I was concerned that the alarm on my phone (that was set to
go off at 5am) would wake up Leah but I woke up on my own about 10 minutes
before the alarm, yay! I tried to
be quiet while getting ready because Josh was sleeping on the pullout
couch. We had decided to stay at an
Embassy Suites so we could put Leah to bed like normal and we could still stay
up. The first night Josh slept in
the living room on the pullout because he tends to snore sometimes and didn’t
want to keep me up the night before the race (yes, best guy ever!) I got ready pretty quickly the morning
of the race and was out the door around 5:30am and took a cab to Charity
Village where Team RMHC had a tent (the best tent). It was really easy to find with all the lights and RMHC
letters and balloons.
Walking down the hill to the tent was the first moment where
I started to really feel emotional.
It was all coming together- so many months of running and planning and
talking to/obsessing with all of these other runners. And we were all here not only to run this race but also as a
part of something bigger that helps so many families. When we all gathered outside the tent for a group picture,
we were told that as a group we had raised well over $700,000. Simply incredible. RMHC’s hospitality was first rate too. They had a huge breakfast laid out for
us, a private gear check for all of our stuff and heaters! I met up with some of the other ADPi’s
as we ate and prepared for the race.
I wasn’t feeling nervous at all. If I’ve talked with you about my running strategy, you
already know that I break each run/race into very small increments. If I am running 9 miles I do NOT start
running thinking about 9 and I certainly didn’t start this marathon thinking
about 26.2. If I had done that I
would certainly have had a panic attack.
In fact, I had never REALLY thought about running the full 26.2. Probably a defense mechanism! (plus, I had a really great 20 mile
training run so I just kept focusing on that) Instead, I start by thinking about how far I need to run
before “SOMETHING”- like on a regular run I will only think about the, say, 2
miles I need to run before turning back for water. So really, I’m only focused on 2 miles at a time, and then
before I know it, 4 miles are complete (there and back). During a race I will
focus only on one aid station at a time.
So, when I began the marathon, my thoughts were on the first aid
station, 1.6 miles away from the start.
I had a plan for what I was going to do at each station: either water,
Gatorade, both and/or food (I alternate between Jelly Belly Sport Beans and
Stinger Vanilla Waffles).
The first few miles were a quick blur. I tied to keep my pace extra slow at
this point. Everyone was going out
really fast but I was still warming up (still in my “throwaway” sweatshirt and
gloves). My knees were stiff for
maybe the first quarter mile but they loosened up pretty quickly. The only other issue was a side stitch
that started bothering me right away.
I VERY rarely get cramps when I run but when I do they always go away a
few minutes after drinking some water.
This one did not really go away and I battled with it on and off the
whole race. This slowed my pace
down quite a bit and, coupled with my 4 (yes, FOUR!) bathroom stops, I finished
a LOT slower than I should have.
In hindsight, I way over hydrated during the race because I was paranoid
that the cramp meant that I was dehydrated. Then, when reason took over and I reminded myself that I was
not dehydrated, I began worry that I was overhydrating so I began taking more
sips of Gatorade than I originally planned to replace the electrolytes and
sodium that I was convincing myself I was losing by drinking too much water to
try to get rid of a cramp. (stress
makes us a little nutty doesn’t it?!)
And that brings us to the FOUR bathrooms stops. Those lines are always SO long! I probably lost at least 30 minutes
of the race just WAITING in line.
I said all along that I wasn’t worried about my time, I just wanted to
finish, but looking back- dang!
I’m so annoyed that I lost all that time. I could have gotten so much closer to my estimated finishing
time. I will have to get a handle
on that for next time. Based on
the pace from my 20 mile run, I should have finished between 5:30-5:45. My actual finish time was 6:05. But I keep telling myself that when I
consider the time I lost in line, I actually did come a lot closer to my goal
time.
I have been thinking about how to describe the experience of
this race. I think that’s why I’ve
waited so long to post this and why I was slow to respond to all of my texts
after the race. It’s really hard
to put into words the feeling of being loved and supported by an ENTIRE CITY. And 99% of us running that day were NOT
elite runners. It was like being
in a parade. I kept thinking, who
ARE all these people and WHY do they even care about ME?? But they do. They look you in the eye, call out your name, reach out and
pat you on the back, they yell real things, not just “good job”- but
“LAURA! You can do this! Think of how hard you have worked!” and “You look great! Keep it up! Almost halfway there!
There is water just around the corner” It sounds so silly to say but you feel like you are
connecting with everyone. A whole
city wakes up early on a Sunday JUST to shout loving and encouraging things at
strangers. In a world of privacy
and general crappiness from so many people, it was almost bizarre to see over a
million people just being NICE to STRANGERS. There were MANY times that I was running and fighting back
tears just looking around and seeing so much kindness. I know why so many people fervently
believe that the city of Chicago is the best city on earth. I plan to run this race many more times
and the city itself is a big part of that decision. Thank you, people of Chicago. And all of the little kids lining the streets with their
hands out to give you a high five was just. darling.
I was hoping to see Josh and Leah around the halfway point
but they missed me. They had been
waiting there but Leah had to use the bathroom and as luck would have it,
that’s when I ran by. I didn’t
mind though- I was smiling to myself thinking about them waking up in the room
together, Josh taking her downstairs in her pajamas for breakfast, navigating
the streets and maps and strollers and subways and meals and snacks and potty
breaks. Haha! They are two peas in a pod and so cute
together.
Around mile 16 or so my hips and knees really started to
stiffen up. I tried to stretch
them out but it wasn’t helping much.
So I struggled toward the end, but it was harder emotionally than
physically because I still had “gas left in the tank” but I was too stiff to
use it all.
The end of the course is perfection. The last mile is a straight line and
they start counting down the distance at 800m, 400m, 300m, 200m. At the very end you turn a corner and
run the last little bit (don’t remember exactly- 300 or 200m) into the
finish. So most of the last mile
is just like the rest of the race but when you turn that corner it all
changes. You turn that corner and
out of nowhere you see the finish line up ahead. Again, I’m not sure how to explain what it felt like. You can see other runners crossing and
you see all of the hustle and bustle directly after the line. It’s there. You made it. I
think it would have felt different if you had been seeing the finish line up
ahead for a long time but turning that corner is so exhilarating. I remember whispering to myself,
“ohmyGod, this is it, there it is, I made it, ohmyGod there it is, I can’t
believe it”. There were two finish
line mats and I wasn’t paying attention so when I crossed the first I stopped,
LOL, then I saw the next one a few feet away so I kinda jogged again for a few
feet to cross that one too, ha! I
didn’t want to cross either one while I was walking!
After crossing the finish line I got weepy but tried to hold
it back, I was handed a heat blanket, they put my medal on and then a little
further down they had grocery bags and tables and tables of pre packaged food
from local restaurants. Um, yes
please. Then I made the long walk
back to Charity Village where Josh, Leah and the rest of the team would
be. I was eager to get back and
see everyone but the long walk was so great! Not only was it beautiful but being able to keep moving was
great! When I walked into Charity
Village I spotted our stroller and Josh and Leah and she ran right up to me and
I picked her up (thank God I was able to!) and she kept saying “hi mommy, hi
mommy!” We took some more
pictures, I had some chocolate milk and a few bites of pasta and we chatted a
bit with some of our new friends.
They had a great setup for us!
Lots of food, champagne, drinks, snacks and massages! (I didn’t get one- very long
wait). Josh kept saying not to worry,
he’d entertain Leah and that we should stay longer but she was exhausted and I
was very overwhelmed. I really
just wanted to go back to our room and chill out. I wanted to shower and relax and eat. I just wanted to be alone with my
thoughts a bit so I took a long shower when we got back and then we walked to
dinner at a nearby restaurant. It
felt good to walk but my knees ached so badly sitting at the table so I was
glad to leave and go back to the room.
On the way we stopped to get dessert to bring back to the room. I gave Leah a bath and then put her to
bed and then settled down to have dessert and watch TV. It still didn’t seem very real but I
was insanely happy but also so tired.
That day would not have been possible without the support of all of my
friends, family, ADPi, Team RMHC and especially Josh and Leah. Thank you all for your donations,
prayers and sweet words of love and encouragement. I feel so blessed.
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