There are NO complaints from me about the highest temps here in Chicago in March in 141 years.  WE are SO LUCKY!!!  Except for when we all want to race a hilly ½ Marathon.  A large group of us raced a ½ Marathon this AM – the hilliest one in Illinois – but also a yearly tradition for many of us that live up near the race course.  And, honestly, we were just all excited to race without ice, snow or 20F degrees.  But, nearly 80F is a whole different ball game – for us who are not used to it for a longer race.

I signed up for this race in December, when I was not running.  Honestly, I had to sign up because I have rarely missed it – but at the time, I wasn’t even running and I was unsure I would be running 13.1 miles on March 17^th back then.  But, my Achilles was feeling much better after mid-February and I luckily was able to start running.  No speed, except one workout with Dave that was hard, but I felt really good (it is all a matter of perspective!).

But, I had to have this conversation with myself yesterday AND today about my race….

Ok, Jenny, you need to leave your old self at home.  You need to really alter your time goals for this race.  In fact, you should not have ANY time goals.  And, you need to get over it and actually start super easy….DO YOU hear me, Jenny?  Jenny….Jenny…

UGH!  But, I was in the right mind frame for this ½.  In fact, this is the new Jen Harrison….not being able to race one that I entered would have been unheard of me 5 years ago…I would not have even of raced unless I was @ 100% fighting shape.  But, with age and experience comes wisdom and I quickly got over it.

I only wore a stopwatch.  At nearly 80F in March, clearly the HR would be zone 4, so let’s not kid ourselves….so, I planned on running 7:20-7:30 for my first mile., 45 seconds slower than last year (but this was the only time I let myself think/say that).  I hit it at 7:25 and just ran.  I was doing a good job of keeping it real.

And, I felt good…not great…but fine.  I ran slow.  In fact, I have never run this slow in an open ½ and it is a WHOLE different crowd at this pace – how funny to notice that.  And, I am super proud of myself for keeping things in perspective.  My Achilles did not bother me at all for the race, I was just not in shape yet.  Simple as that.  My Achilles is tender now, but not worse for the wear.

I will say this….it was not only a tough race day for me, but also a SUPER tough coaching day.  I had to have many, many tough conversations today. ;(   There were a lot of athletes and friends on this course for me that I work with.  NOT one PRd…it was brutal.  I could not say enough things to everyone about the heat, cramping, needing salt tabs, slowing down SUPER easy first 5k for sure, etc.  I warned everyone, but the heat doesn’t grab you until after mile 8 or 10, really.  And, everyone has run this race so much faster (easier in 30F degrees for us here in Chicago in March than 80F)…I tried hard to keep up with the texts, calls and freak outs all afternoon and evening.  I felt horrible for everyone, but it was simple:  TOO HOT and no one is acclimated and prepared for that heat….whether they ran a 1:20 or 2:30, it was too much.  And, the athletes needed to re-adjust their goals based on this extreme heat for us.  And, of course, everyone feels good until about the 10k and then the shit hits the fan.  Athletes were cramping, walking, shuffling…it was a tough day and it was a tough day at the office for me.

I will say a few athletes had VERY solid days out there – so hats off to them!!!

I hope everyone understands just how hard it is to have a good race in these conditions, some do, of course, but 90% of these runners did not.  March is a super tough month – everyone is itching to race and feeling out their fitness…and usually these races are good indicators of fitness.  But, unfortunately at 13.1 miles, it was just too much and had everyone freaking out today, questioning their fitness, questioning their upcoming races.  A tough day all around for everyone indeed and one that left a huge pit in my stomach – I still have it at 7:30pm at night and I have not stopped working since I crossed that finish line today.

The bright side:  It sure will make the great days even better!  And, there will be great days coming up.

And, I had 3 neighbor friends do this race….they have been on and off training for this and I felt awful because it was cruel really that they picked this race ON this day with this heat…it was challenging enough for experienced athletes, but you know what?  They did great – so proud of them.  But they did say that they thought I was nuts that I did this normally – they missed their green beer last night for St. Patty’s Day and were NOT happy about that.

AND, more importantly, where are my DAMN M&Ms?

Onward!