Race Recap: Allstate 13.1 Marathon

I fear I was spoiled for this race and may not want to go back to being a regular runner.  I ran the race with my friend Chris and we are both Allstate employees.  This year we actually got some perks for the race.  Chris got a free entry and I would of too had I not signed up for the early registration blitz last year.  Oh well, live and learn.  We also got to park at our own parking lot and got shuttled over to the race.  Once at the race site we had entry to the VIP area.

Packet Pick Up:
Nice and easy, was at Fleet Feet in Old Town.  I went on Thursday night and had no issues picking it up.  There was a lady trying to get me to sign up for a sweepstakes, but I told her I couldn't do it because I was ineligible to win being an Allstate employee.  She thanked me for my honesty.

Race Day:
Got up at 4AM and pulled myself together.  Chris showed up at 5:15 and we drove down to the parking lot reserved for us.  I accidentally got off at the wrong exit, but we still found our way.  We got there probably a little too early.  A short shuttle ride later and we were at the race site an hour early.  Chris dropped his bag at gear check and then we decided to check out the VIP tent.  Chris realized he could do gear check there and fetched his bag.  We chilled a bit and used the restrooms before heading to the blogger meet up.

 Chris is overwhelmed

 Sandwiches and fruit

 Right next to finish line

Early morning sun on the lake

First Half 55:46 8:30 min/mile Pace:

I went out slow.  The opening chute was narrow and a bit crowded.  Once we got out on the street things spread out a little bit, but was still on the crowded side.  I mostly kept things in check and went with the flow.  I didn't want to go out too fast in order to stay strong for the second half.  Around mile 4 I felt discomfort around my toes.  I knew that blisters were forming.

Second half 53:38 8:11 min/mile Pace:

I picked up the pace a bit.  I probably wasted too much energy darting around people.  The last 2 miles were rough, but I was determined to not let my pace die like it did at the Chicago Spring Half.  I succeeded in keeping a steady pace, but somewhere along the line I didn't pick up the pace enough and finished 12 seconds slower than I did the last half and 25 seconds slower than my goal.  Its still pretty impressive considering that I ran 9 miles on blistered toes.

4th half of the year completed!

After the race I headed back to the VIP tent and chilled.  I knew I would have to wait a bit for Chris to finish.  He was in corral M and I was in E.  I'm also just a tad faster.  I grabbed a bottle of gatorade and sat down and watched people finish.  At one point someone crossed carrying a pair of shoes with his friend trailing behind him barefoot.  He then turned around and chucked the shoes back at his friend after crossing the finish line.  Chris finished about 40 minutes after I did.  we enjoyed some pizza and the tent had its own self serve beer tap so we were all set.  After we were as re-rejuvenated as we were going to get we headed back home.