Chicago Marathon

Signing "the wall".

Eek...the Chicago Marathon is over. While it's still somewhat fresh in my head, I want to remember every detail so I can take the good and the bad and I don't find myself only remembering the highlights and signing up for another one of these anytime soon. We headed into Chicago Saturday morning to hit up the Expo to get registered for the Marathon. There were tons of people and it kind of put in perspective just how big of a deal (and how organized) a marathon could be. We picked up our packets, checked out some of the booths and headed to check in to the hotel. We stayed at the Hyatt Centric. It was equidistant from the start line and Giordanos so it was a top pick for us. We carb loaded with some yummy pasta while we had food envy over the boys' pizza. We finished watching the Cubs game and then Mark and Mitch headed out for a late night hot dog and chocolate shake at Portillos. Jenisa and I headed to bed to rest up for Sunday.  It's a huge bummer to be in Chicago and not be able to enjoy all the food that comes with it!

26.2 from the windows

Sunday was a beautiful day for a run. It was a little warm, but it was welcome after a soggy Saturday that had us worried that we would spend our Sunday soaked. We got up at 5am, got prepped and ready, and started the long, dark walk to the start line. The city was feeling the marathon and everywhere we looked Chi-town was supporting the 40,000 runners that were preparing to enjoy their city. Security was pretty tight, they wanded us, checked our gear and bibs, and we headed in to find our corral. I was surprised that the nerves were far fewer than I anticipated. Usually, before runs I get butterflies and anticipate what awaits, but arriving 2 hours before the start made for a relaxing morning (essentially waiting in line at the port-o-pots) chatting with my sister and a few other runners.

We started in corral K and stayed toward the back. Our only goal was to not pass the 4:45 pacer as we knew with fresh legs we would want to get a jump start on the course. Our time arrived and people started moving toward the start line. We were in no hurry, so we jumped out of line, hit the port-o-pots one last time since we had been waiting in the corral so long (and there was no line!!) and then took our place at the start line. The excitement around us was palpable and the next thing we new we were inching our way over the mat and officially started the race. It felt like we were C.R.A.W.L.I.N.G. However, it was great to be able to take in all the sights and sounds of downtown Chicago...it was a beautiful start to the race. It had far fewer spectators at the start of the race than we anticipated, but it was rather perfect. Especially given the fact that when we came up on mile 2, two of the most beautiful faces emerged from the crowd...my sister and brother-in-law. We had no idea they were coming to Chicago and it was so exciting to see them. We stopped and hugged them and they filled our conversation to mile 4 when we saw them again. They were a fantastic cheering section! By mile 4 we also came up on Mark and Mitch. Unlike Jess and Tim, they were SUPER hard to spot so most of the time we were running backwards waving to them.

Winners arms for Will.

From there we headed north up to Addison...it was a little lonelier stretch up there but the miles went by quickly and before we knew it we turned and headed south again. We stopped off at mile 9 for the customary "port-o-pot-stop" and I though Jenisa might kill me as we waited in line and I watched her work to keep her legs from tightening up. Then it was back on the path and headed to mile 11 where we knew Mark and Mitch were waiting along with the rest of the Will Cure Team. We were making good time (too good of time really) and nearly missed Mark and Mitch again at mile 11. Once we passed them, we also missed the Will Cure Team and decided that given our estimated finish time, we should probably turn back and go meet William and the rest of the team in case we missed them later. We turned around (trying not to laugh at all the people looking at us like we were stupid) and went back and hugged everyone on the Cheer Squad and met William and his friend, Emi. Both were intrigued by their iPads as I'm sure they had already had their fill of runners, but we took pictures with them and chatted for a bit anyway. Then it was back on the route.

The halfway point was fantastic as it was lined with supporters and signs to get you all pumped up for the second half of the run. We were still feeling good, but the sun was getting hot and we were getting a little hungry. The miles slipped by though and we laughed at some of the signs, chatted a bit, continued saying Hail Mary's each mile for the people who have supported us along the way, and then one of the signs hit home for me and put me in a funk.

"Life is short, running makes it longer."

I'm not sure why this one hit me as hard as it did, but I got too inside my own head. I couldn't breathe. The heart rate monitor on my watch pinged and I tried really hard to not hyperventilate. We stopped to walk for a bit, but my joy was gone. The only thing I wanted to do was fill this journey with joy and I let it slip away. Luckily, we saw Jess and Tim cheering us on again and stopped to chat with them. Being a nurse, she took my pulse and gave me the "suck it up" that I needed to get my head back in the game.

Mile 17 was a long one, but we got back after it and the miles went much faster than we anticipated. We headed into Pilsen and the Mexican flags were flying with bands and cheers. They handed out pretzels and even had shots of beer and TEQUILA! As much as I wanted to live up the experience, there were too many miles left to go to be doing shots of tequila. We headed into Chinatown and joked at how great the smells were and how hungry we were getting.  From Chinatown we turned back north and started heading in. The last few miles went so fast. We hit mile 25 and entered into our last mile. The last one was for Will. I wanted this mile to last forever. We walked the entire mile. Well...we danced part of it - the last mile was FULL of spectator, music and celebration. We saw Jess and Tim again and gave our hugs and goodbyes so they could start the trip back home. We also got chastised by a man that jumped the barriers and was yelling at us to "Run - you only have a mile to go!" We both kind of wanted to punch him. Then we hit mile 26. The last 0.2 was for us...so we sprinted it to the finish line. We crossed over at 5:22:12 (and 28.8 miles according to my watch) with our arms in the air and smiles on our faces.

Once we hit the finish line people looked like they were in rough shape. Because of the amount of runners, you had to walk another 1/2 mile to get water, medals, chocolate milk, etc. They had the greatest little goody bags so we grabbed our stuff and headed to the gear check. We swapped out clothes (dry clothes felt SO good) and then headed to the "runner reunite" to meet up with Mark and Mitch.

We walked the LONG 2 miles back to the car and then headed to Ironside Grill to meet the WillCure team. They were so gracious and so thankful that we ran as a part of their team. Will was a trooper and was still going strong so we got to take a few pictures with him again. They were so kind and bought us some food and then we figured we better get on the road and head for home.