race weekend: the fast and the furious

It was a 4 day weekend for Steph and me, but it sure went by fast. Unfortunately this entry is a bit on the long side... Here is a recap of our weekend:

We took the day off on Friday and used it as an opportunity to sleep in. It was nice. Took our time packing our stuff – triple checking all of my running gear. We were able to leave early afternoon and drove up to Chesterton, Indiana where we stayed at a B&B for the night. We ate at a great little Thai Restaurant that night and drove over to Michigan City to the outlet mall for some shopping. Afterwards we retired back to the B&B for a soak in the hot tub. We went to bed somewhat early and even slept in again. I was trying to get as much sleep as possible.

Saturday morning we had breakfast, and checked out around 10am. We headed into downtown Chesterton for a European Market. It had great foods and wears. After this we headed to the train station to catch the 11:41 South Shore Line train into Chicago. We had done this a few times before and knew it was an easy way to get to Chicago. It was about 20 minutes late, but no big deal.

About an hour and twenty minutes later we were in Chicago, Millennium Station at Randolph and Michigan Avenue. We grabbed a cab to the Sheraton Hotel and immediately checked in. It was about 1:45, so we grabbed a quick bite and then took the free shuttle bus from the hotel to the expo.

What an experience. The masses of people everywhere – all gearing up for the marathon the next day… I was getting very excited/anxious. We met up with my friend Jason and his friend Courtney and his girlfriend Holly. We walked through the expo, got our shirts, a few other things, but not really stopping that much – we wanted to leave without walking around too much. One thing I noticed (and I wish I had taken a picture) was the VW area with a big sign that read, "The Rabbit is Back". It made me think our our own Running Rabbit.

Before we knew it, it was 4pm. Our reservations at Harry Caray’s were at 5pm, so we went to catch our shuttle bus. The line was 100’s of people deep. There was no way we would get on a bus soon enough to get to dinner on time, so we grabbed a taxi (which was an amazingly choreographed system). We made it back to our hotel to drop our stuff off and then grabbed another cab to the restaurant. Everyone was there when we got there, so we sat down right away.

Dinner was great. It was great food and the service was fast. The water glasses were kept full, even for all of us marathon runners trying to hydrate one last time. With dinner over by 6:45, we went our separate ways to go back to our hotels and try to get some sleep. I was nowhere ready to sleep, so I read through the race information – not a good way to calm one’s nerves. Finally at 9:30 I decided I had to try to sleep.

I was awake at 2:30 am. I tried to go back to sleep and woke up again at 3:30 am, then again at 4:30 am. That was it, my mind hadn't stopped since 2:30, so I was getting up and getting ready. It was Race Morning. My anxiety had reach critical level, I was irritable and I didn't know why. I was as rested as I could be, as well trained as I could be and prepared for the weather as I could be. Why worry? Well, I always do. No matter what size of race, I worry. So there I was trying to down a power bar and gatorade - each bite tougher than the next. We left the hotel at 6:45 to meet up with Jason, Courtney, Andy and Brooke. After a little talk about the weather and a few obligatory pre-marathon photos we headed over to the Start Line.

Jason, Courtney and Andy separate from Brooke and me as they were running a different pace. Brooke and I locate the pace groups and find the 4:00 pacers. We were right next to them. We stood there waiting for the start, staying warm because there were just so many people around us. Finally, the horn sounds and it was time to run! Er, well, time to walk to the start line. For eleven minutes. Tripping over discarded clothes and water bottles. But once we got to the line we were off! Funny thing was, by the time we got to the start line we had already lost the pace group! People had jostled for position during the eleven minute walk. Oh well, if we could keep them in site, we would be fine.

For the first few miles, no problems. We were doing okay. Actually we were about 20 seconds slower on pace, but figured we could slowly speed up and finish strong - we weren't worried. I think we settled into our pace and were cruising along. Right around Mile 7 was my first twinge of pain in my right achilles. I thought, "This is a new pain. Never had this problem before." The pain was mild and went away so I pushed on. I am not sure if the weather was a factor yet, but it seemed to take forever to get to the half way point, but we got there and were on pace for a 4:05 marathon. I was fine with that, but I thought if it got down to the last 5k and I felt good, I would pick up the pace. I was feeling confident.

It was around Mile 16 that I started to feel my left ankle start to chime in. Apparently it didn't want my right achilles getting all the attention. Again, this was a new pain and it was slight, so I pushed on, though this time not as hard. Brooke was getting uncharacteristicly quite. I usually depend on her for great conversation on our runs, and marathons are no exception. I asked her a couple of miles later how she was doing and she said, "not so good". I told her about my aches and my newest addition - my knees. We both refused to quit, though I have to be honest, I wanted to, or at least part of me did. I was miserable. I could see our goal time slipping away ever so slowly. We were now on track for a 4:15 marathon, which is still great, so I was okay with that.

The knees were speaking up more and more with each mile. It was getting tough - mentally and physically. I pretty much shut out the crowd and started to focus inward on myself. I focused on my cadence - left, right, left, right... I don't remember where anything I saw was - everything is a blur. I do remember a bright spot while running through China Town. As we turned that corner and saw the dragon and heard 'Chariots of Fire' I felt a surge of energy and my pain went away. Almost. But I felt better. Brooke even said she felt better too. I wish I could say it kept us going for the rest of the race, but it left us as quickly as it came.

Around Mile 20 ? maybe? I finally took my "throw away" shirt (that I had taken off around mile 8 or 9 and had for some reason tied around my waist) and chucked it to the side. I was sad to see it go, but another amazing thing happened - I felt 10 pounds lighter! Brooke followed suit and we felt a little stronger and kept going.

The final 5 miles were hell on earth (for me anyway). This is when walking through the water and gatorade areas started. I had vowed not to do this after my first marathon. I remembered how it hurt to walk, but this time it was wonderful. The tough part was starting to run again. Thankfully there were stops at each mile for the last three miles. The final 1.2 miles I gave it all I had. Thankfully there was a surge of wind that was actually to my back for the first time all race. I went with it and knew i was going to finish this thing. The last 800 meters seemed a lot longer, I pushed as hard as I could up Roosevelt and made my final turn. That is when I saw it. The sweetest sight in the world. The Finish Line. I started to pick up the pace and then I picked it up some more. I pushed harder than I ever have in my life and about 100 meters to go I thought, "I am not going to make it", but I gave it one more push and there I was. I was across the finish line in 4:33:56 by the clock, 4:22:54 by the chip. I was drained. I was exhausted. I was cold. Moreover, I was glad to be done.

I hobble over to get my well deserved mylar blanket and I felt sudden warmth from it. I hobbled on some more, past the chip removal (I happen to have my own) and got some water. I wanted nothing to do with food. I felt like shit. Then, there it was. The second sweetest sight in the world. Beer. I hobbled faster to the table and the man smiled as he handed my the cup. I thanked him and moved on. I then grabbed a bag of ice, but honestly? I didn't use it. I was freezing, my legs didn't need to be any colder. Brooke and I moved on to the runner reunite area to find her husband Keith and our friend Jill who had come in to cheer us on. We did see her once (mile 12?) and apparently she had made it to a couple of other locations, but I think we had blocked the crowd out by then.

Keith and Jill and Brooke's friend Andy showed up about 5 minutes later and we talk about our marathon experience. I tried to call Steph, but couldn't get through on the first try. We waited around a little longer, growing colder and colder as the wind picked up more and more. I finally got Steph on the phone and found out where she was. We met her right at Congress and Michigan Avenue and she bundled me in a jacket. As we were leaving, Jason and Courtney came from behind. They had finished. We found out later Andy had finished as well and in 4:57 - his first and last marathon he said.

We get back to our hotel, saying goodbye to Keith and Brooke, and I get to the room and immediately soak in a hot bath. Then I took a hot shower and I was finally defrosted. Afterwards, I took some Tylenol and a short nap. I fetl pretty good when I woke up. If everyone else having already left, Steph and I ventured out for dinner. I had a desire for some real Chicago deep dish pizza, so we went to Giordano's. Oh, it tasted so-o-o good. That was it for the evening. It was still cold out and still very windy, so back to the hotel to relax, and to sleep a little more.

So ends the second marathon journey of my life. It was tougher than I expected it to be. I'll never know how I could have so many great training runs and then struggle so much in the race, but it is this that will keep me coming back. I know there is a sub-4:00 marathon out there waiting for me, and I won't stop until I get there. Then, there will be something a new goal to go for. Boston? Don't know that right now. I am inspired by people who qualify and run it, so maybe. Only time will tell.