Zenaida Arroyo

On Tuesday evening, I ran the Strike Out ALS 5k.  It was my second time running this race and by far was a much better experience than last year.  I ran this race with Team Manuela’s Peeps.

We’ve had such unusual weather this week in Chicago resulting in very cool weather for July. However, on Tuesday it was a bit too cloudy and it looked like it might rain.  I thought for sure it would be a similar experience to Saturday’s race.

I arrived at U.S. Cellular Field at 5:45, sent a text to various friends, and waited in my car for a bit because it started raining.  OK, maybe it was just a little rain.  Finally it stopped and I made my way to pick up my bib and meet up with my team members.  Then I had to go back to my car to drop off some stuff (not sure why I didn’t just leave them at gear check) and on the way ran into Eric and Emily.  A few minutes before the race I saw Natali.

I saw Emily again at the start line and knew that she was attempting to PR.  I did mention to her earlier that it was perfect PR weather and to go for it.  Well, I meant for me too. However, my coach’s instructions were to run this as a training run @10:45 pace.  I told Emily I was going to run this race based on feel.

The course was a bit different from last year.  We ran through two parking lots but there were more turns which definitely annoyed me.  I swear you get dizzy!

The best part of this race is running AND finishing inside the stadium.  Since this was a new course, that meant the finish line was not inside the stadium.  I was disappointed but it was still cool to run inside.

I ran my fastest mile ever @8:57.  Definitely improving since on Saturday it was 9:00. Yay!  Finish time is 30:12. Ugh, just 24 seconds from my PR.  But I wasn’t really attempting to PR.  But still, right?  I wore my watch but did not glance at it once during the race.  I ran by feel and boy did I feel it after that first mile.  I took a short break as I drank two cups of water and went along the rest of the race.

It began to rain a little and it actually felt really good because I was hot.  As I exited the stadium, I knew the finish line was close so I forced myself to pick it up a notch and finish this race.

It seemed like my team members were running close together because we quickly met up, got some water, and proceeded to go inside ChiSox Bar and Grill to eat, drink, and celebrate.  And indeed we did.

A few minutes later Emily joined us.  We then found out that she had placed 1st in her age division. Congrats Emily!  Read her race recap here.

Another great race for a wonderful organization.  The only thing that sucked was the course.  It is much more fun finishing INSIDE the stadium.  I had a great time and was glad the weather was so much better this year.

I like running 5ks.  They’re short and over before you know.  However, they’re also difficult because I struggle with finding a comfortable running pace and start off too fast. I don’t have plans to run another 5k this year but definitely enjoyed the two I did this month.

My next race: ZOOMA Half Marathon, August 2.

Today I ran the Chinatown 5k in the rain.  The last time I ran a 5k was the Strike Out ALS 5k in July. Despite the rain, it went much better than this one.

I did not pick up my packet prior to the race but chose to do so the morning of the race.  I wasn’t sure where exactly (just had an idea) the race began but I just took Archer Avenue until I got to Chinatown. From there I could see a group of people in Chinatown Square so I knew that’s where I had to go.  I looked for free street parking, didn’t find any, so I just went to the lot.  The cars in front of me that also wanted to park at the lot were instead turning away and later on I found out that the machine was no longer giving out those tickets that allowed you to get in the lot.  No problem at all.  I found street parking across from the lot.  It wasn’t free but wasn’t expensive either.

Once I was settled I noticed that my friend, Rachel, and her family was two cars in front of me.  From there we walked to pick up my packet and to get as close as possible to the start line.  Did I mention that it was raining?  Nonstop.

A few minutes before 8am we walked over to the start line but still had to wait a few more minutes before we were actually allowed to run.  Not sure why there was a delay.

The new route was supposed to go through Bridgeport along 26th street, Princeton and Wells.  A few days before the race I got an email letting me know that apparently the request for the new route was not approved.  Now we were to run through the original route.  

So basically we ran along Wentworth Avenue to 34th Street and back.  I didn’t pay too much attention to the route because I was too busy dodging the puddles.  Who wasI kidding?  I was soaking wet anyway.

As usual I started off too fast, slowed down, and then picked it up at the end.  Finish time is 30:33 for 3.12 miles for average pace of 9:45.  Pretty happy with it.  Coach Sara asked me to run an average of 9:25.  Umm, no, but close enough.

Overall, I did like the race.  I say that now that I am warm and dry.  I am glad it wasn’t cold because running a race when you’re cold and soaking wet is not fun either.  It is a small race and close to my house.  Definitely two pluses in my book!  If you haven’t ran this race, make sure to do so next year.

Coach posted this on Facebook and it made me smile.

There was a raffle after the race but I did not stay for it.  I had only paid for one hour in the meter and it was time to go.  Plus, I was getting cold.

Oh, and I made a huge mistake.  I ran with my phone but did not put it in a plastic bag.  After the race I couldn’t turn on my phone.  I was planning to take more pictures after the race but that didn’t happen.  Right now it is in a bag of rice where I shall leave it for a few days.  If that doesn’t help my phone then it means a visit to the Sprint store.  I know that means I won’t have a phone for a few days.  I am OK with that since I took a trip to Ecuador and Peru and didn’t have electricity nor Internet (for two trips) for a few days and I survived.  I am more worried about having to cough up the money to buy a new phone.