Retro Recap.

I've been wanting to put a recap of my 2011 Chicago Marathon experience on here for awhile, but just have never gotten around to it. Since this blog is about my "Running Recaps" it really wouldn't be complete without detailing my first ever marathon experience. Yesterday marked 6 months since the race so now is as good as any for reminiscing that awesome day.

Saturday, October 8, 2011:

My friend Cassie and I took the Amtrak train to Chicago early on Saturday morning and arrived in Chi-town at around 10am. Marathon excitement was in the air as soon as our taxi neared our hotel and Grant Park. Runners were everywhere...jogging, stretching, and flooding the streets around the area. Our hotel, the Hilton Chicago, was the marathon headquarter hotel and was completely decked out with posters and wall hangings with the 2011 marathon slogan 'Let's Run Together'. We got settled into our room and then headed out for lunch at a nearby restaurant, The Eleven City Diner. After lunch we went to the expo to pick up my packet. I got my bib # an my Nike Tech Tee first thing. The expo was huge and bustling with hundreds of runners. Cassie and I visited the booths, met some celebrity runners, and had some fun photos taken at different vendors. I found my name among the 45,000 on the wall at Nike and it was a definite reality check that this was really happening. I was pretty nervous about it too!

We met up with my college friend, Laurie, who had inspired me to run this from the beginning and finalized our dinner plans for the night...carbo loading at an Italian restaurant of course. After a great pasta-rich meal with a whole group of Laurie's friends from Milwaukee we headed back to our hotel to prepare for the big day. I laid out all of my running gear, attached my timing chip to my shoe (which I was really nervous about doing it correctly since the diagram instructions did not match the type of chip I was given), and I set 3 alarms and also put in a wake up call for 5am. We were in bed by 10pm with worried thoughts running through my head about the epic run I would face the following day.

Sunday, October 9, 2011...Marathon Day:

Surprisingly enough I fell asleep easily the night before, probably since I had been up so early (5am to make the train) and had gone non-stop the entire day. I didn't however need any of the alarms I set for myself because I was wide awake on my own at 4am on Sunday. I laid there until 5am thinking and halfway dreading what I was going to endure in just a few short hours. I tried to relax because I definitely did not want my nervous habit of having to pee every 10 minutes to start, I couldn't afford dehydration with 26.2 miles staring me in the face! At 5am I got up, got dressed, and went downstairs to get something for breakfast. I had every intention of bringing a couple packets of oatmeal with me to the hotel for my pre-marathon breakfast, but realized I forgot to pack that sometime on the train ride in. I settled on a Nutragrain bar, a fruit cup, banana, and a bottled water from the hotel coffee shop. There were already tons of runners in the lobby ready to face the same challenge which added to my nervous excitement.

After getting dressed in my run-wear, Cassie and I went across the street to meet Laurie at her hotel. I was going with Laurie and one of her friends to the start corrals and Cassie was going with the cheer-squad group to their first stop along the course. One last potty stop at her hotel lobby and we were off to the races...literally.

Before the Gun:

The amount of people in Grant Park was mind-boggling! I had watched the highlight video from the previous year and the clip of the start was crazy as 40,000+ people filtered into the city after the gun. It was just as intense from the ground view among all those runners too. We waked to our start corral and jumped in at the 10 min/mile section. We got more and more squeezed in our spot as the time approached 7:20am when they closed the corral gates. I had to pee badly but I kept telling myself it was just nerves and that it would go away once I started running. The National Anthem started and the hum of the crowd became quiet...it really made me excited that I was part of something so epic. The wheelchair participants started at 7:20 and then the elite runners lead us off at 7:30, that's when they announced "The Chicago Marathon is now underway!". I think my stomach did a flop at that very moment. But then they blared out great music like Bruce Springsteen's 'Born to Run' over the sound system and it got me totally inspired and pumped. We eventually started moving forward and 12 minutes after the official start I crossed over the starting line and was actually running my first marathon!

Miles 1-8:

I was so glad to have my friend Laurie by my side for those first miles. The crowd was thick and it was great to not have to be by myself in the sea of people. There were spectators as far as the eye could see and they were all cheering us on with so much enthusiasm and love. They were everywhere, above us on the bridge, three rows or more deep on each side of the course, and just about anywhere else a spectator could possibly be. A lot of them were holding great signs too. One of the first signs I saw said 'One day you will not be able to do this. Today is not that day'. I grasped onto that and felt empowered to finish this bucket list dream of mine. Just after 2.5 miles I saw a sign that said 'I thought you said 2.62 miles!', it made me laugh as did a lot of other signs along the way. There were also a lot of noise makers of every kind...cow bells, sirens, tamborines, air horns, etc. Laurie and I had a pretty steady pace of just over 10 min/mile going and we took in the sights and sounds together and talked about them all. We ran through tunnels and over carpeted bridges in those first miles, and all of it was shaded by the city buildings which was perfect. Mile 4 was the 1st spot our cheer group had designated as their location to see us. We knew they would be on the left hand side of the road so we veered that way and started looking for them after we passed the 5K point. I picked Cassie out right away and immediately got overwhelmed and nearly teared up when I saw her. It was the rush of 'I'm actually doing this' as Cassie and Laurie's friends cheered us on.

I eventually became more comfortable in my small box that I was occupying among the surrounding runners. I also felt I had a great strategy going on...starting out at and maintaining an easy steady pace, and I was getting a cup of Gatorade and a cup of water at each aid station. I learned early on to crease the paper cups for better drinking mechanics instead of pouring the fluid straight into my nose from the broad rim while running. We were out of the shade of the buildings after mile 4 and I could feel it getting very warm. Somewhere after the 10K mark Laurie decided to slow her pace down a little and we said goodbye to eachother. I still really had to pee so I knew I would need to separate and stop at a porta-potty soon anyway.

At mile 8 was Boystown, one of the craziest parts of the course. There were men dressed like Lady Gaga dancing on stage and singing, men twirling and throwing rifles in the air, and dancers dressed up like cowboys. Funny stuff to keep your mind occupied!

Miles 9-13:

Mile 9 was the next spot I was to look for the cheer squad. I scanned the sidelines from midway through mile 8 to well after mile 10, but never did see them. My mission turned to finding a porta-potty at that point as I was getting really uncomfortable - this wasn't just nerves any longer, and I had had lots to drink on the course already. I finally saw a potty area sign near mile 11 and headed over to the right side of the course to use them. Crazy enough there was a line and it took at least 5 minutes for me to get my turn. I kept my legs moving the whole time though because I was so afraid that if I stopped motion that they would stiffen up like they had during my long training runs. I felt so much better after emptying my bladder and I headed back out onto the course. I found out later that Cassie and the others were waiting for us as mile 11 on the left hand side and my detour to the porta-potties was how I missed seeing them. She got the timing chip text message when I crossed the half-way point at mile 13.1 and so she knew I was still progressing forward. I was still feeling good at the mid-way mark and pushed onward.

Miles 14-18:

These miles were a bit of a blur to me. I was progressing on a trying not to think about all the miles I still had left to go. There were stations where blue sponges were being handed out and I took one to wipe down my face with...I was already covered in granular salt from sweating. I knew it was important to keep getting fluids at every aid station because of this. It had become nearly impossible to pass through the fluid stations without walking since the volunteers were handing out drinks on both sides of the street making the roadway very narrow. All of the runners had to slow their pace to at or near walking for the almost 1-block long station areas. Luckily my leg muscles handled this ok and didn't cramp up with the changes in speed and motion.

At mile 17 was Little Italy...the place smelled like pizza and there were tons of supporting fans. This is also where they were handing out the Cliff Shot goo. I had debated if I was going to take one of these or not and had even tried a sample at the expo to see what it would taste like. But, when it came down to decision crunch time I passed them by. My mouth was just too dry and parched that I couldn't imagine trying to get that goo substance all the way down. When I saw the 30K marker (18.6 miles) I made sure to stomp my foot down hard on the road pad so all the people following me via texts would know that I was still running strong.

Miles 19-25:

Mile 19 was the Pilsen area which again was pretty much a blur. At mile 20 they were handing out bananas and a banana has never tasted so good! I think I had really depleted my energy stores by that time so that fruit was exactly what I needed. Then came mile 21 and China Town which energized me even more. It was such a cool area with tons of spectators, music, and huge Chinese Dragon puppets. Somewhere around mile 22 my iPhone died. I had the sound really low the entire time so I was able to take in all of the surroundings, but it was still crappy to not have my mile splits being spoken to me any longer or the low beat of the music to help keep me in rhythm. I don't know if it was the death of my iPhone or just the heat and crazy amount of miles I had already completed, but the last 4 miles were the hardest for me. At mile 22 people were yelling 'Only 4 miles to go', but it felt like they were yelling this for at least 3/4 of a mile. I was thinking will I ever have less than 4 miles to go?!? Then again, the same thing happened when I had just a 5K distance left. As I kept moving on the crowd continuously reminded us that we just had 3 miles left, one person screamed 'You can do a 5K in your sleep!' which I thought, yeah maybe if I hadn't already run 23 freaking miles! I was getting cranky. The miles were just not going by as quickly as they had before and I wanted to be done so badly. It was balls hot and in full sun. I was running by people who were obviously struggling and were walking, shuffling, hobbling even. Some had stopped on the side to stretch or just try to catch their breath or regain their senses about themselves...and some were very young fit athletes which was scary to see. Also, I had no idea where Cassie was going to be next. The crowds of spectators had gotten even thicker and I really didn't have the extra energy to scan the sidelines for her. Turns out I missed her somewhere around mile 24.

At mile 24 was the Nike cheer zone which had a great sound system with good music and an announcer that was picking people out of the running field and saying their name if he could read it on their shirt. He also shouted 'You are about to finish The.Chicago.Marathon!'. That was when the reality that I was really going to complete this set in and it made me push a little harder. Soon I saw the 25 mile marker pass by and then the maker that read 1 mile to go. It was all very surreal.

Last Mile/Finish Line:

The last mile there were markers telling you when you had 800 meters left and then 400 meters left. The distance seemed to be back in real time again instead of in a slow time warp like during the previous 3 miles. As I turned onto Roosevelt Road there was a hill staring me in the face, but it didn't seem to slow me down a bit. I peaked the top of the hill and coasted down the other side into a turn onto Columbus Drive where I saw the best marker sign of the race...it read FINISH. As I ran toward the finish line I took off my hat...I just wanted to take it all in with no obstructions. I raised up my arms in complete elation and stomped down hard on the tracking mat so that all of my followers would now that I had made it. That's when I became overwhelmed with emotion and tears started welling up and falling with the thought of my accomplishment. I really had just finished the Chicago Marathon! Despite a broken arm 2 weeks before, IT band syndrome flare ups, Plantar Fasciitis, all of it...I had conquered 26.2 miles and had RUN all of it!!

Later I found out that Steve, the girls, and my Mom had all watched me cross the finish line on their computers at home by watching the online streaming video of the finish line. The text alerts they had been receiving during the race were also estimating my finishing time for them so they knew when to really be honed in and on the look out for me. I was glad they were able to see me finish at the end and know that I had finished strong and was ok.

I kept walking through the post finish area where I was given a marathon cooling blanket and my medal. I also collected water, Gatorade, and a snack bag. The event photographers stopped me to take some finisher photos. It was all dreamlike...I kept waking along still in disbelief that I was done running.

Aftermath:

As I made it out of the finish area and headed toward the post-party area my legs started to do their cramp and stiffen thing. It was all I could do to make it into the post party section and then I spotted our planned meeting place, the letter N, all the way at the back corner of the event area. Seriously? I hobbled on and eventually found Tammy, Laurie's friend, and took a much needed seat on the grass. Soon Laurie and Cassie and all the group from the night before found their way to the meeting place. Cassie said they were still waiting for me at mile 24 when she got the text message that I had finished. Up to that point I didn't even know what my time was since my phone with internet access and GPS/timing app was dead. Cassie told me I finished in 4:38:08. I had wanted ultimately to finish, but was hoping for a time under 5 hours so I was more that excited with that.

We slowly made our way back to the hotel, showered, and believe it or not headed out for some shopping. Laurie and I had our medals engraved at Nike Town and I bought like 4 clothing items that said Chicago Marathon Finisher on them...LOL. Cassie gave me permission and even thought I needed more than that, but I resisted. A few more stops to pick up some gifts for the kiddos and then on a mission for dinner. I was ravenous! I wanted a cheeseburger like never before...I was craving meat so badly, which I guess was my body's instinct to want protein to repair my aching muscles. We ate at the cheesecake Factory and it really was the best burger I have ever eaten.

Post Marathon:

In the week after the marathon I was exhausted but euphoric. You have to be a little bit crazy to do this to your body. By mile 22 I was thinking it was A LOT crazy. But in the end it was absolutely worth it. Running this race, my first marathon ever, was one of the best, most amazingly surreal experiences of my life. I had initially told myself that I would stick to 5K, 10K, and even half-marathons from then on, but when it came down to the wire for 2012 registration I caved and registered in the final hours before sell out. Let's hope 2012 is as great or even better than my first Chicago Marathon!