Chicago Half Marathon- Sept 2009

It had been another six months since my last half and I was dating an avid workoutaholic. We agreed that it would be fun to run the Chicago Half Marathon together. Well, not together, but simultaneously. I had never been to Chicago and everyone said it was a great race so we rented a condo and booked a flight.

Race morning arrived and so did a crowd of 10,000 runners. It was sheer insanity. I found my corral and jockeyed under the rope for a spot in the crowd. The gun went off and we didn't move for a good minute, that's how far back I was. We started at the Jackson Park Golf Course and ran through the U of Chicago campus to Lakeshore Drive where we ran around the lake and finally ended up back at the golf course. This was my first time running an out and back course, which means you see the same thing twice. I am not a fan. Although I had trained hard for this race, something wasn't right and I threw up my breakfast of champions at Mile 9. This is the worst thing that can happen as your electrolyte imbalance immediately is thrown off and you feel like you want to die. I alternated between walking and running the last four miles, cursing the fact that I had no way to pay one of the hundred cab drivers a street over to take me back to the condo. There were so many people at the finish race they made us ride school buses back to the pier. I don't think I will ever do a race that size again.

Finish time: 2:20:00

Other than the race, Chicago was a lot of fun. The night before the race we went to a new section of town called Bucktown and ate at a great place that had the largest outdoor covered patio I've ever seen. Guess you need that in Chicago. Afterwards we had a couple glasses of wine across the street. I met the love of my wine life, a 2008 Mendel Mendoza Malbec. We ordered a case when we got home and I have one bottle left, carefully guarded on my kitchen counter. After the race we absolutely had to have a pizza from Lou Malnati's. The next day we walked the pier and took the metro over to watch some football at Fuego. They made what is hands down the best tableside guacamole ever. When I go back to Chicago, it will be to have more guac not pizza!