Today I ran the 13.1 Chicago Half Marathon and had my first DNF. This will be a short post as I am embarrassed by my performance and the fact that my right knee gave out at mile 7 to cause my withdrawal. Up to that point I was running at a pretty good pace average of 9:10 per mile and felt very good after my usual two or three mile struggle to get comfortable. It usually takes me that long to get into a rhythm and forget about everything else, and just run.
I must comment on the race itself and say that it was very well organized and they made it very easy for participants when it came to packet pickup and transportation to/from the starting line. The only issue I had was parking to get my packet in Old Town, but that was my fault. I should not have waited until Saturday afternoon when the Old Town Art Festival, SOX/Cubs cross-town classic, Blues Fest and the ASICS Junior National Volleyball Championship were all going on at the same time. I had to drive around for almost 20 minutes right around the pick up location before I figured out I could park in the garage around the corner from Fleet Feet (they were hosting packet pickup) and get validated and not have to pay the $30 flat fee for the Art Festival parking. All I had to do was take my ticket into Fleet Feet with me and they scan it to turn it into a $2 ticket instead of a $30 ticket for the 15 minutes I was actually taking up a parking space.
I did not stick around for the post race pizza party sponsored by Kahru shoes, but instead headed home to shower away my disappointment and start planning my next race with more emphasis on listening to my quickly aging body. I have plenty of time to get to Navy Pier for the rest of the ASICS tournament and I am confident that the time there will help lift my spirits as I always enjoy watching my daughter play, whether her team wins or looses.