Rock N Roll Chicago 5K race recap

Many thanks for your support and encouragement in response to my last post. I really do appreciate your kind and thoughtful words!

Quick update: I have almost completely kicked the cold now, save for an occasional lingering cough which I expect will be gone soon. I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with my current busy period at work. And I haven't run a single step since completing the Rock N Roll Chicago Half Marathon last Sunday! It's been glorious. =)

With the recent craziness of work, I'm falling behind on blogging. I've got both the Rock N Roll Chicago 5K and Half Marathon to talk about, plus I'll be running the PAWS Run For Their Lives 5K this Sunday (purely for the charitable cause). So let's recap some races, starting with the Rock N Roll Chicago 5K.

Just after the starting line at the Rock N Roll Chicago 5K
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I was very excited to welcome Kayla to town for the weekend! I think the last time I saw her was at the 2014 Disneyland Half Marathon, so I was looking forward to catching up. Kayla was also tackling the Rock N Roll Chicago Remix Challenge. After picking her up from the airport on Friday night, we grabbed some food at Ram Brewery before heading home to hit the sack.

On Saturday morning, the weather was absolutely gorgeous for a summertime 5K. The skies were clear and sunny, and the temps were in the 60s when we got up. It was cool enough out that Kayla and I both wore jackets as we rode Divvy bikes to the course.

While we were walking towards event-day packet pickup, we saw a runner who was busily puffing away on a cigarette. WOW. Never, in my entire running life, have I ever seen a runner smoking! I overheard him telling someone how he was hoping to improve his race times. I told Kayla, "Maybe it would help if he stopped smoking???"

After going through event-day packet pickup, gear check, and the portapotties, we headed towards the start line. Here's a picture of Kayla and me pre-race:

While making our way through the starting corrals, I heard a familiar voice. That familiar voice belonged to Tracey, a friend and colleague from a prior firm. What a wonderful surprise to run into her! I haven't seen Tracey in probably 4-5 years. She was also doing the Remix Challenge. =)

Photo by Tracey

I am borrowing this snapshot of the starting line from Kayla. Look at the beautiful clear blue sky!

The starting airhorn blew. A few minutes later, Kayla and I crossed the starting line and settled into a comfortable pace. We both wanted to keep things easy, knowing we both had a half marathon to cover the next morning.

The course started north on Columbus, initially following the same route as the Chicago Marathon, Shamrock Shuffle, and the Rock N Roll Chicago Half Marathon. We then headed east on lower Randolph before merging onto the southbound lakefront path.

Kayla and I were both bracing ourselves for a crush on the narrow path, which was still open to the public. While it was indeed crowded, thankfully it was quite manageable. I don't remember seeing any oncoming bikes swerving through the crowds, et al, which is a rarity on a Saturday morning!

The lakefront was beautiful and serene. This picture gives an idea of what the view looked like:

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Kayla and I walked through a water station around Mile 1.5, then picked things back up. The course wound near the Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum before heading back northbound.

Close to the turnaround point, we observed not one, but two men dressed as Elvis, holding plastic guitars, and running barefoot! One of them was displaying an Instagram handle so here's one of his post-race snapshots:

Apparently there was a third Elvis that we missed out there?
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In the final half-mile, Kayla and I came across some official event photographers. Race photo body spasm time! I tried to do a leap in the air while clicking my heels, but 1) the photographer didn't catch it, and 2) I wasn't able to achieve the leap with even the slightest hint of grace. We did get this quality snapshot, though:

Joint race photo body spasm attempt turned out very well!

Then, it was around the corner to the finish line. Here's an action shot of us crossing:

and here is our triumphant post-race finisher's photo:

My final finishing time was 34:00 on the nose. Interestingly, Kayla had entered a predicted 34-minute finishing time when she registered, so that worked out very nicely! =)

Admittedly, I feel a little silly for getting a medal at any race distance shorter than 15K, but I do love the beautiful Rock N Roll medals. Kudos to their medal designer for a fabulous product this year:

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I loved the 5K race shirt, too:

This woman knows how to represent with the matching Chicago-flag running shorts!
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All in all, it was a really fun, laidback run with Kayla, and a perfect shakeout for the next day's half marathon.

After the race, Kayla and I headed to the expo at McCormick Place to pick up our half marathon packets. The expo was better than usual this year! The goody bag had an unusually nice assortment of samples (including a packet of probiotic prunes! ;-) ), and the vendors were ample with their giveaways.

We ran into Erica (who very generously gave me a wristband to the half marathon VIP lounge - thank you so much, Erica!):

and Kayla and I enjoyed some of the fun photo opps:

You knew I wouldn't pass up any opportunity to rep the Blackhawks, yes?
Humana did a very nice job with the market-segmented photo props. =)

Then it was back home to relax and prepare for 13.1 more miles the next day!

Coming up: The Rock N Roll Chicago Half Marathon