Chicago Marathon

I finished my first marathon yesterday morning . . . or afternoon. It's been a great experience. The first thing that crossed my mind as I finished was "I want to do this again!" And then I thought about food. And a chair.
Anyway, here is my race report:

START: Having never been a part of an event with 40,000+ people, I didn't know what to expect. We walked about 2 miles from where we were staying to the start. There were a handfull of marathoners on the sidewalks at 6:30 AM. At each block we were joined by more and more athletes until we became a sea of people flooding into Millenium Park. I was able to quickly find my pace group (4:30--ha! in my dreams) and Chad went up farther to the front to start with the 3:30's. We were packed shoulder to shoulder, which was good because we kept one another warm--it was windy and 35 degrees. We had to stand another 45minutes before they sang the National Anthem and blew the start horn. Then we waited 10 more minutes before our group even began walking towards the start line. I FINALLY got there 17 minutes after the horn blew.

THE FIRST THIRTEEN MILES: . . . went really quickly. I lost my pace group immediately. There were so many runners that I was getting elbowed, nudged, cut off or having to zig-zag around them--it was chaotic but exciting. The crowds were great and the runner's enthusiastic. There was a gospel choir singing and local cheerleading squads were out giving us motivation.

MILE 14 to MILE 21: This was a long haul. I started to feel some aches and pains. At mile fifteen I had a horrible side-stitch and was forced to walk for awhile. When it didn't get better I figured I better start jogging because 11 miles is a dang long way to walk. Eventually the pain subsided. There was a great band playing the Rolling Stones on mile 17--that got me going for a little longer. I just kept telling myself that I only needed to make it to the next water station (they were at about every 2 miles). I thought about DH who had probably already finished and was getting his massage, Pooper at home snuzzling with grandma and grandpa, and if I keep going I can eat cheesecake sooner rather than later.

MILE 21 to 26: DH. Food. Bed. DH. Food. Bed. --that was my mantra, those things were on the other side of the finish line. My feet hurt. I could feel every crack and bump in the road. And why weren't the water stations serving hot chocolate? It was getting colder and windier. I just wanted to walk so badly, and I did for about a 1/2 mile. Strangely, that hurt worse than just jogging--until I started jogging again, that hurt pretty bad too. And then we turned a corner to go up a big hill. It was a funny thing, that should have killed me but my endorphins must have been in overdrive as I actually picked up the pace. Only 400 meters to go . . .

26 to 26.2: At the top of the hill we turned left to go down a slight decline to the finish. There was stadium seating on both sides of the road and the crowds were going wild--even for us slow-pokes. It was so exciting that I had to sprint the last quarter mile. I finished strong and was so proud of myself. It was a great run.

TIME: 4:58
Average mile: 11 minutes

DH's Time: 3:29
Average mile: 7:59 minutes

Thanks for your support everyone,
LW

Yay Limewave, you did it! 40,000 people is a lot of bodies! You were on your feet for a long time before the start, weren't you? That's tiring in and of itself. I love the part about eating cheesecake sooner rather than later. We think alike! You definitely should be proud of yourself. I can't imagine what it must feel like to cross that finish line after 26.2 miles. So, when is the next one? ;)

KB

Yay Limewave!!!!

Whoooooo-hooooo!:D

Holy COW, I'm so impressed that you did the marathon!!! :eek: Good for you!!

The two mile walk to the start would have worn me right out. :p

That is GREAT Limewave, you did a wonderful job there and you should be very proud of finishing!

Under five hours, too!!!!

That's something I'm only dreaming of right now, but your great report makes me think that I might get there someday.

Thanks for sharing and enjoy the cold bath!!!

Way to go Heather! I'm so happy for you that I'll let you off the hook for not emailing me last week;) And enjoy the cheesecake Hon, because you earned it!

TE women rock! I'm hoping you post some pix of the big event for us.....I thought of you when I went out for my piddley mile jog with the dogs:D

You Rock, Limewave!!!

Congratulations! Great race report! Excellent time. I'm impressed. I was down there cheering, but I'm sure you were long past. I was at 18th and Ashland, where you turned into Pilsen, and then at 33rd and Wentworth, right before you went over the bridge to come north again. My friend Darryn, who used to weigh 500#, finished in 6 hr 45 min. It was my first time going down there to cheer. What an exhilerating experience! I know how many hours and hours and hours of training that run represents. I remember how cold that wind felt last year at mile 20. I know how huge that hill looks at the end.

Congratulations again on a race well run. The marathon is inside you now, and nothing will ever take it away! :D Lise

GREAT JOB! CONGRATS!!!!
http://www.smileypad.com/v224/Misc/Head-Spin.gif
great report. now i know what to expect with a big event like that. you make me want to go out and run right now!!!!

Congrats! What a great report!

Under 5 hours for your first marathon - or any marathon - is a great accomplishment!

CONGRATS LIMEWAVE!!!!

I'm sooooooo proud of you! You ran a GREAT time, and I'm sure you could hear us cheering you on from the boards!!!
I can't imagine what it's like to do a marathon that size (my largest is about 12,000), but it sounds amazing, and I'm thrilled that you got to experience that for your first one! Woo hoo!!!
Thanks for the race report- I felt like I was right there with ya!
Congrats, again!!!! :)

Great job, awesome time, and I can't believe how many people were there. That would just freak me out. Planning on doint anymore? :p

WOOHOO, you finished!! Great work, limewave!! :D :D

Even if you didn't get to your optimistic pace, finishing under 5 hours is awesome. There's always next time (you know you're already thinking about it) ;)

I might try the 4:45 pace group (the next one is 4:15, blah, too fast) at my marathon and see if it goes better than yours. Maybe with a smaller crowd I'll actually be able to find and stick with them. The only thing is that I might want to take the beginning faster than the pace group... my training runs have been about 10 minute miles for the first 8-12 miles, and degrade from there. I'm not sure I want to go out assuming 10:40s from the start, or let myself naturally degrade. Hmm...

Back to limewave: another WOO HOO for you. :cool:

CONGRATS LIMEWAVE!!!

I think 11 minute miles is pretty darn impressive. You are a marathoner! :D

Congrats on a great race! And I loved how you broke down your feelings as the miles wore on. I don't care what anyone says- after 15 miles it's just plain hurts! :p
I dream of holding 11 min miles in the mary!!

Congratulations, Limewave!! Awesome run! I can't believe your first thought was that you wanted to do it AGAIN! The crowds and the excitement - the whole experience must've been amazing.

So is the ganglion cyst doing o.k.? Good for you to keep on training through that.

Loved your report - felt like I was there. Makes me want to try it. Hmmm ;)

Congratulations again.

Deb