I am a Marathoner!

Ok, so this should have been written a month or so ago.  I’m slow what can I say.  Slow at running, slow at writing.  BUT eventually I reach the finish line.

This blog started to track my progress to the 2012 Chicago Marathon.  Due to injuries, I didn’t make the 2012 event, so once healed I started training for the 2013 Chicago Marathon.  As I sit here typing, I can now say I am a MARATHONER!  I’m not much of a blogger but I’m a MARATHONER.  On Sunday October 13th, I completed the Chicago Marathon in 5:51:58.  No land speed records here but I’m thrilled.   I gave up a lot of time running back and forth across the route to high five kids (my fairly accurate GPS said I covered 27.2 miles), a long wait at a port-a-potty and a struggle to get my right shoe and sock off and back on again around mile 23.  But who cares about the time, I finished under the limit (6.5 hours) and had a blast!   If I get in, I hope to do it again next year.  Or maybe the Portland Marathon or maybe a Wisconsin Marathon.

After Chicago, on Sunday, November 10^th , Naperville, my town had its inaugural annual Marathon and Half Marathon sponsored by Edwards Hospital.  I had first registered for the half marathon but before the Chicago Marathon one of my running club buddies talked me into switching to the full.  Cooler heads prevailed and immediately after the marathon, I switched back to the half marathon.  That was a much more wise choice. 

The 10^th dawned cold (upper 30’s) and clear, a perfect running day.  Naperville is a high energy town and by 6:00 AM the town was rocking with runners, volunteers, spectators and security.  My running buddies from the Bolingbrook Fun Run Club (BFRC) met at 6:15 AM by Fredenhagen fountain for our standard pre-race photograph.  A lot of the BFRC members were volunteering and having everyone either running or on the course made this event really special.  It was like an amped up version of one of our BFRC free events!  Gladys, the clubs founder and mainstay, was an official race director and stationed at Green Valley around mile 21.  I never saw Gladys as I was doing the half but it was great to know she was out there.

The organizers of this marathon and the city of Naperville both did themselves proud.  The number of runners was capped at 3500 to make sure this first event was manageable.  As such, it wasn’t a small event, but it wasn’t outrageously large either.  Everything went off seemingly without a hitch including the rescue of a man who apparently had a heart attack in Spring Valley forest preserve around mile 6.  He had just gone down, but was surrounded by assistants, as I ran by.   I knew I had nothing to offer so I kept going to stay out of the way.  The local paper ran a story that three nurses were running behind him, they stopped and gave him CPR and used the Naperville Park District’s defibrillator.  I can’t help but wonder if those nurses were out there because of the hospital sponsorship.   The expo was outstanding for a race of this size, the neighborhoods were out cheering, the volunteers were exceptional and the post-race food tent was well stocked and handled perfectly.  Not only that but parking was abundant and free. 

Back to my wise choice.  Even the Saturday night before I was thinking “do I really want to run 13.1 miles tomorrow morning?” and when I got up it wasn’t better, now it was “I don’t want to run 13.1 miles at this hour of the morning in the cold”   But, I kept thinking about the really nice finishers medal and the fact that BFRCers would all be out in force.   I really enjoyed having Lynn, a fellow BFRC runner, to chat with at the start line.  It made the wait go by in a flash.   Standing in the cold waiting for the run to start, however, my feet went numb. As the run started I could barely feel my feet.  It wasn’t until about mile 2 until things loosened up a little and even then, all I could think was “just get this over with and get the medal”    It’s amazing how the mind works.  Some days these runs feel great and other days, they’re pure torture.  Yesterday was pure torture. When we ran past my neighborhood, about half a mile from the house, it took everything I had to keep going and not veer off to home.  I passed water stations where friends called out my name and I barely noticed them, I just wanted to get done with it.  As I crossed the finish line, I pretty much forgot to smile.  Can’t wait to see those pictures ;-)    Oh, and the woman that first talked me into switching to the full marathon, she cramped up badly and only did the half.  AND, because she didn’t formally switch, she got the medal but was listed as Disqualified with no time.  Wise choice indeed.

I didn’t stick around to revel in the post run activity.  I walked to my car, drove home, took a shower and then went out to cheer on the middle and back of the pack marathoners.  I had an “I Love Runners” sign and a cowbell at mile 23.  It was a blast cheering folks on and having done Chicago, really knowing what they were going through.  Some of the runners looked like they were just out for a short run, still perky and looking good while others looked like they were definitely struggling.  I think over 50 percent of the runners walked most of the way from mile 22 to mile 23.   Runners loved the sign (the same one Gladys carried at the Chicago Marathoner) often yelling back “we love you too.”

With that, my long runs for 2013 are in the books.  Just a Turkey Trot tomorrow and a Jingle Bell run next week and 2014 will be up next!  I am thankful for a great year of running and my new found Bolingbrook Fun Run Club running family.  They truly are a blessing.