Chicago Marathon

 

So this is it...I finished my first marathon. I have to say that it wasn't that bad for someone who has never ran more than a mile on a treadmill at the gym. The temperature was a high of 44 degrees and misty rain most of the morning. I think the last mile I felt like I was running on stumps, but for the most part, it was pretty gentle. I had a great pace group which kept us entertained along the way. I finished my time at 4:49...just shy of the number one person who finished at 2:07. There's always next year.

Three miles shy of a marathon!

This morning I woke up to the sound of rain outside; I have always dreaded the day I would have to run in the rain. So far I've been lucky to have had perfect weather all summer. But not today. Once I got moving out on my bike to go to the starting point with my hoodie on, it wasn't that bad but there was a definite damp chill in the air. In April, 60 degrees would have felt like a heat wave. The picture on the left was taken on my way up to Foster...note that there is NO ONE on the path. It was one of those Sunday morning that normal people just stayed in bed. For those locally, 23 miles is about the same distance as going from Foster to 31st Street Beach (on the Southside) and back.

There was a pretty strong wind, but it wasn't dehabilitating. The rain wasn't too hard that it felt like it was piercing the skin, but it was constant numbingness most of the 4 hr and 43 minutes that we were running. After a while, my hands were just beat cold and wrinkled like I've been soaking in a tub. Mind you, we are running in shorts and t-shirts, so there wasn't much protection, but the temperature elsewhere (like the body) was pretty comfortable. Half of the distance we run on are along gravel paths just for runners. The mixture of water and gravel equals a grey mucky and splashable obstacle course that was just begging for a twisted foot from dodging the deeper puddles. By the end, my feet were so squishy and wet, I really didn't care and my legs were covered in this grey caked on mud. Now that I finished, I can say that the run actually was pretty painless, but there were many times when I was wondering "what the hell am I doing here?"

So there you have it. Now I can truly believe that I am going to be able to do the marathon. The organizers said we could do it. And sure enough all we have left to look for is the fabled "wall" where the body supposedly breaks down after 23 miles. For the mean time, I think I will just concentrate on those short runs for a couple more weeks and be glad that I am not too sore or injured. Picture above and to the right was taken just before we started our run. You could hear the waves from blocks away.

The latest update

I have not been running for the past couple weeks because I had another minor foot injury (on the other foot) so I kept off it for a week. Then, I got strep so that kept me out of the loop for even more time. I am a bit worried the upcoming 23 miles, but talked to my coach and she said I shouldn't have any problems. So tonight, I ran my first maintenance run (4 miles) and felt fine except for my chest and lungs: was wheezing for the second half. I felt good to actually get out and run. It was one of those perfect evenings, a gigantic red moon was over the lake, the air was perfect, and I was relieved not to be sick anymore. Here's hoping that it is all out of my system by Sunday!

The big two oh!

Well, I just finished our 20 mile run this am, which we did in just under 4 hours. For the 20, 23 and 26 mile runs, we cut our pace down by 2 minute per mile, so it was kinda strange to go from running 18 in just over 3 to two miles more for one hour longer. I guess the main goal is to make sure everyone finishes it without injuries, which I had none...just a bit tight. But now I am home, all I am craving is a huge lunch.

18 miles

So this was a pretty important run. People were a bit stressed because its kinda a tipping point in marathon training. I was stressed because of my injury. I got some inserts in my shoes, but did not get to break them in. So basically, I started getting blisters on my feet at about 3 miles as well as the pain coming back into my foot. So the entire run was hardly pleasant. But after a while, I realized that the pain in my foot wasn't getting any worse. Though I though, sure, it will come back! Anyways. We made our run from Foster Beach to the Field museum at the other end of downtown. It was pretty amazing to get back. I was relieved I didn't have to get carried away on a stretcher. So now it seems that this is completely doable. It wont be easy, but it will be good for me to go though. This picture was taken just after turning around at the half way point...you can see a bit of the Field Museum in the distance, Lake Shore Drive is to my left.

16 Miles: Ok, I finally feel it

We ran 8 miles from Foster beach to, as you can see in the picture, downtown. And back. We ran for 3 hours. Kinda amazing, some good moments of just feeling like I’m floating . It was a great run, really perfect temperature, sun was out, but not too hot. About 14 miles into it, my right ankle was giving me problems, but I was able to work with it and run “thoughtfully”. It wasn’t until going home, I could really feel it and it was difficult to walk on. So I went home and iced it, took some ibuprofen and it was the same. Took a three hour nap and now in the eve, it feels a lot better. So thankfully, its hopefully just a little thing. This week, I had a cold and only was able to run once, so I am assuming that is why. Anyways, next week, its back down to 8 mile run.

I lived through the 14 mile run

So moving right along, we had a “break” last week and ran six miles which actually was kinda tough because I ate too much for breakfast. This weekend, I ran with the group from Foster to Navy Pier! Yes, that is 14 miles round trip. It was just right and am now seeing that this is totally possible. Granted this is a little more than a half marathon, but it I never thought I could even run six miles a few months ago. In fact, my knees didn’t even start tightening up until ten or 12 miles and usually it is at six miles. I was pretty sore, but it was all good pain. So next week, we take a breather and run only 7 miles and then the next week we run 16. So there’s where I am!

Thanks for the great party

So I had a great time and didn’t totally over do it, but there were dozens of people who showed up to T’s to have a drink (or few). I have been meaning to thank people personally, but this week has been kinda crazy trying to sell my car and condo and run, etc. Anyways, I raised $300 from the donations and proceeds from the drinks (that’s $1400 in drinks, crazy huh?) So thanks again for the support and fun, (and thanks again to T’s) and it’s always just great to hang out with friends and meet new ones. There are more photos by clicking on the picture above.

Almost a half marathon: Foster Beach to Oak St. Beach

This cool, rainy morning, was actually perfect weather for running 12 miles. It was a bit cool before starting off, especially because I had already biked there in the rain in shorts and t-shirt and was a bit chilled. Nice thing was, because of the rain, there were hardly any insane speed bikers and nary a rollerblader in sight. Just the crazy runners. Once we got going, it was perfect. So from Foster Ave, we ran all the way down to Oak Street beach (yes, that’s downtown!) and back. Again, not too much of a problem, just tight knees, maybe a bit of a glitch towards the end, but not enough to really do anything else but take note.

Holy s***…

So it kinda goes like this…each week we increase our time and each week I proclaim “holy s***, I can’t believe I just ran n miles!” So this week, it’s 10 miles (the 10 mile marker in the pic is actually round trip). Thankfully, it was cloudy, but it was pretty “easy”. That is not to say that it wasn’t without its pains. I am basically going to “sit” out the rest of the day, maybe take a nap. One thing for sure is, my cravings have increase for just about anything!

OMG…8 miles!

Never. Felt. Better.