With my 2012 spring racing season in the books, now is a good time for a mid-year review.

I declared 2012 to be my personal “Year of the Run.” Instead of picking one or two “big” races to plan my year around, I instead loaded up my schedule with races – quantity over quality, if you will.

So far in 2012 I’ve ran seven races: four half-marathons, two 10-mile races, and a 10k.

The good: I set PR’s in the half-marathon and 10k distances.

The bad: the half-marathon PR came in my first race of the year back in January, and both PR’s were in distances I had not run in over a year.

Last fall I ran 5k, 5-mile, 15k and 10-mile races and all were PRs. Comparing those times to the ones I logged this spring, I was faster last fall.

So the question is: why?

A few things stand out:

• This past February I was knocked out with the worst flu I’ve had in several years. I was completely laid low for several days, and didn’t regain full strength for about three weeks.  It threw my training schedule off, and I had a couple subpar races while not completely recovered.
• I was in better shape last fall. I spent most of last summer cycling with my wife as she trained for her triathlons. We’d go out for 50, 60, 80-mile long weekend rides, that certainly improved my fitness. I was also about 5 pounds lighter.
• Finally, I made some tactical race errors, specifically I started out too fast. In a couple of races I got a few miles in, realized I was running way too-fast, and had to back off considerably. In another race, I tried to make a push a few miles out, only to run out of gas short of the finish line.

I’m still in the downtime after the spring racing season before training begins for the fall. One of the challenges will be to learn from the lessons of the spring and make appropriate changes to my training program. More to come!

Saturday I ran the Soldier Field 10 Mile here in Chicago for the first time.  This was the 9th annual running of the race and it has become the popular start of the summer running season, with all 18,000 entries sold out this year.  As I wrote the other day, Soldier Field is a 5 minute walk from our place, so I was excited for the chance to run a race on my “home” turf.

The race started at 7am, and I took advantage of being so close by sleeping in until 6 and then grabbing some yogurt before heading over to the start.  We made the short walk over to the start just outside the stadium and I was in my corral by 6:40am.  The moments before the start of the race are always an interesting time.  My preference is to show up to a race as close to the start as possible and then just start running. If I get there too early, I find myself standing around anxiously waiting for the start.  But the logistics of these bigger races usually require racers to line up in their corrals early so the start can go off smoothly.

The Soldier Field 10 made good use of the pre-race time.  Not lost on the event organizers was the fact that the race was taking place on Memorial Day weekend at Soldier Field (“Dedicated to the Men and Women of the Armed Services”).  The pre-race festivities featured several tributes to active military members (including some running in the race) and veterans, and included a moment of silence, a playing of “taps”, presentation by the color guard and of course the singing of the national anthem.  It was very well done, and put the holiday weekend and race into perspective.

The race employed a wave start to eliminate the crowding of runners along the course. I was in corral 2 and started with the horn 5 minutes after 7am.  The course began just outside of Soldier Field, heading south under McCormick Place and then on to Lake Shore Drive. Just before mile 5, the course made a sharp turn on to the lake front running path racing north for the final 5 miles back to Soldier Field.  I started off at a pretty aggressive pace, but realized that I needed to back off a bit and save some the 2nd half.  The issue of the day was the strong wind coming out of the northeast.  Heading south for the first half the wind was great, but at the turn we met the wind head-on and it wasn’t fun.

(Last week in Green Bay it was the heat, this week the wind. If you’re wondering if I’m going to have a weather excuse for every race I run this year, the answer is yes).

We suffered through the headwind and made it back along the lake front before heading into Soldier Field.  One of the selling points of the race is the opportunity to “Finish on the 50”.  Just after hitting the 9.5 mile mark, the course turned into the underground entrance to the stadium, wound under the stands, before heading out of the tunnel on to the field for a short sprint to the finish at the 50 yard line.  It was pretty cool.  They projected the finish on the stadium video boards and announced the names of the finishers over the PA system as they crossed the finish line.  Fans were allowed into the stadium and cheered from the lower bowl.

Recalling it all now, a few days later, it’s a bit fuzzy.  I remember various parts like coming out of the tunnel on to the field, but overall I was in that last mile zone where I was just pushing as hard as I could to get to the finish.  I came in just over an hour and twenty minutes, a little slower that i had hoped, but not surprising giving the windy conditions of the day.  I grabbed a water on the field before exiting out of the stadium.

Overall, this was a great race.  The race organizers do an excellent job given the number of participants and the volunteers were great.  I really like the 10 mile distance and the course was flat and fast (aside from the wind). As long as I’m in Chicago, I’ll likely keep running the Soldier Field 10 Mile.

Yesterday I ran the Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon in Green Bay, WI. I grew up in a small town just outside of Green Bay and we were back in town for a weekend visit to my parents, so it was a great chance to run this race for the first time.

The Cellcom is the “big” race in Green Bay and over 8,000 participants signed up to run this year between the full, half, and relay marathons.  One of the usual race perks is that the finish line is located inside Lambeau Field, but due to stadium construction, the finish was moved to the parking lot just outside the stadium.

The race expo was on Saturday and was held in the atrium at Lambeau Field – probably the coolest venue for a packet pick-up/race expo for any race I’ve done so far. I’m pretty well geared-up, but it’s always fun to check out the vendors and see what’s new. USA Track and Field had a booth with some cool Team USA gear available just in time for the 2012 Olympics. Unfortunately, they were out of my size in the one shirt I wanted, but they did direct me to their online store. USA! USA!

Race day came early Sunday with a 7am start.  The big issue this year was the heat. Temperatures were forecast to be in the low 70s at race, start climbing into the 80s by 9am. The heat would impact all runners, but I was feeling for the full marathoners who would see the temperatures continue to rise during the second half of their race.

By chance, we ran into the parents of a good friend of mine from high school.  My friend’s mom had her excellent camera and was able to capture some great pre-race, mile 3 and finish photos.

The half marathon and marathon share the same course through mile 12, where the half marathoners head back to Lambeau while marathoners continue on.  The course winds its way through the residential neighborhoods of west Green Bay (or more particularly, the surrounding village of Ashwaubenon).  Thankfully, most of these streets are covered by big shady trees, which would be very welcome in the morning’s heat.

I somehow ended up with a “Preferred” starting bib, which let me lineup close to the front with the elites.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t warranted. I started with a pretty aggressive pace – the same pace I recently ran 10 mile and 10k runs at – but by mile 2 I knew this just wasn’t going to be a great race day.  The heat was already taking its toll and I had been fighting a dull headache and congestion brought on by allergies for a few days.  So I cut my pace and just focused on running a good race, keeping a close watch on how I was feeling and making sure to not overdo it.  By mile 5 I was still running at a pretty fast pace, but I knew I would hit a wall if I kept it up (slowing down is harder than it sounds). So from then on, I walked for one minute at each mile marker to force myself to slow down. This worked and by Mile 10 my overall pace had dropped by a full minute per mile (and at each mile I found myself looking more and more forward to the walk breaks).

Just after mile 12, we made the turn back towards Lambeau, bid adieu to the full marathon runners (I was really feeling sorry for them), and made the last push to the finish. I came in just under 2 hours, far from the race I was hoping to run but given the conditions of the day it was a finish I was happy with.  I was tired, sweaty, and glad it was over, but overall not too worse for wear. Undoubtedly due to the hot conditions, I witnessed a handful of people on the course getting medical attention, so all things considered I was pleased to finished unscathed. I picked up my finishers medal, and had a complimentary after-race root beer (I passed on the brat – just didn’t sound good to me).

While the weather was a bummer, the race itself was really fantastic.The organization was excellent – there were 10 fluid stations on the half marathon course alone, and I’m pretty sure I stopped at every one after mile 3.  There were also gel and fruit at a couple of the stations. Each station was well staffed with friendly volunteers and they were quick with cups of water and Gatorade.  The spectators were also amazing. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the course winding through several quiet residential neighborhoods, but the residents and spectators were there in numbers.  There weren’t the thick throngs of people you’d see at a major urban race, but at several intersections people were standing 4 or 5 deep and more importantly, there were people cheering along the almost the entire course. Additionally, several residents had put out hoses and sprinklers to help runners cool down – I didn’t keep count, but there were at least 20 or so places on half marathon alone. On a day like yesterday, these were greatly appreciated.  We really couldn’t ask for more from all those who came out to volunteer and cheer us on.

The news of the day was that the race was canceled at 9:25am due to the unseasonably hot conditions. The cancelling of the race warrants its own post, but given that temperatures hit 90 degrees and that medical and emergency personal were stretched to their limits dealing with heat related issues, it was the right call (adding insult to injury a cold front moved in last night and today’s high temp will be lucky to hit 72). But aside from the weather the race was well run and a lot of fun, one I’ll definitely consider running again in the future.