My first thought, “Great…it’s already 70 degrees and I finally notice that my feet and ankles were still hurting from last night! This is not starting out well.” I make my way down Michigan Avenue headed to Charity Village so I can check my stuff in at the Fred’s Team tent and grab some breakfast (the perks of being with a charity, we have a private tent with food, water, ice, and can leave all our stuff there so we don’t have to gear check with the thousands of other runners) with enough time to head toward the start and get a quick stretch in. The gun went off and we stood there, a few minutes later we took a step forward and waited to take another step forward. Just like I thought; with over 40,000 people registered to run, it took me 30 mins just to cross the start line. Finally, I was off.
Nice and slow. Due to my ankle and foot pain and by the time I crossed the start, hip pain, I was hypersensitive to my pacing. As I’ve mentioned before, Chicago is one of my all-time favorite cities and I was getting to run through its streets. So I took in everything possible. I can’t begin to describe how awesome it was to be seeing the city in this way (I’m looking forward to running NYC’s marathon for the same reason). And it was jam packed with runners and spectators for most of the race. Very, very cool experience, that’s one of the awesome things about marathons…each one is so different from the next yet very much the same. We started at Millennium Park and headed north toward Wriggly, past the Lincoln Park Zoo. Then we headed south, through either Lakeview or Boystown not sure which part of the district we were in, but super fun and full of great spectators. Making our way through Old Town down to Greek Town, Little Italy, University Village, Pilsen (btw Mexican’s now how to motivate!) and China Town. Finally, we headed toward Soldier Field and then back north to finish at Grant Park. 
I’m frequently asked “what do you think about while you’re running that long?!” Actually, I’m very ADD when I run. I can’t stay on one train of thought very long. That’s how it is for me, doesn’t matter if I’m on a short run or a long run. Even with the best intentions I can’t stay on track, unless I’m silently chanting a mantra…and then I find I become a broken record, I’ll run several miles before I realize I’ve been repeating the same phrase over and over the entire time. Several times during the first half of the race I considered quitting. Though I wouldn’t have actually quit (for a million and one different reasons) I still thought about it. When this occurred, I did one of two things; I either looked at the spectators and desperately wished I was one of them or thought about how temporary the agony I was experiencing actually was. Thinking about it, 4-5 hours of your morning really isn’t much time at all; eventually the run will end. Many marathoners are familiar with the phrase, “the pain is temporary, but the pride is forever.” Yeah...definitely a mantra today. Last night I’d written down each mile and who purchased what streets for my marathon monopoly. I had it in a Ziploc and carried the list the entire race, referencing it frequently using each person as motivation through every street.
I’m also an emotional runner. I usually tear up at the beginning of a race, taking in all the people that are there for so many different reasons but underlying it all, we’re there for the same thing…we’re running 26.2 miles together. Then throughout the race I catch myself getting emotional because I realize how many people can’t even run a mile and I’m out here running 26.2, how many people don’t think they can endure the distance but don’t realize the strength they have within themselves and I’ve been blessed enough to discover this about myself, and how many others don’t even have the use of their legs and I’m silently complaining about the pain I’m experiencing because I get to use mine (I frequently consider this blessing, but when running a marathon it hits me even harder). Those moments catch me by surprise. Or the other runners…sometimes it’s their shirts, their conversations I over hear, or just their physical appearance. Every race, I’m still amazed at how different each marathoner is. It’s so cool to see such an eclectic group of people come together. I wonder what they’re going through in the moment I see them, who or what is their motivation to be running this marathon, is this their first marathon, what have they discovered about themselves in all their weeks of training leading to this moment? Sometimes these questions are answered by the shirt the runner is wearing. Some of the shirts I’ve seen are awesome! The funny ones I don’t typically remember after the marathon, but they put a smile on my face for the moment and distract me/motivate me through another several steps. The inspirational shirts usually stick, “running because my Dad/Mom believed in me”, “cancer survivor”, “running in honor of my daughter/son/mom/dad…etc”, “Pain: I’m ignoring you, Body: I’m not listening, Mind: Let’s get to work, we can do this!” There are so many more like these that choke me up and give me the motivation I need to keep pushing ahead. Especially the cancer survivor shirts or posters that cheer on a loved one running who’s a survivor; if they fought through cancer, I can stinkin’ fight through 26.2 miles.
Weather-wise, the beginning of the race wasn’t too bad (a bit warm at 70 degrees at 8am) but once we hit the top of the course near Wriggly (mile 8) and headed back south the sun was beating down on us with virtually no shade for the remainder of the race and it was already in the mid 80s by the time we hit mile 13. Enough of me going on and on about the far from ideal conditions, what’s important is I learned a lot about travelling for a quick marathon weekend, I grew a lot mentally, and I FINISHED! I have to remind myself finishing is a feat within itself! I should be proud I accomplished what I did, and I am! Not every race can be a PR and I should be happy for what I did do and what I learned and discovered in the process. 
OH…and thanks to a fellow runner friend, Mike, I challenged myself a few months back to really push myself and work to run a marathon without music. Music is a driving force for me, rarely am I doing something without music playing in the background. Since I started running I’ve always run with music, prior to this summer I decided to run a few short runs (3-6 miles) without music just to see if I could do it. Then as the summer progressed I worked my way up to running 22 miles without music and found that I listened and responded to my body in a completely different way than when I ran with music. I never intended to run this marathon without my wonderful music but this morning when I strapped my iPod on my arm I challenged myself to complete this marathon without turning it on. A few times I thought, "I’ll just turn it on for a song or two just to keep myself distracted." However, I decided against it knowing once I turned it on I probably wouldn’t be able to turn it off. Then I hit mile 20 and thought, “I’ll turn it on now to help push me to my physical limits and finish these last 6 miles strong.” Even though I knew I was bound to run harder if I had my music than I would just by mentally willing myself to, I decided I would finish the race without turning my iPod on. I was going to fight through the pain and negative thoughts with only the use of my inner strength. And I did it! The pride of your individual triumphs through the completion of an endurance race, truly are forever. 4 states down, 46 to go! Following the finish I made my trek back to the Fred’s Team tent and did my best to quickly recharge and head back to the hotel to grab my bags and prepare for the journey back to TX. I was supposed to meet up with my friend, Blaze, who happened to be in town the same weekend and turned out he was staying with friends in the city and I happened to have a place to shower before having to travel home! After difficulties with serious leg muscle cramps at the tent I was finally able to stand up and walk to Michigan Ave in hopes to find a taxi back to the hotel. 30 mins into my walk north I was able to find an available cab…yeesh! I enjoyed a brief time with Blaze, grabbed a quick shower and headed off to Union Station to catch the train back to Milwaukee. The train was absolutely packed, not to mention the flight was too. I finally landed in Dallas absolutely exhausted. What was I thinking travelling the same day as running a marathon?! Never, never, never again will I do that! I’m so thankful for the thoughts, financial support (without all those who donated to MSKCC I wouldn’t have been able to run this race, thank you a million times over!), encouragement, and prayers for this weekend. This weekend has been a great learning and growing experience and truthfully, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
“The distance race is a struggle that results in self-discovery. It is an adventure involving the limits of self.” Paul Weiss
“Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you’re young enough, old enough, strong enough and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don’t let worn out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself.” John Bingham, “Tools and Rules,” Runner’s World
“Top results are reached only through pain. But eventually you like this pain. You’ll find the more difficulties you have on the way, the more you will enjoy your success.” Juha Vaatainen, 5,000m & 10,000m gold medalist ’71 European Championships
“The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy…It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed.” Jacqueline Gareau, 1980 Boston Marathon champion
“I've learned that finishing a marathon isn't just an athletic achievement. It's a state of mind; a state of mind that says anything is possible.” John Hanc, running writer
