Chicago Marathon Race Report

October 9, 2011 (written October 23, 2011)

3:41:18

So I ran a marathon. I wasn't planning to run one so soon. At the end of August, I signed up for what I thought would be my first marathon—the Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach, February 5, 2012. A couple weeks later, I went to a wedding in Utah. Sarah and Dima ran the Wasatch 100 and got married at the finishline. Witnessing this made me so pumped for my marathon (just a stepping stone on the way to my first 100-miler?).

I won’t get into the details of how I was given the opportunity to run the Chicago Marathon, but I’ll say that I was presented this opportunity at this wedding. I decided on the Tuesday after the wedding (September 13, less than 4 weeks before the race), that I would go for it. I reached this decision, for the most part, because (1) a marathon entry is a terrible thing to waste, (2) I always said Chicago would be my first (or I said that a couple times, at least to S. Hinkle, who can vouch for me on that one), (3) it would be interesting to see how I would do after very, very little preparation, and (4) Michael and I still have some Delta money to spend before it expires in December, so the flights would be pretty much free, and (5) Chicago is amazing-cake. Or... amazing-pizza.

What do I mean by "very, very little" preparation? At the time of my decision, I wasn't actually sure. I hadn't done the math, but I felt like I'd been running on average 15-20 miles/week since track season. And track season was basically sit around and mope and not run at all season, because it hurt to run due to piriformis/IT band/gluteus/sciatic nerve issues. Earlier today, 2 weeks after running the marathon, I did the math. My average weekly mileage for January 2011 - September 13 (the day I decided to do the marathon), was about 14 miles. This holds for June - September 13 and for August - September 13 as well. So basically I was running a HALF MARATHON every WEEK. Sad sad sad. The three weeks before the week of the marathon I ran 14, 38 (included a 20-mile run), and 18 miles. That I was able to run the 20 miles on a fairly difficult trail at 5300' made me think I could handle Chicago. At first, my goal was simply to finish the marathon. Then I thought "oh, maybe I'll shoot for 10-minute miles." But then I realized that I could break 4 hours if I ran 9:09/mile, so I thought that should be my goal instead.

The week before the marathon I only ran twice. On Monday and Tuesday. Monday was an easy medium run, and Tuesday was a short workout with the Lions High School cross country team. Wednesday-Saturday I was in Chicago (at sea level!) and didn't want to run, because I feared this would ruin the surprise of being able to breathe easily during the race. Wednesday morning Michael and I left super early in the AM to get on an aeroplane bound for MSP, then Midway. When we arrived in what is possibly my favorite city on the planet, we first headed downtown to check out the OFA headquarters and to get keys from Erin. Saying "Run Bao Run" to the chick at Wow Bao scored us free bao - one pumpkin, one custard, and one chocolate. After that, we checked into our 5 star accommodations in Lakeview (seriously, Erin's apartment is super cute. And so is Baby Girl, her tortoise shell kitty. Unfortunately I'm allergic though...). The next few days can be broken down into the meals consumed: Giordano's stuffed pizza for dinner Wednesday night, breakfast at Nookie's Tree Thursday (late) morning, beer and fries and grilled cheese at Jimmy's for dinner Thursday, breakfast at Ann Sather's on Friday (holy crap sooo much food. And the cinnamon rolls lived up to their hype), cocktails on the top floor of the Hancock building followed by cajun at Heaven on Seven Friday night, and dinner at a cute trattoria in Lakeview/Wrigleyville on Saturday night (carb loading is a tradition for me, though it's not actually important... note: my primavera tasted like frozen mixed veggies in ragu sauce... but at least it was a large portion size). I went to the expo on both Friday and Saturday. On Friday I got KB's bib and perused, then Saturday I went back because I lost my camera and thought I had left it there (note: I didn't find it. I need to contact CTA to see if it was found on the L).

On Saturday night (giddy with excitement!), I wasn't able to get to sleep until about midnight. I wanted to leave Erin's apartment at about 5:15am to walk to the L station. That went fairly smoothly, though it was really freaking early. I was scared to stop at the Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, McDonalds, etc. on the way to the station... but I was so HUNGRY!!!! Ahhhh! And other running clothes-clad folks were doing it! Hmm... in retrospect, a bagel would have been nice. In the morning when I was walking to the L there was an interesting mix of people... See, the bars close at 5, so there were quite a few people stumbling home and making out on street corners (mostly same sex couples. This is Boystown, after all!). Then there were the sleepy-eyed runners trying to wake up for their big race. I was rather amused. So then I got to the race at about... 6? It wasn't very crowded at that time. But there was still a rather long line at the bathrooms, so I B-lined for the corrals, where practically no one was, and used the fast people bathrooms. (Note: food consumed before the race included 1 lara bar on the train and 1 luna bar - or was it clif mojo? - at the starting area, and 2 gu's (either regular amt of caffeine or 2x), saved one gu for the race, just in case. Put that in my little pocket thingy in my shorts. Also had a 5 hr energy at about 6:30) After the potty break, I found a nice little grassy area overlooking the lake to jog a bit of back-and-forths, do some leg swings, and stretch--and watch the sunrise.) Then I turned in my bag at the gear check and headed back to the corrals. This was at about 7am, and the entrance to the corrals was a cluster-f. There just wasn't enough room in the fenced-in passageway for people to get to their corrals with any sort of speed. Some people started jumping fences just so they could make it to the corral before the 7:30 start (apparently this included Marlyn's dad...). Apparently they had changed something about the seeded entrance this year that caused this issue, as some veteran runners were saying this was not an issue in the past. I was able to make it to the toilets right near corral C entrance by 7:20, and just made it out in time-- 7:29. But then I had to adjust my shoes, which I was actually able to do, because while the race had started and people were moving forward, they were just walking slowly, so I was able to tie my shoes and catch up with the C folks without any trouble. I think I might have tied my shoes too tight though. :( This worried me greatly, until I started to run. I had promised myself/Michael that I would do the first 13 in 9min pace or slower, so as to ensure finishing the race. But I started running comfortably at ~8min pace (or I think that was the pace... Garmin got really messed up in the first mile), and saw the 3:40 pace group, so thought "what the heck? why not just try it for a while?

After about 4 miles of running with the 3:40 group, I began to get a little over-excited. Mostly I was excited to see my fans (Erin and Michael) at mile 6 and/or 7 and/or 8 (since we were running through Erin's neighborhood at that time. So I think I lost the pace group. I can't recall exactly when this happened. Running through Lincoln Park there was a guy offering bloody marys. The thought of a bloody made me almost vomit. From miles 6-8 I was desperately searching for my fans, but I didn't not see them (I later found out that they weren't able to make it to 6/7 because they couldn't cross Broadway, so they were only at 7.5/8ish. At that point I was running on Broadway and there were tons of people, so I didn't see them. Also, I was looking on the left side of the street, and they were on the right. I did see some glamorously be-sequined trannies though. (Boystown, remember?) After the excitement of Boystown died down (and after the disappointment of not seeing my fans), I was... bored. I can't really remember much that happened between then and the half marathon mark. I guess I remember seeing the Sears Tower in the distance and thinking to myself that that was the half-way mark. That I just had to make it there, then it was all downhill. I think I actually ran the first half marathon as if it were... just a half marathon. At mile 7, I felt about the same as I have felt at mile 7 of half marathons I've run. I think I realized this while running, and kind of freaked out a bit, because after the half, I had to run another one, and I wasn't sure if I could do that. I tried to push these thoughts aside and just focus on making it to the Sears Tower though. I guess I kept a decent pace, because I didn't see the 3:40 folks.

I got to the half at about 1:51. For some reason I decided to try to speed up after the halfway point. I think it was an attempt to fight my mind, which was telling me that there was no way in hell I was going to make it another 13.1 miles. This surge lasted somewhere between 1 and 2 miles. Then I tried to keep it steady until mile 16, when I told myself I could eat my Gu. So then I ate my Gu at 16, which seemed to help me a bit. But it caused me to miss the otter pops that were being handed out by random kind-hearted people. I was really upset that I missed an otter pop. Because at this point it was starting to get pretty hot, and there was no shade on whatever street in the south side we were running on. The mile 17 aid station had Clif's version of Gu (inferior!), so I took one and stashed it, just in case. Sometime shortly after mile 17, the 3:40 group caught up to me. I was pretty dead at this point, but I tried to be thankful for their reappearance, and decided to run with them for as long as I could. Soon enough we were in Chinatown, and I SAW MY FANS! I was so excited! They told me they were probably going to stay in Lakeview until they met me at the finish, but there they were, all the way in Chinatown, to cheer me on. Erin had the cowbell and everything. Seeing them kept me going for only like... half a mile. Then I fell into a (still uncomfortable) 9:00 - 9:30 pace (thus losing sight of the 3:40 people) until I SAW THEM AGAIN with about a mile (or two?) to go. At this point I really just wanted to stop. A lot of people had already stopped running and were walking. It made me sad to see people with 3:00 and 3:10 and 3:30 pace group bibs who had given up. But I guess that happens. Right so I wanted to stop. My whole body was strongly objecting to the constant movement I was forcing it to do. I think I looked like one of those people who you see running that really shouldn't be running because their bodies just aren't made for it. Like, I was trying to switch up my form to get new muscles involved and give the old ones a rest. Somehow though, with the support of my fans, I made it to the finish. With about 200m to go, there was A HILL. WTF? Every time I came upon a hill during this race, I was annoyed. Since when are there hills in Chicago? But I tried to reframe it as a "I get to use different muscles now!" The hill at the finish was the worst though, and it took a lot of mental gymnastics to convince myself that it was a blessing in disguise. After this little hill, it was a short straightaway to the finish. I dug deep within me to try to find a kick, but all I found was a 9:00 pace instead of a 9:30 pace... but that was good enough for me. I stopped my watch just after the finishline at 3:41:something. I was quite pleased.

BUT THEN I HAD TO WALK what seemed like FOREVER to get to the 27 mile party. They gave me a beer right after the finish. Goose Island 312 wheat beer. A wheat beer is probably one of my top 3 favorite things to drink after a run or a bike ride, but this one was really difficult to get down. I saw so many abandoned 2/3 full beers sitting around... it made me so sad to see it wasted! So I put in a second physically taxing effort of the day and drank it dry before picking up my "gear" and hobbling to the party. Oh also I freshened up (changed my shirt, took of my shoes, redid my pigtails), because I wanted to look good for my fans (wink to C. Eng). It was pretty easy finding them at the party. We actually just ran into each other. We didn't spend much time there... I got my second free 312 beer and Michael and I posed in front of the VW with my time in the background, then we hobbled to the bus stop, stopping at Chipotle on the way for a much-deserved burrito. Back at Erin's, I showered and passed out until dinner. For dinner we got some pizza from a place nearby, and then Erin made yummy cookies (banana chocolate chip oatmeal). Then I passed out again.

Monday I tried to see some more of Chicago with Michael, but it was so difficult walking... we had lunch with Kate (3:11 marathoner and fellow GHR runner), and she thought I was doing pretty well for the day after my first marathon. The worst thing was my left shin (which doesn't fully recover for 2 weeks... Andres, the trainer at Tech says it was a strained muscle... that this happens a lot to runners who take a lot of time off then try to run too many miles their first run back... heh). But also my right second toe had a huge blood blister on it. After lunch we went to Buckwood/Wicker Park to check out the Maproom, a bar Kate recommended if we like beer. I don't even remember what I had for my first beer (maybe something Belgian? There was a special on Belgian beers), but Michael and I split a Three Floyds (Indiana REPRESENT!) IPA after. I'm so proud of the few amazing things/people that come from my home state. Namely, 3 Floyds, Kurt Vonnegut, and... shoot, I can't remember anything else.

In summary, that was awesome. Sure, it took two weeks after the race to be able to run again, but... I absolutely crushed my goal time, which made me reconsider my goal for Surf City in February. It was sub-3:35, so that I can qualify for Boston. But now I'm thinking sub-3:30 or maybe even sub-3:25. I guess I'll just see how the training goes. The race itself was so great! More than 45,000 people were there with me, running 26.2 miles. How awesome is that? The weather was pretty nice, though a little hot, especially for the second half, but I never really thought "IT'S SO HOT!! I'm going to die of heat exhaustion/stroke out here!" which was good. So, I guess I'd really like to thank KB for the opportunity and the encouragement ("If you can run 20 miles, you can run a marathon" and, " You can run much faster than 4:00!"), Erin for the 5 star accommodations and the post-race cookies, and Michael and Erin (and... the rest of Chicago that was out there cheering) for being awesome fans. I felt so privileged.