Chicago Marathon 2012

Thank you Amanda for asking me to blog my adventure. I hadn't even thought about doing that but I would like to look back on this some day and remember that I was awesome at least once in my life!

The Chicago Marathon 2012 has been a goal that I and my running partner Jenni have had for a while. We signed up at the beginning of the year so this has been a long road! Training went well. My recovery from runners knee had gone really well once I figured out that the Nickel Plate Trail south of Peru was making it worse! Jenni and I pulled out our six sigma engineering skills (sarcasm) and trouble shot my issues. Found them and ran VERY well all summer. It was cake. Easy 12s, 14s, 16, 18 and a solid 20 in great time. 26.2 should not have been a problem in 5 hours so that was our next mission.

As soon as I started watching the weather, about 10 days pre race, I was discouraged. The Indy weather guy told Jenni and I via twitter that even lake effect snow was possible with the low temps that were coming! At that point I was very discouraged. I hate being cold. I generally never get warm. I don't know if its my circulation or what but I am telling you, I do not get warm. I didn't even sweat during the marathon. No joke. Who does that? And it wasn't because of my ease of running it!

Every singe person that talked to me about Chicago said, it's so flat, great course to start with...well, if you have knee issues then a few hills and a lot of bridges do not equal flat!

As I walked to the start line, shivering, I knew this was going to be bad. We timed it perfectly and got in our corral on time. Still freezing. Wishing hand warmers would appear in a little parachute just like the book (HG). Nope. Numb toes and fingers and we were still not moving!

Finally, we make it to the start line! Still numb. So numb I can not feel my toes.

The first few miles went really fast. We were running right at goal pace. And there it is, the first hill. I can see it and I know this isn't going to end well. I should have walked the hills but I didn't at first. By the second hill or bridge (don't remember which is which), my knee was aching a little. Not bad but I knew what was coming since we were only a few miles in.

The spectators were absolutely amazing and very helpful! The signs were hilarious. My favorites: this parade stinks, and don't poop! People who cheer for people that they don't know pretty much rock. I mean, really, who gets up early in the freezing cold and stands outside for hours to watch their friend run by and be gone in the blink of an eye? Awesome people do!
I pretended like my knee didn't hurt. It wasn't actually stopping forward motion so we kept going. I don't remember anything else until mile 13. I remember feeling like I should be done now. My body said it wanted to be done. But we had so far to go!

The next mile I remember is 16, which I thought said 18 from a half mile back. It's not that I was blacked out or anything, I just don't remember the mile markers. So, mile 16-18 is where it got ugly. I was so cold! The sun did shine a little but I don't know which miles. We stopped to stretch. My hamstrings felt like rocks. Any time I would stop moving, my knees basically locked up. I would walk, speed walk, jog and then ease into the run. Stopping to stretch was a huge mistake even though it felt like the right thing to do. Standing in line to get water was brutal.

At this point Jenni and I are both struggling. We were looking for the bananas that were supposed to be at mile 18. We found some a little later but it was too late. I felt like my body was so mad at me. Mainly my knees.

I think somewhere between mile 20-22 was my lowest point. This was really painful but it was a mental game now. If you can run 20 miles you can run a marathon physically. Mentally it is a different story.

A kind lady who was cheering for strangers had a bowl of jolly ranchers. It was worth a try and seriously the best decision ever. It gave me a little boost. Thanks to that lady!

The last few miles were a constant battle. We were starting to pass a lot of people. And no, it wasn't because we were speedy, it was because so many people were injured! Many were limping or dragging a leg behind them. One lady was laying on the ground in agony. I'm guessing she was having muscle spasms. She already had help so we didn't stop.

The last mile seemed like an eternity. All of these signs by Nike said you owned Chicago. I did not feel like I owned it! I definitely felt defeated!
With a half a mile to go, I could see a right turn ahead and a pretty steep incline. I was hoping I was delusional but it was true. At 300m there was an incline that tried to end me. It came close but I kept going! 100m left. I lost Jenni, crossed the finish line and felt like curling up in a little ball. But I couldn't because I was being herded like cattle!

All I wanted to do was cry tears of joy. And thank God that was over and I finished! The guy that put the medal around my neck was awesome. I can't remember what he said but it was so kind and encouraging that I actually felt like I could walk a little farther. Thank God for him too! I gathered myself, found Jenni and we headed out.

So, many lessons learned. I need to dress warmer and take hand and toe warmers. I need to walk up AND down hills. I need a smaller marathon. And I need to take a couple jolly ranchers.

I also learned that distance running is a mental game. It hurts a ton physically but it's nothing compared to the mental aspects.

So, if you are planning to run your first marathon (Amanda!), get your brain ready and expect it to be nothing like you expect!