Beautiful CDC PR! I believe Boston is possible!

"Chicago is a breathtakingly beautiful city." This is what I thought to myself on Mile 9 as I looked for that 10-mile marker along the Lakefront path. I was in fine form. The sun was reflecting off the lake and the cityscape was directly in front of me with McCormick Place to my left. I felt awesome.

This was as close to a perfect race as I will ever run. I trained. I set a goal time. I had a plan by the mile. I exceeded my own expectations.

To all of you who read this blog and have watched my progress, this for me is a great day in running. Thank you for keeping me focused on my goals and giving me a reason to keep trying.

The CDC was extremely well organized. The weather was perfect. The course is beautiful. These races are why I run. Running on the Chicago lakefront for the first time with such velocity and ease today was a remarkable experience.

I wanted to heed the advice I had received from the articles I had read. Don't blow this race by going out to fast, I said to myself. Run a 7-minute first mile. Ignore all else and keep the emotions in check. And I did. I watched my pace like a hawk and exercised great discipline. I felt truly in control of my destiny today.

Here are the splits of my race today - an earth-shattering half-marathon PR for me:

Mile 1 - 7:02 - 166 Heartrate
Mile 2 - 6:48 - 168
Mile 3 - 7:01 - 171
Mile 4 - 6:57 - 169
Mile 5 - 7:01 - 171
Mile 6 - 7:02 - 165
Mile 7 - 6:54 - 169
Mile 8 - 7:03 - 170
Mile 9 - 6:47 - 170
Mile 10 - 6:55 - 174
Mile 11 - 6:50 - 169
Mile 12 - 6:51 - 172
Mile 13 - 6:36 - 177
Last 0.1 - 0:36 - 182

OFFICIAL RACE TIME: 1:30:24 - 6:55 per mile

Here is the official results site.

No porta-pottie breaks. I drank at every aid station (10 of them) while keeping the feet turning over at consistent pace. I felt strong for most of the race. The HR was higher than I expected but I didn't feel winded until the last mile (which was 6:36, thank you very much).

My goal was to be at the 10-mile mark with a time of 1:09:45. I arrived there at 1:09:31 and had fuel in the tank. I turned on the jets. I was picking off victims left and right.

I laid out the goal statment and I exceeded it. I am absolutely thrilled with my progress and my performance.

I know that the reason to run in my life is not only about achieving a specific time, but I have to say the personal satisfaction I feel today is wonderful. I feel so fortunate to be able to do this.

When I hit that 13 mile mark, I started waving on the crowd for cheers. I was pumping my fist in the air as I sprinted toward the finish. This is exactly what I want to feel in 10 weeks time.

With this race performance, McMillan's "world famous" calculator is now predicting a 3:10:39 marathon for me. This would get me in to Boston.

Even more interesting to me is that if you look at McMillan's predicted 5k race pace after entering a 1:30:24 for a half marathon, the chart says I should be able to run a 19:33 5k. Guess what I ran less than 3 weeks ago? a 19:32! Guess McMillan knows what he's talking about!

I know that I have 10 more weeks of very hard work left to achieve my ultimate goal, but I am starting to feel like the BQ is actually possible. I always believed I could do it but I have to be honest and say I wasn't sure if I was working hard enough or if I would get there on this particular try. As of today, I am beginning to truly believe.

I did not get my after-race recovery in because I was hanging out with my fellow Wheaton runners and I didn't want to leave my wife alone for more miles. So we celebrated, went to brunch and then headed over to Niketown to pick up the race packet for Thursday's Nike Remix Race 5-miler.

However, I wanted that 50+ for the week and I feel good. So I decided to run a recovery at 12:20 PM after we arrived home. I ran 3.2 miles in 25:40. The only disappointment of the day is that my lovely wife forgot to bring the camera out of the car for post-race pics! :(

Recap of the week:

Mon - 6 mile recovery
Tue - 12 mile general aerobic
Wed - Rest
Thu - 10.5 mile general aerobic
Fri - 6.5 mile recovery
Sat - Rest
Sun - Half Marathon + 3.2 mile recovery = 16.3

Total mileage for the week: 51.3