Chicago Marathon - RunMarathon

This marathon was awesome! We were hoping for sub-4 hours and I was having some doubts ahead of time. We stayed at a nice even pace and finished well!

For the first 2 miles I was struggling a little with the pace...it may have just been because of the rushing right before the start, but by the time we got to mile 3 I was pretty comfy. The crowds were insane. And we were shoulder to shoulder with runners the entire time.

The Boystown area was fun, and so many spectators had awesome signs (Chafe now, Brag forever!). The next 10-ish miles went by FAST. I couldn't believe how the miles were just ticking away. We hit the halfway mark at just over 1:56, a tiny bit fast, but still close to 9 minute miles. The crowd was amazing here too, but this was where I was starting to feel worked over.

When we hit the 14 mile marker, we heard the announcement that there was a new course record and American marathon record. It seemed so crazy that we were only halfway done and the winners had already finished!

I started not being very chatty and could tell I was having to focus on our pacing a lot more. The crowds and scenery provided a nice distraction though. We made it through the next few miles and I was playing mental games to keep myself in it. I focused on getting to 16 since that would mean only 10 more miles...then getting to 18, which was where Eric hit the wall at the 2007 Detroit Marathon...then to 20, so we'd only have a 10K left.

Around mile 22 we hit Chinatown...that was the most amazing thing ever! The crowds were unbelievable here. I was hurting pretty badly...my feet were killing me...but I forgot all about it here. It made me a little teary-eyed even...I was so overwhelmed!

The crowds were great again just after mile 23 when we made the turn to start heading back toward the finish. The Nike spirit station was playing "I Gotta Feeling" and it helped to perk me up.

After mile 24 was excruciating. I kept trying to pick up the pace since we were so close, but it wasn't happening. Eric, who had been pulling us along the whole time, was asking to slow it down. 9 minute miles suddenly felt like sprinting.

We saw 2 of my co-workers with 1 mile to go - a nice boost. Someone had an "HTFU" sign. More and more spectators cheering for us. Then we could finally see the turn onto Roosevelt before the finish...and the tiny hill that felt like a mountain. After 26 miles of flatness, my quads hated that tiny hill.

Then we made the final turn to the finish line. We crossed holding hands and I was so grateful to have had such a good run and to have shared it with my amazing husband!

We executed this race about as well as we could have. A spring injury meant that I had to keep my mileage much lower than normal marathon training, something I would not recommend! I was only running 3x a week with a peak week of 36 miles in order to keep my increases around 10%. We did get in 2 20-milers, but I wasn't feeling super prepared.

Shuffled through the finish line, and picked up some snacks. I tried to drink a beer, but my stomach protested after the first couple sips...not a good idea. We got our gear bag for some warm clothes, then we walked the one mile back to the hotel. It was like a death march.


Low mileage training.


Awesome marathon! Lots of spectators and great volunteers. I'd love to do this one again!