getting passed by speedy marathoners). I knew Emily would have a finishing kick (after running the Chicago Half Marathon with her) so I encouraged to bring it out right before the end, and she really got pumped when we saw her husband!
Our official time? 2:13:50. My watch hit thirteen miles as we crossed the finish. So… I have to trust the course is right, I guess!
Our posted (on paper) times first showed an added minute to clock time, then later (online) went back down a minute. Ha ha, at first I thought they were adding the missing tenth!
Gear check was a bit of a mess – it took them 10 minutes to find our bags – but luckily it was warm out and we weren’t in a rush! (The weather was great – 35° start, 51° at finish, perfect for a tank. I was grateful for the shaded trail!)
Emily and Adam took the shuttle to get their car and I went and changed just in time to see my neighbor finish (she ran with her husband) and crush her goal big time! Ha ha, right after that, a little girl was convinced I belonged to her crew, calling me “Dani,” so I had to help her find her family, tee hee.
Me, Jen and Troy
I’m really happy with how this went! I wasn’t sure how I’d feel running a half marathon 6 days after a full, at a faster pace, but I felt fantastic the whole time, and never tired!
And it helps that during the whole run, I knew I had brunch to look forward to with Emily and her husband, Adam! They drove to Wildberry and I walked there – my legs appreciated it.
Is it too early to start looking for a half for us to run together next year?!?!
*And we have gotten faster each year – 2:22:52, 2:19:16 and 2:13:50.
**I typically wouldn’t list all this stuff, as none of it bothered me, but I wanted to share it in case anyone stumbled across this race report… and those sorts of things are important for them in choosing a race.
Comments (14) 
Themocracy