Chicago Marthon - I DID IT!

Painful. Elated. Sore. Accomplished. Emotional. Wreck. These are all of the words, and then some, that I would use to describe yesterday's Chicago Marathon.

Of course, alot of these words probably wouldn't even be an issue if I had trained properly for this race. I signed up with good intentions, and had even began training with a running group about 2 months out, but shin splints caused both physical and mental damage and I was down for the count and unable to get back up to the amount of mileage that was being ran by the time I was able to step foot to the pavement again. And although a sprint triathlon 4 weeks out and a half-marathon with a PR 3 weeks out were possible, they just weren't enough to make this marathon any easier on me.

The night before I sat on the bed in the hotel room and really began questioning my ability to pull it off. It had also been a busy day since we landed in Chicago at around 7:00 that morning. A lot of walking, going to the expo, having lunch, walking some more, and trying to keep ourselves warm in the brisk, 40 degree, downtown weather left me a little drained in more ways than one. I even thought that I might be coming down with something as I laid in bed - feeling like the last thing in the world I wanted to do the next morning was get up and run 26.2 miles.

That night I woke up probably every hour - par for the course for me on the night before any big event. At 5:00 a.m. we got up, took a shower, put on our gear, and headed out the door. The low of the morning was to be around 30 degrees, but stepping outside it wasn't too terribly bad. We had about an hour and a half to walk to the start line (just a 1/2 mile or so away), do any last minute pottying, drop a bag of gear to change into after the race (the high was to be around 50 degrees, and standing around in wet, sweaty clothes would have been mighty uncomfortable).

Me and the rest of the crew - about 6 of us total - lined up on the corral and waited for the gun to go off at 7:30. It took about 7 minutes to get from where we stood to the start line, but after that we were off. With 45,000 people, it was hard to find a good, steady pace, but by a mile or two in my feet had thawed enough and the crowd had thinned out somewhat, which made things easier.

I was going along at a pretty good pace and doing my normal mathematical calculations in my head. At the 6 mile mark I thought, "Okay, just 20 more miles to go - or about 4 more of what you just did." At the 8 mile mark it became just 3 more of what I just did. That was totally do-able. At the halfway mark - the 13.1 miles that make up the 8 prior half marathons that I accomplished, having to do ONE MORE of what I had just done seemed a little harder. I'm pretty sure it was a mind thing rather than physical, because at mile 14 I remember distinctly thinking that this had been the furthest I had ever run. EVER.

I started off doing my 6/1 intervals, but it was around this time that I went down to 4/1. I kept thinking of how someone once told me that at mile 17 a lot of runners "hit the wall" and I was preparing myself mentally for that not to happen. At mile 16 however, I had to tell myself not to cry - although physically I was still feeling good for the most part. I got past the infamous 17 mile wall okay, and even bypassed said wall with no problem. At 18, the thoughts of wanting to cry crept up again, but I was able to push them back down somehow.

The next 5 miles are kind of a blur. This is probably a good thing, as acquiring PTSD isn't something that I really wanted to get while running this race. I do recall though having to back down the intervals to 4/2, and at some pointing having to cut back even less to running one song (I ALWAYS run with an ipod) and walking one song.

At mile 23, I lost it. Physically I was in a lot of pain, and mentally I was shot. I can't recall the exact moment it started, but for about a quarter of a mile or so after that mile I cried. I also looked down at my feet and noticed the left side of my left shoe had been saturated with blood. This had happened before, so I wasn't too concerned. Plus, ironically, this was one of the few parts of my foot (feet) that weren't in excrutiating pain, so I put it out of my mind.

After the tears dried up the last 5k was simply a whirlwind of emotion. There was no way I was quitting a marathon with only 3 miles to go. Could I finish in the 6 hours alloted to finish? Would I still get a medal if I didn't? How much more time do I have? If I walk at this pace for the last three miles, would that cut it? Why it is that walking is just as painful as running? I walked more than ran, and when I did run it was for a minute or two at the most.

At one point I passed a "ONE MILE TO GO" sign and looked at my watch to see that I had 20 minutes to reach the finish line in under the 6 hour mark. I used to do quite a bit of training on my treadmill, so I know what a 17 mile pace (a 3.5 level) feels like. I tried to make sure that at the very minimum I walked at that same pace, but didn't want to take any chances and somehow during the last mile I was able to run more than I had the 3 or 4 miles prior.

Rounding a corner just before the 26 mile marker there is a large hill. I had heard of this hill in the past, and at this point I believe I had 10 minutes or so to finish. .2 miles in 10 minutes? Gravy. I power-walked the hill because there was no way I could run up it, and at the crest near the top where you make your final turn and can actually SEE the FINISH LINE, I started to run again. From that point on, I ran through the finish line and got an official time of 5:55:04. I DID IT!

It wasn't long before I started crying again. Yes, I was in a pretty good amount of pain - probably a 6 or 7 on a scale to 10 - but mostly I was completely overwhelmed and overcome with the emotion of having had just completed a 26.2 mile race. No, I hadn't trained much for it. And yes, a lot of people gave me flack and questioned if and why I would want to do this to myself. But in the end, every pain, tear, drop of sweat, moment of anguish, grimace, and ache was totally worth it.

So... I sit here now, approximately 31 hours after crossing the finish line, and there are very few parts of my body which I can say are not sore. There are body parts that are sore that I didn't even know I HAD! Yet, the question that I have had asked of me - and that which I have asked myself - is will I ever do it again? Well... knowing that my less-than-stellar time had more to do with my lack of training rather than my abilities, I know that I can do better. So, being the overachiever that I am, I would say that, yes, I probably will do it again. And although I don't have any children of my own, I liken the pain that I am experiencing right now, and the thought of doing this again, to childbirth. I've heard it been said that by the time you're pregnant with your second (or third), that you have forgotten all about the pain of your first and that it is all worth it regardless of the physical stress. I would have to say that at this point, I'm not looking to birth another marathon - but I'm not quite ready to get my tubes tied either.

Chicago Marathon

Well, it's 3 days until the Chicago Marathon, which will hopefully be my first FULL marathon - if I can complete it. From previous posts, you can already see that I have trained very little for this event and, quite honestly, haven't ran a lick since the USAF Half Marathon nearly 3 weeks ago.

Here are a couple of things that I feel will keep me going.

1: I am a DETERMINED person. My very first half-marathon, I hurt my foot somehow around mile 7 and, in terrible pain and with tears streaming down my face, I managed to finish the last 6.1 miles. This is not the story of someone who easily gives up.

2: I have a positive mindset. My third half-marathon took place during my second year of graduate school. With a full time job, internship, a house and dog to maintain, and a full case load at school, there was little time left over to train for a 13.1 miler. However, this did not stop me and I succeeded in completing the run with absolutely no prior training that season at all.

3: I have a "plan." Since adopting the run/walk method (6 minute run, one minute walk), I have completed two half marathons and had a course PR and overall PR on each race. I feel better throughout and after the run, and get less fatigued with this method. I also think more about the minutes I have left to run rather than the miles, so taking these "baby steps/goals" seems much more feasible than thinking "26 miles." I CAN DO THIS!

4: I've already told so many people that I'm running this marathon so if I don't complete it, I will look like a total wienie.

5: If for some reason I absolutely, positively, cannot go on and I end up a DNF, then THAT is the worst case scenario. I did not finish. I'm not gonna die, humanity will not end, the wolves won't come out and eat me - I just don't finish! But hey, at least I had the courage to start.

USAF Half-Marathon

It's been one week since my triathlon, and yesterday I completed my eighth half-marathon in Dayton, Oh. The weather was a bit hot, and by the fourth mile I had shed my shirt and was running in only a sports bra, which only barely helped the conditions. I brought along four Gu's which I downed every half-hour or so - by the third and fourth ones I was nearly ready to vomit, but knew that I had to do whatever it took to finish the race.

You see, I signed up for the Chicago Marathon in February 2009. That gave me 9 months to prepare - both physically and mentally - for the race which was to be my first ever full length marathon. Sure, I had run 6 half-marathons by that point, one of which was completed with no training whatsoever. So I thought that with the minimal amount of training possible (have I ever mentioned that while I LOVE participating in these endurance sporting events, I really despise the training portion), I would be able to pull off the full marathon - piece of cake. Well, needless to say, that fantasy came to a halt during the USAF Half-Marathon when, by mile three, I had already decided that if I had to run 23.2 more miles I would surely die.

I thought that what I lacked in physical preparedness, I would and could make up for with my mental state. I figured with some positive self-talk and a cool and catchy mantra I could make it. And well, if I didn't think that I could make it by mile three, then by mile twelve when that last 1.1 dragged on I knew it wasn't going to happen. By that point, if someone had come up to me and said, "congratulations, now do what you just did one more time" then we would have had a homocidal runner on our hands.

So, I finished this half-marathon with a personal best of 2:27:07, and decided that during the next three weeks while waiting for the Chicago trip, I would just focus on being supportive to my boyfriend who will be running his 13th full marathon that weekend. Besides, I'm a bonafide "triathlete" now - and cannot be bothered with the task of merely RUNNING anymore. Anything not involving a swim and a bike, count me out. :)

Day 48 - TRIATHLON!!

Ahhh. All the hard work has paid off and the day of the triathlon has finally come - and gone.

Had to get up early and get to the tri site by 6:45 a.m. We went inside the Oldham Co. Community Center to get our packets, timing chips, get marked and mentally prepare for the day. Set up our gear in the transition area, and had lots of time to stand around and watch all the other atheletes prepare as well. Our start times weren't until 8:30 a.m. so we watched the first of the triathletes take off in the pool. Surprisingly, it didn't look as if they were swimming very fast, but as I was told in my earlier swim lessons, form will get you further faster - plus, this isn't exactly the Olympics!

Shane (the boyfriend) showed up and I bribed him to take plenty of pictures. Pretty soon we were lining up and before I knew it I was standing at the end of the pool with my tri suit on, swim cap in place, and goggles around my neck. Hopped in the pool, which was only slightly frigid, and simultaneously kicked off the wall and hit the timer on my stopwatch. I was off!

Now, since in every one of my practice rounds of this 400m swim I could never get the full length without doing a little backstroke every now and then, imagine my surprise when I made the entire swim doing freestyle with a minimal amount of breaststroke. It felt great, and at no time did I feel winded or too tired to make it. Twelve minutes after my first stroke, I was pulling myself up out of the pool.

Surprisingly, I ran pretty adamantly to T1 to dry off my feet, lace up my shoes, put on my helmet and sunglasses, and I was off again. Transitioning from swimming to the bike was fairly easy, but the big burden was yet to come. This was an extremely hilly course throughout with an eight mile out-and-back which lent very little breaks. It seems that every time I got down one hill or around a corner, another hill was staring me right in the face. I didn't think to check the stopwatch when getting on the bike, but according to the computer on my handlebars I completed the miles in 40 minutes. I probably could've saved a mere 10 seconds or so if I hadn't missed the turn to the finish line and been forced to do a quick turnaround - but overall it was a good ride. Even if my glutes and hamstrings were barking afterwards.

On to T2 and all I had to do was slip off my helmet, don my hat, and take in a quick Gu and some water. My watch told me that I crossed the start line for the run at 52:23. Now, they had told me that this was a cross country run and, knowing only that meant that we would be running on a grassy trail, I didn't anticipate the uneven ground and - oh jeez - are those MORE hills? Through the grass, over a stream, onto some gravel, and back through the hills to the finish line I go. At mile one (of the 1.86 total mile run) I was a little disturbed to see that it had apparently taken me sixteen minutes to run that distance. This only made me pick it up a bit during the last leg, and I cross the finish line in an unofficial 1:15. Yeah me!

Felt great afterwards, and a nice big brunch at Cracker Barrell just topped it off! A few things I will have to remember for next time around: Invest in the cycling shoes and clips. My tennis shoes got wet in transition and my feet kept slipping off the pedals. Consider a silicone swim cap which will actually keep my hair DRY - not just out of my face. And definitely bring a change of clothes for afterwards. Although the tri suit serves it's purpose for the race, a wet, constricting one-piece isn't ideal for standing around and celebrating.

Until next time...

Day 45

Well - did a trial run of the triathlon tonight and I feel very confident that Saturday is going to be so much fun and totally do-able.

Started off with the 400 meter swim which was somewhat exhausting. Quickly got out of the pool to transition and get on the bike as fast as we could, and did a full 8 mile bike ride which is what the tri is. Transitioned from there again to the run, which felt REALLY weird for the first mile or so - almost like lead and I'm sure we looked totally funny running. Did a 1.8 mile run which is just under what the actual tri run will be - all of this in around 1:10. I'm feeling great!

Thought it was going to be at least an hour and a half, but apparently not. Still, with 199 other people participating, things may get a little hairy in the water and also on the bike ride, so it may hamper our time. Also, wore the trisuit for the first time to get a feel for what the actual tri will feel like. Fits good, feels good, and can't forsee any problems with it. Woo Hoo!!! Now time to relax and take a breather for the next two days until GAME TIME!!!!

Day 44

Went on a 16 mile bike ride yesterday, after a one week haitus from all types of exercise - unfortunately by choice since I just didn't have the motivation to do much of anything for the past 8 days. Felt pretty good, did a lot of hills, and felt pretty worn out by the end of the day.

The pool opened back up today, and my tri-partner and I are going to do a practice run tomorrow with all three events. Not sure how far we'll go, but am certain that I'll do atleast the 400m swim if not more since it's been about 3 weeks since I last swam. Going to do everything with my trisuit on to get a good feel for it and get used to biking all wet - should be nice and comfortable.

Yawnnnn. Tired now, gonna hit the hay and prepare for tomorrow - and Saturday! Just 4 more days now!

Day 41

Computer got a virus and haven't been able to post anything for the past week - not that there has been much to post. Went for a 3.5 mile run last Monday and the shins felt great. Since then, haven't done jack-smack. Supposed to get up this morning for a 10 mile run, but slept horribly so that didn't happen. On-call for work all weekend (36 hours straight) which tends to put a huge damper on things. Looking forward to Labor Day, finally getting a break, and doing either a bike or run.

Got some information in the mail about the triathlon - just one week away!! So excited. Went out and got some new running shorts, a few biking jersey's, sunglasses and a swim cap. So ready for this!