Running Update / Chicago Marathon Recap

I haven’t posted much about my running journey in recent months, and this lack of blogging may make it appear as though I’ve given up on running and opted for more sedentary activities. This is not true. On the contrary, I’ve continued racking up miles and pounding the pavement, trying to stay as dedicated as ever. There have been times of frustration and self-doubt, but I’m still running! There were many peaks and valleys on this road, and I reached a high point on October 11, 2015 as Issac and I ran the Chicago Marathon.

First, I have to say that my pesky left leg has continued to bother me in the same darn spot on the lower hamstring, right above the back of the knee and possibly in conjunction with the Sciatica Nerve. (Will it EVER be back to normal?!).  My right hip has also been painful, and I’ve often felt pain on the outside of my lower right hamstring (perhaps the IT Band area?). I’ve kept up with physical therapy (I switched to a new Physical Therapist who even did a gait analysis with me running on the treadmill), acupuncture, chiropractor sessions, and massage therapy. I’m definitely better than I was a year ago, but I have to say that keeping up with all of this extra care has been quite the additional commitment! Training for a marathon seemed to take three times as much time as it should have.

Balance, balance, balance--

I spent countless hours doing PT exercises like these ones.

I’ll now backtrack a bit because I’ve left such a gap since I last documented anything about my running journey. Because I was still concerned about further aggravating my now-chronic injury, I stayed away from half-marathons and marathons for quite some time. Since my last blog post, I focused on fun races like these instead:

The New York Marathon’s "Sprint to the Finish" 5K in November -- 

I was there to cheer Issac on as he ran the full marathon and 

got just a small taste of it by running the NYRR's 5K.  We ran

through the city and finished in Central Park.

The Kirkland St. Paddy's Day Dash 5K in March --
this was a really fun race that Issac and I ran together.  
I actually came in 3rd place in my age division and
won a pint glass-- woohoo!

The Top Pot Donut Dash 5K in May -- notice
the donut socks?!  This was another really fun one.

Ski to Sea in May -- We had a wonderful team (Dirty Hamster Love).
This athletic event allowed me to take a break from running because
I was our kayaker, but this was muuuuuch more difficult than I'd imagined.

The Rock N' Roll 8K in June -- This was on my
birthday and felt like a huge celebration!  I opted
 to do the new 8K, while Issac ran the half-marathon.  

The Dirty Dash in late June -- we had a blast with all of the
obstacles and (as expected) got fully covered in mud!

Ragnar Northwest Passage in July -- This was our third year on a Ragnar team. 

 I wish I'd had the time to devote a full blog entry to this race again, 

but (alas!) this photo montage will have to suffice.  I 

was captain of our team this year, which was named Showers 

Are Overrated.  Such shenanigans!

Amidst all of these shorter races, Issac and I were both notified that we’d been selected in a lottery drawing for coveted spots in the Chicago Marathon. We had heard so many great things about this race from lots of different sources, and we were incredibly excited to have the opportunity to experience all of the excitement. I was also really eager to have something to work toward—an end goal in mind to keep me motivated. We started an 18-week training plan in early June, and (as difficult as it was) stuck with it as closely as we could during the insanely busy months of summer and early fall. The Chicago Marathon had once seemed soooooo far away until, all of a sudden, it was less than a week away!

Neither Issac nor I had ever been to Chicago before, and we were so excited to explore the Windy City. We purchased a guidebook and CityPasses and started reading about all that this historic locale has to offer. We arrived on Friday afternoon and made our way to our hotel right in the heart of downtown. We could see signs of the marathon everywhere we looked; it was clear that the Chicago Marathon truly envelops the city.

The expo was on Saturday, and it also a great preview of what race day would be like. We were surrounded by 1,000’s of people from all around the world, and everyone seemed so joyful to be there.

It was pretty amazing to see all the ground we'd cover
at the expo!

The night before the marathon was nerve-racking. My legs/hips hurt in all the usual places, and I still suffered from a bad cold that zapped my energy and made it difficult to breathe (which, of course, conveniently hit me the Tuesday before the race!). I was miserable and afraid I’d have to walk all 26.2 miles. We took an Architectural Boat Cruise and found a Mexican restaurant for our carbo-loading tradition of nachos but headed back to the hotel room fairly early to allow me to begin a long regimen of attending to all ailments and trying anything that could possibly help me survive race day. This included: icing my legs/hips, hours of stretching, an Epsom salt bath, gargling Vitamin E, a Netty Pot sinus cleaning, visualization activities, taking cold medications, foam rolling, etc. Issac and I both tried to get a good night’s sleep, but (of course) this was easier said than done!

I woke up at 5:00AM on race day and started yet another round of “everything that could possibly help me to remain healthy and injury-free while running a marathon.” In addition to electrolytes and carbohydrates, I also backed Kleenexes and cough drops to take with me to the start line. I was pleasantly surprised, though, that I felt muuuuuuch better than I had in the previous days. I felt a glimmer of hope.

Issac and I journeyed to our start corral amongst the huge crowds of people speaking many different languages. There were over 45,000 runners from all 50 states and well over 100 countries—plus over 1.7 spectators. Wow! I tried to take it all in. The sun was shining, and (in spite of my pre-race jitters and lackluster health) I could tell it was going to be a great day.

Ready or not, here we come!

The signs were the typical messages that are seen on race courses, and some were cleverer than others. Here are some of the ones that I remember: “punch here for super powers,” “free high fives,” “I like your stamina—call me!”, “Chuck Norris Never Ran a Marathon,” “You’re Better than Chuck Norris,” “Worst Parade Ever,” “You Got This!”, “Smile if you farted,” “Smile if you peed a little,” “Runner butts drive me nuts,” “Find a cute a$ and follow it,” “Remember: You PAID to do this!”, “I bet this seemed like a good idea four months ago,” “Run like you’re saving me from a fire,” “Run fast or the Walking Dead will get you,” “Run Fast—the Walking Dead is on Tonight!”, and “The first 20 miles are training; the last 6.2 are all heart.” There were also all sorts of characters on balloons, signs, or costumes—like Elmo, Big Bird, dinosaurs, and dance outfits. It was fun to have so many neat things to look at!

The time passed very quickly, and we were at mile 20 before I knew it. Issac had very kindly pledged to stick with me all 26.2 miles of the course, and he stayed true to his offer. We didn’t interact a whole lot as the miles passed (just basic questions or statements like, “How are you feeling?” or “Do you want to get water or Gatorade or both at the next pit stop?” or “Did you see that man’s outfit?” or “Let’s move over to the other side of the street because there’s shade over there!” or “They are playing this song everywhere!” or “We are right on pace to get under a 4-hour marathon!”), but it was reassuring to have him there.

We both wore matching Seattle socks to
represent the Pacific Northwest.

Because it was such an abnormally hot day, we developed a routine at each of the water stops: We’d get a bit of Gatorade, chug it, throw the cup, get a cup of water, drink most of it, pour the rest into our hats, and then put our hats back on our heads—allowing the cool water to seep down our faces. I felt better than I had on most of the long runs prior to the race—much, much better than I thought I would. The running seemed so ordinary/routine. Of course, the shade became harder and harder to find as the race progressed.

I sported a temporary tattoo with my goal split times.

As we reached the last few miles, I realized that we were getting further and further away from my 3:55 goal time. We’d been on pace for most of the course, and I didn’t feel TERRIBLE (I was fighting with my hamstrings as they felt like they wanted to cramp up), but I just couldn’t convince my legs that they could go any faster. Miraculously, my chronically painful spots were not the ones that bothered me much at all. I kept meditating on the next mile that we were approaching: “mile 23, 23, 23, 23, 23, 23…”, then “mile 24, 24, 24, 24, 24, 24…”, then “mile 25, 25, 25, 25, 25...” At long last, we were close to “mile 26, 26, 26, 26, 26…”, and 26.2 was within reach!

Although the Chicago Marathon is known as a flat course, the last quarter mile was uphill. This was a bit of an ego booster because, having trained in Seattle’s notoriously hilly terrain, we were passing people left and right. It wasn’t a record speed by any means, but it was a positive way to end the race nonetheless. We could eventually see the finish line, and then we crossed it—hand in hand!

I ran the whole 26.2 miles with KT tape
on my legs.  This was basically just a placebo
thing to stop me from panicking about my legs.

Woohoo -- we did it!!!!  Hallelujah!
Happiness is... seeing the finish line!

Our official finish time was 4 hours, 3 minutes, 20 seconds. This averages to 9:17 per mile and is almost 7 minutes faster than my Portland Marathon time. I was really thinking I could get a time in the 3:50’s if I’d felt at 100%, but it wasn’t meant to be. (Thus, I have it on my list to break the 4-hour marathon at some point in the near future!).

There were probably a few gallons of sweat between the two of us. 

We don't look quite so peppy in our after-race photos!

I felt relatively good after crossing the finish line, which was a HUGE relief because I was bracing for the worst. We took some time to get some fuel into our body and stretch tight and fatigued muscles, but we had enough energy to begin taking Chicago by storm. We covered a lot of terrain in the last few days of the trip. 

Thanks for so many lovely sites and memories, Chicago!

My only lasting wounds from the race were some pretty vibrant blisters on my toes.

I had a few of these beauties on my feet.

I can’t say when I’ll get around to a sub-4:00 marathon (just 3 minutes, 21 seconds to shave off!), but (in the meantime) I’ll keep trekking along in sustaining a healthy and active lifestyle and trying to get that darn hamstring area back to normal. We’re also busy preparing for our marriage, another real-life “marathon” for which proper training and hard work will be key to our success.