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!!!