Chicago Marathon

I know it's a late post but now I got the time! Yes, I was heartbroken when I didn't get into the NYC marathon this year so I right away entered my name in the other big race. CHICAGO MARATHON!
And bwalah! I made it! So I decided to train right away mid spring since I was signed up for a half marathon locally. In the midst of training, I noticed something's bothering me on my right foot, 4th toe specifically. Didn't hurt in the beginning but by July I noticed I can't wear my regular closed shoes without pain so off I go to my podiatrist. After several visits including xray and MRI, my doctor told me it's a tissue mass that needed to be removed surgically. What???

What happens to my marathon? I'm already halfway my training, booked my hotel and flight already. What do I do? I told my doctor I wanted to still run Chicago if I can. He told me if I can bear the pain, he thinks I could still off the surgery till after the race. I said sure I can!

Advil and Tylenol. They're my best friends this entire journey. Could never run without it otherwise the pain would be unbearable. People think I'm crazy so I stop telling them about my race. In fact I kept it as a secret from some. I know. The fact that I'm a nurse, I shouldn't be taking Advil almost everyday. It's nephrotoxic! And I'm a nephrology nurse! Duh!!!

Anyway, I did my long runs as planned but skipped a lot of short ones. Then I flew to Chicago for the first time on Oct. 10 Friday with my husband and son. Met my friend Allan who's adopting us for our first night. Beautiful city I may say. Went for my packet pick up and roamed around the city a bit. A lot of runners got me excited. At this point, I wanted to do a short 3 mile run to warm my legs but didn't happen.

Saturday, Oct. 11 we checked in at Hotel Inter-Continental Chicago which is less than a mile walk from the start line in Grant Park. Great choice since it's in front of Bloomingdale's! Alright, I didn't even attempt to shop. Ain't got no time for that! Instead I opted to go for my 3 mile run along Lake Michigan. Beautiful running weather! And race day seemed to be a perfect forecast too. Mid 50's with sun? Can't beat that!

For dinner, we met up with my husband's friend and his wife. They took us to Chinatown for authentic Chinese cuisine. Not my my usual pre race dinner but I already had my carb loading ongoing since yesterday. Had some pasta for lunch so for dinner, I didn't care less. I just made sure I didn't eat fish or any seafood and dairy the night before.

Then back at the hotel, I layered out my race day outfit and prepped my nutrition. Of course I'm overdoing it again because I'm bringing everything that will fit into my pocket. Thus the reason why I'm wearing the Reebok shorts that I used in NYC. But this time I knew better. I'm sticking to my fueling schedule and I'm bringing almonds with me. Worked well when I did my  20 mile run. And for my breakfast, I ordered the breakfast box the hotel had for the marathoners. It would be brought to me at 4:30 am as I had requested. Went to bed around 8:30 - 9:00 pm.

Race day, October 12. I had a good night sleep. Woke up before the alarm at 4:15am. Wasn't planning on walking to the park till 6am so I have plenty of time to get ready and relax a bit. My breakfast consists of 1 boiled egg, 1 banana, 1 piece of Ezekiel cinnamon raisin bread with peanut butter and water. No coffee since I have reflux. Woke up my husband so he could walk with me to the park, a good 15 min. walk. Got there at 6:15 at gate 4, kissed our goodbyes. My wave doesn't start 'til 8 am and I don't have to be in my corral 'til 7:45 so I got plenty of time to stretch, eat my last meal and use the facilities.

Here I am all by myself taking some selfies and watching people stretch and contemplate. I missed my running buddy Anne who's doing NYC again this year. Tried to look for a friend from MD who I texted yesterday if we could meet up before the race but I didn't see her. Posted my status on FB and Instagram of course and walked my way in the corral. Here's the thing why I already like Chicago Marathon. The waiting time is short, no ferries nor buses to the start line, much more organized and you could easily find your way to your corral, plenty of port-a-potties with hand washing stations and plenty of space to sit or lay around. Plus we got lucky it's not that cold! I'm wearing shorts and tri top and no leggings or arm warmers!!!

Start time! I met a lady from Westport, CT at the start line and she could talk like crazy and she's funny as hell. Made the time go by while we wait. Then off we go!!! Already tossed my sweatpants and sweater right before the start! Started my Garmin watch (didn't forget it this time) and turned on my IPhone play list! Enjoyed every minute of it. By the way, I took my 600mg Ibuprofen with breakfast so I'm not feeling the pain from my toe and that was part of the plan! Course was flat as pancake! Spectators were awesome! I was planning to meet my husband and son around mile 11. I'm supposed to stay on my left so I won't miss them and my son had made a banner for me so it's easy to spot them. I went through every mile ok until I felt I needed to use the potty just because that's how I am. I don't hold much plus I hydrated my self enough for me to go so I looked for the next facility that doesn't seem to have a line. Found it! But with my luck, the person before me took their precious time and it's a little late for me to jump on to the other line. Whatever! Maybe took 5-6 mins off my time.

Ah, seeing my family always brings me joy and eased some pain! Gave my hubby and son a hug and some nice random person took a picture of us together! Then back to the grind! I grabbed every single real food they were giving me, bananas, peanut butter crackers, nuts! That was the key for me, right fueling! I had to otherwise, I would drop my sugar and would not be able to make it! With my weight and metabolism, I think I burn calories fast enough that I need to supplement it right away. My legs and feet were feeling fine. Went through my pace as planned. Not too fast, just comfortable. Not even trying to beat any time. I'm just here to enjoy it. Glad to be part of it!

With Chicago, miles were marked wonderfully but it doesn't give you your time splits so you're on your own. I barely looked at my watch so I'm literally clueless but I purposely did that so I won't be pressured. It went by beautifully, the sun is out and I didn't put any sunscreen so I know I will have tanlines. Didn't bring my sunglasses either because I didn't wanna worry about another thing but got me my running visor so I'm good. They said if you reached Chinatown, you only have 4 miles to go so when I did I was already running low and I know I'm well hydrated but you get to that turning point that you just want to get it done. I walked a bit at mile 24, I was just tired! Then I picked up and ran a bit slower than my pace and when I reached that last mile which is the hilliest part of the race ( when you live in CT, that hill is nothing) I started sprinting to the finish and I remember telling myself I have to smile at the finish! Of course, I picked the wrong spot again on the way to finish so when the pictures came out, I got covered by this tall dude ahead of me so I didn't have a nice photo finish! That's alright! I got the medal!!! Time 4:43! 13 mins off my previous time! I'll take that!

Post race party was awesome! They gave you the post race goody bag,  a good glass of cold beer, bags of ice packs for your sore knees, feet or whatever needs to be iced. And to top it all I got a nice massage at the tent to loosen me up before I take my .9 mile walk to my hotel! After that I had a nice shower and the boys ordered Thai food for lunch and I took a nice short nap!!!

All in all, I loved Chicago, I loved the race. It's very well organized, the course was flat, a lot of volunteers, people were nice and friendly. I would absolutely recommend it and I would love to do it again. Hopefully with my husband and friends!!!

My first marathon...NYC! Race day!

November 3, 2013!

Extra hour of sleep! Yes, we turned our clocks back for Day light savings time!  Did it help?  Of course it did.  I closed my eyes last night at 9:30 pm and woke up at 1:30 am to use the bathroom. Slept back and opened my eyes and it was only 1:55am. Darn! I find myself waking up every hour to check my alarm. Finally stood up at 4:15 am and prepped myself since the cab is picking us up from my mom's to the New York Public library at 5:30 am. Yes, I was lucky enough not to book a hotel in the city where I have to pay an arm and a leg just to sleep. My mom and my sister is from  Astoria, NY which is 2.8 miles away from midtown where the buses are picking up the runners to go to Staten Island. That's where the race starts. Basically, we had 2 options for transport to the start village in Forth Wadsworth in Staten Island. Either take the bus or the ferry. Didn't want to get sea sick with the ferry so we chose the free bus but gotta be there no later than 6:30 am. My husband is accompanying me and will meet our friend Anne who's also running her first NYC marathon but her 3rd for this year. She's basically my training buddy for this race. We left our husbands in her hotel and off we go to fall in line for the bus.  Let me tell you, there are 50,000 runners and I don't know how New york transported all of us to the start line. All I saw were 2 blocks of buses all double parked and continuously loading people and it's been going on since 5:30 am. Our pick up is 7:00am and we don't start running till 10:55am. Figure that out! We're on the last wave and every wave has 3 colors. Green, orange and blue. This means we are gonna freeze our butts off for more than 4 hours counting from when we lined for the bus. And temperature check was 46 degrees with windchill factor that felt like it's under 30 degrees! Oh boy!!!

Waiting to be transported!

It was traffic going to Staten Island but we're not complaining since we got more time being warm inside. We're gonna be waiting anyway! Ok, we're only allowed to bring the clear bag they provided us so I packed my breakfast and drinks which consists of 2 peanut butter sandwiches in a cinnamon raisin bread, a banana and my Generation Ucan protein drink, 2 bottled water and my coconut water. I got my fuel belt with 2 8oz bottles of Gen Ucan electrolyte drink, 3 gels and I put 2 Honey Stinger waffles in my pocket. I really don't have any idea how to fuel my self for 26.2 miles because I've never done 26.2 miles!!!

My outfit: running tights, running shorts over the tights just for the extra pocket, Under Armour long sleeve shirt and Saucony bright pink shirt on top where I duct taped my name on it so people would cheer my name. ( I got that tip from a blog). Bright pink so my family could easily see me! And of course my old Kswiss running shoes! Wore an old sweatshirt from my son's closet that I could toss out if I started to get warm and a pair of old gloves that I could just throw away. Sunglasses because the weather said it's sunny (I didn't see the sun till I was in Manhattan!) and my headband to cover my ears. I always bring my favorite running buddy, my IPhone! It's purpose? Music, camera, and for emergency hot line all in one! Oh let's not forget social networking!

Got into Fort Wadsworth around maybe 7:30 am. Security was so tight. We went through bag checks, body scan, bomb sniffing dogs and so forth and so on! That's  all good after Boston Marathon! We got in the start village and it was crazy crowded!!! There are tents and probably thousand Porta potties! So went straight to fall in line to use the much dreaded potties! (You don't know how much I hate those). I'm a germ freak! But you gotta do what you gotta do! I'm not gonna get into details!  We squeezed ourselves in the first tent we saw and relaxed and got the rest of our breakfast in. Spoke to different people from all over the world. It's amazing how big this race is! Multinational, multicultural  and so diverse but everyone has one goal... to get to the finish line! 

Time check and it's 9:30 am, it's time to take my protein drink and and stretch my legs. It's so cold that my toes are getting frozen. By the way, thanks to Anne for the garbage bag idea. I brought a large trash bag with me and helped get warmed while waiting. Then just throw it out when you're ready to run. I recommend that. It's not fashionable but it did the job! 10:15 am when we started walking to our corrals. Anne is orange and I'm green so we gave our good luck hugs and separated our ways. We're on our own. I headed to my corral still with my sweatshirt on but I see a lot of people stripping their warm clothes and throwing it out on the goodwill pile. I'm not ready for that! From below the Verrazano bridge I could see all the runners who started ahead of us. We're at the last wave which is wave 4 so that must be wave 3. Then more security before you enter the bridge....

We're freezing!

Then I'm at the start line. Very emotional! I can't believe I'm here in the middle of a large crowd waiting to start their 26.2 mile journey. I'm not nervous at all. I'm so happy I get to do this! Then the National Anthem was sang and then the cannon to start and boom! We were all moving slowly while  they play the music New York, New York by Frank Sinatra! Runners singing and everyone was just happy! This is it!!! You could see the city line but it seems far. We got a long way but just breathe and enjoy it! 

Mile 1 is Verrazano bridge which means uphill. It was long and it was slow. My plan was to take my time first half so I don't drain myself on the last half but you really have no choice. There was no space. I have to work my way around to get a space. And this lasted for about 3 miles. And oh my God, was it windy!!! I'm glad I kept my gloves and sweatshirt. I put my sweatshirt around my waist, I'm afraid I'm gonna need it at some point! 

First 12 miles was Brooklyn. Nice and flat! Crowd was amazing! I had my music on but I took my headphones off when there's big crowds.  And Brooklyn was full of energy! It was overwhelming! I have so much energy that I could have run faster but I wanted to stick to my plan. Save your energy! I'm not here to PR. I'm here to finish my first full marathon! 

Then Pulaski bridge which connects Brooklyn to Queens. That's where the 13 mile marker is. People are taking pictures at the bridge but I didn't. Why? I've seen it before. I'm originally from Queens before I moved to CT.  But I'm getting excited. Not just because I'm halfway the journey but because I get to see my son and my sister along Vernon Boulevard. Yes! They're waiting for me and they've been tracking me online so they know I'm coming. I told them to stay at the right side and there they were! They had 2 orange banners to cheer me up. I gave them hugs and we had pics taken. They refilled my bottles with Ucan electrolyte drink and off I went.

My cheerers!

Then to Queensboro bridge where you could here no one but yourself. No crowds. That's when I put my music back on and tackled the long bridge. I'm glad I trained good hills so I was able to run it. I see people walking it. This is when I saw a wheelchair guy doing it in reverse. I said Wow! People are amazing! We are on our 16 mile run. At the end of the bridge, I had to make a pit stop! Surprisingly, it lasted me that long. 

First avenue is when you get the crowds back. I mean tons of people cheering you on, calling you by name!  So much energy! I'm still OK. I took my 2nd salt tab to prevent me from cramping. I took my first salt tab at the start line.  I took my 2nd gel. I've been sipping Gen Ucan every now and then. I take water sips every mile. I'm not sweating a lot with the cold temperature and windchill. First avenue was so long. All the way to Willis bridge which is almost to the 20 mile marker. 

So here's my test. Past 20 miles. Going to the Bronx. I'm still OK. Legs are heavy but no issues. For some reason I had to put my gloves back 'coz I'm cold. Not understanding it.  I keep going same pace. Bronx was short. Only up to mile 21 then you're back to Manhattan past Madison Avenue bridge. I took half a banana they were giving out at mile 21. I was very careful at this point 'coz there were banana peels everywhere and you could easily slip and fall.  Oh hell yeah! I wanna get to that finish line! But now it's all mental. I know I have 5 miles to go and I am not feeling well. I'm getting clammy and numb around my mouth. I started walking and I'm at mile 22. Holy Cow! I'm getting light headed that I can't listen to my music anymore and I'm not enjoying the crowd. I'm getting hypoglycemic!!! Yes, my sugar is low. I took my honey stinger out of my pocket and started eating it. Then someone handed me a banana. I'm still walking at this point. I jogged a little bit just to get on the pace then found mile 23 marker and water station. Oh yes, my friend Lisa is here handing out water. maybe I'll talk to her a bit and get my mind out of what I'm feeling. Didn't see her. Took a sip of water to wash the banana down and I took off, I felt better but still gauging myself. I started praying the Our Father and Hail Mary several times. Then saw marker 24! Woohoo!  We're in Central Park and the crowds are blasting! I know I'm recovering from my low blood sugar but I still have 2.2 miles. That's long for me. I'm talking to myself, " You got this! Lord have mercy".  People cheering my name! Some runners are just walking but I found myself running faster than I was. With mile marker 25 I was regaining a lot more energy. I was pumped! Saw my sister Doris and my son Clarence on my left with 800 yards to go and as I passed them I hear a shout out from my husband Anthony and friend Nelson but I can't stop now so I waved at them quickly! Then as I saw the finished line, I remember to smile for the camera and Yes!!! I did crossed the finish!!! 26.2 miles and it was over and done! 

It felt so good that I said to myself " I could do that again!" Had my finisher medal, my photos taken and walked a good 30 mins to meet my family at the family reunion area. I was so cold and went for a bowl of ramen soup after taking an interesting ride at the subway.

Husband and son!

Here's my finisher medal!

My first marathon... NYC! The preparation!

I've been into running for 5 years now but I keep telling myself, how the hell can someone run 26.2 miles? I've done a lot of 5k's, 6 half marathons, 1 duathlon, 7 sprint triathlon and my last race was an Olympic distance triathlon. So I keep thinking, will my legs allow me to run that distance without hurting my self? I'm not a young chic anymore, I'm 42 years old although I have surprised a lot of people when I do mention my age. Thank you! So what the heck! I've been watching the NYC marathon every year on TV and I also say to my self, "If I ever run a marathon, it has to be NYC!" Yeah, in my dreams!

NYC marathon entry is based on qualifying time, lottery, or charity. There you go, so you can't just join them! Well, I would never qualify because I'm one of those mortals who run just to finish and be happy. I'm not good at collecting money either for Charity and that's the reason why I don't do well with my son's fund-raising at school when he was younger, end up paying for the whole thing. So my only way is lottery! So I first entered my name for the NYC marathon 2012 lottery. You only lose $5.00 if you don't get in. Of course, I did not get in! And I totally forgot about it!!! So another year had passed and a full marathon is still not on my to do list, at least in the near future. And I got an email that the lottery is opened again for 2013 so took my credit card out and paid another $5.00 and totally forgot about it again.

May 29, 2013. I got an email alert from my credit card that I got charged some $285.00 (if I remember it right). So I checked and it was NY Road runners. What did I buy now??? I don't remember purchasing any running outfits from their website...Was i scammed? Later in the afternoon, an email was sent. " Congratulations! You are in! Welcome to the NYC marathon 2013!" Holy Mother!!!! I got so numbed I did not know my hands from my feet! I became so excited I started posting on face book! I was so happy that I would be doing it with my friend Annie who has a guaranteed entry this year. Then my thoughts went how do I train? I have other planned triathlon races, I'm going on a big cruise this summer, and so on and so forth.

It's here!!! This is my only chance and it was given to me! Go for it! Others can, why can't you?? I'm not disabled and disabled people can! This is it! I purchased a 16 week training plan and I gotta start. I'm definitely not a new runner so I keep boosting my self. I got my running shoes, my running outfits so let's do it!

The training plan was hard because I don't run everyday of  my life. I'm so used to swimming 2x/week, biking maybe 1-2 times a week then run couple of times a week. That is if my work allows me. Don't forget, I have a full time job as a hemodialysis nurse at a hospital which requires on-calls and weekends. Yes, that's how I live and I don't complain. So exercising is just another piece of my life. But going back, my training requires at least 5 days of running with some flex days or cross training. I'm glad I have a husband who runs with me every now and then and I have fitness pals who I've gained over the past years from my Trifitness team that always likes tough workouts and fun races! I like joining them for long runs or short because they motivate me. And my husband who I have to thank because he helps me lot with household chores so I could squeeze in my runs after work. The most I've run was 13.1 miles so I get anxious when the plan says 15 miles, 17 miles, then 18 miles, then 20 miles...Yes, those were my long runs and I did them all without injuring my self. That's how amazed I am in this journey because you can teach your body  how to deal with pain. Yes, Pain! It's not a walk in the park to run those miles but your body repairs and adjusts to it. If I don't feel well, I don't run. You gotta listen to your body, too. And I think that was the key to an injury free training. I'm guilty if I don't train but I don't want to be sorry either. And so, I didn't bike at all since my last triathlon in July and I probably swam  just a couple of times at the Y when my legs were asking for it. To make it short, I never cross trained which is one thing I know I had to do. But who got time for all of these??? I work 10 hrs each day and I still have a family to take care of. I still have to cook, clean, be a wife and a mother. And remember, I still do need sleep!

Race day is November 3, 2013. One week before the race, I ran my last long run which is 7 miles (happy camper me!). I thought 7 miles was nothing after they had you running 20 miles about 2 weeks ago which was my peak. My usual route is a little bit hilly but good training ground for NYC as they are known for their bridges. As soon as I did my first 1.5 miles, I felt a moderate to severe pain on the  top of my left foot and I can't continue. I had to walk it. I stopped and stretched and started running but just can't. I basically walked a whole mile till I got to the beach and started stretching. What was that??? I was with my husband and I said how do I make it back? I tried again and for some reason, was able to run really slow going back home and finish my 7 mile run. So I pondered, did I sprain it or had a wrong stride?   I don't know but made me nervous!

The following day was Monday and I'm off from running so I rested my feet. Tuesday was a 3 mile run so I went out again after work and the pain was still there so basically walked again. This time I'm getting worried because marathon is 4 days away. What do I do? Is it my new shoes? I got the same brand of K-Swiss blade light running shoes 3 weeks ago and broke them in already with my 2 long runs without issues. How can it be? What the heck, I have to rule out something before I panic. The next day, I ran my 3 miles using my old shoes but skipped the major hill that I usually go to and guess what? I had no pain so I was very happy and got my spirit back. Then I didn't plan on running Thursday because it was Halloween but I got home from work with a headache too so screw that! Friday, I didn't feel too good at work so I went home an hour early with a headache again and just feeling plain lousy.  OK, this is not good! I'm suppose to be carb loading and I don't have any appetite! Am I getting a flu bug? All I want was to lay down! Praying that I feel better so I napped then pack my bag for the weekend. We're leaving early the next morning to New York to get to the expo and meet up with my friends. I asked my husband to order dinner from our favorite Japanese place in town and get me a bento box with Chicken Katsu! I usually down that easily but not this time, I ate just the California roll and the tempura plus 2 pieces of shumai!  Went to bed.  Next day was expo at Jacob Javits Center. Feeling a little better but still with headache and light headedness. I'm fighting it with a lot of fluids and Vitamin C plus 2 Tylenol extra strength. Didn't eat enough for lunch plus we had reservations at an Italian restaurant near Time Square at 5:30pm.  How do I feel?  Not well!  But I'm not dropping out!  I did the training and this is my chance to run the NYC marathon so I talked to myself.  " Pray to God, get a good night sleep and tomorrow is a better day!"

Was supposed to be my marathon shoes

My longest run!