Chicago Marathon...race report/race weekend

I arrived in Chicago on friday after class...direct flight...then hopped on the L to get to my hotel downtown...i love the train...really love it...it was easy to get to and fun to ride...and surprisingly empty at 5pm on a friday...hopped off at state/lake and walked the three blocks to my hotel...i had been texting with my cousin and we had planned to meet up to head to the expo after i dropped my bags at the hotel...

did just that...met at niketown on michigan ave...THE michigan ave... :) and hopped on a shuttle to the convention center where the expo was help...wow...massive, huge expo...never have i seen one that big...we grabbed our packets and shirts and walked around to get our fair share of free stuff...some free silk milk and greek yogurt...

my cousin found a sweet marathon fleece...i found a "will run for wine" t-shirt :)

back on the bus...and out to rosebuds for some wine and pasta...had a really fun dinner with jennifer and j.r....then it was off to bed...

my folks arrived in the morning on saturday...had a nice breakfast with them...then me, mom, dad, my cousin, his wife and my uncle all headed down to the race start to check things out...that is where the mandatory pre-race meltdown occurred...it was totally overwhelming...imagine the biggest race you have been in (besides ny) and times it at least by 5...wow...starting corrals for like a mile and a half...just huge...mom and coach amy (from afar) helped me pull it together...but still a little freaked out...but i guess that is part of the process...it is a part that i need to get better at handling...not too sure how but we will try the next time around...

back to the hotel to do some homework...i had a huge project due tuesday at 8am that i needed to work on...so i grabbed in and went to hang out with my folks...watched some golf, chatted and got some work done...totally the afternoon i needed to help my head...

saturday evening was a big family dinner at this really delicious italian place...got to see a bunch of family i have not seen in a long time...and got to see a few famous chicago spots on the walk there and back to the hotel...(there was a long line for rick bayless' restaurant at 4.30pm...cool to see)...hung out a bit with the fam at the hotel then off to bed by 9

slept ok but not great that night...lots of noise outside (everyone noticed that it was loud out there...of all the nights!)...got up at 4.45...coffee...oatmeal...try not to freak out...child's pose for a bit to breathe and calm myself down...then dressed and down to the lobby...oh...it just so happened to be 32 degrees...i have not been near temps like that since last January...yeah...i had on a lot of layers...

mom dad and i walked down to the race start...about a mile away...there were lots of other runners doing the same thing...starting to get exciting...hit the port-o-potties a couple times on the way there...no lines...still clean...was hoping to find a good spot in the corral where my folks could be close by...i wanted to keep my clothes on as long as possible...didn't want to spend my energy shivering...found a perfect spot...i could sit on the curb...mom and dad could be on the fence next to me...worked out great...hung out there for a bit...they made the announcement that the corrals were closing...we were getting close..shed some layers...tossed them to mom and dad...corrals closed...shed more layers...then people started hopping the fence...scaling a 6 foot chain link fence to get into the starting corral...because they were late...it was totally bizarre...not just one or two people...at least 15 or 20 right where we were standing...no regard for the people around them...weird...

shed the last of my layers and started to move towards the center of the corral...looking for some pacers...never found the signs...just the pace numbers on the backs of people...chatted with two girls next to me...glanced to my left...the guy next to me was going to the bathroom...right there...eww...national anthem...start of the wheelchair division...i was shivering...nervous, cold and excited...then we started moving...actually jogging...3/4 of the way up to the start line...then stopped...all the while dodging piles of clothing...shed my last layer...was down to shorts/t-shirt/gloves and regular hat...(turned out to be a perfect choice)...and we were off...

like usual...people were running like crazy out of the start...the whole going out too fast thing...will get you every time...it felt weird to be running in this huge crowd of people alone...i wasn't running with a friend or a group from my team...my cousin was out there somewhere...and a few other folks i knew...but really it was just me out there running my race...and i was ok with that...

it felt really good to just finally start running....it is the anticipation of the run or the race that kills me...thankfully i was just running...and that i did...i started with my gel flask and a little 8oz bottle of water so i could avoid the first few water stops...that worked well...

the crowds were amazing...the crowds of runners...where we had to shuffle around corners just because it was packed with people...the crowds on the sides of the streets three and four deep in most places...and the sights of really all of chicago...i was having fun...and so far running well...

i had planned on 8.40/high 8.30s for the first few miles just because of the people...i knew it would be tough to settle into my pace in these miles...and i did what i set out to do...though it was hard to see mile markers in the first few...i saw 2k split my watch and saw i was on target...after that i tried to settle in on 8.35s and take that through the half...the sun was shining and i was running well...saw my fam at mile 1...and then my folks somewhere about mile 12...still feeling good...hit the half at 1.52...right on target...now it was time to think about picking it up...and for some reason (looking at my results) this is the 5k that i slowed down? really not sure what was happening...i was not feeling bad at this point...i remember some rollers...but nothing major...lots of people...just running...but not fast enough (as i see my splits)...maybe i was happy with the half numbers and relaxed a little too much...hmm...don't know...

i started thinking pretty intently at this point about how i could make my goal time...i was trying to find 3.40 pacers and stick with them...but i never found the big group of them...i was stuck around the 3.50 people...at the 30k point i was able to pass them and that felt like a real mental breaktrough...i was excited...i was going to keep picking it up...and i was going to catch my pacers...then...well...i had to hit the bathroom...this was a huge blow...when i got out...i was again behind the 3.50 crowd...and couldn't get around them...grr...

hit 35k and realized (i think i knew it before this point but this is when i let myself realize it...my quads were pretty cramp-y...i had taken some salt tabs...but was not convinced that was going to help) i couldn't hit my goal time...so i decided to just run...run the best i could at that point...try to finish strong...and end up where i would end up...

ditched my gel flask at this point...somewhere around 38k and just ran...tried to enjoy what was around me...and kept saying it will hurt less if you run faster...i would for a bit then i would slow down...it will hurt less if you run faster...pick up...then back down again...was feeling slow at this point...feeling like there were a lot of people passing me...frustrated...but still happy to be almost there...almost done with my second marathon...saw a 3.40 pacer run by somewhere around here...she was hauling...there was no way i could have kept up with that...just kept running...trying to keep the quads in line...

even though i was getting passed by a lot of people i was happy that i was still moving...there were a lot of people on the side of the road stretching, walking trying to move...but just not able to...i was still moving...and kept that up...

so i was looking at the bright side during that last 5k...it was a total straight shot at this point...i was still running...and i was about to complete the chicago marathon...it was kind of nice to be able to get over my not hitting my goal time even before i was done running...or at least i was hoping that this was the case

turned a corner at mile 26...and there was a hill...i just laughed...it was a bridge overpass...but totally funny to run an almost completely flat course...and have a "hill" at mile 26...cruel...smiled and ran that last .2 to the finish...it is nice to finish with a smile...