Remember that time I ran a marathon?
I did it. It happened. I ran a marathon. Twenty Six Point Two miles.
Somehow I deleted my 20miler post so I'll revisit that another day. I still have my runners high from Sunday so I'm just going to give a race re-cap.
I was scheduled to meet everyone from my CARA group at the Hilton on Michigan Ave where we had a private gear check. I got there pretty early just because I was nervous. I had found a few people and I was sitting on the floor digging through my bag trying to figure out what I was brining with me. All of a sudden someone placed a silver token in the palm of my hand. I looked up and it was Janet, my group leader from the past 18 weeks. I stood up and gave her a hug. The little silver token said "If not now, when?" on one side and the other side was a simple question mark. She said to me "You got this." I put the token in my pocket and planned to have it with me for the race. Shortly after that my running buddy Amy arrived and we chatted and got ready for the race. We took a group photo, and Amy and I went to the bathroom one last time before walking over to Grant Park for the start. The whole time we were excited and giddy and nervous. Once we arrived, I had to pee, again! She agreed to stand in line with me, and the corals closed. Everyone is assigned a letter as to where you are supposed to stand in line. If you don't get to your spot in time, you are forced to start all the way in the back. No biggie, we'd still get to race. The only downfall is that we would have to pass a lot of people in the beginning.
Finally at 8:00 our wave was starting (the elite wave started at 7:30). One by one the corals were sent through and around 8:25 we were crossing the start line! I started my Garmin and my GymBoss and we were off!
First mile went by super fast, then before I knew it I saw my cheer crew! My Mom Peggy, my brother Mike, boyfriend Martin, friend Gretchen and my mom's friends Gail and Kathleen (I've known them my whole life!). They were all on the State Street bridge and I was so excited to see them!
Shortly after Amy saw her coworkers outside of the Gap where she works. Before we knew it we were headed up north. Gretchen and Martin split off from the rest of the crew and I knew I'd see them around Addison. Turning onto Addison from Lakeshore was exciting, the energy was starting to pick up as we were approaching Wrigleyville/Boystown. I almost missed Gretchen and Martin and I almost lost Amy in the process. I was excited to see my friend Meg had joined the group as well. Amy found some friends in Boystown as well and it was really fun to see her find familiar faces and take photos.
I was told to put my name on my shirt, and I'm so glad that I did. Spectators everywhere would shot out my name along the course and it was such a boost of positive energy. I would shout out thank you's and wave to the people calling my name. Throughout the race we saw Emily (one of our group leaders) cheering on the sidelines. We also passed Molly, Carolyn, Marissa, Angie and Carlos on the course. Before we knew it we had passed the half way mark. We had just ran half of the marathon and we were keeping on amazing pace. I felt great and I knew I would complete the marathon in my goal time. Then I saw my cheer crew again. This series of photos is my favorite. Amy managed to capture me hugging my mom on the side of the road.
Shortly after that Amy's friend Erin met us on the course and ran with us. She had orange slices (which were amazing!) She kept our spirits up and was shouting out our names as we ran.
Now, there is an unspoken rule when running with a buddy. If at any time one of you wants to slow down or keep going, you just let it happen. After all this is YOUR race. Around mile 17 Amy was walking behind me. I just knew I needed to keep pushing forward. I was still feeling good and I couldn't slow down. I wanted more than anything to stay with her, and it broke my heart to leave. I didn't even get to say good bye or anything. When I was on my walk, I tried to find her behind me and she was just gone. Around mile 20 I was feeling very alone. The spectators had thinned out, I really didn't know where I was in the city at this point. The sun was directly in my face and I was hot, feeling dizzy. I came to a bridge and I walked up the whole bridge. When I reached the top I thought to myself "Ok, you can run downhill and just keep running" I swear like a mirage I saw my family and friends again. I really wasn't expecting them again till Chinatown, and they were just what I needed to see. I briefly stopped had a sip of water and I was off again. I shouted back "Only 6 more miles! I got this!"
The last six miles were tough. I started walking more than I needed to be. But I kept telling myself that I wasn't going to hit "the wall". Mile 22 I passed a water/aid station and there were port-o-potties. I really had to pee, but I really didn't want to stop. Four more miles to go. At mile 23 there was no going on with out taking a bathroom break. I went, and felt much better. Miles 24-25 were super slow, but I knew I was so close so I kept pushing myself. Right before mile 26 I saw my crew again. This time I just smiled big and waved as they cheered me on. Then at mile 26 I saw Janet. She has all access to the race so she was able to run me in. I swear, this was just what I needed. We turned a corner and saw a sign "800 meters to go" then there was that dreaded hill everyone talks about. Why in gods name there is a freaking hill at the end of the marathon is just cruel! I heard my gymboss beep alerting me that it was time for me to walk. Perfect timing with the hill and all, but I just wanted to finish. Then it beeped again after the minute was over telling me to run again. Janet asked me if I wanted to walk and I said "Nope, we just ran through my walk. I'm running to the end." The hill was over, we turned one last corner. "300 meters to finish". Then I saw the finish line. I was there, it was almost over. I slowly started to gain speed. I ran, faster and faster. Behind me Janet cheered "You go girl, pass all those people up! I'll see you at the finish!" And pass people I did, I weaved in and out of the crowd like my life depended on it. Crossing that finish line was one of the proudest moments of my life.
18 weeks of training. Working till midnight on Friday nights just to wake up at 5:30 on Saturday morning to run 10, 13, or 18 miles followed by another late night at work. Skipping late nights of drinking and fun with friends to wake up early and run. Every moment of pain and exhaustion was worth it to cross that finish line proud. I may be slow, but I have just as much as heart and dedication that runners faster than me. My goal was to finish the marathon in under 6 hours. I finished in 05:55:53 and I am damed proud of that. I used to be embarrassed to tell people my times, but I'm not anymore. Running a marathon has been something that I have thought of doing for many years. I used to say that I only ever wanted to run one, just to say that I did it. Now that I've done one, I want to do more.
A quick thanks to everyone in my CARA group. Especially Amy and Janet. Miles 1-17 wouldn't have been as much fun with out Amy and the last point two were that much better with Janet at my side. Thank you to my AMAZING cheer crew!!!!!! Mom, Mike, Martin, Gretchen, Kathleen, Gail and Meg. Thanks to Nicole and Mike (sorry I missed ya on the course!) Thanks to all the amazing volunteers!!!!! We couldn't do it with out them. And thank you to the million spectators cheering us on!
Want to see what took me almost 6 hours in 7 and 1/2 minutes? Watch this
http://youtu.be/p2UhBqtE2r4
