Tuesday, January 1, 2013
First Run of the New Year.
With the Disney World "Goofy Challenge" Coming up fast, Jan 12th and 13th. I
figured I better get things in order and start learning to use my GoPro Camera.
I bought it after watching some really fun, and entertaining videos by Jeremy from the Golden Triangle Strutters. So I picked up the
camera, and asked my running buddy Jack if he wanted to go an easy mile to bring
in the new year. That said.....here it is...hope you like.
Monday, December 10, 2012
The Nike Element Shield Full Zip Jacket
The Nike Element Shield Full Zip Jacket
Retail Price: $115.00
Availability: Most major retailers and running specialty stores.
With the cold weather upon us, I have been finding it very hard to drag myself out of a warm bed on the weekends to get a run in cold, and rainy weather, especially the last few weekends. Back I. October while I was at the Chicago Marathon expo, I wanted to buy a souvenir. I wanted to purchase a jacket with the upcoming weather going to turn cold. I found one item that I really liked. The Nike Element Shield Full Zip Jacket, in Electric Green.
Upon first examination the jacket was well designed, and fit me well. What more could I ask for. I am no stranger to Nike running apparel. 90% of my shirts are Nike Dri-FIT. First reason I prefer Nike over the other brands because the way it fits me. That is most import. Second, they seem to be around $5.00 less than the competitors closest product.
This is where if you saved your money for a rainy day...........you will be happy.
Design:
The Nike Element Shield Jacket is made with Dri-FIT high-performance polyester fabric that very effectively wicks sweat away from your body and to the surface where it can evaporate and cool.
The tag on the jacket lists that it I designed to wind and water resistant in key areas to keep you dry and warm. The parts that are wind and water resistant are the entire front, the tops of the shoulders and the arms, all the way down to the hands. The undersides of the arms and the back of the jacket about 8 inches below the shoulder are the parts that are not so water resistant. Keep in mind this is not meant to be a rain coat.
The jacket has a stand collar which helps to keep in the warmth and cut the wind. It is soft and comfortable, and not restrictive in any manor.
The long raglan sleeves with thumbhole accents are a good length to keep most peoples hands warm. The full front zipper zips up to the neck, and can also then be unzipped up to the collar to dump excess heat.
The design of the lining is what I find most curious. The lining is a series of small plush thermal squares that make it light, breathable and surprisingly warm. There are reflective elements, which I will say are highly effective, made to increase visibility in low-light conditions. I feel that Nike could have put one more reflective strip across the back, like on the back of the Element Shield Vest. This on its own is not a deal breaker, since you may run during the day, or if you do run at night you can always opt for a hat with reflective properties. Just thought it would make for a nice touch since the jacket retails for $115.00.
Drop-in pockets at side for convenient storage.
Media cord loop at nape to keep cords out of the way. (Reflective)
Machine wash cold, line dry.
After a few runs in this Jacket I am able to write an objective review.
Warmth: Let me start off by saying this jacket is not made for over 40°F. I made one run when it was just over 40, and I needed to unzip as it was just too warm.
Water resistant not water proof: I have made two runs in the rain wirh this jacket. The first was 6 miles in a light drizzle, with a temp of 37 °F. I was very comfortable as I stayed acceptably and warm. So the jacket did exactly what it was supposed to do. I will say that in steady rain it is possible to get wet. The water resistant panels made the water bead up and just roll off. Not allowing it to soak in. The panels under the arms channeled the excess water and sweat, out of the jacket.
The other run was a windy, and misty 35 degrees. For that run, the jacket stated very comfortable as far as temperature. For reference I was wearing a short sleeve tech shirt. If it were colder, I would wear a compression top. I imagine that it would be good down to 20 with the right compression top, and to say you would not be out on a 20 miler. As for the mist on this run, the jacket did not even give it a second thought, handled it no problemo. It was a windy run as we had a cold damp wind of 17mph trying to cut in, the front panels do not allow the wind through, but it will transfer cold if it is cold enough and you sweated up the jacket pretty good, but to be honest, all lightweight materials would do the same.
I really felt that is jacket did an exceptional job on those runs. Below are some pictures of the features this jacket has.
I have to say that I love this jacket so much I decided to get another one on sale. $78.00 at Dicks Sporting Goods. This jacket is well worth the money. So the long and short of it is that if someone asked me should they get this.............I would say yes, if you run outside in the cold, and in the rain. If you stay in while its raining or hit the tready, I would say save the cash, unless you just wear it to look cool.
Thanks for lookin.
Dan
Retail Price: $115.00
Availability: Most major retailers and running specialty stores.
With the cold weather upon us, I have been finding it very hard to drag myself out of a warm bed on the weekends to get a run in cold, and rainy weather, especially the last few weekends. Back I. October while I was at the Chicago Marathon expo, I wanted to buy a souvenir. I wanted to purchase a jacket with the upcoming weather going to turn cold. I found one item that I really liked. The Nike Element Shield Full Zip Jacket, in Electric Green.
Upon first examination the jacket was well designed, and fit me well. What more could I ask for. I am no stranger to Nike running apparel. 90% of my shirts are Nike Dri-FIT. First reason I prefer Nike over the other brands because the way it fits me. That is most import. Second, they seem to be around $5.00 less than the competitors closest product.
This is where if you saved your money for a rainy day...........you will be happy.
Design:
The Nike Element Shield Jacket is made with Dri-FIT high-performance polyester fabric that very effectively wicks sweat away from your body and to the surface where it can evaporate and cool.
The tag on the jacket lists that it I designed to wind and water resistant in key areas to keep you dry and warm. The parts that are wind and water resistant are the entire front, the tops of the shoulders and the arms, all the way down to the hands. The undersides of the arms and the back of the jacket about 8 inches below the shoulder are the parts that are not so water resistant. Keep in mind this is not meant to be a rain coat.
The jacket has a stand collar which helps to keep in the warmth and cut the wind. It is soft and comfortable, and not restrictive in any manor.
The long raglan sleeves with thumbhole accents are a good length to keep most peoples hands warm. The full front zipper zips up to the neck, and can also then be unzipped up to the collar to dump excess heat.
The design of the lining is what I find most curious. The lining is a series of small plush thermal squares that make it light, breathable and surprisingly warm. There are reflective elements, which I will say are highly effective, made to increase visibility in low-light conditions. I feel that Nike could have put one more reflective strip across the back, like on the back of the Element Shield Vest. This on its own is not a deal breaker, since you may run during the day, or if you do run at night you can always opt for a hat with reflective properties. Just thought it would make for a nice touch since the jacket retails for $115.00.
Drop-in pockets at side for convenient storage.
Media cord loop at nape to keep cords out of the way. (Reflective)
Machine wash cold, line dry.
After a few runs in this Jacket I am able to write an objective review.
Warmth: Let me start off by saying this jacket is not made for over 40°F. I made one run when it was just over 40, and I needed to unzip as it was just too warm.
Water resistant not water proof: I have made two runs in the rain wirh this jacket. The first was 6 miles in a light drizzle, with a temp of 37 °F. I was very comfortable as I stayed acceptably and warm. So the jacket did exactly what it was supposed to do. I will say that in steady rain it is possible to get wet. The water resistant panels made the water bead up and just roll off. Not allowing it to soak in. The panels under the arms channeled the excess water and sweat, out of the jacket.
The other run was a windy, and misty 35 degrees. For that run, the jacket stated very comfortable as far as temperature. For reference I was wearing a short sleeve tech shirt. If it were colder, I would wear a compression top. I imagine that it would be good down to 20 with the right compression top, and to say you would not be out on a 20 miler. As for the mist on this run, the jacket did not even give it a second thought, handled it no problemo. It was a windy run as we had a cold damp wind of 17mph trying to cut in, the front panels do not allow the wind through, but it will transfer cold if it is cold enough and you sweated up the jacket pretty good, but to be honest, all lightweight materials would do the same.
I really felt that is jacket did an exceptional job on those runs. Below are some pictures of the features this jacket has.
 |
| Electric Green. I love it. |
 |
| As you can see your neck and chin are protected from the zipper. |
 |
| The seams are sewn well. |
 |
| The zipper is a YKK zipper. This is a high quality zipper. |
 |
| More seams. Nicely sewn. |
 |
| The outside right has a same zippered pocket to hold a key fob, gel, or ID. there is also another small pocket which could hold a gel or an inhaler. |
 |
| The inside. This fabric design helps to keep you warm, and helps to evacuate sweat. |
 |
| This is the back of the jacket. The top is water wind resistant. The bottom is what you would find in a sweat jacket. |
 |
| Reflective swoosh on front. |
 |
| This is a shot of the arm relector, the the reflective trim on the side pocket. |
 |
| Reflective trim opposite side. |
I have to say that I love this jacket so much I decided to get another one on sale. $78.00 at Dicks Sporting Goods. This jacket is well worth the money. So the long and short of it is that if someone asked me should they get this.............I would say yes, if you run outside in the cold, and in the rain. If you stay in while its raining or hit the tready, I would say save the cash, unless you just wear it to look cool.
Thanks for lookin.
Dan
Monday, November 12, 2012
2012 Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon
The Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon is a favorite in my race book. There are many things that I enjoy about this race. This race is a night race and boasts a 10 pm start time, so if you are like me and not so keen on getting up early, especially while on vacation, then this race may be for you. The W&D also has a relatively non competitive field of runners, so you can really feel good about your race results if you are not particularly speedy. I have run this race 3 years in a row now, and am hoping for a 4th in 2013.
Here is my official race report:
Race Day: Saturday night race. 10pm Start.
Weather: 61°F and clear.
Race Field: 13,000
Type of Start: Wave
What To Wear
 |
| My Diggs |
Getting To The Starting Line
 |
| The Starting Line |
The pre-race setup was highly organized. Disney has a large lighted field as a staging area. When you arrive you can check your bag, then you can get in line for one of the many probably 100 or more porta johns. Then lines seem to move along at a decent pace. They open the corals around 9:15pm.
 |
| Lines for "The Can" |
 |
| Coral A |
Miles 1-4
I got to toe the
start line. That was cool being right in the front. Run Disney had a DJ at the start line that
commenced a countdown, and then the fireworks went off, the start was great
except I dropped my iPhone right at the start.
That cost me 5-6 seconds maybe, as well as some embarrassment. After grabbing my phone off the ground I
started off on a pretty quick pace. I
got through Mile 1, with a 7:13 split. It felt fast,
and then I came back to earth and tried to slow a little and control my
breathing and get into a rhythm. Mile 2 came and went, with a 7:21 pace, and again I felt that was
too fast I wanted to be around 7:40. The
road was wide open having started in the front, it was nice not having to go
around people. This open road gave me the
advantage of relaxing into the run. Mile 3 came in at 7:26 and I thought, this could be a PR. I was trying to slow, I thought I had, and I
still felt good. I was turning in sub
7:30’s. My breathing felt a little hard,
but was good especially for a race, temps were cool, and I was just starting to
sweat between 2-3 miles. I was off to a
great run I got through the 5k mark in
22:57. I pasted the 5k mat and said
ok, just relax, slow down a bit and run sub 7:55 and I will have a PR. Just
after entering Animal Kingdom I came through the Mile 4 mark in 7:35.Miles 5-8
Just after 4 miles I started to feel side splits. I have had those before, but only on runs that were fast, and I had not taken the proper time to digest. That soon progressed into heaviness in my lower intestinal area, I was like OH NO! I knew this feeling. I started to feel some cramping, and some nausea kicking in. I thought at this point I will go as long as I can, before I hit a porta john. This way hopefully it would pass, and I would not have to try and make up for lost time. Even with all the Disney awesomeness I was having a hard time now wanting to keep a pace. The cramping was making me feel bloated and the pain was not subsiding. This was not good. I never felt this way during a run. I was feeling pretty bad. It was downright painful. I came through Mile 5 in 7:54. I was hoping to keep this pace, even with the pain. I kept on pushing through the conditions, and posted an 8:04 pace in Mile 6. I saw the mats for the 10k time split. I hit the 10k mark in 47:37. This was the point when I started the mental fight. “Your not even halfway through” “I Feel Like Shit!” “Slow down till you feel better” “A finish is a win”, all excuses. This is where I zoned. Time to blank my mind and stack up the rest of the miles and finish this mother. I really don’t remember to much for the next couple miles except certain songs on my iPod, and mile markers. Trudged through Mile 7 in an 8:09 pace. I was out on World Drive headed towards MGM Studios, just hit Mile 8 and chimed in at 8:08, I remember hearing The song “It’s Our Fight” by Steve Jablonsky, this is off the Transformers 3 Soundtrack. Here is the link if you are interested. "It's Our Fight" . This song gave me the fortitude to keep pushing through the pain, and the discomfort.
Mile 9-13.1
I thought this will be rough but I have to salvage this run, push. One mile at a time. I was now pacing with another runner, and he too was digging deep. I let him ride for a little while right on my heels as I kept a steady pace. I backed off he started to pass and I fell right in on him off his right hand side about 4 feet back. He tried to move away, but I was going to stick right there. I think it was making him uneasy forcing him to keep a pace. We hit the slow uphill to the off ramp to make the turn into MGM. We hit the Mile 9 mark and posted a 7:59 mile. There was some battling going on back and forth through MGM, cutting through on the inside of the turns and then back and forth. Mile 10 we had a split of 8:01. By now I was really starting to feel bad, really bad. I was seriously thinking of stopping, and this was rational thinking, not tired thinking. I was like you are really hurting, you are going to either shit or puke, you can deal with barfing, but if you soil yourself there is no victory, only serious embarrassment. Just then I looked up to see the Mile 11 marker then….beep….beep I looked down 8:02. 2.1 To go. You can do this. Just get through it. Keep pushing. Slow down if you have to. I kept thinking if this was mile 8 or 9 I would stop for a break. I was doing calculations in my head. I can still PR. Not big, but a PR is a PR. I knew the rest of the course from 11 thru 12.2 like the back of my hand. I was going to try and keep up. I was like I was being stabbed. Horrible. I other runner backed off coming out of MGM, and I kept looking ahead. I felt accomplished as I fended off one competitor. Mile I felt like was running a 9 min mile, then I hit the bridge between the Boardwalk and Swan and Dolphin Resort. Legs felt 80lbs each. I though this is going to kill me. My Mile 12 split fell to 8:10. I was reassessing the situations when it hit me…..wall. I was not drinking or gelling since the pain and discomfort. I was afraid to. I was going to have to finish this on pure will. I could literally feel the energy drain. One foot in front of the other, pic them up, or you will trip is what I was thinking. I tramped along the Yacht and Beach Clubs. I hit the last incline (Bridge into the Epcot). I can’t explain how I felt. Just bad. I recall back lot scenery. Mile 13 came in early at 8:14, I am going to miss a PR by seconds, is all I could think. I have nothing left. I could see the 13 mile sign coming up. It was time to see what I had left. 1/10th of a mile left and I was running on less than fumes. I felt unnatural, by body was slumping and I was clutching my stomach area. I made the turn and saw the finish. I did what I could, and came through the finish. I looked at my watch and saw 1:43:42. I missed a PR, by 2 seconds. I missed matching my previous PR by 1 second. I felt even worse now. I made it through to medical where they gave me something for my nausea and told me to lay down. Long story short. A few trips to the johns and a couple hours I felt a lot better. We ended up skipping the Finish Line Party, since it was so crowded.
Ratings
Aid Stations – They had 8 aid stations with restrooms over
the course. The volunteers were upbeat
and awesome. They provided water and
Gator-aid. They had Clif-Shots at Mile 8. 5/5 rating.
Spectators –There were a lot of spectators at the race
start, and then they all left to hit the Food and Wine Festival Finish Line
Party, where they would wait for their runners. Needless to say spectator
viewership was weak. I compare this to
the Marathon in Disney. 3/5 Rating
Traffic and Parking – They had parking available for free,
and plenty of it. It was Disney so
traffic was no issue. 5/5 rating.
Race Tees – The race apparel that came with registration was
nice. A green long sleeve tech shirt.
The design was nice looking too. 4/5
rating
Restrooms – Plenty, and well stocked. Given the large field
wait was kind of long. 3.5/5 rating.
Course – The course had great views. There is one downfall, if you can call it
that, there is quite a bit of highway travel between the parks, to me it felt
like a normal non-Disney race for those parts. They filled some of it with
music, dancers, and float. They did a
great job. They even had the green army
guy from toy story telling us to “TAKE THIS HILL RUNNERS!!!!, and MOVE IT, MOVE
IT, MOVE IT, and ON THE DOUBLE!” That was up onto a ramp that headed towards
MGM. They also had the Osbourne Festival
of Lights on in MGM, that was amazing. Lots to see on this run. 4.5/5 rating.
Awards – The finisher medal is AWESOME! Nice ribbon, and
medal. 5/5 rating.
Summary
There is a reason that I have run this course years years straight. I love this race. I like Disney of course, but they really cater to you. They want you to have a great expeirience. After all the entry is kind of pricey, but in my opinion worth the cash. This course is a relativly flat course. If you are a sub 9:00 runner, you will especially like this course.
 |
| Me and my Wife Post Race |
 |
| Finsih Line |
 |
| Ecpot Christmas Tree |
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Getting Ready For Vacation
It's funny to think that for most people, vacation is about going to relax and let go, I must be crazy. All of my trips this year have been planned around running marathons and halfs. Thinking back I have accomplished much this year.
Here is a list of my completed races for the year so far.
Yes this has been a busy year. I have loved every minute of it. Even in the darkest miles when I wanted to give up. Looking back there are absolutly no regrets. I will of course post more once I get down to Disney. Probably and expo post, and then the race post of course.
Here is a list of my completed races for the year so far.
- Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon - Springfield, Illinois, April 7th 2012
- Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon - Louisville, Kentucky, April 28th 2012
- First Midwest Bank Half Marathon - Palos Heights, Illinois, May 3rd 2012
- The Cellcom Green Bay Marathon - Green Bay, Wisconsin, May 20th 2012
- The Oak Brook Half Marathon - Oak Brook, Illinois September 3rd 2012
- The Chicago Half Marathon - Chicago Illinois, September 9th 2012
- The Chicago Marathon - Chicago Illinois, October 7th 2012
- The Community Health Indianapolis Marathon - Indianapolis, Indiana October 20th 2012
- The Monster Dash Chicago Half Marathon - Chicago, Illinois October 21st 2012
- The Hot Chocolate 15k - Chicago Illinois November 3rd 2012
- Disney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon - Disney World, Florida November 10th 2012
Yes this has been a busy year. I have loved every minute of it. Even in the darkest miles when I wanted to give up. Looking back there are absolutly no regrets. I will of course post more once I get down to Disney. Probably and expo post, and then the race post of course.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Chicago Hot Chocolate 15K Official Race Report:
Chicago Hot Chocolate 15K Official Race Report:
Date November 4th 2012
Race Day Wake Up Time: 5 a.m.
Race Start Time: 7 a.m.
Starting Corral: C
Race Field: 40,000+
Race Day Weather: 36°F and Mostly Cloudy.
Race Day Breakfast: Strawberry Oatmeal, and a banana at 5:10 a.m.
Getting Down There
We left the house around 6:10 am,usually takes 20 minutes from home to Downtown Chicago. So I was super surprised that as soon as we hit the city it was gridlock. Traffic was an absolute disaster. We hit the city at 6:33, actually just outside the city on I-290. We did not even get close to the parking garage until 6:55am. I let the wife out, and asked her to hit bag check, and to see me after the race, she was doing the 5k. She was set for corral M. I knew I would miss my designated start since they had those city hacks that cannot direct traffic if their life depended on it out there. I swear that is the city’s biggest waste of taxpayer funds are those traffic idiots. That is a whole other story. I parked the car in the Millennium Park Garage. Parking in Chicago should be considered rape, $30 to park.
Pre-race Atmosphere
There was a pretty good buzz in the air. People were everywhere, it was total chaos. I suppose it would not have been an annoyance, if I had been there earlier, (but I gave myself plenty of time to get there and park. I was not really able to enjoy the pre-race buzz. It appeared that they had a lot of restroom facilities available, so that looked like a plus, I could be wrong since I did not have to go, plus just about everyone was in a corral.
Getting To My Corral
This was the worst I have ever seen it at a race. The Chicago Marathon with a larger field is so much more organized. There were no volunteers to point you to where you needed to go. Corrals A, B, C, and D can only be entered from the east side (Bogus). I needed to get from the west side of the corrals to the east side. No on e could tell me where I could cross. There is one solid fence the whole length of the starting corrals. I started walking to towards the front corrals, since I was back by c corral. I got as far as corral B and there was nowhere to get through. Corral D was just starting, by this time it was like 7:15am. I had to go all the way back to corral K in order to get through and across. This whole thing was starting to seem like ordeal. I finally ended up getting to corral G. So I started around 10 minutes behind my group. I was right at the front of this field with a few other faster runners who were probably made late by the unmitigated disaster that was taking place.
Miles 1-3.1 (5k)
This race was a wave start. So when they dropped the line I headed out ahead of the pack. Within the first ½ mile,I was running into stragglers from the previous wave. Then around ¾ to 1 mile in, I was bogged down. I was running mid 9’s for mile 2 according to my Garmin. We snaked our way through the city streets, as I tried to settle in. I have never run a 15k race before.
Miles 3.1 - 6
I tried to pick up the pace here but it was hard since you were constantly getting bogged down. My pace started to get down into the high 7’s. Not sure how accurate that is since we ran under a lot of covered areas and I lost satellite quite a few times.
Miles 6 – 9.3 (15k)
I felt that I was hitting a good tempo pace, so I just played it safe through miles 6, and 7. These miles were still packed since it was such a large field. It was hard to get through. Once I hit mile 8 I kicked it up a notch and sped up a bit and really started passing people. I knew I was faster than tempo pace since my legs started to feel the miles. We ran under Lake Shore Drive and headed into the final stretch of the race. We hit our last right turn back out on to Columbus Dr. through the finish.
The Course Summary
The course had more negatives than positives. The route had some great scenery, since you got to run on Michigan Ave, and then on Lake Shore Drive. I mean that is pretty sweet. However, the size of the field overwhelmed the route. You were constantly getting stuck behind slower runners or walkers who were 3-4 across, or started in a faster corral. When you hit Lake Shore Drive down to McCormick Place, they had you in the far right lane. One lane with a huge race field means don’t run this if you are looking for a P.R. Run it for fun would be better advice. When we ran under McCormick Place it was pretty dark and footing was not the best. So you had to be real careful not to end upon your face, or with a rolled ankle. At the turnaround point they moved us on the lake path headed back. Yes very nice scenery, the lake, and the skyline, and yes, the giant herd on a 12 ft wide path. Overall it was flat except for the overpasses, which did eat up some speed since they are pretty are a little steeper than most.
My Race Experience
Overall it was a horrible experience. The pre-race experience was what is making me feel most negative, other than the fact that you don’t get any medal for $68.00 entry. Instead you get a cheap plastic bowl with cold, hard chocolate fondue. I guess the really fast 5 k people would be the lucky ones to get hot fondue you can actually dip. My wife and I both got ours and there was hardly any chocolate to dip into. The cup of hot chocolate was really watered down as well, and tasted like crud. This was very disappointing. It also turns out, that my time was not recorded. I am unsure if there was problem with the chip or system. I've sent an email to support asking about my official race time. My wife and cousin both have one, but not me. The pros and cons of this race:
Cons:- Horrible traffic control.
- Lack of customer service trying to deal with my chip and time.
- The disorganization of getting to your starting corral and lack of volunteers being able to help you get there. There was nothing communicated upon pickup about this either.
- The masses to contend with on the course, this is a packed race.
- No medal, no official time, no bragging.
- Getting boned on the hot chocolate fondue after racing.
- Lack of organization for the post race area, really crowded and long lines.
- Getting boned for $5.00 to park at the expo and then $30.00 to park at Millenium Park to make up for poor traffic control measures, and trying not to miss the start.
- A nice sweatsshirt.
Basically I paid $103.00 for a sweatshirt and lost my Sunday Morning. Would I do this race again. No.
Overall Race Ratings
Aid Stations – They had 4 aid stations with restrooms over the course. The volunteers at the aid-stations were upbeat and awesome handing out Gator-aide, water, and encouragement. Rating: 5/5rating.
Spectators – Start and finish had decent crowd support there were plenty of people, but nothing like the Chicago Half Marathon, or Marathon. The aid stations gave a little mental boost with their cheering us on.They had some music out there too. Rating: 3/5.
Traffic and Parking – Traffic was bad getting in, it is Chicago after all. The Chicago Traffic Management Authority wasted so much of my time. The city must not have a plan for this race. I sat at one stop light for 5 changes. this was to get to the parking garage that was right after the light. I was only 10 cars back. The traffic people are unprofessional and a bunch of hacks. Then there is the$30.00 parking to contend with. I will say this if you could have gotten over to Solder’s Field to park it would have been $13.00. They Race Company needs to negotiate a reduced rate. Rating: 1/5.
Race Swag– The race apparel that came with registration was nice. You received a hooded sweatshirt that is a tech style so it wicks moisture away. The hood is nice and a little over sized so it is comfy. Rating: 4/5.
Restrooms – I hit the john after the race. The wait was short. There was a lady going around looking to use one, but they were all out of toilet paper. That is really inexcusable. Rating: 2.5/5.
Course – The course had great views on the way out and back. However it is not able to handle the load as the field is large. Also when running under the buildings there road is slightly treacherous because it is dark. Rating: 3/5.
Awards – The finisher medal is frikken……yeah, no finishers medal. They should give you something, even if it was an inexpensive rubber one like Disney does with their 5k’s. Note: In Disney’s defense they do have a nice ribbon on them. Instead they give you a cheap bowl with a tablespoon of melted chocolate, banana, some pretzels, 3 apple slices and a tiny rice crispy treat…..stellar, this was the icing on the cake. Rating: 1/5.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Hot Chocolate Anyone? Hot Chocolate 5/15K Packet Pick Up and Expo.
Getting There.
We exited the car to get into the 1/4 mile long line. You had to wait out in the cold before you could get into the giant heated tent. They moved people through pretty fast, so as long as the line was we did not have to wait very long. It felt nice to get into the tent since we were not dressed very warm thinking we would be out in the cold.
 |
| This was the quater mile line. |
Getting In.
Once in getting our bags was a breeze. As you can see here the line snaked back and forth for a little while, but you were moving at quick walk to keep up with the line. If I had to estimate We were in line for 15-20 minutes total. That was from getting into line thru getting our bags. |
| The quick moving line. 5 mins max. |
In the Goodie Bag
The goodie bag is straight forward no frills, and no nonsense.
- Bib with timing chip.
- Hooded sweatshirt, tech style, wicking. slightly large hood. (nice)
- Directions and Parking. Race day info on corrals and start time.
The Expo.
After getting our bags we hit the expo. The expo was tiny, but hey, it's a short race. I did not assume it would be anything like the Chicago Half Marathon or Chicago Marathon expos. The expo was pretty just a large running store, as had one company (Running Away Sport) was selling like 8 product brands. They had Mizuno, North Face, Saucony, Brooks, Nike, Sugoi, New Balance. All the normal stuff, and at all the normal prices. They did have a whole section of Hot Chocolate Race Gear, everything from headbands and hats, to tech shirts and $90.00 running jackets. The prices on that gear was reasonable I guess.
Freebies at the Expo.
We did manage to get a few freebies. I mean what good is an expo without freebies. In the center they had a large display set up, themed like fall or Thanksgiving. That is were they were giving out goodies in the form of little chocolate squares, and hot chocolate.
Core Power.
One other noteable mention, Core Power. Core Power was there giving out samples. I happened upon this brand at the Chicago Marathon expo, and let me tell you, if you have not tried this stuff, GET SOME! Core Power's main competition in the market place is Muscle Milk which I happened to like, until the Core Power Taste Test. When compared to Muscle Milk, Core Power tastes more natural, less sweet, but with real flavor. You know how when you have something that says it is banana flavored? Thats just it....flavored. Think back to most of the stuff out there, yes it tastse good, but why? The flavor or the sweetness? Maybe both. My first impression when I had the Core Power was it's very good. Very smooth and natural tasting, not overly sweet. The flavor is lite and the sweetness is perfect. In comparison the Muscle Milk tastes more sugary and not as smooth, when I say not smooth, I mean it leaves a chalky residue feeling in your mouth. When I run a hard race or hit my long runs over 1.5 hours, I am taking gels. Sweet gooey gels. Gels are overly sweet, therefore, the last thing I really want after a run like that is an overly sweet drink that leaves a chalky residue in my mouth. I highly recommend Core Power for it's great taste and availability, as you can get it at Jewel or Albertsons. This stuff is great. I want to thank Sarah an Ben out at the Hot Chocolate Expo for spending some more time explaining their product to me. They don't hit you with a sales job as to what makes thier product so much better. They tell you what is in it, give you some samples and then funny thing, less is more. For more info check out Core Power's website at http://www.corepower.com/ .Getting Home.
Once we got out of the expo it was easy peasy getting out of there. A couple of turns, a little Chicago traffic (it's always rush hour) and before we knew it we were out of the city headed home.
 |
One of the signs letting people know to be ready for 40,000 people.And by the way.............. |
 |
| How did this guy get corral A? |
Friday, November 2, 2012
Am I ready? Disney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon November 10th
To get a P.R. (personal record) I have to beat 1:43:41 a 7:55pace.
To beat my best course time for this race I have to beat 1:49:53.
I feel that I will easily beat the course time, however, 1:43:41 might be tough.
Well hopefully I will find some Disney Magic.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)