Run #87 Chicago Marathon Non-Race Report

Date: October 12th, joined Lou between Miles 18 & 19, Ashland Avenue at 14th Street; temp somewhere above 80. (But not as hot as last year, whew!)
Time: Sometime after 12:30pm
Mileage: 7.72 (according to Garmin)
Time It Took: Lou's Support...that was all that mattered.
Pace: Lou's Pace...that was all that mattered.
Miles This Week: 10.82 (really Lindy? pathetic!)
MIles This Month: 10.82
2008 Goal: 499.72

Thoughts/Comments: So as you all know, I decided that if I couldn't run the marathon, I'd do my best to run with Lou. Here's how my day went: Left house like I was on a stealth bomber spy mission, sneaking out so as not to wake up the girls.

Race Start
My friend Rabiya (visiting from NYC) and I took the train downtown and met my friend, co-worker and fellow runner to stand on one of the bridges just past the start line to cheer runners on and hold signs. Specifically, I was looking for my pasta party invitees and friends: Annah, Lou, Sheena, Melba, and Anne. We watched the wheelchair athletes start off first, followed by the elite runners, and finally everone else. I was proud that our signs kicked the butts of all other signs out there. No white posterboards for us! We had these flourescent orange, yellow and green ones that were extremely visible. Amidst the thousands of runners, I was able to pick out Annah, who was happy to see my bright orange neon sign. Note to non-runners: one of the coolest things about the Chicago Marathon is the loud, supportive crowds.

We've Only Just Begun
On our way back over to State Street to catch the Red Line back home, we watched runners at around Mile 2 (and listened to Nicole complain about not being able to buy her CTA day-pass. ALRIGHT ALREADY!). I saw Sheena and we cheered and she waved....saw Lou who ran right past me and I screamed my head off and almost tripped my way into the crowd. Her iPod must have been playing her favorite song, and I knew she wasn't looking for me at that point in the race. :( I even saw another friend from my undergrad days. I mean, in a race of 45,000 people, it's kinda odd to run into so many people you know.

The Beat Goes On
So then Rabiya and I headed back south. I got home, packaged and tied ribbons on 50 cookies, put on my race gear, delivered said cookies, and headed back to meet Lou. She would occasionally text me to tell me where she was.

So I get over to Ashland Avenue at 14th Street between Miles 18 and 19, and I notice a few things as I'm standing out waiting for Lou: 1) Wow, it's hot out here! 2) Oh...I've been so busy I forgot to eat anything! 3) There are hardly any people in this section because for about 6 blocks they have half of the street open. 4) People are wondering why in the heck this crazy chic is putting on a race bib at Mile 18, carrying a plastic grocery bag. (that would be me) 5) I cheered runners on, and the ones who looked at me funny can wonder about me in their blogs today.

Here Comes Lou!
Lou was delivered to me by her friend Liz, who ran with her for about 4 miles leading up to this point. Fully engrossed in my race support role, I've got pretzels, rapid release Tylenol, gatorade, bottled water, sunscreen and extra gu if necessary. I'd like to think I was a sight for sore eyes...and calves, quads and hammies...So we start running. She was awesome...we walked a bit, then ran. And did this for quite awhile.

The Course and the Crowd and Stuff
So we went thru Pilsen, which I was really anxious for. Pilsen is "the Heart of Mexico in Chicago" (so read the banner) and as soon as we turned onto 18th Street, there were DJs playing house music that took me back to high school days. There were a few dancers, and little kids yelling Si su pueda! Yes You Can! It was great! Loved it! The smell of tacos and other ethnic food-fare filled the air, and the smell of food wasn't all that annoying as it can be when running.
So we leave Pilsen and hit this boring, hot industrial stretch. We're chatting some, walking some. Lou tells me we need to be on the lookout for "@" (Angela.) On Archer Avenue, there she is with pretzels, Smart Water and other stuff. We talked to her for a bit and then went on our merry way! @ ran her first distance race back in May at the Soldier Field 10, and whooped both me and Lou!

Up next? Chinatown! ANother neighborhood I was looking forward to, but this didn't live up to its reputation. Maybe because we were some 5 hours into the race and it was over 80 degrees, I dunno. But here we saw Lou's mom, but we stopped like two seconds and kept going. Off to the right I saw this chic on the ground, she looked like she had passed out, fell and hit her head. She was bleeding and some paramedics were wrapping her head in gauze and holding her head up some. I recognized her as someone I had cheered on, I remembered that bright green shirt. :( I don't know if Lou really saw it or not, she didn't say much, and it was loud still (from the music/crowds/etc), so we just kept going. Another dull stretch underneath the Dan Ryan, but it was some welcomed shade. Also, I know this part of the course well, and knew that we'd be turning up ahead a few times and then in the home stretch back up north to the finish line. Right before we turned onto 33rd Street, there were these big Nike signs up that said "Leave Your Old Self Behind" and then there was this big Jumbotron screen that was showing runners going by. Lou and I were quite pleased that we didn't look like total morons. Lou said she looked pretty good at Mile 22 (she did), and I said I looked good for 22 also (HAHAHAHAHA....ok, not funny.)

In the Mean Time
So the miles seem to be flying by. I don't know if it felt that way to Lou, but I was quite surprised as they popped up. I kept looking at my Garmin to double-check...and SHO NUFF, it was on point. All the while, whenever we are taking walking breaks, I'm texting Meg, our other running buddy from last year's CES training group. She JUST finished therapy for her torn ACL (yes, we were a sickly bunch this year), and was planning on running in the last mile. She too had a bib and had planned on running the race. Anyway, at some point she decides to walk back to Mile 24. I found this to be kinda funny because that is the EXACT same thing she did for me in Cincy...waited and waited at 25, and had enough time to walk back to 24!

The Home Stretch
Lou's ankle was really bothering her at this point. We did lots of walk-running, and she perservered. She was overly worried about finishing before the course closed. Now I kept reassuring her we were fine even if we walked the whole thing in. There was Meg up ahead and she reassured her, but Lou was PAST tired and bordering on delusional (in a most understandable "I've run 24 miles" kinda way) at this point, so she kept wondering out loud. A little while later, two more friends of Lou's joined us and stuck around till shortly before the finish line (they didn't have race bibs.) We were all surrounding her and cheering her on. It was a running entourage, and it was lots of fun!

So with her ankle hurting immensely, we walked from an aid station to up ahead where we could see the "1 Mile Left" sign. And then we ran it in. As we turned the corner on Roosevelt and went up Chicago's version of a hill, Meg and I were cheering Lou on and she was getting all misty-eyed and had a look on her face like "OH CRAP I'M ABOUT TO FINISH." Just before the finish line, she took off in a sprint and crossed! YAY!!!! Meg and I crossed behind her. It was exciting and although I thought I might feel weird about "finishing" after what happened last year, I wasn't. However, it was the best NON RACE, 7+ mile run I've ever had!
So Lou went off to the Medic tent to see about her ankle--it seems to be ok, they recommended ice. And I went off to journey to my car.

Post Race
With my bib and "fake medal" (that I DID pay for), I must have walked a half mile to the train, and then another mile back to my car b/c there wasn't a bus in sight. I gave the girls my medal to add to their toys. Later at night, I realized I hadn't had enough water and electrolytes, b/c horrible debilitating cramps hit me as I was lying on the floor. I nearly fainted when I tried to reach for my water bottle. I had Rabiya fetch me some salt. I mean, it's not funny, but it kinda is. Especially since I only ran a few miles, LOL! Last year that only happened once, and that was after my 20 mile run.

Anyhoo, this post is entirely too long anyway, but that is my Non-Race Report for this year's Chicago Marathon. Next year should be back to the real deal. I don't plan on any marathons before then, just halfs and other smaller races. Remind me of that if I suggest anything else, friends. The goal in sight is the CHICAGO Marathon. Not just any marathon.