Chicago Marathon 10.7.12 --- Team Bright Pink
 |
| The starting line.....I can see it.....no really...... |
It was about 40 degrees by the
time we got to the start. I wore a long
sleeved nike dri-tech shirt with a t-shirt overtop and then a throwaway
sweatshirt on top of that. I bought an
ear covering headband at the expo as well as some cheapie anti-fog glasses and
I was sure glad I did. I also wore a
pair of throwaway gloves. I was plenty
warm (and seeing as we waited almost 45 minutes to actually get to start) by
the time we crossed the start I was feeling plenty warm so I took off the
sweatshirt and left it in a pile with some others. The start of the race was like dodging landmines. Clothes everywhere, people everywhere, I just
tried to stay within a few rows of the pacers.
 |
| Got to see Doug around mile 4-5 |
Before I knew it I was already
at mile 3, there were people cheering everywhere and I was just trying to take
it all in. My husband was going to be at
mile 4-5 so I was looking forward to seeing him. I really felt great and couldn’t believe I
was actually doing this. My husband
texted me and told me the exact corner where he was standing and that he was on
the right side of the road. That was a
huge help. I wasn’t even thinking about
running, just about seeing him, and him
seeing me run in my first marathon. I
managed to get a quick photo with him and then I was off again. I had a little catching up to do in order to
get back with the pace group but it wasn’t bad.
Then somewhere between mile 5 and 6 I had to go to the bathroom. So did everyone else apparently because as we
ran through a park so many people just ran to the side and did their business
on the trees/grass in the park. I opted
for the port-a-potty where there was a line about 15 people deep in each
stall. The line seemed to take forever
but I ended up coming out at the same time as another guy from our pace group. He was like, come on we can catch up. We had to have gone at least 2 miles before
we saw the pace signs but they were for the 5:45 group. Crap!!
The guy beside me was still trying to catch up too so we kind of ran
hard together and finally made it back with the group. My nike watch says I ran my fastest mile ever
during the marathon. I know it was about
the same time that I was trying to catch up.
Before long, it was mile 11 and I got to see my husband again which was
awesome.
 |
| Look....I'm really at mile 11, you can see it in the background........ |
The pace team ran the whole
time until the halfway point and then adopted a 2 minute run – 1 minute walk
routine. That worked great for me. I felt totally fine, like I could run all day
at that pace. The pacer just kept
encouraging us to get to mile 20.
“You’ve already done this” he said to us over and over. “20 miles is no big deal.” We got to the halfway point at about
2:40. My previous half marathon time was
2:27 but I injured my foot during training so I was fine with that time. I just did not want to push things and get
hurt again. At the halfway point I had
already engulfed 3 GU gels and thought I had brought along a 4th one
to get me to the GU station at mile 18 but I did not. I know it was totally mental but I really
needed that 4th GU. I just
kept taking Gatorade at the water stations
and when we got to the GU station at 18 miles, I took 2 of them. I used one immediately and another at mile
23. Honestly the miles between 18 and 23
are kind of a blur to me. I was just
keeping up with the pacers and following the others in my group. The crowds really started to thin out around
the 22nd-23rd mile and that’s when things got really
tough. My legs were feeling heavy and
even the run-walk combo was difficult.
Honestly I just really wanted to quit.
I had this inner fight with myself that probably got me through a good
half mile. I had come this far and I was
going to finish no matter what the time.
It was around that point that I had to abandon the pace group. I stopped to walk for at least a half-mile,
maybe three-quarters. I couldn’t
actually tell you because my nike watch battery died somewhere after mile
22. (damn) At any rate, by the time I got to 23 miles I
just kept telling myself, okay just a 5k left, just 35 minutes and you’ll be
done. At mile 24, I kept saying over and
over okay this is just like at home, just to the fire station and back. Then at 25 miles I was like okay just 12
minutes or 13 minutes or 15 minutes and you’ll be done. Before I knew it the finish line was in sight
and I was so darn glad. They handed us
food and drinks and beer and wait, where was my MEDAL? Before I could get it I had to walk past more
food, more drinks, and then the medals.
Whew. (I heard later that they were about 2,000 medals short, I would have been sooooooo mad!)
 |
| It's all about the medal |
Here are a couple things I
would do differently in a big race like Chicago:
1.
Hydrate the day
before the race but drink just one bottle of water or whatever in the morning
when you first wake up on race day. Go
to the bathroom before the race as much as possible. Then don’t drink again
until the first water stop. If I didn’t
have to stop to go to the bathroom I could have easily cut 10 minutes or more
off of my time and finished ahead of the pace group instead of behind.
2.
Take one more GU
with you than you think that you will need.
Believe me, you will need it.
3.
If your family is
cheering you on, pick which side of the road you will be running on, there were
so many people that I could not possibly have moved to the other side without
losing my pacers.
4.
Pick an exact
location to meet your family after the race.
Look at the map of the finish and realize that your family probably
cannot go anywhere near there. Pick
someplace that you know you can get to after the race and meet up there. It took my husband and I nearly 45 minutes
just to find each other.
YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!
Have a great race first
timers!!!
-Amy
