Overall a good race. Start time was delayed by a couple of minutes. I was pacing my wife (she got a PR!).

Aid stations were well spaced and most, if not all, had energy.

The post-race meal was soggy and stale. But there were plenty of orange slices and bananas at the finish line so all good.

Good experience!

This was my second 13.1. I was fully expecting (and trained for) brutally cold weather. The Midwest has been frozen over for weeks, but to everyone’s surprise, it was a balmy 38 degrees to start the race.

The indoor staging area would have been a lifesaver if the weather had been normal for mid-January in Chicago. The group warmup was easy and effective. The process of herding runners to the start line was quick and easy.

My only minor complaint: i was expecting some sort of energy on the course, Gu, I think, and it wasn’t there. Possible i just missed it but if so it wasn’t clearly marked at all.

I can’t say enough about our pace team. I set a goal of 2:07. My previous race was in October 2017 and I ran 2:17. I started out with the 2:10 group and got going a little too fast. Noticed I was right behind the 2:00’s and figured: what the heck, let’s go for 2 hours. I was feeling great and decided to drop my strategy and push myself. The pacers kept it light and informative.

Finished in 1:59:51!

https://www.strava.com/activities/1366662307?utm_content=546181&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=twitter #strava