Chicago Marathon: Mission Accomplished

Saturday morning we left Mike's dad's house in Ft. Wayne (leaving the girls there for the entire weekend!) and headed northwest to Chicago. My nerves were at an all-time high, which made for a not-so-fun car ride through the traffic of the city to find the Expo at McCormick's Place. Once we FINALLY made it, here is what we walked into:

Literally thousands of runners and their friends/families to pick up their race packet and shop. Fortunately, Mike and I had been here before and knew what to expect Was a beautiful day and we entered the Expo with the sun shining and my heart beating FAST. It was very surreal being here, knowing in a few short hours I'd be running a marathon.

There was an enormous wall with all the marathoner's names on it...and it took a while to find mine
Made it very real & official; my name was in writing...guess I have to run this race after all!
Map of the course...and focusing on the FINISH line
After the Expo we drove to Jenny's house (thanks for letting us stay there while you were in Arizona!) and entered to a great sign! We got situated and then headed to cousin Steve & Amanda's (beautiful) apartment to hang out and eat with them for the evening. Just needed to carb-load and stay off my feet. Was very relaxing. Headed home and hit the sheets very early, as I had to wake at 5:30am.

Morning of race ritual: eat, drink, bathroom, Body Glide entire body, dress, get bag ready for race. A few new ones this year were Mary writing my name in permanent marker on my arm (so the crowd could cheer me on) and a tattoo of my split chart onto my arm! I had signed up to run with the Nike Pace Team and my goal was to finish in 4:15. I knew this was a lofty goal, as this was my first marathon and the heat was going to be in the 80's. Regardless, gotta have goals, right? I believe I was on track for a 4:15 finish up until mile 14-15 and then I fell WAY off track. The heat was in the upper 80's and it hit me like a wall. I know I trained in the heat of the summer; however, my long runs started at 6am...long before the sun came out.

Mike and I before the race

Just entering the starting corral and VERY nervous. I started to get choked up and teary-eyed and Mike told me to stop because I'd get dehydrated. Ha!

This is kind of hard to see, but in the distance are the runners crossing over the river at about mile 1

Think this is about mile 2-3 (don't bother looking for me, I'm not in these)

While I was busy running, my cheering crowd was busy going from point-to-point to track me down. Here are Amanda and Mary heading to mile 13

The Sears Tower...I have to admit I had some pretty beautiful scenery while I was running

Steve and Amanda waiting for me at 13

Taylor & Kim waiting

My cheering section

I was so very relieved to see everyone...I needed a mental break! The first 13 miles were great for me. Very relaxed and feeling good. I listened to the crowd for the first 10 miles and simply took it all in. Once I hit my groove and settled into my pace I put my earbuds in. I saw friends from high school and college in the crowd and at the volunteer stations. I loved reading all the signs the crowd had. A few favorites: "Beat Oprah", "Toenails are overrated" and "You've run over 500 miles this summer, what's 26.2 more?" Very entertaining.

I was in serious need of some chapstick at this point. Taylor joined me and ran miles 13-17 with me. She fought the crowds to get my gatorade and water and simply gave me company.

The crew was waiting for us at mile 17 to pick up Taylor...

...and get me some more chapstick! It was HOT and dry out, what can I say? Miles 17-23 were VERY lonely and extremely hot. It was so hot that the officials opened up fire extinguishers and were handing out wet sponges (from baby pools full of water). Runners were dropping like flies around me. Oxygen masks and ambulances were in abundance. I had to do some run-walking, as I was overheating and my quads were starting to cramp.

I just HAD to get my butt to mile 23, as I knew Erin was there waiting for me to run the last 3 miles with (and she is a big talker, so I knew I could count on her to take my mind off running). As I turned the corner and saw Erin with the biggest smile on her face (and a "GO KELLY GO" tank top, a water bottle and a fuel belt full of Gu and more chapstick) I simply melted into her arms sobbing. I saw the overhead cameras ahead, so I had to pull it together and start running so we could get our photo taken together :) Anyway, Erin had just barely made it in time to see me, so she explained her trial in getting to mile 23 (I told her it was a good thing my pace slowed down SIGNIFICANTLY because if it hadn't, she would have missed me). I was so thankful for her company and was ready for the next three miles listening and laughing (she wouldn't let me stop to potty but she would let me stop to get more vaseline for my pitts!). I told Erin how hot I was and how I was worried because I didn't put any SPF on...she told me it was October in the Midwest and that wasn't possible. I beg to differ. So does my sport bra tan line.

Before I knew it, mile 24 rolled around and we saw Mary & Taylor running towards us to join us for the final 2 miles. I mean, this is where I was the most weepy in the entire race; I had my niece and two best friends all running the final miles of my first marathon with me. I was laughing, crying, talking...I just couldn't have imagined a better way to spend the last few miles of my race. I was overwhelmed with all of their support. The girls dropped off and let me finish the last .4 miles alone...and I might add the finish was quite anticlimatic. I thought I would be a blubbering mess and I was not. I was just so darned relieved to be DONE. And looking forward to a beer and some flip flops.

Erin took these two pics on her phone, while running backwards. I swear I thought someone was going to yell at her. It was hilarious. Oh, and her "Go Kelly Go" tank top got more yells and cheers in those last 3 miles than my "Kelly" on my arm got me the entire race. I feel like my support system was amplified by her shirt...it was SO motivating.

I ran the first half in 2:07 and the second half in 2:32. I finished in 4:39 and although I didn't make my 4:15 goal...I FINISHED. Enough said.

Brent & Erin (and the famous tank)

All my girls: Taylor, Kim, Amanda, Erin & Mary

Taylor & Kim

Mikey

After the race (and an ice cold beer at the finish line!) we headed towards the JBar for a private marathon party (thanks for hooking us up Jenny!). After a quick costume change we enjoyed food and drinks and celebrated my finish.

After lunch we cleaned up and went out for a big dinner of King Crablegs at Half Shell. It was delicious and so fun to celebrate with the entire group (minus Kim & Taylor whom returned home via the train). We talked about the trials and tribulations of running a marathon...and how amazing it feels to have accomplished finishing.

I am so amazed that I did this and am so proud to be part of "the club" and can now call myself a marathoner. People keep asking me if I'm going to run another one. Not so sure about that anymore. The race was FAR more difficult than ANY long run I trained for. Not sure I could have trained any better than I did, as I followed my training schedule to the "T." For now, I'm going to take a few weeks off from running and enjoy not having any schedule to live by. Just going to bask in this glory and let my body recover from one of the most difficult feats in my life.

Chicago Marathon 2010: Mission Accomplished.

Can I get an AMEN?!?!