Kiss Me, I’m Irish

It took clever eyes to notice the twist on the old come-on printed at the bottom of the Get Lucky7K race bibs. KISS ME I’M IRISH stood out boldly in white type on the green background. But nestled around IRISH in a lighter green and tinier type were the words “running in an” … “themed race.” Thus nobody could be declared a poser, wannabe or cliché bearer. Which I’m sure suited one member of our group, Nicole, who was adamant in her denial of any Irish heritage whatsoever. Which I don’t really understand. She wondered when the Polish heritage run would be. I suggested Casimir Pulaski Day.

Four of us teamed up for the Team Ortho Chicago Get Lucky 7K on Saturday. It was a blustery day that would have sent Winnie the Pooh scampering for the comfort of a colossal jar of hunny in the warmth of his home or Christopher Robin’s room. Actually, “blustery” sounds fun, thanks to Pooh bear. The biting wind off Lake Michigan Saturday, combined with a ticklish mist that eventually morphed into snow flurries for a brief time, was far from fun. My kilt-covered thighs were warm enough, but my calves were quite cold. Until they just went numb.

The city was cloaked in fog that I suspect was not tramped in on little cat feet but rather poured over it from a God-sized bucket. Gusts blew the waves into little whitecaps and fluttered flags and race banners in frenetic fashion. 

OK, I’m trying too hard. It was cold and windy and wet and dreary Saturday morning. The weather conditions conspired to put a damper (sorry) on the festive nature of a big race. In fact, I wonder if it didn’t hamper attendance; there were just 1,758 finishers of the 7K race. But a fraction of the Santa Hustle horde and I believe shy of the total for the Monster Dash 5K, though I can’t find a total. The Monster Dash half marathon had more than 2,500 finishers, though, and that’s for a half marathon.

Ironic, then, that the first two songs up in the shuffle of my iPod were “Melt With You” and “Here Comes the Sun.” There was no sun and there was no melting.

The one drawback to these Chicago runs is the starting line. Cramming more than a thousand runners on a path that’s maybe 15 feet wide is ridiculous. Our group – me, Ellen, Ginger and Nicole – found ourselves at the back in the walkers’ section. No biggie, but it took a full three minutes from the starting gun for us to reach the starting line. Thankfully this race, like the others I’ve done there, was chip timed, meaning each runner is given a chip, a personal identification device, that triggers upon passing the magnetic field at the start and finish, thus providing an accurate account of the runner’s race time. You can read all about it here. It’s pretty interesting.

Anyway, after several hundred yards the pack begins to spread out. Soon everyone is finding his or her pace and motivators. I bounced from ponytail to ponytail a couple times, but honestly I think I was a little distracted today. A. It was freaking cold. And B. There was a lot of clothing along the course. When it’s so cold and you’re standing around a while before race time, you tend to overdress. As you get going, you warm up and if you get too hot, well, something’s gotta go. I’ve heard of marathon runners who will buy cheap sweatshirts, knowing they will discard them as the go.

Well, there were some nice-looking sweatshirts along the course, and a scarf and even a lovely red fleece jacket. Tempted once to stop for a shirt, I decided against it, figuring on this short, closed course it seemed quite possible that people might return to look for what they’d cast off along the way.

In the end, I was left with my awesome Get Lucky hoodie and finisher’s medal. Pretty cool swag from Team Ortho, yet again. 

Not inclined to hang out in the cold and wet, we quickly returned to the parking garage and headed for brunch and a well-deserved bloody Mary. Not sure if a bloody Mary is kosher for St. Patrick’s Day celebrating, but we did have Irish whiskey Friday night, so I think we were OK.

Today’s Stats

Temp: 34 degrees F (I suspect it was colder with the wind by Lake Michigan)

Distance 7K (4.5 miles)

Weekly total: 7.9 miles

Treasure: Get Lucky 7K hoodie and finisher’s medal; bypassed two and a half pairs of gloves, at least 8 sweatshirts/hoodies and one fleece pullover, assuming the runners who dropped them might walk the route later to retrieve their property.

Race Stats

Finishers: 1,758

Men: 465

Women: 1,293

Average Time: 49:44

My Time: 43.23

Place Overall: 527

Division (45-49): 16 of 34

Men: 217 of 463

Pace: 9:59 (mile)

Clever: LepreCAN Portable Restrooms.

iPod Playlist (Shuffle)

I Melt With You – Modern English

Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles

Clarity – John Mayer

Light Up My Room – Barenaked Ladies

83 – John Mayer

Going Over to That Side – Ryan Adams (chatter during a live show)

I Will Possess Your Heart – Death Cab for Cutie

Rio – Duran Duran

Streetcorner Symphony – Rob Thomas

Bent – Matchbox Twenty

Oooh Baby – C+C Music Factory

Wednesday’s Stats

Temp: 32 degrees F

Distance: 3.4 miles

Weekly Total: 3.4 miles

Treasure: Nada.

iPod Playlist (Shuffle)

You Run – The Call

If I Ever Get Aroundto Living – John Mayer

Find the River - REM

Unwritten – Natasha Bedingfield

What You Won’t Do ForLove – Bobby Caldwell

In The River – The Call

Long Day – Matchbox Twenty

Too Late for Goodbyes – Julian Lennon

Today's Stats (Sunday, March 10)

Temp: 48 degrees F

Distance: 5 miles

Weekly Total: 13.38 miles

Treasure: Nada

iPod Playlist (Shuffle):

The Devil Went Down To Georgia – Charlie Daniels Band

Real World ’09 – Rob Thomas

The Roof Is Leaking – Phil Collins

I Want Your Sex (Parts 1&2) – George Michael

Fox On The Run - Sweet

Higher Ground – Stevie Wonder

Infatuation – Rod Stewart

Brief Intermission – James McMurtry

Let Her In – John Travolta

Tell It To My Heart – Taylor Dayne

Piano Man – Billy Joel

We Work the Black Seam - Sting

Grace Like Rain – Todd Agnew