Illinois Marathon - RunMarathon

First marathon! Tried to soak it all in and remind myself that this is my race, I paid the entry fee, and I'm the one that put in all the running miles these past 4 months. Got fired up thinking that I never did the treadmill and never missed a run workout the entire winter. I knew I could do this.

Hit the blue boxes lining the starting area before the race. My one and only complaint about the race: lines for the john were backed up into the corrals for the runners -- really packed in here. Only stood around for 5 minutes before the gun, so no time for any nerves to build up.

Started with the 3:30 pace group made up of half and full marathoners and stuck with them through mile 14. Expected to feel my right hamstring tighten at some point, but everything felt loose and strong. HR was steady at 153, which was more than sustainable. At mile 8 people around me started yelling "Go banana!" and I started to feel pretty confident. I mean, I haven't worn shorts w/o tights in a while so they must be referring to my...and along runs a woman in a full banana costume. *sigh*

Then mile 11 hit. The half marathoners turned off, and out came my old nemesis: the left ITB. It flared up hard, shooting pain to the outside of the knee. I pressed hard into my hip/ass area where the trigger point is, and could release some pain by basically massaging my ass while running. Not cool.

Ah yes, then came the gray cotton shorts around mile 14. Pace booty of the collegiate variety sans frosh fifteen. Something to take my mind off the rising pain barometer. Dude comes up alongside me and says "I don't know what's keeping those shorts up, but for my pace's sake I hope something is, cuz I'm just gonna keep following that ass!" Now that was good for a laugh.

There was pain and then more pain, but I remembered what FreckleFace said about how slowing down wasn't going to make it stop. I tried thanking volunteers and supporters, encouraging other runners and thinking of all the good things in the world, but nothing really helped, so when I hit mile 16 the headphones went in one ear and my attitude improved. Here I had to accept that 3:30 was out of the picture, but 3:40 could still happen. I realized I wasn't afraid of 8:30m/m for these 6 miles if I could save any energy to HTFU for the last 6.

At mile 20 I heard "and here comes Ryan Case from Ann Arbor" from a big white truck w/ a megaphone. It was just what I needed. I popped the other headphone in and thought: this is the start of my race now.

Don't remember much from here except how much my everything hurt and I could stop when I was done. Our friend who was putting us up for the weekend was at 22 snapping photos and I mustered a smile. Another burst of energy when most needed. Running into the stadium was awesome. Sprinted the last 200 yards and heard my name announced as I crossed the finish line, looking up to see my arms raised in the jumbotron. I finished my first marathon. Ow.

Not much. If my IT wasn't such a bitch, I might have been able to hang with the 3:30 group for longer, but probably not to the end.

Cursing, yelling, cringing, etc.


Bionic legs didn't come in time.


Volunteers and race supporters were EVERYWHERE on the course, it was awesome! Just when I started to get down on myself, someone was out there cheering. Doesn't get better than that.