Corporate Challenge Race Report

(Photo: Team Sg2, ready for the Challenge!)

Last night I ran the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge in Chicago It is a 3.5 mile race that over 23,000 people ran last night including 44 people from my company, Sg2. 

Running with me was my brother in law Kevin, who has tagged along with us for this even the last two years. We started near the front, with a couple other runners from my team. The course leaves a lot to be desired, much of it is run in the “lower” streets (Lower Randolph for example). The with the exception of the first mile, it is actually about the ugliest route you can find in Chicago, but it is the best for cutting off traffic as it’s an evening race during the week.

Kevin and I ran together for about the first half mile, at which time I told him I was going to try and save myself for the ½ Marathon I am running tomorrow in Traverse City.  Later Kev.  He ran a nice sub 22 minute race (6:16 pace).

Despite trying to “save myself”, I couldn’t really turn off the competitive juices. I did slow down for the second mile (although not as much as the splits indicate because I think the first mile marker was short). But then I wanted to finish with a sub 7 split.

Here are my mile splits:
Mile 1: 6:28
Mile 2: 7:28 (I think the first mile marker was short)
Mile 3: 6:49
Mile 3.5: 3:01
Total 23:47, 6:47 pace, and a PR (Personal Record) at 3.5 miles (which I have only run twice before).

Let’s hope I didn’t blow it by running too hard and I can get two PRs in one week.

Other Notes:

• My friend Jen has returned from checking something off of her Life To-Do List. Inspired by WND friend Charlie Wittmack, she participated in a Mt Everest base camp hike. Despite a serious of challenges, Jen made it to base camp and has a ton of cool stories. She has agreed to do an interview for WND. Look for that next week!
  
• My fascination with the open water 10k swim in at the Olympics continues. Strangely, the Wall Street Journal continues to be fascinated with it too. Here is the latest story, which is about the US’s first qualifier in the event.  
• In kind of a bummer of Olympic news, it looks like Paula Radcliffe’s injury is somewhat serious. My have been a big fan of hers ever since she destroyed the world record in the women’s marathon at the Chicago Marathon in 2002. I didn’t see her finish because I was still at mile 14 or so. In less than 2 years she dropped that world record over 3.5 minutes! Still, she really struggles with her public image in her home of England due to her dropping out of the Olympic Marathon in Greece in 2004. She was coming back from a serious of injuries, and actually won the NYC Marathon last fall (8 mo after giving birth to her daughter). Reports are now that she has as stress fracture in her femur. Not good. She is going to try to run in the Games, but it sounds like a very difficult task. I wish her the best of luck, but either way I am a fan.
  
• As a side note to the note, Paula’s husband and coach, Gary Lough, went to Iowa State.
  
• The New York Times has an article on shoes specific to triathlons. It is interesting. The tester said for each perk of each shoe there was a drawback and she wouldn’t give up her favorite shoes anytime soon. I wish they had tried Newton’s in the test as well.