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. 
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.
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.
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.
