Swim, bike, run... Oh My!: Week 22: Chicago Marathon Recap

Welcome to the Windy City. How do you not get caught up in all the Hype for the Chicago Marathon? Lots of race presence throughout out the city. The biggest question I had leading up to the race was Weather. Weather was all over the place the entire week, leaving me wondering what mother nature had in store for us runners on race day.

Welcome to Chicago - O'hare Airport

City Support

THE LEAD UP!!!

The first few days, Duane and I kept it pretty chill. Thursday, I went for a half hour run in capris and a t-shirt to help try to decide the appropriate outfit for race day. (Ended up deciding to go with tank and skirt for race day.) After that we just wandered around Michigan Avenue. Stopped at the Nike store to pickup some Chicago Marathon Goodies. At the Nike store I wrote down my Crazy Dream of finishing the marathon in under 4hrs and 45 mins. Following shopping, was the main trip event for Duane… Dinner. This dinner was the whole reason Duane joined me on the trip. We finally made it to the restaurant Alinea to try their tasting menu. This has been on Duane’s bucket list for years. He was quite happy with the food and atmosphere. I’m not a foodie, but it was definitely a presentation and story of the food through out the night.

Morning Shake out run Selfie

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My Crazy Dream: 4:45 Race

Duane Enjoying Dessert at Alinea - Apple Taffy Helium balloon

Friday, I woke up, went to the Race Expo, and picked up my gear. Then did more walking around Michigan Ave. Friday dinner was the pre race Carbo loading dinner at Nico Osteria. That night, my friend Erica and her little one flew in to support me on race day.

Race Expo

Saturday, I met up for a South Bay Runners Club photo in the morning. Then, I enjoyed the day with my Friend Becky and her family. We went to the Shedd Aquarium and spent the afternoon catching up. While we were at the Aquarium, it was starting to get windy and cold outside. After the Aquarium, I got dropped off at the hotel, and went to an early dinner with Duane, Erica and Baby K. For dinner, I had a protein rice bowl. I rolled into bed early (while everyone else went out for the night), watched a bit of the Washington football game and then passed out.

SBRC Pre Race Photo

Shedd Aquarium with Becky, Brody and Jason (not pic)

RACE DAY!!!

Sunday started with a 5:30am wake up call. Woke up, got my running gear on. Ate some oatmeal, and headed out to walk to the race start (1.5 miles) with some of the ladies from South Bay running club.

SBRC - keeping warm as we go to race start

We got in line to enter the race staging area around 7:30am. Security was crazy. Lots of people trying to get in, only to find the honey bucket lines were even crazier. But no way was I going to skip using the restroom before the start. While waiting for the restroom, I ate half a pb&j sandwich for one last bite of real food before starting the race. Finally got to the corrals around 8:30 and the wind and rain was starting to pick up.

Getting through Security

Rain Starting in the Corrals with SBRC Peeps

Race Start - Corral L Ready to Roll

Race started around 8:40, and within the first mile I realized the joy of GPS in the city of Chicago. I was warned about unreliable GPS prior to the race. So I had a pace band on my wrist to help me track my pace each mile. (I ended up going with a 5 hr pace band, thinking that I would be well under that, but shouldn’t be slower than that).

Marathon Course

I reached mile marker 1 just outside my hotel and found my husband cheering me on. I dropped off my jacket and continued on my merry way. About half a mile later, I saw Erica and Baby K cheering me on. I quickly stopped by to say hi, and commented how I was struggling at finding my pace. Ended up around a 11:10 pace for the next couple of miles, keeping in time with my pace band.

Mile 1.5 seeing a familiar face

As I entered Lincoln Park, the rain and wind really started coming down. At this time I was really hoping it wasn’t going to be like this the entire time. Luckily for me, by about mile 8 the rain had stopped and was a comfortable running temp the rest of the way.

One of my favorite parts on course was around mile 7, where we ran past a convalescent hospital. The people in the hospital made signs for us and put them up in the windows, and you could see them sitting by their windows waving to us and cheering us on as we ran past them.

At mile 8 there was a cheer board displaying encouraging messages to runners from family and friends. Many Thanks to everyone who tried to send me well wishes. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any post for me. So for the next few miles, I got to imagine what everyone had said. I claim I missed the posts because I was running too fast down that stretch ;)

I was feeling pretty good as I reached the halfway marker (still maintaining my under 5 hr pace). But things would start going downhill fairly quickly. At mile 14, met and chatted with another skirt sister for about a mile. At the mile 15 water stop we went our separate ways. I was starting to get a side ache and stomach starting to not feel well. By mile 17 my pace had slowed down and all I wanted was a banana to try and get something solid in my stomach, but had to wait until mile 20 for my first banana). My back also started bothering me, and I struggled mentally to stay focus on the end goal. Ended up switching to a 4min run 30 second walk to try and keep things moving forward. But that took a big hit on my pace. I watched the 5 hr pace group pass me, and then a little later the 5:10 pace group move ahead of me. At that time my race goal was re-evaluated. The new goal was just to finish with a PR. At mile 25 I was on the home stretch. I knew Erica and Duane would be near the finish line cheering me on. I pushed as hard as I could that last 1.2 miles into the finish line. (The hole course was flat, only to be surprised by a slight incline as you head into the last 800 m stretch). Ended up finishing the race in 5hrs 19 mins and 34 secs.

800 Meters to go

Overall, I left the race with mix feelings. I was happy to have PR’ed by about 10 minutes, but at the same time disappointed in my overall time. As my coach said, “You are stronger than your results”. I trained hard over the last 20 weeks and wanted to see all that hard work pay off. Did I do the best I could do? For that day and how I was feeling… Yes. Did I let my mind get in the way?… Yes. Could I have trained harder in the lead up to the race?… Yes - focus on the long runs on trying to keep motivated and the pace consistent. Now, to take this experience, lessons learned and apply them to the next round of training for LA Marathon.

POST RACE

Spent the rest of Sunday at a recovery gym, which included ice bath/hot bath/ice bath followed by relaxing in recovery boots. After recovery, I met up with some people from South Bay Running Club to celebrate our accomplishments.

SBRC Post Race dinner Celebration

Relaxing in Recovery Boots

Baby K and Erica at Post Race dinner

Monday, I was sore getting up. Felt like Charlie’s Grandpa getting out of the bed from the movie Charlie and the Chocolate factory. But as I started moving, I began to feel better and was able to enjoy the city. Duane and I went to the Museum of Science and Industry, followed by a celebration dinner out at Spiaggia (Joe Flamm - Top Chef Season 15 winner).

Tuesday, we walked to old town to get my medal engraved and then hung out at Millennium Park for some last sight seeing before we caught our plane ride home.

Medal with the Bean

Duane and I enjoying our time in Chicago

Many thanks to everyone (all my coaches, friends and family) who supported and guided me through this training cycle and race. All the encouragement and support helped keep me motivated and focused on trying to stick to the plan.

Will I put my name in the lottery for next year? We will see in a few weeks… Still trying to decide.