Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Questions, so many questions.

So, I ran 10.5K today (6.3 miles) and did it at the slower end of my marathon pace. It felt okay and it's good to be in taper mode. More sleep needed.

In the meantime, while us Canadians wait an extra few days for our brochures, I have a few questions for those who've done Chicago or live there... You know, emergency preparedness type questions

1) Stupid question: When does the sun usually rise? I usually wear sunglasses to races and seeing as i'll be out of the hotel early, it'll be bad (they're prescription shades).

2) Will my Garmin work in the city? (I may bring it anyways to use as an expensive stopwatch)

3) Do they mark kilometres? If so, how often. And speaking of miles, do they mark them every mile?

4) Where can a group of people get carbs (pasta) on Saturday night if they are staying sorta near the starting area. Should we reserve?

5) Any suggestions as to what combination of temperature/sky conditions/wind produces the need to wear long sleeved tops? That will be a big debate.

That's it.. I think I have more questions, but don't want to make myself look that stupid..

11 days!

5 comments:

Arcane said...

I got my Confirmation thing today, so you guys should probably be getting it tomorrow! The course is marked every mile and every 5k. They will have a clock at every mile marker, so you don't even really need a watch. They also have clocks and timing mats every 5k.

I know that's an italian place close to my hotel which isn't too close to the start line. I'll probably be eating there, even though the menu didn't look too impressive.

I know it's a bit too far out, but I've been checking the 15 day forcasts for Chicago and they are currently predicting rain, windy and a temp of about 10C. I think that's long sleeve temperature because of the wind.

LeahC said...

1) The sun will be up at the start of the race, so i would bring your sunglasses especially if you always run in them. you wouldn't want to change what you have been doing.

2) it will not work downtown. i suggest getting a cheap stopwatch if you want exact splits at each mile, or just use the garmin as a stopwatch. I just don't want to do that because i KNOW I'll get crazy with what the distance is saying

3)same as above

4)not sure about this one...i'd say call your hotel and ask for suggestions from them

5)I would not wear long sleeves unless it was in the 30s. But again, you have to stick with what you have been training in. If you are used to running in long sleeves for higher temps then do that. You will warm up faster than you think. Last year we had tank tops on underneath some long sleeve tshirts and then dropped the shirts about a mile into the race. if you have some kind of crappy shirt that you don't want, just take that and throw it on the side of the road when you are all warmed up.......

i can't believe it's so soon!!! it's going to be fun!

jellypepper said...

Didn't they teach you anything in J-school? There's no such thing as a stupid question. That said, thanks for asking them all. :)

yumke said...

Arcaner: Thanks for the tips.. I think i'll be really obsessive about time, and anyways, it'll give me something to focus on between mile markers.. 10C and rain.. not good. i will only start worrying about the weather on Monday.

Leah, thanks for the tips.. i may have to go out tomorrow and find a little sports stopwatch.. maybe i can just disable the distance metre in the garmin..

Jellyp, yeah, i know.. no such thing as a stupid question.. did you get your bib number?

jellypepper said...

no didn't get my bib number yet. i think it's probably sitting at my condo mailbox by now since i never told the chicago people i moved.