I never gave a race report from Chicago. Chicago was my 6th marathon and Glenn’s 7th. My mom and sister also ran it, and it was both of their 2nd marathons.
This marathon was exactly one week after Glenn and I returned from a week long bike trip to New York City. Glenn rode 900 and I rode 450 miles in a week… in the mountains. (that’s a whole other story!) We knew we wouldn’t be fresh for Chicago, but had NO idea how incredibly painful it would actually be.
We ran together for the first 1/2 mile…. literally that was it. I shooed him off and told him to go be fast like he has been lately. So the 26.2 mile journey began. I had all those happy, feel good feelings miles 5 through 9 once I was all warmed up, but at approximately mile 10 I started to feel heavy. Oh my, that was a little too early to start hurting! At the half way point I was in front of the 3:30 pace group thanks to those fast, feel good miles I pumped out at 5-9. (I knew this wouldn’t last long!) I kind of did that, knowing that no matter how slow or fast I ran the first half, the second was going to be painful.
It’s all kind of a blur now, but I ended up running a 3:54…. and considering where I was at the halfway point, that calculates out to be a very slow second half. Miles 20-24, I only remember shuffling my feet, just trying to move forward. There were definitely tears, and my legs have never felt so awful in my life. (although I know I have said that before…. Boston 2009 when I was not at all prepared for the downhills) I was able to pick up my shuffle and turn it into a jog for the last 2 miles, but it was not easy. I also can’t fail to mention that it was super hot and sunny that day!
At the finish, of course there’s Glenn waiting for me like usual. He ran a 3:24, which is pretty darn fast, but he said he also felt terrible nearly the whole run. I’m thinking, if he felt as awful as I did that day and still ran a 3:24, then a Boston Qualifying time for him is in reach sooner than later.
My mom ended up beating the time from her first marathon by a huge amount… and she broke 5 hours by a good 15 minutes! I was so proud of her. She gets it done that’s for sure. Ericka had a bad day….but redeemed herself at the Marine Corps Marathon only two weeks later with a 10 minute PR from the Marine Corps last year… down to a 4:22.
Now we just have to get Dad and Shelby on the marathon bandwagon. Dad has ran a few half marathons, including dances with dirt, which I have ran and I think that counts for more like 20 miles than 13 considering the hills and mud. Shelby is going to run the mini in May…. so we will see what happens from there.
We are running the Virginia Beach marathon in the middle of March. I am hoping to break 3:30 and Glenn is hoping to qualify for Boston with a 3:10. I am so excited to see what we can do. I think the whole race I will just be wondering how Glenn is doing and how close he is to hitting his time. Can’t wait!! Also, looking for an April or May marathon.
Stay Tuned.
