Chicago Marathon - Adam's Excellent Adventure as my spectator

I completed the Chicago Marathon today!

Full race recap to come in a day or two.  I am in full-blown recovery mode right now.  (!!!)

But in the meantime!  Please check out Adam's AWESOME post chronicling his adventures as my Chicago Marathon spectator.

Videos, sights, and sounds from the Expo

At the Chicago Marathon expo, they were playing two incredible videos that I absolutely had to share.

This first video is a compilation of sights, sounds, and soul-burning images from the 2011 Chicago Marathon.  I've watched this video about 5 times and every time I do, it brings tears to my eyes.

This second video goes through the entire Chicago Marathon course in about 7 minutes, listing all of the 29 neighborhoods that you pass through.  It is breathtaking and it makes me very, very proud of the city's beauty and vibrant diversity.  However, for a local city resident who knows the magnitude of the distances between all of these neighborhoods, it's also a little scary.

Here are some other pictures from the Chicago Marathon Expo:

Participants could make a donation and sign a bottle that would contribute to this flag wall.

 

They were handing out these posters.

 

This is where the incredible videos from above were being shown.

The race shirt

Pace bands that they were handing out, which are in the form of a temporary tattoo.  Love it!



They had all 45,000+ of the runners' names printed on one of the expo walls.



A splurge that I made.  This is the front...

... and this is the back.

There was so much energy in the air.  What was also awesome was seeing the diversity of the runners at the expo. I heard at least a half dozen different languages being spoken and I saw people wearing items representing at least another half dozen countries.  Love it.

I'm meeting several other bloggers for a carb-loading lunch today.  More to come!

Twas the night before Chicago Marathon Eve

It's Chicago Marathon Eve Eve!  Translation: it's the night before the night before the Chicago Marathon!  (OK, as I type this it's technically the day before the night before the Chicago Marathon, but you get the idea.)



Not to get ahead of myself, but Marathon Eve Eve is a very festive occasion that should be celebrated!

An enormous THANK YOU to everyone for all of your inspiring, confidence-boosting, encouraging comments, posts, and thoughts.  You are the best!  Unfortunately I've had a crazy busy week at work so I am once again battling to keep up with my life.  But I will catch up with all your blogs and comments very soon!

Also, I wanted to send out a quick thank you to the lovely Irina at Chocolatea Time for nominating me for the Sunshine Award!  I will keep the Sunshine tide flowing after the marathon is over next week.  =)

SOME OTHER UPDATES:

• I am starting to come to the realization that I am a "confidence" runner, meaning that I run better when I feel good. This is probably not all that surprising, given how running is so much about mental strength. This means that I need to look forward to the fun that the Chicago Marathon will bring, instead of worrying about the last 6.2 miles being a death march.  YES!
• I've been stretching like Gumby this whole week.  And much to my relief, my troublesome groin aching has been improving.  It's probably too much to hope for a completely pain-free groin by Sunday, but at least it's headed in the right direction.  YES!

Gumby walking like an Egyptian.

• The forecasts for race-time weather are excellent.  Partly sunny, temps in the 40s.  I truly believe that the perfect marathon-day weather conditions are a payback for the brutal summer we had here in Chicago.  YES!
• The suddenly-cool weather now has me scratching my head on what to wear.  Up until this week I had planned to wear shorts and a short-sleeved shirt.  Now I'm planning to wear a light jacket.  But I am debating what to wear underneath the jacket, if I should wear capris or tights, and even if I should bring a hat and gloves?  YES!
• Per the suggestion of many, I am probably also going to wear a throwaway sweatshirt to the start.  But also per the suggestion of others, I will be careful when I chuck it so as to avoid the Attack of the Killer Throwaway Sweatshirt.  I don't want anyone to trip and fall over it and risk breaking their skull.  YES!  (OK, I'm getting carried away with the whole "YES!" theme so I'll stop now.)

Enjoying the chuckage of sweatshirts.
"Buh-bye!!!"

GREAT ADVICE

During these final days leading up to the marathon, many bloggers have put out some absolutely amazing posts with incredibly good advice for the Chicago Marathon.  Here are just a few of my many favorites:

• Tips for first-timers from Amanda at Too Tall Fritz
• Words of wisdom, particularly on mental approach, from Amy over at Army Amy*
• Course strategy tips from Maggie of Mag Mile Runner
• Spectator tips from Maggie of Mag Mile Runner
• Preparing for the unexpected from Sara at Run Gingerfoxxx, Run!
• What to do you if you hit the wall from Pete at The Lakefront Trail

Also, Erin at Eri-thon shared some fascinating scoop on what goes on behind the scenes for the Chicago Marathon.

I can never get enough advice so please let me know of any other great posts of wisdom out there that I can share!

SPECTATORS TO LOOK FOR

I know that several bloggers will be out on the course cheering!  Here are some of their specific locations:

• Mile 11.5ish aid station - Cary over at My Life's List.  Look for her in an identifying hat or hair thing.
• Mile 17 mile marker - Kelly at Running Kellometers.  Look for her in a yellow FN Run Club shirt that says "Running Kellometers" on the back.  She'll also have lots of emergency runners' items with her if need be (so awesome, thank you!)
• Mile 18 aid station - Erin at Eri-thon.  Look for her in "some kind of ugly vest over the ubiquitous blue volunteer jacket," as well as potentially with a balloon in her ponytail.

Who else will be out there?  Whether you are a blogger or not, let me know where you will be so I can look for you!

AND FINALLY...

I wanted to say one more huge thank you in advance to all spectators and to all the well-wishers, friends, family, and colleagues that have helped keep me going through this journey.  You have no idea how much it means to me and how much you've inspired me.

The most special of thank yous goes out to Adam, who has been so patient with me and who has put forth so much time, effort, and understanding to support me during my many highs and lows.  You are the bestest and I can't say enough about how grateful I am for you.

I am off to the Chicago Marathon expo now to pick up my bib and packet.  Here we go!

Nervous inspirations

During the Chicago Blackhawks 2010 Stanley Cup championship run, there was a big spotlight on my favorite Hawks player, Antti Niemi.

I love his story.  In short, Niemi was a rookie goalie from Finland who wasn't able to secure a spot in the Finnish Elite League.  He drove the Zamboni before and after practice to help make ends meet.  The Blackhawks eventually picked him up as an undrafted free agent.  He had to battle against many, many obstacles to prove himself.  Then, a few months later, he became their starting goaltender and he helped lead the Hawks to their first Stanley Cup in 49 years. 


Antti Niemi lifting the Stanley Cup.

What a difference a year made for Antti Niemi.

At the time, there was ample news commentary on the enormous pressure Niemi was facing as a rookie goaltender going into the Stanley Cup Finals.  Niemi admitted he was very nervous.  And when asked about his plan to combat the nervousness, Niemi joked, "I think I'm going to be able to sleep.  I've got some pills that will help."

I understand.  Antti Niemi and I think exactly the same way.  It's like we are interchangeable people!  Oh wait...


Me in Antti Niemi's body
(at the 2010 Blackhawks Fan Convention)

Another great story from the Hawks championship run was when Duncan Keith got seven (SEVEN) teeth knocked out during a playoff game.  What did he do?  He got some shots to numb his mouth, and then was right back out there on the ice.  Unbelievable.  That is about as tough as it gets.

When I'm out there at, say, mile 22 and feeling like death, I'll try to remind myself that at least I still have all of my teeth.  (I hope.)

"Does anyone know the number to a good dentist?"

I am starting to think about these great and humorous stories as we close in on less than a week before the Chicago Marathon.  I think about the mental toughness of the greatest championship athletes out there so I can try to be inspired when it matters the most.

Put another way, I am really nervous.  Scared.  Petrified.  And I'm trying to prepare myself as best as I can to handle anything that might get thrown at me.

I did my final "long" training run yesterday, an 8-miler.  After taking the entire prior week off of running, I was dismayed to feel groin pain almost at the outset.  However, when I paused at about mile 4.5 to take a GU, I took a minute to stretch - and I noticed that I felt a little better afterwards.  I came home and literally spent the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening stretching.  And it seemed to help.


I spent a good chunk of my Sunday watching TV while holding this pose
(but I faced forward since I don't have a TV on the ceiling).

My PT has been telling me for weeks to stretch, stretch, stretch, stretch, stretch.  And I thought that doing yoga was enough to fit the bill for "lots of stretching."  But I now think that I need to really specifically focus on stretching my problematic groin area as much as possible.  Time is running out for me to test this theory, but I am optimistic that focused and intense stretching will only help.

In the meantime - here are my fears for this Sunday:

1. Getting injured on the course and not being able to finish.
2. Having to deal with excruciating pain which will necessitate the question of whether or not to try to finish.
3. Not being able to finish in the course time limits.
4. Hitting the wall.
5. The unknown.

(There's an overriding theme to these fears, yes?)

I've heard many stories about the last 6.2 miles being a death march.  Many have said it goes beyond anyone's comprehension until you've actually done it.  (Yay!!!)

I've certainly gone through my share of torturous training runs.  So it scares me to think that it could possibly get much worse.  However, I have heard some say that the training runs are even tougher than the actual marathon.  So I am hoping and praying that my experience is more along those lines!

Six days and counting!

Paying homage to g-g-g-groin injuries

Nine days and counting to the Chicago Marathon!

The nerves are really starting to kick in.  I keep thinking that if I were completely healthy, that I know I could knock out the 26.2 miles with no problem.  Almost all of my fears stem from worrying if my injuries will take me down.  (Those fears are closely followed by concern over the 6.5 hour cutoff time, since I'm worried about how much I could potentially slow down as the result of injury.)

However, there's probably a strong argument to be had that very few people cross the starting line of a marathon without some sort of ailment.  If I were a betting woman, I'd estimate that a good 80% of marathoners are running through aches and pains of some kind!  (To any of you who have or will ever run a marathon completely healthy, I ENVY YOU.)

I know I've said a lot (i.e. complained) about my injuries over the past few months, and I'll stop soon, I promise.  For now, though, my biggest concern remains the groin pain I've been experiencing recently.  However, it's not all bad news.  I haven't run at all this past week and am feeling better, thankfully.  And check out this positive spin on groin injuries!

(This might just become my new theme song.)

Happy Friday to all!

PAWS Run For Their Lives 8K Race Recap

It was an absolutely gorgeous morning in Chicago to be running the PAWS Run For Their Lives 8K.

My stubbornly lingering groin pain had persisted this past week.  My biggest fear was that I would sustain an injury just two weeks out from the Chicago Marathon.  Therefore, I went into this race debating whether I would "race" it.  I was also debating whether I should even run the 8K or drop down to the 4K walk, just to be safe.  I decided that it would be a race-time decision.

The race had a very friendly 9:00 AM starting time this morning.  Adam dropped me off near the starting line, then went to go find parking nearby.  Packet pickup and gear check were a breeze, and there were no lines at any of the portapotties, either.  AWESOME.

People were welcomed to bring their pets along for the race festivities, which included a costume contest, agility course, and pet massages.  Therefore, it was also awesome to see so many adorable, energetic, wriggling dogs of all shapes, sizes and colors, many adorned in cute costumes.

I did about 15 minutes of easy jogging to warm up.  Then I took a GU and headed towards the starting line.  I was feeling pretty good and my achy groin seemed to be holding up allright.  So I decided that I would go ahead and try to "race" the race, but would slow down if I needed to. 

Prior to today, I have never done the 8K race distance.  Therefore, I wasn't entirely certain if I should treat this more like a 5K where I basically try to sprint the whole distance, or if I should treat it more like a 10K where I would try to semi-sprint the entire distance.  I decided to treat it more like a 10K, with my first goal to break 48 minutes and my second goal to break 47 minutes.

Adam found me near the starting line, and hung out with me until the race began.  I've grown accustomed to the enormous races where the starting line is too crowded for any spectators to wait with you, so this was a very welcome occurrence.

Here's a picture of me waiting to start.  Notice some of the dogs in the background?

The airhorn blew and off we went.  I had positioned myself near the back of the pack, as usual.  I was surprised at how many people I was passing at the start, though.  It made me wonder if I'd gone out too quickly.

Our race packets had included maps of both the 8K course and the 4K walk.  Before starting, I had very quickly glanced at the first map I saw, which indicated that the course was an out-and-back starting northbound on the lakefront path.  I had also heard another runner describing the northern route.  So I was surprised when we started running southbound on the path instead (I later realized that I had been looking at the 4K walk map).  In the meantime, though, I had no idea how far south we were going, at what point we were going to turn around, or where any aid stations were located.  Oops.

I kept trying to push myself at a comfortably hard pace.  I walked through a water station around mile 1.7.  By around mile 2.25, my lungs were starting to feel it and my groin was beginning to feel tight.  I wasn't enjoying the exertion and was starting to wonder why I did things like this "for fun."  I started telling myself that after this was over, I would never run another race again.

Glad that at least one of us is enjoying the couch!

Rather abruptly, I reached the turnaround at the southernmost point of the course.  I tried to make the turnaround as tightly as possible.  In doing so, I nearly lost my balance, twisting my ankle in the process.  Oops again.  Thankfully no harm done.

I reached an intersection where course marshalls were shouting for runners from some other race to turn left.  Apparently there were multiple races going on at the same time along the lakefront path, although I only saw PAWS runners.  I pushed on, selecting random runners that were ahead of me and making it my goal to pass him or her, then selecting another runner to try to pass, etc.

Dogs are runners, too!
(Although, due to the amount of race traffic, pets were not actually permitted on the 8K course.)

We came back to the same aid station we'd passed on the outbound trip.  I walked through and grabbed some water, then had a little trouble getting my pace back up again afterwards.  But shortly after passing the mile 4 marker, I glanced at my Garmin and saw my time was at 36-something minutes.  Not bad!  Maybe I'd be able to finish between 45 and 46 minutes?

I could feel blisters forming on my feet and the sun was shining right in my eyes.  The distance on my Garmin was off, but we were approaching familiar territory so I knew we were getting close.  I kept pushing at a comfortably hard pace, figuring that once the finish line was in sight that I could really gun it.  Then all of a sudden we turned a corner and I was startled to see the finish line less than a tenth of a mile away.  I gunned what I could of the remaining distance, during which I saw Adam near the finish line and waved at him before crossing.

According to results posted near the finish line, my time was 44:12.  Much, MUCH better than I had been expecting!  (And I quickly changed my mind about wanting to run races again.  =) )

Woo hoo!

While waiting in line to view the results, they announced that any dogs wearing yellow bandanas were ones that were in need of good homes.  They said if anyone was looking to adopt a dog today, or was looking to bring home a second or third dog, to please consider one of the dogs that were there.  Hearing this and then noticing many dogs wearing the yellow bandanas immediately brought tears to my eyes.  I used to volunteer for an animal shelter, so this really hit home.  I am not running the Chicago Marathon on behalf of any charitable causes, but now I understand how meaningful it would be to do so for a cause that you care about.

I was very happy to have run this race, especially given the easy, worry-free logistics.  I had donated some extra funds in addition to my registration fee, and was glad I did.  In the end, I had a really great time at this race and would definitely run this race again if for nothing but the cause.


Such a good cause.

Some other training notes:

• I'd read somewhere that it is a good idea to run shorter-distance races towards the end of your marathon training. This is because so much of marathon training is done at very slow, easy paces. Therefore, the shorter races serve to help remind you that you can actually run fast, too. I couldn't agree with this suggestion more.
• I tried a Jet Blackberry GU (which I'd received as a free sample elsewhere) for the first time.  I have very low caffeine tolerance, and the Jet Blackberry has double the caffeine of the usual GU flavors (excluding the caffeine-free flavors).  Therefore, I was a little nervous that it would make me jittery.  But no issues.
• My PT had recommended that I try dynamic stretching for my hip flexor, instead of my usual static stretches.  The dynamic stretch basically consists of standing on one foot with one hand on a chair or wall for balance, then swinging the other foot from side to side in a pendulum motion.  I think it works well.
• The groin pain persists.  With the clock ticking down on two weeks remaining until the Chicago Marathon, I may take the entire next week off of running and just cross-train instead.
• As I mentioned, today was the first time I've ever run the 8K distance.  I do still like longer distances (e.g. 10-milers) a little better.  However, I've never run Chicago's Shamrock Shuffle, which is the largest 8K in the world (more than 34,000 runners).  Now I am inspired to run it next year!

Three Races Thursday

Some bloggers do weekday-themed blog postings, such as Three Things Thursday, Triple Tangent Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, etc.  I do like to be unique in my own way - and it just so happens that I've currently got three races on the brain.  So with that, I present to you my inaugural (and probably only-ever edition of) Three Races Thursday!

I discuss the three in descending order of my thought-complexity relating to each race.  How about that?

Race #1: ZOOMA Great Lakes Half Marathon
A bunch of the Chicago Running Bloggers have rented a house up in Lake Geneva, WI for the weekend to run the ZOOMA Great Lakes Half Marathon. 

Ultimately I wasn't planning on going, since I didn't think my body could handle another race just two weeks after the Chicago Marathon.  (This is being further confirmed by the fact that I've been dealing with lingering groin pain for a week and a half now.  But more on that another time).  Then I started thinking that I could still go just to hang out, but I'd at least be a good spectator (so as to avoid achieving the status of amorphous blob).  But then I started thinking, if I'm spectating, why not make myself really useful and volunteer at the race?

Hey!  How cool would it be to be one of the folks at the finish line crowning all the exuberant runners with their post-race rewards (in this case, ZOOMA necklaces)?  Only, I'm sure that by now all of the most sought-after volunteer positions have already been filled.  I'd probably end up being the official post-race banana-distributer.



The banana-distribution concept has actually become quite the running joke between Kim and me.  But, there are certainly worse things to be handing out than bananas!  Case in point: when I was in high school I worked at the Ravinia Festival.  And on certain occasions, my job was to stand at the front gate and hand out garbage bags to picnickers.  No joke!

Alas, I digress.

The weekend festivities sound like a BLAST but sadly I'm on the fence about going, for varous reasons.  Namely, other travel commitments in the weeks before and after, as well as some stuff going on in Chicago that weekend.  Sigh, why must the timing be as such?  Decisions, decisions, decisions...

TBD, TBD, TBD.

Race #2: Mad Dash To Madison 5K postponement
I was saddened (though not surprised) when the NHL went into a lockout last week.  This means that the NHL season, including its training camp and all other official festivities, will not commence until a new labor agreement can be reached.  These official festivities include the Mad Dash To Madison, which was supposed to take place this Saturday.

I had really been looking forward to the start of hockey season, and to running this race for the first time.  The race takes place within my own neighborhood, meaning no god-awful early-morning wakeup calls and no complex logistics.  Not to mention that for once, Adam wouldn't have to endure a pre-dawn alarm clock to be my chauffeur!  I was also super excited to get a Blackhawks-themed race shirt.  Finally, I was excited to see if I could break the 27:52 that I ran at the Strike Out ALS 5K earlier this summer. 

But alas, to no avail.  Yours truly is a very sad runner/hockey fan.  =(

Although, I am not as despondent as this young Vancouver Canucks fan.  This videoshoot occurred right after the Blackhawks eliminated the Canucks from the playoffs in 2009:

(I knew there was a reason that I don't play golf.)

Hopefully the NHL will get a deal in place quickly so the race can be rescheduled, or at least so that the season can get underway!  Regardless, the race organizers have already refunded all of the runners' registration fees, which was nice of them.  So worst case scenario, I am already planning on running Mad Dash with a vengeance next year.

In the meantime, let the severe hockey withdrawal continue!

Race #3: PAWS Run For Their Lives 8K
I am super excited to run the PAWS Run For Their Lives race this Sunday.  It's my first ever 8K, and benefits a cause very close to my heart.

I was originally planning on trying to "race" this race.  But given that I want to be cautious about my health with two weeks left to go before the marathon, I may actually just run this race leisurely and for pure fun.

To be really honest, though, depending on how the aches and pains are holding up on race morning, I may actually even drop down to the 4K walk.  There is further incentive for me to drop down, as well, which is that Adam said he'd do the 4K with me if I chose to do it.  That would be awesome!



I wonder if they hand out doggie treats/catnip at the end to all of our furry compatriates?

In any event, the weather is supposed to be gorgeous this Sunday. And there is no better place to spend a beautiful weekend morning than along the lakefront with fellow runners, walkers, and their four-legged companions.


THREE asterisks to denote a forthcoming change in topic below!
(Pretty clever, eh?)

... aaaaaaaand thus concludes my first (and only-ever) edition of Three Races Thursday.  I hope you enjoyed this once-in-a-lifetime forage!

Happy autumn and happy running to all!