Hey, look who's crossing the 50-yard line at Soldier Field!

I've run the Soldier Field 10 (miles, that is, not km) once before in 2010 (and longer distances back in 2007 when I training for that Marathon I mostly did). Two years ago I kind of had a rough time with the training leading up to the run, and the run itself was a little rough -- I had to walk the last couple miles and while I ran onto the field, it was pretty painful.

This year, though, I really felt like I was on track with my training. I could have stood another short run a week--most weeks I was just doing a 4 miler during the week and then my longer run on the weekend--but I kept with it and didn't have any injuries.

The run went really well. Since Shaun's ankle injury last year, he's down at my pace, so we stuck together the whole way. I only slowed down to a walk at a couple of the water stations. At 9 miles my legs were getting stiff and I thought I might be in for a repeat of my first SF10, hobbling into the stadium. But I paused for a quick stretch and it totally worked--I was refreshed and practically bounded into the stadium. My time reflects my good feelings: nearly 30 minutes faster than two years ago.

Erica is rocking the runs this year, but isn't quite up to ten miles. But she came along and did the Hut Hut Hike (a two and a half mile walk around the stadium). She got the same stadium blanket award we did and a much better shirt and was able come into the stadium and take a bunch of photos of us finishing.

Official results:

Time: 1:36:29
Pace: 9:39
Overall place: 5888 / 12845
Place in sex: 3399 / 5526
Place in division (M, 40-44): 512 / 816