Arrived in Chicago on Saturday.  Woke up at 3:30am on Sunday and made it down to Jackson Park by 5:18am. We milled around the grounds for a bit and watched them finish setting up the tents and road closures. As time progressed, more and more runners arrived and it warmed up a bit. I think it was mid-50s in the morning and high-70s in the afternoon.

Stretched and did a few laps down the starting area to loosen up a bit.

Observations:
Saw a guy in a gecko costume.
Saw two guys running barefoot.
Saw two guys running in Vibram Five Fingers.
Not much shade on the run.
LOTS of support on the run. Music, cheerleaders, medical, nice people, etc…

Met a DailyMile friend (Runs4Brains, aka Eric) at the starting line. We ran about 9 miles of the race together, although, I think he slowed down a bit to wait for me (thanks man). At around mile 9, he took off and I stayed my pace.  Had some good conversation on the run. Buddy, it was great meeting you and talking for 9 miles.

Official time was 2:04:40.

I’m happy with the time, even though I was really aiming for the 2 hour mark. Was extremely happy and thrilled to see all the nice runners and spectators calling my name (since it was printed on the bib) as I ran by.

My first half marathon was a smashing success. Will I do it again? Probably in 2011. I need to figure out what’s next on the schedule. Do I immediately jump into marathon training for 2011? Do I run for fun during the winter and start marathon training in the spring? Hmmm, need to figure that out.

Thanks to all involved.

Some Information:

Originally posted this verbiage to DailyMile.

Here is the URL to the official race results.

Link to the official race photos.  Note: Some of them are not pretty.  :)

Mile Splits:
9:43, 9:25, 9:12, 9:17, 9:22, 9:08, 9:22, 9:16, 9:16, 9:32, 9:43, 9:59, 9:40

Photos:
Credits:  Photos taken by @JenMelchi.  2 hour marker photo edited by @RuffoloPhoto

Nick & Eric @ 2 hour Marker

Nick & Eric @ 2 hour Marker

Bananas for 20,000 runners

Medals for 20,000 Runners