So You Want to Run a Marathon

Four days after completing the Chicago marathon, I say, "Go for it!" We had a wonderful time before the race exploring Chicago and feeling the energy of the city. The awesome thing about this race is that approximately 45,000 people run it every year. This makes for quite a crowd when you start running, but also ensures that you are never on long stretches of road by yourself. Additionally, all the people running have people cheering for them. There were TONS of people on the road wherever we went, which really helped to motivate me and keep me going. (I will tell you that the people that thought cow bells would be helpful in my racing were wrong.)

We left for Chicago Friday night and I watched the outside temperature drop as we drove further and further north. A cold front had already come through St. Louis, but not once had I whipped out gloves or a hat to run this year. When we checked in, it was 35 degrees. The next day I bought a new pink cap and some super professional running gloves. (One of those is laying on the street somewhere along the 26.2 miles I crossed.)

We got up Sunday morning for the race, which began at 7:30. By then my nerves had calmed, as I thought I was going to throw up the entire weekend. I kept wondering what in the world had motivated me to be standing in the middle of a freezing cold town, about to run the distance between two small cities. I decided the day before that I was going to run with a pace group. This is when you choose a time that you want to finish in and then stick with the group who will keep you on pace for the race. Let me tell you, if this is your first race, screw the pace group. I signed up for the 4 hour 30 minute, planning to beat Oprah's time of 4 hours and 28 minutes by speeding up at the end. Looking back, the words, "Speeding up at the end" are laughable. I suggest you simply run to finish. About halfway through the race, I ripped the 4:30 sign off my back because I was annoyed that I had drifted two pace groups behind.

One thing people told me was not to start out to quickly. Well, even if I wanted to, this is impossible. Imagine a line with 45,000 people in it beginning to move. We were in the middle so even as the gun went off, we were not moving. They give you these handy little chips to tie to your shoe to track your actual time, rather than the Nigerian at the front of the line.

Some things people forgot to tell me: You are going to have to go to the bathroom if you are running for almost 5 hours and drinking water/Gatorade at every stop. I am not going to go into detail about this, but I was annoyed because as I waited in line, the time ticked on. I kept track of how long I was actually running with my own watch.

Second, you may have heard me talk about chaffing. I thought I would be fine because I wore leggings, and my muscular thighs would not be able to run together. No. Somehow after that long, your body will find ways to tell you what you are doing is ridiculous. I have the imprint of my sports bra rubbed across my torso.

Thirdly, not one training program suggests that you run the entire 26.2 miles before the race. The max that I have seen suggested is 22 miles. My max was 19. Regardless, you are warned that you may hit the dreaded "Wall." This is when your body essentially stops working with you because it is so annoyed by what you are doing to it. I would say that 20 miles was right about when that hit me. Suddenly my legs felt like lead and the thought of continuing on for at least another hour was miserable. It all becomes a mental game at that point. So, I continued to get my Gatorade, but found that when I walked through the station, starting back up was like trying to lift up a car. I stopped walking through and just threw liquids towards my face after that.

Then there are people on the sidelines yelling, "Don't stop now! You are almost there!" I appreciated the support, but I wanted to yell back that 5 miles was not "almost there" in my book. Seeing the finish line would be "almost there." When I got to mile 25 I saw Mike. I was so relieved and happy that I started crying, but I couldn't stop because I knew I wouldn't be able to start again. When you see the sign for 26 miles it is such a relief, yet such a tease because you still have that .2 to go. Luckily for us, the designers of the race made our .2 miles straight uphill. How sadistic is that? But I made it. I may not have beaten Oprah, but I ran the whole way and now have a time that I want to beat on my own.

So, I will give myself some time, and hopefully start training for another one at some point. It is addictive, and I think everyone should do it!