There were SOOOOO many port-a-potty's here!!! This pic was taken from the bird and butterfly sanctuary a little ways away from race headquarters
Oh yeah -- after the race, on the way back to the shuttle, we saw that *THE* Blues Brothers car was there -- the race coincided with the Blues Festival on Wells Street, so they just made it all one big party!!!
I made the gear check lady take our pic after the race
Me, right after -- I look pretty mad still.......
Chris, poor thing -- he did it, and did it well, but he was sore before we even started the 2 hour drive home!!!The pinnacle of my running summer, The epitome, The definition of all my effort. The beast. The half-marathon.
It's Monday afternoon, the race was yesterday. I am currently sitting at my computer with thighs that are a little sore -- mostly from my 1.5 hours of planting flowers this morning -- but I still don't know exactly how I feel about yesterday.
We had to get up at 3:00am, to be certain we were out of the house by 3:25am, stop for gas (I am horrible about filling up BEFORE we go anywhere 'big') We had to be at the museum of Science and Industry by 5:30 am to catch a shuttle to the race itself. The race started at 7:13am. We got to MSI by 5:15, hopped on the bus and were shuttled off to the South Shore Cultural Center (where Mr & Mrs Obama had their engagement party!!!) We got to the race hq at about 6am, PLENTY of time to get nervous!!!! I went into this feeling really unprepared, I had only done 2 really long training runs (to me a long run is anything over 7 miles) I had done an 8.4 mile run and a 10.3 mile run. I had taken the weekend off before the race, so my running muscles could rest before the big run. I don't know how I feel about this taper philospshy (where you essentailly peak 2 weeks before a half, then gradually decrease your run distance to a measly 3 miles about 4 days before the race) Now, Chris on the other hand, has done 1 training run, a 4 mile run on his way to get McDonalds!!!! So, I am nervous for him as well, but that boy has more pride than anyone I know, so if he says he's gonna do it -- watch out, cuz he's gonna go fast and furious until it's done!!!!
Anyhow, back to the race here.......wait, wait, I lied..... I forgot to tell you where the kids are....my oldest 3 spent the night at my parents house, and Jackie spent the night at my house with the 'baby'......ok, now back to the race.
It's 6:05 and, race starts in just over an hour......we walk around for a bit, but the general vibe in the race area is too hyped up for me, so we meander away from that and head over to the lake, Lake Michigan. We see a little path that leads to this butterfly and bird sanctuary, it's this little area of Chicago that is just all "wild" with these little paths that take you to lookout points that overlook the breakers and the lake.....it was really serene and just what we (yes, even Mr. Hotness was nervous) needed. We putzed around a bit, made the 17 mandatory port-a-potty stops, and just waited. After we dropped our backpack at Gear Check, we decided to stretch...as Chris was stretching "Tommy" the blackhawks mascot, came over to stretch with him, and Chris even got a massage from Tommy (no pics though b/c we had JUST dropped off our bag -- with the camera in it :-()
At about 6:50, they started letting people into their corrals. We were in corral "L", so we headed over there listening to the mc with his pre-race jabber..... this is when we find out that A) I have to pee, and B) they are letting corrals go in alphabetical order, every 90 seconds!!!! we are in the 12th corral, so it's gonna be 18 minutes that we are stuck in here, just waiting to go!!!! And, (naturally) there is no way out of the corral, so, even though I have time, I can't leave to pee!!! As we got closer, and they were letting the "H"'s go, there was a break in the corral fencing, and tons of people were rushing across the parking lot to pee.....Chris went first while I held our place, then I went. Ahhhh......
So, we finally get to the front, and we are stoked! We have NEVER run together, he starts really strong and fast, I am more like the turtle, slow and steady.....but, he knows he can't start this fast, there is just too much race for that. We ran together for about 4.5 miles, and I must admit, though we didn't talk much, we didn't need to... it was one of the most romantic things we've ever done... we were passing people without ever needing to ask each other if we should, we were running like a team, and it was nice to know that almost 8 years into our marriage, we are strong, united, and silly nerds!! Somewhere around the 4.5 mile mark, there was an aid station (they were every mile or so, well done 13.1 series!!) somehow in the mass of people, Chris got a little ahead of me, and, as this was an out and back, the bicycle convoy and police 4 wheeler showed up on the other side of the sidewalk -- the winner was on his way back already!!!! In the mad dash to get all the out-bound runners on the right side, Chris got even further ahead of me!! At the 6 I got a drink and walked through it (learned from the Indy half that I am NOT talented enought to run and drink!!) and, at that point, I lost Chris entirely.
I still felt OK, I could tell I was hitting a slight runner fatigue, but it wasn't anything major -- I also developed a slight upset stomach from these gummy energy things we brought with us -- I broke rule #1 and tried something new on race day :-(
I just kept trucking along, talking to people around me every now and again.....trying my best to maintain a solid 10 minute mile. Everything was fine until somewhere between 9 and 10. I started thinking about how Chris was likely gonna finish his first ever half-marathon in under 2 hours, without training, at all. I started thinking about Jill, and how miserable she was probably making Jackie, and I started to feel guilty. Then, my slight upset stomach turned to a 'need to puke now' stomach. I stopped just past the 10 mile sign, tried to throw up, but was too embarassed, so I just walked. And cried. Well, sobbed really. I knew I was still OK to finish in my goal time (2:15:00) but I didn't feel good, I didn't feel strong, I didn't feel solid, I didn't feel confident. So, I cried.
After a couple minutes being the only one at my pity party I told myself to shut up and finish this damn thing so we could just go home!!! I had less than a 5K left, and while a 5K is still work for me, it's no longer a monumental run. So, just buck up and run,Julie. So, I did. I ran past the guy who had passed out and was being tended to by EMT's, I ran past the woman who was braver than me and managed to puke in front of everyone, I ran past the 14 year old girl who couldn't run anymore and was crying, I ran past the man with a prostethic leg who was sweating profusely, but was out there doing it, I ran past the punks who had passed me while I was crying, but most importantly, I ran past my doubt, I ran through the pain, I ran through the guilt, through the lack of confidence..... I ran, not fast, but I just kept running.
Suddenly, I could see the finish! I did it!!!! There were people everywhere, people cheering, other racers who were done, wearing their medals, sweat drying, hearts beating in their normal ryhthm and they were cheering me on.... and good grief, did I need it -- I was in a group of about 10-12 people, and I kept raising my arms to the spectators, making them cheer for us (that IS your job as a spectator, by the way) and the group I was running with got a bit more confident, and a bit happier with each cheer we got......
Suddenly I heard a rat-tat-tat-tat, rat-tat-tat-tat... that man with the prosthetic leg was breathing hard, grunting LOUD, and finishing strong -- in a moment I'll never foget, everyone in that part of that finish chute (which was over 2 tenths of a mile long), everyone veered left to let him through -- it was a tearful moment for me.
Then, after all these curves, and the longest finish chute of my life, I saw the finish arch. I knew that I was going to cross the timing mat running, and soon!! I glanced at my watch and saw 2:13, and hammered down, I gave that last 50 feet everything I had left!
After finally officially finishing, I saw Chris comfortably stationed behind the banana table, waiting for me.
I was so angry when I finished. So very angry at myself.
I was also so very proud of Chris, who never walked once, for fear of not being able to run again. Although, he did have some weird sympots, sadi his legs turned to lead, then his fingers began to tingle.......??? yeah, that scares me! But, he's already talking about doing a full marathon!!!
As for me, I am anxiously awaiting the Monumental Marathon in Indy in November, with dreams of doing a full marathon when the kids are older and I can really devote the required time to training.
I guess in the process of writing the blog, I have decided to look back on this half experience bitter-sweetly. I don't care that he beat me (OK, i don't care much) I am glad that I finished under my time goal, I just know that I should have performed better and gotten a better time.
*sigh*
Oh well, next time, I s'pose.
Results:
Chris: 2:07:41 ~~~ 181/262 male 30-34 ~~~ 9:45 mile
Julie: 2:13:19 ~~~ 187/391 female 30-34 ~~~ 10:11 mile
