Race Report from Chicago Lakefront 50/50

Winning time:  5:31  Pace:  6:37

From: "Oz Pearlman" <opearlma@GMAIL.COM>
To: <ULTRA@LISTSERV.DARTMOUTH.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 11:35 PM
Subject: Chicago Lakefront 50 Miler race report


Hello,
 After re-reading my Vermont 100 mile race report, I realized how fun it is
to go back and read these things months (and probably years) down the line. All
the little details and nuances that you are reminded of, so I decided to
write up one for my most recent ultra.

 I ran this race last year and it was my first ultra. Prior to that race I
was somewhat freaked out cause I'd never run farther than a marathon and was
convinced that at 40 miles my legs would completely give out. Therefore I
started that race much more conservatively. This year I was much more
aggressive right from the get go. I was in Chicago crashing at a buddy's
place (thanks Schrock and Geoffrey!) and took a cab early in the morning from
Wicker Park to the start. When I told the cabbie where I was going he was
like you sure you wanna go down there? Southside Chicago in the middle of a
Friday night apparently isn't the safest, haha. I did no tapering whatsoever
for this race, as 3 weeks before I ran the Westchester Marathon in a 2:41 and 6
days later did Ironman Hawaii. After the Ironman, I trained hard up until
the day of Chicago 50 miler.

 So we lined up at the start and I saw a number of familiar faces. I enjoy
coming back to the same races as you get that feeling of camaraderie and
familiarity with your surroundings. This year there was also the added
benefit of it not being freezing cold or very windy. The race starts and we are off!
Number one thing on my mind was not to go out too fast, but that's usually
harder said than done with race day adrenaline. The first hour or so went
great and before I knew it dawn was underway. The course is a quick 1-mile
and change out and back, followed by 3 out and back loops of 16.1 miles.
When I was coming back from the 1st big loop the 50km and marathon runners
were all lined up and apparently not expecting a 50 miler to be coming
through, so I was yelling out "50 miler coming through!" to try to carve out
a path. This loop was too fast for me by about 3 minutes, but I still felt
great. A few of my friends came to watch and cheer me on during the first 3 hours of
the race, and they uplifted my spirits greatly. Loop #2 went by fast, and
once I got back to the start I couldn't find my drop bag. It took me a minute or
so of rooting around to finally find it. The next few miles were a bit tough,
with the only down patch of the race around 36-38 miles. I distinctly remember
stopping at an aid station and the race director asking me if I was still in
first and I said yes, and he said how are you feeling and I was like alright; but
honestly I felt pretty awful. I told myself it would pass and to just stay
strong.
Lo and behold it did. The other runners out there were fantastic and
everyone was cheering each other on throughout the race. One of the 50 milers was
carrying an American flag and every time I saw him it put me in a great mood.
During the final back (8 miles) I turned on my iPod and started to really
give it all I had. At this point I had fallen off pace by a few minutes and no
longer thought I could break 5:30 yet decided I would give it everything I had
left.
The music was at full blast and I think I startled a few runners as I was
practically screaming along with the songs to get myself really psyched up
during the last 2 or 3 miles. The moment I crossed the finish line was very
emotional for me and I was yelling and screaming in joy. A different group
of friends (thanks to everyone that came out!) was there to see me cross the
finish line and a few hugged me, though I wouldn't have wanted to hug myself
at that point after running 50 miles :-P   The race went great and I
couldn't have been happier. The only lesson I have taken away is to try to pace
myself more consistently and not go out too hard at the start.

      -Oz

www.ozpearlman.com