Half Marathon, Whole Fun

Chicago Distance Classic Half-Marathon?

D.U.N.

After a 4AM wake up call, and a start time of 630AM, it was hard to tell what the day might bring. But the day did not fail, and neither did my body.

I will spare you a lengthy race report (I ran, I finished, 2:07, felt fantastic, solid and strong, very proud of my time because I ran smart AND managed not to make doo-doo on myself - no small feat by Mile 11, mind you), but a few details worth mentioning.

It was me, Cheese, Devin and her friend Dave (see picture below). The weather was about 67, partly sunny, and along our BEAUTIFUL lake front. No iPod for distraction, and thank goodness for that - otherwise I may have missed the breathtaking sites of my amazing city as we headed back north after the turnaround.

And it wouldn't be a Megan post without the bitch moment - At about 3.5, we were actually running on southbound Lake Shore Drive in the right hand lane, as cars literally WIZ by us. It was tough and somewhat scary to manuver at times- in fact, this was the first time in a race that I have actually had to devote some time and effort to getting around people. Which is all fine and good (hey, I knew it was a big race when I signed up, so how can I bitch?) but then, in the middle of this chaos, I hear right in front of me, "5-4-3-2-1 - Aaaand we walk!"

Dead stop.

Minor pile up.

Another experience was the 14 Team in Training participants who, on a path that only holds about eight across, were walking seven abreast. It was like driving behind the guy going 35 miles an hour in the left lane on the expressway.

Hey listen, if you are going to rock the run-walk program, by all means have at it. I mean, hell, I even walk sometimes, like through water stations and when I get tired. But if you chose to do so, I implore you to remember that walkers STAY TO THE RIGHT and STAY TWO ABREAST!!!

It's safety. Simply a matter of safety. 'Cause honestly, I'm not winning any of these races, so the slowing down part isn't going to "hurt" me. But dead stopping in front of me - well, that very well could hurt me, not to mention the throngs of people behind me.

After all, the half-marathon is, by definition, a running race, so it goes without saying that most people will be, well, RUNNING. I mean, this should just be common sense at this point - this isn't a race specific thing either - this applies to all conditions. It's just simple running Rules of the Road. ESPECIALLY if you are running with an established team - the team leaders should know this.

Happy place, happy place.

Phew.

But beside this - an absolutely wonderful morning, and like Alili said in a recent post - I am just grateful to be healthy and able to do this.

So, no actual race pictures because I left my camera in the car. Just pictures of the post-race breakfast binge - the kind where you seriously cannot get the food into your mouth fast enough - thus frightening mere bystanders out for a lovely post-church Sunday meal. Poor souls never even saw the mayham coming....


Yup. Devin's face pretty much sums up the hunger/fatigue aftermath. Poor girl looks like she's about to do a stint in County for Assualt and Battery.
You know who.

From left - Dave, Devin, Cheese, me. We ate at Lou Mitchell's, which is hands-down my favorite place in the city. Cheese looks like he's goosing my sister. Hmmmm..... And speaking of my sister - is it me or does she appear to actually be shrinking? She's always been little, but geesh - she's almost invisible!

Well, maybe not all of us were feeling the fatigue....

I prefer egg white omlettes, but hey - to each his own.

Lovely!!

Baby, Table for One. He's like, "Hey! Where'd everyone go? I can't help it if I am not potty trained yet!"