Race Recap: Super Bears Shuffle 5k - September 10, 2015

 Apparently I've decided to conduct further research and experimentation on what happens when a guy my size runs a 5k after training approximately zero times for it. Round two of the research happened last night at Soldier Field in Chicago for the Super Bears Shuffle 5k.

                                             

Let me preface this by saying that I am a HUGE Green Bay Packers fan. I only paid money to do this race because I lost a bet to my brother in-law (a Bears fan). In fact, I'm pretty sure the Bears shirt we got was slightly burning my skin over the duration of the evening... Not really. Maybe kind of.

Like any race held near Soldier Field, parking cost much more than one would want to pay, but I guess it comes with the territory. We walked out of the parking garage to this scene:

                                             

As you can see, there was orange and blue everywhere. Ick. We arrived MUCH too early, so we decided to walk around the perimeter of Soldier Field. I wasn't terribly excited about that decision since I wanted to be on my feet as little as possible leading up to the race, but we did it anyway. During our pre-race walk, I actually ran into two, brave souls decked out in full-on Packers gear. I gave them a huge "Go Pack!" and explained that I lost a bet, but truly was a Packers fan. They gave me a high five and said they were sorry I was in my predicament. I'm sure they caught an ample amount of crap throughout the night. I hope they made it out unscathed.

As you can see, they had huge "BEAR DOWN" letters displayed on the grounds, but the rest of the area wasn't too impressive. They had an inflatable game where you could kick field goals, a DJ playing music, a selfie station (isn't that what your iPhone is for?) and a concession truck for 'beverages.' The Bears drumline was a nice touch. I didn't see Nick Cannon though...

As we all lined up for the race, the racers got a quick pep talk from local FOX sportscaster Lou Canellis. The emcee asked him why the Bears were going to beat the Packers this weekend, and he - no lie - dodged the question and talked about how the team would grow over the next, few years under their new head coach. I had a nice chuckle at that one. As the starting horn sounded, a Bears hype video appeared on a screen set up by the start line, and fireworks shot off as the runners headed out onto the course. But I was already immersed in my Dave Matthews Band playlist by that point.

                                                       

Going into this race, I decided that I wasn't going to start off by seeing how far I could run without stopping. That's what I did during my last 5k and it came back to bite me. This time around, I decided to voluntarily alternate between running and walking, so I could make sure there was some left in the tank for a strong finish.

Along the route, there were activities set up for the runners that mimicked NFL practice drills. You could run through a gauntlet of tackling dummies, high-step through a row of tires or do some cone drills. They also had a handful of large banners set up for you to take selfies with some of the Bears players. Unsurprisingly, Jay Cutler was not one of the banners featured.

In the end, my strategy paid off and I was able to "sprint" the last leg of the race to finish three and a half minutes better than my time back in late-July! Since I trained just as much as the last one, I'm thinking that whatever weight I've lost so far during Whole30 may be to thank for getting me to the finish line faster. Or maybe the fact that I just wanted to get away from all the Bears fans A.S.A.P.  Here's my time, I managed to finish 2,001st out of 2,600 or so.



In the end, I got another medal to add to my collection, but I never plan on wearing the Bears shirt again. In related news, congrats to my wife in receiving a new shirt! Let me just wash it first... All in all, it was a fun night with my brother in-law, and I'm glad the only photo he got of me was a blurry one. Go Pack Go!

Did you participate in this race too? What'd you think? Which 5k should I look into doing next?

Race Recap: Big Ten Network 10k (& 5k)

"Why did I ever stop running races?"

That is the question that plagued my mind the afternoon and days following the Big Ten Network 10k / 5k on Saturday the 25th. Despite setting a PW (personal worst) during this race by FAR, I still realized that I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the environment and overall ambiance of race day. Here's how things went:

My brother in-law, Eric, and I got up at 5am to drive to downtown Chicago for the race. We parked near Solider Field ($20 - always a bummer) which was very close to the course and the festivities, however. This was Eric's first race EVER, and he informed me that he hadn't slept very well the night before due to nerves - rookie move.

We got there early enough to watch the 10k start at 7:00am as well as watch the first finishers cross the line. I still can't get over how fast the elite runners knock these things out! We also had plenty of time to walk around the grounds and check out all the festivities that were offered.

There were football combine activities such as field goal kicking, a 40-yard dash and vertical leap; a dozen bags / cornhole sets were set up to use; and each school had their own tent set up with goodies. Since Eric doesn't much care for college sports and I am a Wisconsin Badger through and through, we visited the UW tent. They had Paul Bunyan's Axe on display - the annual trophy that is rewarded to the victor of the Wisconsin v. Minnesota football game, as well as the West Regional trophy the men's basketball team won by defeating Kentucky earlier this year. I wonder what the other tents had. They were probably handing out written apologies to their respective fan bases.

The school mascots were out in full force as well, except Illinois. I'm guessing the P.C. folks still frown upon Chief Illiniwek galloping in on his stallion or something. Even though little kids were scrambling to get photos with the mascots, I made sure to push my way through for a nice shot with Bucky Badger. Gotta throw up the W!

                      

Finally it was time for the 5k to kick off and, as we were waiting for Corral C to make it to the Start Line, I repeated to Eric to just take off and leave me behind - since I knew there wasn't a chance that I was going to run the same pace as him. He'd been training for the last, few months and I'd put my running shoes on that morning (for the purpose of running) for the first time in a year or so (or at least it felt that way). I'd come to peace with the fact that this race was going to take potentially 50% longer than it ever has in the past, and that I just needed to gut it out and get it done.

Sure enough. The race took forever, and my feet / knees stopped wanting to work before anything else - they just were sick of shuffling this much weight around. And I don't blame 'em! It wasn't fun, but I finished - with a lousy time of 46:48. Woof. But definitely an eye-opener. I'm super proud of Eric, he knocked out his first 5k with a time of 30:26, after setting a goal of sub-31:00.

But even though I physically did not enjoy this race, it still made me want to get back into the swing of things. Eric quickly said he was already hooked, so hopefully he'll drag me along to more races. Time to look for the next one!

   

Feels Like the First Time

Do the 'Santa Hustle!'

The last time I pinned on a bib and ran jogged participated in an organized race was way back in December of 2012. I signed up and ran a 5k with a handful of co-workers as well as a multitude of Santa Claus look-alikes. It was  called the Santa Hustle - which actually sounds more like a dance that everyone does at a wedding reception or school dance than an organized, athletic event.

I can't believe that it's almost been three years since my last race. I'm kind of ashamed, to be honest. Between mid 2009 and late 2012, I cranked out four half marathons, a half dozen 10ks and plenty of 5ks.I could pick up and run four or five miles without thinking twice, and without being sore for five days afterwards. I wasn't necessarily skinny, but I was at a much more reasonable weight than I am now - at least a weight that allowed me to run 13.1 miles in under two and a half hours.


Tomorrow I will be running the Big Ten Network 5k (even though the picture says 10k). This time I will be running with my brother in-law! And I'm planning on it being much harder and painful than any one I've done before. To be honest, I'm actually in a worse place now (physically) than I was when I initially picked up running in order to lose weight six and a half years ago... Eric, on the other hand, has killed it in training and lost 20-25 pounds! This will be his first 5k ever, and he will smoke me.

Here's to hoping this race is the eye-opener I need to get my rear in gear, and that Eric gets hooked on 5ks and asks me to sign up for another one later this year. Leading up to the race, I've made excuse after excuse as to why I "couldn't" go to the gym or head out for a run in preparation for tomorrow.

And tomorrow I get to pay for those excuses.