A New Format and Two Races

I've decided to abandon the old format of posting the minutia of weekly training in favor of periodic (maybe weekly or so) updates on my training, racing, future plans, etc.  In the last month, I've raced twice: the Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon and the Chamions' Run 10k (updates on those races below) as I continue training with a main goal of the Chicago Marathon on October 10, hoping to qualify for the Olympic Trials.  

Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon: This race was on August 1 and was somewhat a focus of my training.  As such, I was quite disappointed with my 1:12:49 for 14th place.  Once the wheels fell off, they really fell off.  It was hot and humid, but I'm still at a bit of a loss as to why I ran so poorly.  Just need to forget about it and move on.  The time is certainly not indicative of my fitness, so I just need to keep my head down, train my ass off for the Chicago Marathon, and keep the faith. 

Champions' Run 10k: This race was on August 21, and served as the USATF Illinois Championships for 10k road racing.  To my knowledge, this hasn't really been contested before, and the field was not too deep.  I didn't really know what to expect from myself in the middle of marathon training... run down and without many quick workouts in my legs.  However, I felt pretty decent once the race got going and I ended up winning it by nearly two minutes in 31:52.

Someone with a GPS told me that the course was about 150m long (which would be ~26 or 27s for me).  Not sure if that is true, but it would help to explain the splits I took on my watch--5:04, 5:04, 5:25, 4:58, 5:16, 5:03, (1:00)--as I definitely wasn't varying in pace that much, and the faster splits seemed dead on (actually verified one when we were on the lakefront path).  Additionally, the course was pretty damn slow... on gravel for about 1/3 of it, wet from rain the night before, about a dozen 90 degree turns, and 2+ miles on the lakefront path (which was crowded with people, bikes, etc., leaving me weaving in and out of people).  I think the poor conditions were worth at least 30 - 45s on a track, plus the course possibly being long... this is probably about worth my track PR of 30:59, if not better.  Factor in no competition, and a lack of 10k training, no doubt I'm fit.

Got a sweet USATF jacket for the win and a free pair of shoes.  I felt real heavy pre-race, but pretty decent in the race itself.  Felt pretty smooth, felt I was going the right pace, and felt I was pretty tough mentally running solo, but keeping the pressure on.  Had a pretty bad sidestitch the last mile(+) in my right side.  This has been sticking around for the last month or so.  Kind of weird, I haven't had an issue like this in a long time.  Didn't affect the time too much in the race though.