F3 Lake Half Marathon
Even though I wasn’t able to run the full half-marathon, I was able to beat my previous record by fifteen minutes. So that’s something, I guess.
Different Year, Same Race, Same Mistake
You would think I would learn from last time. I didn't lose my AirPods this year, but I still walked the last few miles because once again, I did not have the proper layers and my hands went numb by the time I crossed the finish line.
Pre-Run Test
This was only my second half-marathon in freezing temperatures. While we were gathering in the lobby area, I took a few laps outside to try to get used to the cold and warm up. It wasn't enough.
Smile
Everytime I saw someone 'official looking' with a large camera, I would start jogging and smile and wave as I would pass them, regardless of how tired and numb I was.
Signing Up For My Second F3
The year 2022 was just ending and the 2023 F3 promo showed up in my emails. I fully remembered my last F3 Half and recalled the freezing temperatures and how it made the last few miles difficult. But at the same time, I really did enjoy the run, especially since it was my official debut into the Chicago Booth Running Club. So before I knew it, I was locked in for the race.
Race Day
Similar to the first time, I prebooked a parking spot at Soldier Field, and on the morning of January 28, 2023, I arrived at the stadium around seven in the morning, three hours before the race would even start. The lobby was pretty empty, with just a few people mingling about. Since my car was right next to the entrance, I avoided waiting in the gear check line. As the hours passed, more people came in by the hundreds, and soon, the place was packed. Like last time, I was unsure if I had an adequate amount of layers on: did I have enough to stay warm, but did I have too much on to not overheat as my body temperature rises throughout the run? So I decided to jog a few short laps on a small pathway on the second floor just to test it out. I knew just barely running half a mile was not really indicative of how I would feel ten miles down, but it was better than nothing.
Since I had already done this race before and knew my time, I wanted to try and beat my previous record (two hours and thirty-seven minutes), so I wanted to maximize my time running before I would slow down to a walk (I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to run the whole race).
For the first 5 miles of the race, I did not feel any kind of fatigue: my legs were working fine, the weather wasn't too hot or too cold, and I had a great rhythm going with the runners around me. Around mile 6, I could feel a little stress beginning to form on my knees, but nothing I wasn't already used to. Around mile 7, the turnaround point came, and once I saw myself heading back to Soldier Field, the fatigue subsided for a bit, but that's when the cold began to seep through my thin gloves. Just before the eight-mile marker, I finally began to feel my legs begin to slow down, which was reflected in my declining pace displayed on my watch.
By the tenth-mile marker, my fingers were already numb, my legs were tired, and I already considered it a win that I ran double-digit miles without slowing down, so that was my clue to slow down. For the rest of the run, I alternated between walking and jogging, but each jog was slower than the last. By the time I crossed the finish line, my hands were numbed to the point that I couldn't even wear my medal properly or even eat the post-race snacks right after, pretty much a repeat of last year.