It's a lot of fun to go to races, especially when you are there just for the fun of it in the first place. That was the case with my friends and I and the Rudolph Ramble.
It's been a long running season this year. That's a good thing. That means we've been healthy and able to run without those nagging injuries all year. The racing season started in April for me with a half marathon in Des Moines. It continued through the Shamrock Shuffle the Soldier Field ten miler, the Ravenswood run and the Great Midwest Relay. Shortly after that we began marathon training, which included increased mileage and speed work during the week. There were plenty of other races mixed in during the summer as well. Finally there was the marathon itself, followed by what I considered the end of the season, the Turkey Trot in Lincoln Park.
It was a great year that included many memorable running events and training runs. One that sticks out in my mind was during a day trip to Denver to cover a news conference where Chicago was announced as one of the finalists for the 2016 olympic games. The trip came up at the last minute, on a day when I was planning on getting a ten mile run in. I got to the hotel well before the news conference was to begin, and convinced them to let me use the shower near their pool. So I was able to get a ten miler in quickly before the news conference started, and never missed a beat. And I got the added benefit of altitude training running in the mile high city!
So the point of this long explanation is that the Rudolph Ramble was actually the final race of the year I plan to run. But we treated it as nothing other than a fun way to get five miles in with our friends. And it was a great day for it. The bitter cold of the past few days finally relented, and the sun was shining for a relatively nice December day. Most of the runners wore foam reindeer antlers to get in the spirit of the day.
The run was also a great fundraiser for Children's Memorial Hospital. Many of the runners brought unwrapped, new, gifts to donate to the children there. My wife offered one that was originally intended for our eldest daughter, but we agreed the children there would appreciate it much more. Santa was also there to take pictures with kids, and raise more money for the hospital.
It was a great day! And you'll notice I haven't mentioned anything about my time. The truth is that I forgot to start my watch. That was perfect, because I had no intention of trying to run fast. I did see the clock at the finish, and realized that I ran about 7:30 pace-much slower than the last 8k I ran at 6:40 pace.
That, however is the idea. Rest is an important part of training as well. Physical as well as mental rest. When I was running track and cross country in high school and college our coaches would tell us to take it pretty easy in the summer. That was the off season in those days. We would make sure to get mileage in, but it would be easy mileage. There little or no racing over the summer. You need to have some down time in order to build back up to running at peak levels.
So this is my time. It may only be a few weeks before Boston marathon training starts, but it's much needed, and well-deserved after what has been a great year!
See you on the roads!
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