Rock n Roll Chicago Half Marathon 2013

Saturday
This was going to be one of those quick expensive trips. Fly in on Saturday, leave on Sunday. I was unable to find any cheap tickets into Chicago so I almost decided not to run this race. But it's Chicago. It's a fun interesting city to visit. The next time I come here, I'm going to have to start exploring other places besides the downtown area. I ended up taking an early Southwest flight out of LAX.

After landing in Midway, I took the orange line train to Roosevelt. Then caught the R22 bus down to the Cermak-Chinatown train station. Apparently they were working on renovating parts of the red line, so the free bus service was provided in the meantime. Good thing I checked everything out before I flew out. I then walked over to the McCormick Place. I was sweating like a mad man since it was super humid and I was carrying my bag with me.

Chinatown, maybe I'll eat here next time

It was a relief to finally make it inside the air conditioned McCormick Place. I was having to constantly wipe the sweat off of my forehead. At the Health & Fitness expo, we got to scan our bib at the each of the Rock 'n' Roll Connect kiosks for a chance to win prizes from Maui Jim, CEP and Garmin. Well that's one way to get us to stop by some of these booths. I stopped by the Disney booth to check out the medals for the Disneyland Half Marathon. I can honestly say that I was not impressed with the medals or the lanyards. On my way out of the expo, I bumped into a couple of my runner friends. It was a quick hi and goodbye as we all had places to go.

Not really ready to rock a half marathon in the heat

Upcoming Disney medals

Dumbo Double Dare

I dreaded the walk back to the bus stop at Chinatown. Again I was drenched in sweat. After being dropped off at the train station, I took the red line into the Loop and got off at Monroe. On my way over to the Silversmith Hotel on Wabash, I stopped by a Target to pick up some snacks and drinks. When I tried to check in, I was notified that they had overbooked and that they did not have a room for me. They were going to put me up in another nearby hotel, the Wyndham Blake on Dearborn Street. They gave me $10 for cab fare. Instead of waiting for the cab, I just decided to walk it. So I ended up making $10 for my troubles. It was a nice and pretty modern hotel. The shower kind of sucked but I didn't really care. I went through the Vitamin water and bag of beef jerky as I was pretty hungry and thirsty.

I love beef jerky

After going through my expo "haul" and relaxing a bit, I went out to pick up dinner. I stopped by Epic Burger just a couple of blocks away. I ordered an Epic Burger with a fried egg and bacon. I took it back to my room to eat only to noticed that they had forgotten the bacon. I guess health wise that was a good thing. It was decent but far from epic. :)

I laid out my race gear before going to sleep. I brought the only pink shirt that I had and my breast cancer awareness shoes in honor of my friend who was just recently diagnosed with breast cancer. :(

Sunday
I woke up, got ready, and walked the few blocks over to the starting area. I checked my bag then grabbed a banana and water before heading over to the Buckingham Fountain for the pre-race Maniacs/Fanatics photo. Too bad the fountain wasn't turned on that early in the morning. I think from now on I'm going to skip the pre-race photos unless I'm wearing the Maniac colors or meeting a friend there. I'm just not involved enough with this group. The introvert in me wants to go back to being an anonymous runner. Anyways, I made it over to my corral and waited for the race to start. It was so humid that I was sweating just standing there.

I ended up starting at the back of the 1:45 pace group. It was pretty crowded at the start, but I made sure not to zig zag knowing full well that my left leg was still very weak. The stride was starting to feel normal but I still had no power from my left leg. The pace for the first two miles felt ok, but it was too humid for my taste. I made a conscious effort not to accelerate. It was fun running through the downtown area. When you've run so many marathons, you start thinking of a half marathon as only a half. But only when you've become so out of shape do you realize just how tough 13.1 miles can be. My legs began shutting down right before I got to the 10k mark. I tried to keep it together and take the S-caps every 30 minutes. But I was just unable to overcome the lack of fitness. The cramps just kept getting worse and worse until I approached the mile 12 marker and the legs stopped working. I walked all of the final mile or so just trying not to end up a statue or falling over. It hurt a lot walking with every single muscle spazzing out of control. It was also quite embarrassing to be walking so slowly towards the finish line with thousands of people watching and cheering.
1: 8:21
2-3: 18:04 (9:02)
4: 10:27
5-6: 20:17 (10:09)
7: 10:27
8: 11:03
9: 11:21
10: 11:54
11: 11:00
12: 14:11
13: 19:16
13.1: 2:16
Finish: 2:28:38

I picked up my medal, a cold wet towel, Gatorade, water, and some Jamba Juice and headed over to gear check to pick up my bag. The cold Jamba Juice was really good. I walked back to my hotel, relaxed, showered, packed, and was ready to kill some time before heading to the airport for my evening flight home.

I checked out and went out to hit a few touristy spots. Originally I was then going to watch a movie at the movie theater near the Navy Pier, but my friends invited me to go celebrate with them. How can I say no to friends and some post-race beers? :)

Buckingham Fountain

Cloud Gate

It was pretty dang hot, so I walked over to a nearby bar, The Gage, to cool down while I waited for my friends to get cleaned up. I sat at the bar and had a couple of beers before my friends showed up. We ate lunch here and shared our race experience.

Revolution Anti-Hero IPA

Goose Island Matilda

Chicken and biscuits

Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier

My friends wanted to watch the soccer game at another bar, so we walked over to a bar called The Bar Below. But first we made a stop by Garrett Popcorn Shop for my friends to pick up some snacks. It smelled pretty good during the race when we ran by. When we made it to the bar, I ordered a Sweet Dreams Martini, but I probably should've ordered food instead. The drink was very sweet and I ended up with a stomach ache for the rest of the day. After the first half of the soccer game was over, my friends decided to move to another bar. We went to Kasey's Tavern to catch the second half of the game. It was also pretty close to my friend's hotel as eventually we all had to head to the airport. They opted to cab it and I took the train.

Sweet Dreams Martini... too sweet

The other Pasadena Half Marathon 2013

Saturday
I was pretty much set on not running this race because they could not secure a permit to hold the marathon. Their longest distance would be the half marathon. I was also looking to give my sore left ankle some time off. But come Saturday morning, the ankle felt pretty good so I thought I'd give it a go. The expo this year was at the Fuller Seminary. It was a teeny tiny expo. It was kind of disheartening to see a race shrink year after year. I found the registration table and signed up for the half marathon for $114. Then I got in line to pick up my shirt and bib. They were giving out jars of Biscoff spread in the goodie bags. I thought the shirt design was very strange, very similar to that fugly first Stadium to the Sea LA Marathon shirt.

Expo at Fuller Seminary

Race shirt and Biscoff spread

Sunday
I drove out to PCC and took all of the back roads to avoid the traffic. I got to the usual parking lot at about 5:30am. It always helps to have gone here to take some classes back in the day to know the area. It was already pretty warm. After using the portapotty, I sat on some stairs to wait for the start. While waiting, I bumped into a couple of my friends. As we were waiting we saw a small dog in a stroller. How nice it is to be a cute small dog, but what a warm day for a ride. I wore my cotton McDonald's t-shirt to remind myself to just take it easy. I think cotton also helps as a swamp cooler in warm weather.

Doggy getting a ride

The first two miles were ok, but felt awkward. Then it quickly went downhill from there. As we did an out and back on the Suicide Bridge, I was already having to slow down. By the time we got to the Rose Bowl, I was burning up. I had to pull over and walk to cool down. I was able to speed up a little bit once there was some shade. While I was headed on my way out of the Rose Bowl, I overheard a couple of the walkers near the back of the pack comment on my shirt. One said to the other, "why is he wearing a McDonald's shirt?" The other replied, "maybe he was once fat." :) Once we were exposed to the sun again I slowed down especially when we got to the hill leaving the Rose Bowl. Thank goodness they were passing out lots of water and wet towels. After getting through the climb, it was a pretty nice run to the finish if it weren't so hot. I was dumping water on my head and neck. Once I got on Colorado Blvd, it was a start shot to the finish. The McDonald's where I used to eat breakfast all the time while going to PCC was like the Citgo sign at Boston. The finish line was just up ahead.

Finish line is right up ahead

1: 8:22
2: 8:47
3: 8:56
4: 10:38
5: 12:33
6: 14:17
7: 10:04
8: 10:54
9: 11:50
10: 13:02
11: 12:25
12: 11:39
13.1: 11:51
Finish: 2:25:18

Looking at my mile splits. I should've just run the 5k. :)

There wasn't much given out at the finish line by the time that I finished. Water was already pretty scarce. The volunteers were doing the best they could to help everybody out. I always make it a point to bring my own water bottle so I could at least be fine if nothing were given out at the finish. Then I picked up by far the ugliest medal that I ever did see. Granted I don't really run races for medals but please don't give me some ugly piece of crap. I personally think only winners and people on the podium should get anything. I wish more races would reduce their registration fees and stop giving out participation medals. Maybe participation ribbons... I'm sure they're much cheaper.

Cheapest and ugliest medal out of all of the races that I've run

To add insult to injury, at about 20 minutes after I finished, the finish line announcer informs the finishers that they have run out of finisher's medals. Finishers not receiving a medal would have to email them so that they can order more and send them out. I would later hear that the volunteers were not well trained and were giving half marathon medals out to runners in the shorter distances. Wow... what a way to go out if this was their swan song. It would also appear that this was the last year for the race director which made sense since he was heavily promoting his other race (Huatulco Marathon) in Mexico.

Rock n Roll Seattle Marathon 2013

Friday
I drove out early to LAX, early enough to not get caught in the morning work traffic. This was one of the few times that I've flown with Alaska Air. It could be my first time, but I don't remember. Anyways, once I landed at SeaTac airport, I made my way over to the light rail station. For a second, I couldn't remember the layout of the airport, but when I started walking around, everything started coming back to me. I got off at the Stadium station and walked over to the CenturyLink Field Event Center for the race expo.

Alaska Air

I went through the expo, taking a few samples here and there. I like the Larabars and Powerbar Performance Energy Blends. Those energy blends remind me of apple sauce in a pouch. I then made my way over to the RnR booth and signed up for next year's race. This race is one of the few races where I'm actually a legacy runner. Granted it's only in it's 5th year. I'll see how long I can maintain the status. Apparently I'm the only Cheng on their legacy list. Probably the only Emil as well. :)

Expo Special

5 year legacy runner

After leaving the expo, I took a walk over to the Ivar's Fish Bar to eat lunch. I got my usual jumbo prawns, but this time I got the red clam chowder. I still prefer the white chowder. It's pretty good decent inexpensive seafood and the seagulls love the fries if you don't want to finish all of them. If you want something fancier, they have a sit down restaurant next door.

Jumbo prawns and red clam chowder

After lunch, I took a very long walk along the Alasakan Way all the way up to Broad St before turning north to head up to my hotel in Lower Queen Anne. Normally the walk wouldn't be a problem, but I was carrying my bag with me. My shoulders were sore and I was pretty sweaty and tired by the time I reached the hotel. So much for staying off of your feet the day before the race. Luckily I was able to check in a little earlier than their normal check in time. I was given two old school keys, one for the hotel (they close at 10pm) and one for the room. They gave me a room on the third floor. They only have stairs, no elevators. The room was old, but nice and clean. It almost felt like the house that I grew up in. It had a small kitchen, a fridge, and a microwave. The TV was an old CRT. From my room, I could see the Space Needle, the location of the start and finish lines of the race.

I relaxed a bit while watching TV and going through my expo haul. I got a thin cotton t-shirt (I still prefer cotton for my t-shirts) for signing up for next year's race, a long sleeve tech shirt for being a legacy runner, and another Boston bracelet. I also picked up some über bars and a couple of those Powerbar Performance Energy Blends. The legacy runners were given green colored bibs.

3 different locks, rough neighborhood?

CRT

Bathroom

Kitchen and fridge

Bed

View of the Space Needle

Expo haul

I met up with a couple of Marathon Maniacs for dinner. One of them, I met for the first time. We walked over to the International District to eat at Fuji Sushi. We made a quick stop by the Uwajimaya supermarket before heading to the restaurant. I picked up a bunch of drinks for the weekend. At the sushi restaurant, we had to sit at the sushi bar because we didn't make a reservation which was perfectly fine with me. I ordered their deluxe chirashi. It was pretty good. Somehow I ended up eating my friend's seared ahi by mistake since the chef put the food right in front of me. It's always dangerous to put food in front of a foodie. :) I thought it was part of my "deluxe" meal. :)

Sushi bar

Deluxe chirashi and seared ahi

After dinner, we walked around in search of some dessert. I kept them company but didn't eat any since I don't normally eat desserts. Afterwards, the local Marathon Maniac among us dropped us off at our hotels. Before hitting the hay, I laid out my race gear. I decided to run with Team Red, White, and Blue.

Race gear

Saturday
I woke up, got ready, and walked pretty much across the street to the starting area. I picked up a banana and some water before making my way to the Space Needle to take the pre-race Marathon Maniac photo. We even took an Asian Maniacs photo. I ate the banana and one of the Powerbar Performance Energy Blends before heading over to the corrals.

Maniacs and Fanatics

Asian Maniacs!

Since I had a legacy green colored bib, I could start in any of the corrals. I started at the very back of corral 1 with a bunch of other legacy runners. If I had to do it over, I'd start further back. The left ankle was just uncomfortable from the very first step. The San Francisco Marathon was just last week, so I wasn't expecting a miracle.

Starting corral

This race unfolded pretty the same as the last two. A different city, but the same old race strategy. I was able to shave about 8 minutes off from SFM, but I could've cut and pasted last race's recap. I was able to hobble at a decent pace for the first two miles, but after that I had to slow it down to lessen the discomfort. There were some decent climbs running through the downtown area. Right before reaching mile 6, it was a welcomed break to be separated from the half marathoners. I still dislike races where they mix half and full marathoners. It's annoying for them as it is for us. During the loop around Seward Park, I pulled over to take a picture. For a road race, this course was very easy on the eyes.

Running around Seward Park

It was pretty nice to see my friends that were behind me along the course. On the way to the halfway point was my favorite part of the course. It was lined with flags and pictures of our fallen soldiers to honor them. I was glad that I wore my Team RWB shirt. I always get a little misty-eyed running through this section of the course.
1: 8:27
2: 8:38
3: 9:49
4: 10:30
5: 10:03
6: 9:54
7: 10:17
8: 10:30
9: 10:07
10: 12:39
11: 11:04
12: 11:34
13: 12:09
Half: 2:16:40

The second half of this course is usually rough for me especially on the long out and back on the I-90 bridge. This is where it gets nice and warm. This year was the same. The sun just starts beating down on you with no cover over head except when you make it to a tunnel. I like that the race ends at the Space Needle. In the first 3 years, it ended at the Stadium. You pretty much could see how far you still needed to go in the last few of miles. But then again you could see the Stadium as well. But I prefer the Space Needle. It's just a better spot for the finishing area. Too bad the course ends on a good steady climb. I had to slow to a walk until I saw the mile 26 marker. I guess I had to run/jog the last .2 miles. I guess I could've finished under 5:20 if I hadn't walked so much during that last mile. :)
14-15: 23:28 (11:44)
16: 14:28
17: 14:17
18: 13:34
19: 14:12
20: 13:33
21: 16:11
22: 15:48
23: 14:35
24: 12:13
25: 14:33
26: 15:42
26.2: 2:09
Finish: 5:20:24

I was pretty exhausted. But as slow as I may have been, I'm glad to see that I had improved my time over the last 3 marathons. The ankle has been getting better, but I really need to stop running marathons on it. After grabbing some drinks and various food that they were handing out, I made my way over to the Heavy Medal booth. The line was long, so I went over to the UPS trucks to grab my gear bag first. After picking up my Rock Legend medal, I headed over to the beer garden to meet up with some of my friends. After trading stories over a beer, we eventually made it over to the Space Needle to take a post race photo. We parted ways and I walked across the street to my hotel. I'm glad I had picked a hotel so close to the start and finish lines. Instead of eating a late lunch, I just drank a bottle of Gatorade while watching the TV.

Rock Legend!

For an early dinner, I walked across to street to a bar called Red Papaya Ale & Spirits. The weather was pretty warm, so I drank a bunch of IPA's and had a very good green papaya salad with rib eye. It was one of the best salad that I've ever eaten in my life! I also ordered some shrimp rolls. They were good as well. I'll have to come back here to eat again next time. I then went back to my room and ended up drinking some more beer. I felt kind of stupid since I had forgotten about buying this beer. It was a bottle of Flying Monkey Dogfight Pale Ale. It was a local craft beer and I wasn't about to let it go to waste.

Iron Horse IPA

Green papaya with rib eye salad

Amnesia Damnesia IPA

Shrimp rolls

Silver City Whoopass IPA

Sunday
In the morning, I ate and drank the rest of the post race food that we were given. I had a banana and a chocolate drink. After packing, showering, and slapping on the compression socks, I was ready for another hike around town. I dropped off the keys at the front desk and I hiked it over to my favorite post race restaurant, Elliott's Oyster House, to eat lunch. My waitress was a newbie, but she made a pretty good recommendation with the appetizer. The Scallop Crudo was very good. I love scallops, especially when they're raw. I also love the Pacific Northwest for their seafood, particularly their salmon. I didn't get any oysters this year. I didn't run a well enough race for me to justify a big splurge. :) The big imperial sized mug of Mac and Jack's African amber ale was really good. Even though I've been drinking a whole lot of IPA's lately, my favorite kind of beer has to be an amber ale.

Mac and Jack's African Amber

Scallop Crudo

Yukon River Keta Salmon grilled

After lunch, I stopped by two famous tourist spots along my way to the movie theater. This was actually the first time that I've actually stopped by the infamous gum wall. It was pretty disgusting looking! The other spot was from the movie Sleepless in Seattle. "So how's my butt?" "Are we grading on a curve?" :)

Infamous gum wall - yuck! :)

How does my butt look?

I then hiked it over to the AMC Pacific Place on Pine St to watch Monsters University. The whole movie theater was just kids and their parents and me, a big 'ol Disney fan. It was a good movie. Lately I've been trying to see feel-good movies that would help improve my mood and a Disney movie never disappoints... well at least for me they never do. :)

After the movie, it was a short hike to the nearby rail station. The train was pretty crowded, but I was able to find a seat. Once at the airport, I almost got in line for the TSA without first finishing my water. So I stood around charging my phone while semi-chugging the water. The TSA questioned me about the medals in my bag. I guess the Rock Legend medal was a little big. Maybe they thought that it was big enough for me to use it as a weapon. After I sat down and finished charging my phone and Kindle, I made it over to a bar to have a beer while I continued to wait for my flight. While drinking my beer, a girl walks up to the bar and orders a double shot of Glenfiddich single malt whiskey and asked the bartender to close her out as well because she had a flight to catch. Good taste in whiskey... either she just had a really bad flight or wants to knockout in her upcoming flight. I like a girl that can shoot whiskey. :)

Pike IPA