Because We Can

Marathon #2; Chicago Fall 2006; Time 4:26

How about a blog wall that is a Marathon Blog Wall? Sounds good to me.

So almost exactly a year after my first marathon I have completed my second. This time there were no mountains or hills like in San Francisco and no Tiffany necklace, yet it was just as difficult and as rewarding.

This year, I decided to run as a Charity runner for the American Cancer Society (ACS). I really didn't have any one specific person I was running for, but nonetheless, it was for a good cause and a great experience. The Friday before the marathon, I attended the ACS Charity Dinner where there were three speakers; a survivor of cancer, one with relapses and one who lost a loved one. The one that is currently relapsing with cancer, reminds me of myself. She is a very energetic, positive spirited, and a fun person. She ran her first marathon previous to learning she had cancer and was planning a second when she learned she had cancer. Her doctor told her she probably would want to take the next marathon off while in Chemo Therapy, but she thought otherwise and while in Chemo, she trained and finished her second. The 2006 Chicago Marathon was her 7th marathon, and she plans on running the New York Marathon a week after and the Honolulu Marathon in December reaching nine marathons. In August 2006, she learned the Cancer returned, but it's not stopping her. She will be going through radiation between the New York and Honolulu runs, but still is running them. This hit close to home, because I thought, I could be her and I think I'd do it exactly how she is. While I won't be running all marathons as a charity runner in the future, I do plan to every so often.

Since I was a charity runner, I benefited in free training with the Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA). While I liked my small "elite" training team last year, CARA has been a million times better. My weekday shorter runs were alone, or sometimes with the neighbors, but the long runs were more organized with pace groups. I made some friends in the meantime too. While in training, I did notice a difference from one year to the other. My shorter runs were faster and my longer runs became stronger in the sense I was able to run the full long distances with little to no walking. 18 and 20 miles were wonderful successes at a 9:30 pace and only stops for water. I mastered a 10-mile run non-stop at an 8:30 average, and a 12-mile run (with water stops) in an 8:45/mile pace. These little victories make the early Friday nights to sleep and up by 5am Saturday mornings to be running by 6am, worth it. I already miss it.

The Tuesday before the marathon I was blindsided with a 102.8 fever. I didn't know what that would mean for my run, but I called in sick Tuesday, slept all day and made my way back to feeling healthy by Thursday. The weather forecast for the marathon was my next scare. The Friday before my run I went on one final short, 4 mile run in the morning, in the cold. My legs were numb at the end and my lungs hurt all morning. I mentally prepared myself for the worst, so when it was 43, drizzling and 20 MPH winds (low 30s with the wind chill), I decided I should be happy and not worry about it.

I wore an absorb long-sleeved shirt, light wind jacket, shorts, gloves, a headband and a scarf. I started with two of my training friends and another one of their friends, Rachel, Sara and Beth. It was very crowded so that kept us warm, but it made for a good 10-15 minutes from the start of the race for us to actually cross the start line. We held hands all the way to the start line and were ready. The first two miles took longer than we planned at 10-minute miles. It was so crowded and difficult for the four of us to stick together AND weave through the people who were going slower. We managed and made up for it in the next 4 miles at about a 9:15 pace. By mile 6 we were able to get on track for our planned pace of 9:30. Those first six miles were a lot of fun. I shared with the girls my inspirational stories from the Charity Dinner, we talked about some half marathons we wanted to run, and the locations of where we had friends placed and what side of the road we would have to be on at each point to see them. I also had my phone on me so I was calling some friends to help let them know when I'd be nearby. I first saw Andrea, then Katie, Andrea again, Laura, Lisa, Amy and Jenny Fedak, and luckily since Katie told Jenny Thayer I had my phone, Jenny called to tell me exactly where to find her, if not for that I wouldn't have seen her. Through mile 10 I was going strong and having a wonderful time.

But, there were the moments of losing the friends I had been running with. Around mile 7, Rachel decided to keep at the 9:15 pace and left us. Sara and Beth ended up stopping after mile 10 to go to the bathroom, and I decided I would keep on going, knowing at one point I would walk to take my gel cubes and maybe we'd meet back up. I was getting a little tired just before mile 13 when I saw Rachel again. She had stopped to use the bathroom quickly so I got to talk to her some but she picked her pace back up. From there on, it was just me, alone, just like in San Francisco, but this time it was cold and windy, luckily the crowds were so much more fun. I also did see Beth and Sara pass around mile 16, but I was not about to expend the extra energy to catch up to them.

It wasn't until past Greektown (mile 13/14), going west on Adams when the wind really hit hard, we were going up a little hill and the crowds had died down, I decided to walk a little. Luckily I didn't run much and I picked it back up, but that wasn't the last of my mini walks. For a while I started stopping at every other water stop to drink the water and let my legs rest. It wasn't the breathing, and the gel cubes were helping my energy level stay decent. Part was boredom as once we hit more crowds I usually started back up. There were more points I wanted to stop but I kept thinking, one extra step will get me through, and is usually did. Anytime there was a camera, I was still able to smile, sometimes a half forced smile but I did, I'd also try to lift my jacket revealing my number so when the pictures are posted it can be tracked. I didn't hate it or myself for putting myself through this at any point like my first marathon. I just worried my mini walks ruined my time. I did readjust my goal while running, to be under 4:30, but had still wanted to be under 4:20. I also feared the worst- that I wouldn't even beat my first marathon time and didn't understand if and how that could be possible when I was so much stronger than last year. At mile 22 I looked at my watch and calculated in my head. If I could run the last 4.2 miles a little under a 10-minute mile pace, I could still get under 4:20!



That didn't work out well as the legs started to cramp where the run was more of a limp; I grabbed a half banana with some water and had to take a moment to try to stretch the legs. This turned into more walking and a slower run. As long as there were crowds of people cheering, I tried to run. The last two miles were my longest. Sometimes I felt I was running so slow that I would be faster walking, I knew the turn up Roosevelt was coming, and the thing is, I have run that hill many times when I run around Museum campus from my Union Station Gym so I didn't expect it to be as tough as it was. But being the 26th mile, it's another story. I was going in slow motion- laughing at myself along the way. Finally, at the top of the hill with 400 meters to go, I picked it up. Once I turned the final corner with a slight decline and the finish line at the end, I picked up my pace, or tried to anyway, the legs weren't moving as fast as the brain had told them to, and I feared falling (without knowing what happened to the Kenyan) so I just let my legs do what they could. At 4hours 26 minutes and 56 seconds, I crossed the finish line. I felt success as I finished, but also I felt defeated, so close to my 4:20 goal time. So of course in the back of my mind I just thought, better luck next time.

I got my medal and was getting the time chip removed as my left leg cramped up. It was kind of funny, as I had absolutely no control over my leg for a few seconds, and finally was able to bend at the knee and stretch. That happened one more time while I was cutting through the crowd and I just stopped abruptly. Of course I just started laughing being like, yeah, my leg is retarded and a minute later I was moving again.

I hope my recovery time is a lot faster and smoother than last year. I've got a few half marathons in mind for January and February and possibly a full again by May and of course another in the Fall because summertime training is my favorite. But, this might not be the best plan for me to continue to see improvement so the May marathon might not happen, we will see.

Marathons take a lot of hard work, dedication and focus. They also can be expensive with the number of shoes you go through, having quality running clothes, Garmin satellite watches (which I ended up taking off as I was changing into dry clothes and lost, yes $250 out the door, but of course it will be priority to replace before the digital camera). There is a tremendous amount of wear and tear on your body, and you can be in a lot of (temporary) pain. >The chaffing sucks and right now the black and blue toe with the possibility of losing my toenail is a disgusting thought, not to mention the blisters and calluses on my feet (I'm bringing sexyback).

So why run marathons, why bother? There are many reasons, for one, it's an addiction. Also, it's a personal satisfaction, time running can be time away from reality, time to sort out thoughts, time to just enjoy the road and life. When you travel it can be time to really take in the current surroundings. It also makes you feel guilt free as you consume massive amounts of alcohol for the rest of the day because you already burned that off. And it can be a great conversation piece, "yes I run marathons." But, I think I heard the best answer of all at the Charity Dinner. As the relapse speaker answered to her friend complaining on an early morning run asking, "Why do we do this to ourselves?" …and the answer she gave was "Because we can."