Race Recap: Soldier Field 10 Mile and Bike the Drive!

And the 2012 Soldier Field 10 mile race is in the books! This race has the most awesome finish of any I've ever run - first, you get to sprint onto the Chicago Bears' field through the same tunnel that the players do. Then, the finish is on the 50 yard line, and they've got a camera pointed so that you can WATCH YOURSELF RUN IN ON THE JUMBOTRON. How cool is that?!?!? I always wear my Chicago Bears gear for this race.

Before and After!

That's my friend Sunhee next to me - the pic on the left is before we started and the one on the right is after the 10 miles. We look a bit redder in the face, but none the worse for the wear! I was so glad that we met up for this event, along with some of her other friends from the Fleet Feet Women's Half Marathon training team. With something like 17,000 runners registered, there is a staggered start. We were in Start Corral 14, we had to wait a full hour (from 6:45 am to 7:45 am) to actually cross the start line and begin running, so I really enjoyed just chatting as we waited. At 7:15 am the sky looked incredibly ominous, and we were sure we were about to get soaked.

One corral's group of waiting runners - and the scary looking sky

Luckily, we just got barely drizzled on, and the cloud cover kept everything cool so running conditions were perfect! We got into a comfortable 11 minute mile pace and kept it steady for just about the entire race - I do believe that our last 2-3 miles were actually faster than our first 7-8, mostly because Sunhee got a sugar high from one of those energy gel pack things and sped up, forcing me to dig deep and keep up! Again, thanks Sunhee, for keeping me going - I would have definitely been slower if I hadn't been with you! I finished in 1:48:05. This is my fourth time running this race - in 2008, I finished in 1:56:01; in 2009, I finished in 1:39:30; and in 2010, I finished in 1:47:19.

But one event wasn't enough for me for a weekend - I had also registered for Bike the Drive. So Sunday morning, Savva & I headed out nice and early for a leisurely ride along the lakefront with something like 20,000 other riders. We decided not to bring Eliana after all - we just didn't want to get 10 miles from home and have her freak out and not want to get back in the bike trailer. Thanks, Grandma Ilene, for coming over at 6:00 am and watching her!

Early in the morning - a beautiful day for a ride!

Now, I was really excited, because the Active Transportation Alliance had invited me to their VIP Tent since they are one of the 12 non-profits that I'm promoting through this project - oh yes, now the perks are coming in! :) Seriously, it was cool to have a nice bagel, COFFEE, and orange juice and just sit and chat with some cool folks from ATA, including their ever bubbly Rebecca Resman, Director of Membership and Development.

V - I - P !!!

A great weekend! And today I'm happy to just sit on the couch. :)