– I survived job searching for 7 months while working full time.
– I survived the boot.
– I spent a lot time with my family. 
– I went to lots of Cubs games.
– I started my career in advertising.
– I made new friends.
– I moved to Chicago!
– I spent the first year of my adult life being single.
– I ran the Chicago Marathon and qualified for Boston!!
![](http://www.sararuns.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/png-103x300. "\\" width=")
Here’s to a healthy and happy new year!
Before The Race
2nd Place Medal
I ran Fleet Feets Rudolph Ramble 8k in 35:38 and placed 2nd in my age group. I was surprised to find this medal in my mail box the other night. The package I received didn’t have a note so I went on the website and it says the top 3 from each age group would receive a medal. Sweet!
I have been thinking a lot about my goals and the races I want to run in 2012. I have signed up for a few (races are so expensive!) and still need to make a few more decisions. I CAN’T believe marathon training starts next week! I’m excited, but also really scared to train during the winter.
2012 Race Schedule:
F^3 Lake Half Marathon – Chicago, IL – January 28th, 2012
Warm Your Heart – Chicago, IL – February 26th, 2012
March Madness Half Marathon – Cary, IL – March 18th, 2012
Carmel Marathon – Carmel, IN – April 21st, 2012
13.1 Half Marathon – Chicago, IL – June 9th, 2012
Twin Cities Marathon – Minneapolis, MN – October 7th, 2012
Yesterday I ran the Chicago Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon as a training run, and it was by far, the most fun training run I’ve had. The day started early when I woke up at 4:00a.m. at my Sister’s apartment. I didn’t feel very well on Friday and thought I was coming down with a cold. I was very pleased to wake up feeling good and ready to run.
My Sister’s place is about 20 minutes from downtown Chicago so I hit the road at 4:30a.m. and parked at a surface lot on Wabash. I sat in my car for awhile, ate a Chocolate Chip Clif bar, and tweeted until it was time to go. On my way to the start line I ran into Dave Zimmer who always has encouraging words and then met my friend Jenny to start warming up.
The weather was perfect. Temps in the mid 60′s with lots of cloud cover. Since I was running the race as a training run my coach told me to hold back and stick to my long run pace for the first 8 miles and tempo the last 5. I saw my Mom and Step-Dad cheering for me around mile 7 and as soon as I passed mile 8 I was ready to pick up the pace. I kept the last 5 miles around 7:30 pace and it felt easy. Watching so many runners pass me during the first 8 miles was tough, but starting off slow and passing people at the end was a great feeling.
When I crossed the finish line I felt like I could run another 10 miles. I usually feel awful when I finish a race so this was a big accomplishment for me. Starting off slow really pays off. It has taken me a LONG time to learn this.
Overall, it was a really great day. I loved running the course through downtown Chicago, it was well organized, and I loved the crowd support. It was great to see my coach, Chanthana, and meet some new friends at the post-race meetup. Thanks for everyone who came out after the race. I hope we will have another meetup after the Chicago Marathon. =)
Overall Place: 1164/15259
Females: 268/9480
Age Group: 75/2488
5k: 25:22
10k: 50:53
10 Mile: 1:20:39
Chip Time: 1:43:41
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I’m proud to be running with DetermiNation and I’m shooting to raise $1,000. Please consider supporting me with a donation. My Fundraising Page.
I’m thankful for…
Speed workouts
Snacks
The Metra = time for me to sit & relax
Trashy TV
Getting paid tomorrow
Cooler temps
What are you thankful for today?
