Wednesday, October 10, 2018

My Quest to 50- 17 down 33 to go Chicago Marathon


My Quest to 50, 17 down 33 to go



October 7, 2018
Chicago Marathon

This past weekend I ran my 6th Marathon and my 17th State. I was supposed to do Chicago 2 years ago but I had to defer due to a hip labrum tear. What can I say Chicago is beautiful, the streets are clean, and the architecture is beautiful, even with the bipolar weather cold, hot, rainy, windy I still loved it.  I would definitely go back since I need redemption for my race and to take a picture with the bean, which I forgot to do.
Before Race Day
I arrived in Chicago a few days before staying with a friend that was there for work which worked out perfect and grateful I was able to stay with her since I almost didn’t go to Chicago since I wasn’t working, although I did start working the week before I left. The second hotel another friend offered me to stay at their hotel because I didn’t have anywhere to stay which was awesome. We did a lot of walking, checking out the city, went on the Tilt ride, and planned a gangster/ghost tour which was interesting. The next day I went to the Expo picked up my bib and that was about over 2 hours between waiting for my shuttle bus to take me back to the hotel.  I was a bit frustrated from all the traveling to and from the expo I ended up going for a relaxing 20 minute swim at the hotel, which is one of the oldest swimming pools, built in the 1920s.
 

 
 




Day before the Race
I ran the 5k the day before the race, usually I don’t run the day before a race but I had signed up and well didn’t want to lose out on my money so I ran it anyway. There was a thunderstorm that morning and the race was delayed by a half hour. I decided to run it sexy pace which was easy and slow and take pictures along the way so I didn’t put too much strain on legs. I checked out of the hotel with my friend and we walked to the Navy Pier, yes more walking but had to kill some time waiting for my other friend to arrive so I can check into the second hotel.  I had planned to do a meet up with a running group I am part of on FB (youvstheyear) but unfortunately that didn’t happen.  By the time I checked into my 2nd hotel my legs were done, my thighs were tired and then I had to go eat and walk some more. Not the smartest decision with all the walking I did leading up to race day but I learned my lesson when you read how my race went.

 
 

 




Race Day
Race morning was chilly and it had just finished raining, I prefer chilly weather over hot weather for a run any day. I went to my gate entrance, went through security, checked bag and went straight to porta potty line. I always try and go before the race so I don’t have to go during, well I waited about 25 minutes or more on the line and had to run to my start, which wasn’t closed yet but started a corral back which was fine since I wanted to pace myself slow in the beginning. The race starts and it starts to rain a bit but didn’t mind it too much. I took my time not trying to pass anyone and made sure I warmed up; my Garmin watch wasn’t working the first few miles but the night before I wrote down the time splits I should be at for each mile. I was on pace for a while, then at mile 7 there was a downpour for a few miles, a bit annoying but wasn’t too bad just was wet the rest of the race. Chicago Marathon is known for a mostly flat course and everyone says you can run your personal best, well the personal best wasn’t for me on Sunday, by mile 14 I was slowing down on my splits and by mile 19 my thighs were burning, I tried pushing with my heart and not worry about my legs but they were done. I stopped at the 2 biofreeze tents and rubbed it on my thighs, it helped temporarily but I knew my time was slowing down and started to walk a bit here and there which I wasn’t happy about. The course was mostly flat but I welcomed the ramps on to bridges or overpass here and there, gave my legs a little burst of energy running up hill. I wasn’t a fan of some of the bridges that were medal and half was covered in carpet and other half wasn’t so had to run to the side with the carpet because I didn’t like that medal feeling on my feet. By mile 26 I was so happy to be done, although my watch said 27 miles since it was off I knew I was close. I crossed that finish line with relief and also disappointment.  After the race I walked in some pain and soreness, everyone was doing the zombie walk with their Mylar blankets. I went to get my gear and changed my clothes head to toe because it was still chilly and my clothes were wet. I took maybe 2 post race photos and left right away to then catch a cab to the hotel because I wasn’t going to walk 2 more miles to the hotel. I went back to the room, stretched, rolled, showered and napped. I wanted to try the famous deep dish pizza in Chicago so I went out to eat and waited about 2 hours for my pizza, I guess everyone had the same idea. The pizza was delicious and so was my wine, wasn’t crazy about waiting that long but what can I do.
 






I knew I could have done better and I knew what I did wrong leading up to the race and I have no one to blame but myself but I feel like 4 hours and 16 is still a great time but not what I wanted.
Overall Chicago was wonderful, the city, the people, the history and I checked off a state on my bucket list and set a new goal to do the 6 Star World Majors Challenge which consist of (New York, Chicago, Boston, London, Berlin, Tokyo) not sure how long this goal will take as most of them are getting in through lotteries and so far didn’t get into London and Tokyo for next year so here’s hoping for Berlin.
Next up is Baltimore Running Festival Half which will be state #18 and NYC Marathon.
Until next time Happy Running, Boxing, Hiking, Swimming and Biking!

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