Under Armour Chicago 10K
I didn't account for the summer heat, and I was already panting by the 6th K.
Signing Up
A friend from my school running club signed up and posted the link on Slack. I signed up five seconds later.
Underestimating the Under Armour
By now I had a few races under my belt, including three half marathons, so I wasn't worried about prep — it was just a 10K, right? I didn't account for the summer heat, and was already panting by the 6th K.
Preparing for the Ragnar
I'd also signed up for the then-unfamiliar Ragnar Relay Race in Seattle, and wanted a warm-up — I'd heard Ragnars were pretty intense.
Registering for the Race
Our Chicago Booth Running Club co-chair announced he'd signed up and published the link on our Slack channel. I'd never heard of this race before, but it seemed like a nice warm-up for the upcoming Ragnar Relay a few months out. The two of us ran it together.
The Race
This race took place in mid-July 2022, starting and ending in Grant Park. Having completed a trio of half marathons by then, I wasn't too intimidated by the 10K, so I skipped training. I met my friend at the starting line, and we began the race at 8am.
Like most Chicago-based races, a good chunk of this one had me on the Lake Shore Trail back and forth. It started at Grant Park, briefly heading north before looping around outside the park and down south on the trail for a little over 3 miles, past the Navy Pier area, before turning around at the 3.5mi mark. The remaining route took us back up the trail before wrapping up at Grant Park, earning another medal.
Even though the sun never came out, it was pretty humid, and I was already sweating around the fourth mile marker. I'd hoped to hold around a 9min/mile pace but found myself close to breaking 10 near the end. From that moment on, I never ran a summer race again without a water bottle, no matter how short.
