A bit late but here it is. We expected it to rain and 35 degree weather that morning.. The weather here is apparently bipolar... because not so long ago it was in the 70s.
8k Goal: Run it at a 7:47 pace
We got up that morning to this --> yuck
Instead of checking-in our gear, we waited in the car. Smarty pants (JV) decided to wear shorts and a short sleeve. We were able to warm up a little when we finally left the car and jogged to the start line. People looked cold. And a sponsor was giving out bags (?) in order to stay warm and dry. By the time the race started, the rain had cleared up but left a mess behind. The course was unpaved at the beginning, so it was obviously very muddy. Race:
Uhm.. I don't know what happened during mile 4, def need to work on keep my pace below an 8min/mile when it comes to short races. Grr? I still don't like anything shorter than a 10k.. Why? I love distance..? Maybe my legs are anti-speed.
Mile 1: Holding back..
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| Finish Time: 38:36 at 7:45 pace |
Mile 3: I hate those crazy U-turns. My ankle is in pain.
Mile 4: I'm so freaking tired..
Last .9mi: Hallelujah! I see the finish line... I officially hate anything less than 10ks.
(Ended up finishing with a 7:45 pace. Woop Woop! First 8k, success?)
Actually, that is only what I remember... I just wanted to get out of there and into my pjs.
Sorry! Very generic recap. :(
Overall: Would I do it again? Maybe.. The race was on the usual lakeshort path.. and something over $40 isn't really worth my money. Unless of course they offer awesome goodies/t-shirt/medal I would probably rate it at 2 out of 5, just because it was cold/raining and there wasn't any places to wait (besides in your car about a mile away). But it's a holiday race.. so I'll give it an extra point i guess?
T-shirt: Cute, but cotton?
Price: I think I paid $35 or $40 for it. A tad bit pricey.
Organization: pretty much just set up a bunch of tents with sponsors, port-a-potties at the starts, chip-timed and timed mile marker.
Oh and they were giving out antlers and Rudolph red noses (that looked like clown noses if you weren't wearing antlers haha)
Price: I think I paid $35 or $40 for it. A tad bit pricey.
Organization: pretty much just set up a bunch of tents with sponsors, port-a-potties at the starts, chip-timed and timed mile marker.
Oh and they were giving out antlers and Rudolph red noses (that looked like clown noses if you weren't wearing antlers haha)
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| Clown.. or Rudolph noses? Hm.. |
I ended up bumping into Christina, from Chicago Running Bloggers, she's training for her first half marathon in January (go Christina!). We took a picture together and looking at it now, we are akwardly smiling because we were literally freezing our asses. haha :)
12/09/2012
Rudolph Ramble 8k by JV
Our first 8k race!! To be
honest, I’ve only heard of a few 8ks.
Maybe its because it’s a weird distance (4.9 miles). On race day, the weather was ugly. It rained a couple hours before the start of
the race and it was cold. We found
parking about 2 blocks away from the starting line. It beats paying $20 at Lincoln Park Zoo. By the time we got to the starting line, we
just wanted the race to begin already because we were freezing! We saw many
people wearing antlers and Santa hats.
They were also giving out free antlers and red noses for all the race
participants, which I thought it was pretty cool to get everybody in the
holiday spirit.
The race soon started and all
the runners took off. The start of the
race was muddy and there were many puddles of water. I saw runners getting splashed. You had to watch were you were running for
the first mile until we reached the lakefront trail. The route along the trail was a simple and
continued for about 1.5-2 miles then a turnaround. They had an aid station in the middle of the
route along the lakefront trail for runners going to the turnaround and for
runners going back to the finish line.
As you were approaching the finish line, it got muddy and you had to
watch out for puddles of water. After
the race I found out that I got 2nd in my AG 20-24. I don’t know how I managed to pull this
off. I wasn’t feeling my best at the
start of the race, but I can say that I’m happy with my first 8k
Overall, I liked the race and
it was really fun.
Cons:
-no good snacks at the finish
-weather
-mile marker at mile 2 wasn’t
working when I passed by it
Pros
-Awesome shirt
-at least some of the mile
markers were working. (not all of them)
-free antlers and red noses
haha
-organization was good
It was beyond freezing. I really couldn't stand the announcer stating "Its pretty balmy out here compared to other years". Balmy? Hmmm. Those are great times though :). I was expecting more goodies from the race but after the deodorant from Chicago's Perfect 10 my standards hit a low. lol
ReplyDeletehaha OMGosh! I completely forgot about the deodorant! I actually thought it was a bar of soap when I first looked at it. Fleet Feet usually has more goodies, I don't know what happened during this race. It was a bit disappointing.
DeleteI ran through the Rudolph Ramble finish line as they were closing up for the day. The conditions were not ideal (to say the least). Yes, 8k runs are not that common, but Chicago hosts the world's largest 8k in April (Shamrock Shuffle). Lucy, it may have been hard to hold a steady pace that day because if I remember correctly, it was pretty windy. Good job at holding back in mile one. JV, congrats on the 2nd place AG!
ReplyDelete