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I never titled my short pieces in college, which seemed to
bother my English professors something fierce. Made little sense to go into
something with a title already in mind, and if nothing jumped out at me once I
was done, it felt forced or cheesy to slap something on just to do so. Now I
seem to suffer too frequently from multiple options. Meh, so I put ‘em both up
there. Democratic bloggery: you decide, I don’t want to.
Another week, another questionable decision in the form of
the Soldier Field 10 Miler. Same spiel as last week’s 10k: the early morning
grumble, trying to figure out how to fuel effectively, the pre-race
contemplation of everything centered around “Why am I doing this?” and so
on. First time I’ve done this one on my
lonesome, as it wasn’t a CARA circuit race this year (more on this later) and
as previously babbled about, don’t really work with folks interested in fitness
as was previously the case. Related, I’m
a hermit with no friends interested in running. No bother, just meant I listened
to increasingly embarrassing music on my drive in while dropping Cheerios
everywhere.
Given my inconsistent build-up in the past two months, can’t
complain about my outcome. Gravitated to the 1:15 pacers, because I was
blissfully unaware of them existing until earlier this week while skimming the
event guide, so that seemed like a solid idea. Clicked off 7:30s through mile
7, then…didn’t.
I look at that and cringe, but I've crashed harder and frequently, so it goes. I don’t know if it was an energy thing, probably a mental
block I struggle to admit thing or just leaning hard on that crutch of I
haven’t run eight miles since…sheesh, the end of March, but the slow-down
happened and I was ok with it (as much as I can be). I could have battled a bit
more for a few seconds faster come the finish, but I didn’t really feel like a head-down
struggle and actually took in the lakefront scenery. Hey, that skyline is
pretty sweet. Wouldn’t have known otherwise.
According to my Garmin stats, I went through 6.21 faster
than I ran my 10k in last week by over 20 seconds, so the trend continues on.
Bully for me? Sigh. So goes on my successive PR streak, 43 seconds quicker than
last year. Stubbornness begets strength begets speed begets endurance. I’d like
to change that.
Perhaps the most notably strange component of the race from
a sheer observational standpoint was near mile 7 or 8, where the DJ facing
towards the masses in the early miles of the course (for those unfamiliar,
consider it a close to out and back course, with slight variation in the first
mile+) started to play one of the most melancholy Coldplay songs
imaginable. I thought maybe I was
imagining it, but no. That was selectively being blasted for those just getting
out on the course a shade past 8a. Was no standard-issue Black Eyed Peas song
available? Crowd support is one of those funny things for me that’s nice or
super irritating, but for someone perhaps running in this thing as a big
build-up event of excitement and pony-rainbows of accomplishment, I can’t
imagine hearing that with eight-ish miles remaining and in any way being SUPER
AMPED TO RUN MORE.
(Hey hey, semi-focused purpose that correlates to the theme presented in the title only 560-someodd words in!
Gotta be a record.)
As I was walking back to my car, past the music and the beer
and the post-race festivity, I couldn’t help but think about whom all that was
for, as it certainly wasn’t for me, a salt-stained curmudgeon who wasn’t
satisfied with a PR and just wanted breakfast.
I signed up for this back in October with aspirations of a
sub 70 minute finish on a course of which I was familiar and knew was pretty
flat, and I don’t know what my 70$ got me beyond sounding really snotty in saying that "it went ok, even though I PR'd." Yesterday, I ended up the 175th lady
out of over female 7,000 finishers. Did they get what they wanted out of it
all?
I appreciated the service members who placed the medal
around my neck at the 80-yard line on Soldier Field, but I take those right off
and they end up…somewhere. A race shirt unremarkable, a post-race goodie bag
with a banana, so all the mini other offerings smell like that foul fruit. Race
photos don’t serve as some sort of desirable memento$ of my accomplishment, as
I look at them and they only reiterate how nippily I am throughout the course
of the course. “Ah, so that’s what my
sweat pattern around my chest looks like, neat!”
Maybe this rant is compounded by my baffled reaction to
seeing that a late summer half marathon, put on by the same folks as this
event, is already 90$ dollars to enter. Nine Zero. I don’t like paying more
than 60$ for a half, and was a bit uncomfortable entering this 10 Miler for 65$
(plus processing), but did so out of strange goals and…tradition? Don’t think
it will be in my 2015 plans.
I’d love if my entry fee was transparent and I knew how much
it cost to run on Lake Shore Drive NOT next to oncoming traffic. I’m happy to
pay for that and if that’s why the entry cost rises, so be it. Not quite sure
what else would serve to satisfy, though.
Guess the takeaway questions become what is the comfortable
price point for an experience, and when does it stop being about a race? I
wonder if that factored in to it not being on the CARA circuit (I doubt it, but
could be wrong).
Not interested in the mud/foam/pit of
doom/color/princess/obstacle anything ventures all over the place, and if you
are, I salute you. They look like fun. I want a cotton shirt, a safe clean
course and maybe a bagel (but there are no decent bagels anywhere to be found
so maybe not). Damnit, the allure of lo-fi, no frills races from the days of
yore, not even MY yore, make me feel like an old man.
Had a day to chew on things, and I’m slightly disinterested
in signing up for anything over the next six to eight weeks. Given what I’ve done in the past two races
makes me pretty excited to build towards a solid fall effort, but I’m just a
bit race sour at the moment.
I’ve actually been thinking I may take that un-spent race money
and put it towards a coach. You know, so
I can stop writing about running like an idiot. But for now, look for more
thoughts on training, getting back on the track this week (yay SPEEDWORK!) and
this relay thing in two weeks.
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