The Chicago Marathon

Date: October 11, 2015

Location: Chicago, IL 

This is it, I am about to run in one of the Majors. One of the six largest and most famous marathons in the world. I’m standing in the starting corral, jiggling my legs partly to keep warm and partly to calm the butterflies flailing around in my stomach. Looking around, I see hundreds of faces showing the same emotions I’m feeling. Resolve, anxiety, excitement, and a little bit of dread. Because when you’re about to run 26.2 miles as fast as you possibly can, you know you’re in for a long, painful, glorious morning. How can something be both painful and glorious, you ask? Well, let me tell you.

Chicago has become almost a second home to me since I moved to Indiana. Or, rather the place I go when I need an escape from Indiana. I was ecstatic when I found out I got into this marathon because I’d been looking forward to running it for years. Unfortunately, Jin wasn’t so lucky in the lottery drawing, BUT that meant that I would have my #1 fan there cheering me on! And that meant that for the first time ever, SIGNS WITH MY NAME ON THEM!! Every runner’s dream.

Jin and I arrived in Chicago on Saturday and met up with my friend Si and her  fiancé Nathan at the expo. Si would be running too and we were both geeking out. As self-proclaimed obsessed running nerds, we were super excited to be running this race alongside so many elites. (And by "alongside" I mean far, far behind). After spending too much money at the huge expo, it was time for a pasta dinner, then bed. But I slept horribly. I mean, one of the worst nights of sleep I’ve ever gotten. We were staying at my friend Nicole’s place and there were 6 of us there, but only two of us running. So the non-runners, understandably, were out much later than the runners. Every time someone came home, I would jolt awake, heart pounding, and it would take at least half an hour for me to fall back asleep again. Apparently I was more nervous about what awaited me in the morning than I’d thought. In total I got about 3 hours of very broken sleep.

I woke up at 4am feeling groggy and nauseous. Si and I silently went about our race morning routine. It was early and cold, and I wanted nothing more than to get back under the warm, safe covers. But then I would remind myself, this isn’t just any old marathon, this is Chicago. 

But the morning only got worse when our Uber driver got pulled over for speeding in a construction zone. I was freaking out about getting into my corral in time because I’d heard so many horror stories about it from reading other blogs. So we got out and walked the rest of the way to Grant Park. I was right to worry. It took me nearly half an hour just to get into the starting area. There were so many people! Once in, I hurried across the park to drop off my checked back, then hustled back to the corral, and prayed the porta-potty line wasn’t too long. I made it in my corral with only minutes to spare.

Standing in the corral for those few minutes was like a calm between storms. I’d been so stressed and rushed all morning I hadn’t really had a chance to ponder what I was about to do. I closed my eyes. This is it. Time passed in slow motion, sounds were muted. I tuned everything out and got in my zone. And then… we were off.

As I crossed the starting line, all the stress of the past few hours melted away. In the very first mile, we ran through a long tunnel and everyone cheered and hollered. The echoes engulfed me and I was filled with both excitement and calm; a mix of emotions that can only be achieved when running. I was expecting this to be a great race for me because my training had gone superbly. I didn’t set any particular time goals, so my one and only goal was to PR, but I fully expected that it would be a big PR. I decided to start with the 3:50 pace group which would be running 8:45 min/mile – the pace I’d kept for most of my long training runs.  So if I was able to stick with them, I was looking at a ten minute PR. I wasn’t sure if I could actually hit that, but I figured there was no harm in trying.

Mile 2 was the most memorable mile for me. We crossed over a bridge and found ourselves running straight into the heart of the towering buildings. I pulled out my GoPro just in time to capture this moment. Once downtown, I knew that Jin and Nate would be somewhere in the crowds soon, so I constantly scanned the faces lining the course for them. Finally, there they were! My heart leapt, I was overjoyed to see Jin (and the signs!) and to hear them cheering for me.

The next few miles were a blur. We headed north for a long time. To me, the course map looks like an electric guitar, and so here I was heading up the guitar’s neck out of the busy downtown area. But the crowds were still fantastic the whole way up. I was so busy watching them go by, seeing all the silly signs and listening to them cheer… I practically forgot I was running. The volunteers were amazing too, never failing to offer words of encouragement along with each water cup. The scenery changed around mile 5 when we ran by the zoo – it was green everywhere, but the cheering crowds were just as thick.

Before I knew it, six miles had already come and gone. I passed over the 10K timing mats, and imagined my friends and family across the country getting an update. I was still keeping a steady 8:45 pace and feeling good. There was one small problem though, which I knew would turn into a big problem later. Blisters. I’d struggled with them on every long run ever since I got my new shoes. Nothing I did could stop them. They would still form under Band-Aids or athletic tape, or even special blister pads. And I’m talking HUGE ASS blood blisters. (Sorry if this is grossing you out). If I was already feeling them now, I cringed at the thought of how bad they’d be after 20 more miles.

Mile 7 was on Inner Lake Shore Dr, and for the first time I got a glimpse of the water with Belmont Harbor to the right. After that, we turned around to head south again, down the neck of the guitar. Immediately the scenery shifted. We were running on Broadway near Wrigleyville and the street was lined with shops, bars, and restaurants. The crowds were amazing here. Once again, I got so distracted watching all the people I forgot I was running. There were drag queens and cheerleaders giving us mini performances as we ran by. I couldn’t help smiling, I was so happy to be running these streets and to be a part of this huge event.

Sometime during mile 8, I saw a large gathering of people just off the course. They were taking pictures and celebrating and I vaguely registered a wooden archway with an unmistakable collection of running medals hanging from it. At the time, I had no idea what was going on, but later I found out from a news article that I’d just witnessed a wedding! Two of the runners in the corral before me had stopped for a few minutes to get married! Then jumped back on the course to run 18 more miles together as newlyweds. (Possible future life goal?)

I was still with the 3:50 pace group when I crossed the 15K timing mats. The next few miles continued through some residential areas. When I realized I’d been running for about an hour and a half, I forced myself to eat something. I’m never very hungry when I run so I literally have to force myself. After a while the high-rises of downtown came back into view and I knew the halfway point was coming up. Once back in the heart of downtown I started scanning the crowds again for Jin and Nathan. I saw them with signs held high, and I waved frantically at them as I turned right onto Adam’s street to start the trek around the body of the guitar. Soon after, I crossed the 13.1 mile marker. Halfway there!

The joy I felt from seeing my friends carried me through the next few miles, which is good because I was starting to slow down. My pace was now between 8:50 and 9 minute miles. Surprisingly, I didn’t panic. Since I didn’t have a specific time goal, it took a lot of pressure off. I told myself, just run how you feel. I hoped that this was just a rough patch, and my pace would pick up again. But the pain of my blisters was getting unbearable, and so was the heat from the unrelenting sun. The mileage on my Garmin was getting significantly off from the course markers because the streets were so wide and I wasn’t running the tangents. This meant I’d pass a mile marker nearly a half-mile after my watch said I’d passed it. This was definitely not helping my pace.

Mile 16 was my slowest mile yet when my pace dipped to slower than 9 min/mile. I told myself it would be my slowest mile. Period. I knew I couldn’t slow down much more if I had any hope of getting that big PR. Why wasn’t I feeling as good as I’d felt during my 20-miler? I was only 16 miles in and already running slower than that training run. The answer had to be the heat. The morning started out at a perfect 50 degrees, but the temperature kept creeping steadily higher to 70. And the sun was in full force. I’d discovered just how sensitive I was to heat earlier this year and I realized with growing dread that today would be no different. My only hope was to make sure I stayed hydrated. I was taking at least one Gatorade and water cup at every aid station.

When I finished mile 17, I realized I was now in the coveted single digits zone and the end finally felt within reach! This gave me the second wind I was hoping for and my pace picked up quite a bit. But it didn’t last long. In mile 19 I clocked a 9:30 mile. This was not good. At this point I was deep into a runner’s coma, slipping out of space and time. I had no sense of where I was on the course despite having stared at the map so many times prior to the race. At some point I’d passed UIC and Little Italy where I’d had my first deep dish pizza a few years ago, but I hardly noticed. I knew I should eat something but my stomach was so full, sloshing around from all the liquids I was drinking. And all the while, the sun continued to beat down relentlessly.

When I passed the 20-mile marker I did a serious evaluation of my time. My watch said I’d been running for 2 hours and 58 minutes. This meant I was still in good shape for a PR as long as I didn’t slow down much more, but I knew it wouldn’t be the big PR I had expected coming into the race. I tried not to be too disappointed. As I’ve said so many times before, this kind of thing just comes with the territory of running marathons. No matter how well you may have prepared, you just never know what race day will bring or how you’ll feel.

And I was feeling pretty awful. The next few miles passed in a blur. I tried to focus on the crowds and the course, but honestly, compared to the rest of the course, this part was not nearly as exciting. After passing through Chinatown, we were now running parallel to I-90. It was wide open with no hope of shelter from the ruthless sun, and the crowds were sparse here too. Somehow it looked and felt like I was constantly running up a gradual hill. It was brutal, and I wanted nothing more than to be done running.

I allowed myself to walk for longer than necessary at water stations. My blisters were getting unbearable. I was relieved to finally reach the 23-mile marker, but that mile had been my slowest yet at 9:50. I started panicking. After all the hard work I put into training this year, what if I don’t even PR?! I couldn’t let that happen, so I gave myself a much-needed pep talk. All you have left is a 5K, you can endure any pain for just 3 miles. Just keep giving it your all, and don’t forget, no matter what happens, you’re about to finish the Chicago Marathon!!  

It worked – each of the next three miles I got increasingly faster. I turned onto Michigan Ave for the last 2.5 mile stretch that would take us back to Grant Park. The crowds got thick again near the 40K mark and I could finally see the skyscrapers in the distance. Downtown was so close! In my head, a constant battle was occurring. Everything hurts. This is terrible, Why do you keep putting yourself through this again? Then, This is amazing, just look around you! Look at what you’re a part of! The power of the crowds was overwhelming. I had the brief, slightly deranged thought that we, the runners were like blood, coursing through the veins of Chicago, and the crowds and volunteers were the heartbeat, keeping us moving.

At long last, I had only 1 mile to go, and my confidence grew because I knew for certain now that I would get a PR. Tears started welling in my eyes and I scanned the swarms of people lining the course for Jin who I knew would be waiting for me just before the 26 mile marker. I turned right on Roosevelt, and there he was! Sign held high and beaming as he cheered for me. There were a TON of people here, so clearly he’d had to fight his way to the front so that I’d be able to see him. I got overwhelmed with emotion at the thought of that and burst up the last little hill that would take me to the entrance of Grant Park.

Once I turned left into the park, there it was!! The finish line!! It was so close, I gathered every bit of remaining strength to sprint down the stretch to the finish. I couldn’t believe it, I was about to finish my eighth marathon. THE CHICAGO MARATHON. And I was about to do it in my fastest ever time. I ran under the finishing arch and a mix of relief and elation washed over me. I raised my arms in victory, but my face says it all in this finishing photo. Thank god I can stop running now.

My Garmin told me that I’d PR’d by 2 minutes! 3:57:42. And since I’d actually run closer to 27 miles with all the wide turns, I considered this a win. I’d come to Chicago with the goal of running my fastest ever marathon, and after battling heat, sun, sleep depravity, blisters, and that ever-present voice tempting me to slow down, I’d done it!! Goal accomplished.

My happiness couldn’t even be hampered by the fact that walking the mile from the finish line to the finishers’ area was almost more brutal than the race. My hamstrings completely seized up and were totally useless. I had to walk with straight stilt legs, and on top of that was the fact that I could barely put weight on my right foot due to excruciating blister pain. I wanted to sit down in the shade along the edge of the path and stretch badly, but if you so much as made a move to sit down, a race volunteer would be on you in a heartbeat asking if you needed medical attention, and if not, you were forced to keep moving.

Once I finally got my chance to stretch, drink some chocolate milk, take off my shoes, and meet up with Jin, Si, and Nathan in the post-race party area, I felt much better. It turned out that Si PR’d too, and finally reached her goal of a sub-4:00 marathon!! We celebrated with post-race massages and 312 beer.

Relaxing on the lawn in the park, I looked up at the skyline that I’ve come to know and love over the past four years. Although I’ll be moving to the east coast in a few short months, Chicago will always hold a special place in my heart. Music festivals, holiday shenanigans, countless brunches and cocktails… now I can add running 26.2 miles to my list of Windy City adventures. In a way, it was the perfect way to say goodbye. The sheer energy of the city and its people helped carry me through in my worst moments, and celebrated with me when I felt my best. I couldn’t have asked for more.

Half Crazy - Training for Speed in 2015

This year, I took a whole new approach to training. I decided to only run one marathon later in the year (THE CHICAGO MARATHON!!!), and spend the rest of the year focusing on two main things: Becoming a more resilient runner, and running a faster half marathon. I hoped that the combination of these two things would ultimately result in a faster marathon.

Building Resilience

            It’s no secret that I’ve struggled with running injuries since I started running. And I have always felt that it’s holding me back from reaching my potential. But I've never given in to the idea that I would be plagued with injury for the rest of my running days. Sure, I’m not anatomically, or biomechanically gifted enough so that I can be one of those people who just goes out and runs every day with no issues. My kneecaps are tilted too much, my hamstrings are too short, my left foot over pronates. All adding up to misalignments and imbalances that result in injury from the repetitive motion of running. But I knew that there were things I could do to counteract them. So I started 2015 off with a training plan to do just that. I’m not going to lie, it took dedication and a lot of time. But I knew that if I focused on it over the winter, I would finally become a resilient runner, and maybe finally see where my potential lies.

Here’s what a typical week early in the year looked like (logged in my awesome training journal from my running-partner-in-crime, Si):

So it came down to this:

Two days a week

• Lower body strength training including traditional heavy lifts like squats and lunges to build strength, and a lot of stability exercises to build up my stabilizing muscles. This included many single-leg exercises to make sure that both sides are equally strong and balanced.
• Plyometrics to build up connective tissue strength
• Physical therapy exercises (prescribed last year to prevent runner’s knee)

Every day

• Hamstring and calf stretches to improve mobility
• Core workout (2 sets of 3 exercises, each targeting a different core muscle group)
• Lower leg foam rolling/deep tissue massage (with roller stick or lacrosse ball) to prevent shin splints.

It sounds kind of insane as I’m typing it out, especially because I was also running/biking/swimming and upper body strength training on top of all that every week. But you can accomplish anything if you make it a priority.

In the spring, I put it all to the test when I kicked off the training season with a couple of 5Ks. Surprisingly, I PR’d in the first race (by 2 seconds)! And placed 3^rd in my age group. Apparently I was doing something right with my strength training. The second 5K, I ran with my little sister, Emily in Nashville. It was her first ever road race! I loved that I got to share that experience with her. And it was a total coincidence that we matched that day :) 

Training – The Struggle Stage

In April I started my half marathon training plan, I once again followed the FIRST training plan, which you can tailor to your goal time (see this post for more info on the FIRST plan). I set the goal of running a 1:45 half marathon (i.e. to finish under 1:46) because the paces of the training runs would really be pushing my limits. Here’s an example week from my training journal:

At first, I really struggled to hit the goal paces. Running 5 miles at a 7:50 pace?! I’d only ever run that fast at my peak fitness during a 10K. The long runs in particular were the most difficult for me; I was pretty far off from the goal paces. But the struggle stage of my training definitely helped build my mental resilience. Feeling wiped out only a few miles in and still being able to push through the rest of the workout is invaluable mental training that I knew would help on race day. It was toward the end of this training stage that I ran half marathon #1 of the year.

The Madison Half Marathon – May 24, 2015

            A group of us were running this race as part of my friend Nicole’s wedding celebrations, and it was her fiancé’s first ever half marathon! I knew that my time would be nowhere near my goal, or even my PR because it was still so early in the training cycle, but I wanted to have fun and challenge myself, especially because it was on a SUPER hilly course.

            Part of the reason why I love racing is because I get to experience so many new places. Madison is an awesome city, with a great biking and running culture. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it’s surrounded by beautiful lakes. Jin and I made sure to bring our bikes so we could experience that culture first-hand!

The race on Sunday started off in the center of Madison by the capitol building, then headed west to run around the University of Wisconsin. Next we ran through some wooded areas that engulfed us in beautiful green colors, and then around one of the nearby lakes. Then it was back downtown to the finish! It sounds quick when I recap it like that, but let me tell you, this was the hardest half marathon course I’ve ever run and the final miles felt impossibly long.

As predicted, I didn’t PR, but I think it was definitely a PR for effort. I’d never felt so wiped out after 13.1 miles. Every time I saw a hill, I told myself not to slow down. At mile 11 there was one REALLY steep one (thanks guys for putting that there at mile 11). Looking up at the practically 90 degree vertical hill, a bunch of people around me said “screw this!” and walked up it, but I forced my legs to keep running. A spectator helped me by running backwards next to me cheering me on the whole way up!

By the time I was in the final mile, I had practically nothing left. Running back into the heart of downtown toward the finish line, I even started feeling a little woozy, which had never happened to me before. But every run where I push myself to the limit is a run that will ultimately make me faster, and I treated this race no differently. I ended up finishing in 1:53 – a time that two years ago was my PR. It’s pretty cool to think that now I can hit that time at the beginning of my training cycle AND with all those hills! It was a confidence boost for sure. And here’s my favorite picture of the happy couple crossing the finish line!

Training – The Progress Stage

After the Madison Half, I felt ready to kick my training into high gear and do whatever it took to nail the training paces. Slowly, but surely over the next few months, I felt myself improving. There were days where I was amazed at what I was capable of. My earliest successes were in the speed workouts, which I ran at a local track. The shorter, speedier distances have always seemed to be my strong suit. My 5K times predict marathon times that are much faster than I can actually hit, meaning my body is built more for speed than endurance. So I was determined to improve my endurance. My middle distance tempo runs were the next to improve. These are run at threshold pace so they are 5 or 6 miles of intense effort. I remember the first day that I finally felt strong during one of these runs; crushing those 5 miles at 7:50 pace that I had trouble with before. I felt like I could take on the world!

I continued to get faster over the next few months. But as you may know from my previous post… my first attempt at a 1:45 half went horribly. I ended up only running a 10K due to dehydration. I was heartbroken. But I knew that my failure was due to circumstance, not because of my fitness. I threw myself back into my training with renewed determination.

For the most part, my injury-proofing/resilience-building plan was working. I had no knee, foot, or joint issues whatsoever! Not even a twinge. But sadly, my war on injury wasn’t won yet. I spent most of the summer battling shin splints on and off. I tried everything… massages, stretches, kinesio tape, constant icing, and new shoes with more shock absorption (hello Hokas!). And while these things did help, they weren’t fixing the root of the problem so the pain always came back. It was unbelievably frustrating. But as I said before, I refused to believe there was nothing I could do about it. So finally, I went to a local running form clinic and learned that I needed to increase my cadence and to land farther back on my foot. On all of the following runs, I made the effort to focus on these form corrections, and it was like magic! I could finally say good-bye to something that I’d struggled with since high school!

Training – The On-fire Stage

Once my shin splints were gone, the last piece of the puzzle finally fell into place: The long runs. I found myself running 14, 16, and then 17 miles faster than I ever had before. And not only that, I felt a huge shift in the way that I felt at the end of my long runs. In the past I’d be able to hold a pretty steady pace for most of the run, but I’d always die in the last few miles. Now, I was able to hold the pace all the way until the last mile, and even add a little kick at the end! I call this the on-fire stage of my training, and it was the perfect time for half marathon #2, and my final attempt at a 1:45 half.

The City of Lakes Half Marathon – September 13, 2015

            This race in Minneapolis has a relatively small field, but it’s one of the most popular among the local running community. My friend Si is one of those locals now, so we wanted to run this race in preparation for Chicago. I have to agree that the course is pretty amazing – it makes a figure 8 around two lakes twice so you constantly have a view of the shimmering blue water to your left. There were some rolling hills, but it was nothing compared to Madison.

I have to admit, I was pretty nervous. This was my last chance to reach my goal for the year. Running a 1:45 half just meant that I needed to finish under 1:46. That’s 3 ½ minutes faster than my previous PR! It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s actually a pretty significant difference in min/mile pace. Standing at the starting line knowing that I had to run under an 8:05 pace for 13.1 miles felt like a tall order. 

The first half of the race went by quickly. I was running exactly on pace and enjoying the beautiful scenery. There was an older man running practically perfect 8 min/mile splits in front of me so I decided he would be my pacer and I’d just follow him. It felt nice to not have to worry about my pacing. As soon as I started the second time around the course though, things got rough. It became a struggle to keep up with my pacer. Even though I’d just run the route, the second time through, it seemed like every stretch was 5 times longer and every hill was 5 times steeper. My pace fell to about 8:10. I could still see my pacer up ahead and I willed myself to close the gap between us, but it was agony.

By mile 11, I’d reached my low. I felt like I’d given the race everything that I had already, but I still had to run 2 more miles! And I couldn’t slow down because my goal was still within reach. I thought back to all the hard runs I’d been doing in my training. Remember how awful those felt? If you could push through those, you can push through this. This is where it really counts! I started repeating my new mantra: “The faster you run, the faster you’re done.” I wanted more than anything for the pain to be over. I knew from the first time through that right at the end there would be a big hill, then a nice long downhill to the finish. I mentally prepared myself to sprint up that hill as fast as I could, then just sail down to the finish. Looking at my watch, I knew it was going to be close and every second would matter.

I kicked it into high gear and was able to finish mile 13 in under 8 minutes. But my watch was already reading 1:45:something. My heart pounding, I sprinted up that beast of a hill and kept sprinting until I heard the emcee call out my name that I’d finished. Gasping for air, I looked at my watch, which read 1:46:20. TWENTY SECONDS!! I’d missed it by twenty seconds. And then I realized, I JUST GOT A HUGE PR!!! Who cares if I was 20 seconds off, I’d just run 13.1 miles way faster than I ever had before. And that was the whole point of setting that goal in the first place.

Getting Pumped for Chicago

            After that huge PR in Minneapolis, I started thinking one thing: Bring it on, Chicago. Not only was that race validation that all the time and hard work I’d put into training and injury-proofing this year had been worth it, but it made me believe that I have a really good chance of getting a PR in Chicago! That was validated further by my 20-miler that I ran the following weekend.

I ran it an entire 10 minutes faster than I’d ever run 20 miles before! I was hoping to hold an 8:45 pace for the whole run, and I CRUSHED it. Running half of them – including the last few miles – faster than 8:45. I just kept waiting for it to get hard, but it never really did! I realized, that’s how a long run is supposed to feel. It looks like in my effort to get faster, I’ve finally made myself into a true endurance runner.

Bring it on, Chicago.