Just me, or does everything seem bigger in the big city? There are some very cool things in Chicago, but I don't know if I could every adjust to life there. The food, outstanding! The commutes, I think are more stressful than that dream where it's five minutes away from that important exam and you never studied. The views, beautiful! The prices, holy cow(!) I think I need two extra jobs!
The race was Chicago's Perfect 10. The name is slightly misleading though. The race was in Chicago and it was 10 miles, but it was far from perfect. They did send out emails two days before to change the time of the race, kind of last minute. Luckily, it didn't alter my plans. This is somewhat minor, but I thought it was odd to run an out and back course yet not have a timing strip down to prove anything at the turn around spot. I could have just as easily "improved" my time by turning around after 4 miles. Granted, I'm not fast enough to even have to worry about somebody winning an award because of something like this, but I'd expect to see something like this at an event you pay for. Speaking of getting what you pay for, this is where I have the biggest issues with the race. I've ran a ton of 5K's this summer, every single one had better treats when crossing the finish line. It honestly felt like crossing into a third world nation. This race was two races, a 10 mile and a 10K race. When crossing the line, I expected to get a 10 mile medal, I mean I did go over twice as far as the 10K people, nope. Exactly the same medal regardless of which race you ran. So let me get this straight, I paid $20 more to run longer...yet I easily could have turned around at any point and got the same medal and lousy choice of food? That's far from perfect. Capone's spirit is alive and well in Chicago, I think it's borderline criminal.
For the run itself, it was decent. I'm trying not to let my above experiences cloud my judgement, but it wasn't as cool as I thought it would be. In my head I thought I'd have great views of the water and skyline the whole time. That was really only true on the way back. The weather was perfect though, don't get me wrong it was chilly, but that makes running so much easier. With the amount of people at the event, I knew there wasn't any point even attempting to run hard in the hopes of winning something. The time in my head I wanted were eight minute miles. In the end, I did better than that, so I'm happy.
The one thing from the race that will stick with me was some woman that from about mile 4 to mile 6, I could not get away from her. To sum up her major malfunction, she's the person on the expressway that doesn't set cruise control. I pass her, she passes me, I pass her, she passes me. Except it was even more frustrating than that, she'd pass, then she'd slow down as if trying to intentionally block me. Once or twice, I'd write off as an accident. Three or four times, just a very inconsiderate person. Greater than five times, that deserves a good punch in the face! Okay, I'd never hit a woman, but when the thought actually crosses my mind and I find myself smiling, there's something wrong. I can't ever remember a time when I've felt stressed during a run, it's always been the opposite. Even though I was comfortable with my pace, I decided enough was enough and put the hammer down (as in the gas pedal, not my fist!) and made sure she wasn't going to catch me again. She didn't.
Besides the race, Chicago didn't disappoint. Harry Carey's still makes the best steak on the planet. Our last minute, cheapest, hotel room was gorgeous. If there were a way for me to fit the bathroom in my bag to take home, I would have. After cheese cake was sampled, an impromptu visit to the Cheesecake Factory was made, but unfortunately it was closed. We did get lucky and the huge Marilyn Monroe statue was still in town. Here's my two running partners checking out the "Big City", for the record...I didn't look up her dress.
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