I run for...Chicago Part 2.

My view in the start corral. Beautiful view of the city!

I have been waiting in anticipation to share my marathon day story with you all. First of all, I want to share something personal with you. I got up at 4:30am on race day and wrote this…

"Race day…I am ready for this. Up at 4:30am. Dressed. Eating a bagel and drinking my coffee. In about 45 minutes we will leave the hotel to begin preparation at the start line. I will warm up my muscles. Drink some water. Have a quick banana. Then on to the start line. There I will wait, probably another 45 minutes. I will think "I am ready for this". I will try to move around as much as possible to keep my muscles warm. When I cross that start line, I will slowly but surely ease into my pace, taking in all that's around me and soaking up the energy. For the first 5 miles,  it will be like any other 5 mile run that I've had in the past. Easy then done. At the mile 8 point is when I will increase my pace. From mile 8 to 18, my goal will be to pass as many runners as I can. With each conquest I will use "Think strong. Be strong." When my legs get tired or my energy starts to waiver I will use sudden 30 sec bursts of energy to keep my legs fresh but I will never walk. When I walk it will be during the aid stations. During today's race I will use my tried and true method of nutrition and hydration. GU ever 45 minutes to 1 hour. Water drank to thirst. I will use "relax, power, glide" as needed. Then mile 20,  the wall. It's time to push through and show them how strong I really am. I will tell myself "I can do more" as I make my last 6.2 miles to the finish. 6.2 miles is nothing. A 10K that I've run a hundred times. This 10K will be different. It will be hard but I will not feel it. I will feel strong all the way to the finish. And when I cross that finish line in CHICAGO and realize I have earned another medal for my wall, I will rejoice. I will be emotional and it will ALL be worth it. Once again I have proven to myself that I am a fighter. Not many people can do what I do. I will take that energy with me back to my family. I will inspire others with my story. And I will be motivated to go out and do more. This is what I live for and this is why I live. In this moment there is nothing better than that feeling."

I love this passage because it is so true to how race day went for me. I am thrilled with my performance. As I have mentioned several times this training season, I was hoping for a PR (personal record). My fastest marathon before Chicago was the R'nR St. Louis at 5:45. I unfortunately did not get a PR in Chicago. I finished in 5:52:44 but nonetheless I am thrilled with my performance.

Here's what I discovered studying my splits (total time divided by distance - 5K, 10K, half, etc.). I think I've mentioned in previous posts that on race day I do not track my pace. I like to go by listening to my body so as not to do too much, too soon and risk pooping out at the end. I did exactly as I wrote in my morning reflection. At mile 8 I increased my pace, going about 30 seconds faster per mile than my first 7 miles. I found the 5:25 pace team and I liked the group. They were all similar in fitness to myself and they were using a 4 minute run to 1 minute walk ratio. This felt really good at the time that I found them because I hadn't stopped to walk AT ALL up to that point. So it was a nice change of pace. However, I quickly realized that their walk was about the same as my slow jog because my legs were so short. HAHA. And then when they sped up to run the 4 minute intervals, I was basically sprinting. I knew this would wear me out quickly so I had to fall back. This was between miles 15-19 and my splits showed that I slowed down at this point almost 1-2 minutes slower per mile. That's what killed my chances for a PR. But I kept thinking about what this guy said while waiting to go to the start corrals. He said, to the guy behind me, "I see you're in the same corral as me which means you're slow like me. I find that it's best to go slower, walk, talk to the people around you. Because you know what the difference is between a 6:00 marathon and a 3:00 marathon? Nothing. The medal is the same." 

Mile 20. The Wall.

During those slow, tough miles, I talked to a lot of people. I even sang! Yikes. I high fived a lot of spectators and I just had fun. I kept thinking about what I was running for - The American Cancer Society - and I focused on just finishing the race strong. I did exactly what I said I was going to do at mile 20. I reminded myself that I only had a 10K left to run, a distance that I've run hundreds of times. I told myself that I could do more and I used short pickups (bursts of energy) to increase my pace. I remember at the 2 miles to go mark there was a band singing "2 miles to go. 2 miles to go." This gave me the kick that I needed. I ran my last 1.2 miles the fastest of the entire race. YES! I crossed the finish line, got my medal, and a BEER (the best beer ever by the way). I got the rest of my goodies (banana, protein shake, protein bars, etc.) and found my son and my husband waiting at the W, per tradition. I sat down and stretched my tired legs and I cried. Yes, I did get emotional after the race. Pinned to my back I had the names of my grandmother and my uncle. I ran in memory of them and in honor of my great aunt, a cancer survivor! I thought of them often during the race to remind myself what I was running for…less cancer, more birthdays. This race certainly reinforced things about myself that I may have forgotten - confidence, determination, courage, spirit - but I wholeheartedly ran this race for those who cannot.

Making my miles count. In memory of Mema and Uncle Marty and in honor of my great aunt, a cancer survivor.

Finisher selfie after receiving my medal. SO HAPPY!

Some other highlights from race day…

• I was really worried that with 1.2 million spectators I wasn't going to EVER see my son and my husband. We made a plan that I would stay on the right side of the road so that anywhere they watched the race they would also be on that side. And I did see them!! At mile 2!!
• The Chicago marathon is an absolutely FABULOUS way to tour the city. We ran through the Loop, Old Town, past the zoo, Lincoln Park, Old Town again, the West Loop including Greektown, Little Italy, University Village (UIC), Pilsen (my favorite neighborhood of the whole race), Chinatown, south, then back north into downtown, finishing in Grant Park where we started.
• There were actually 44,000 runners this year. All 50 states were represented and 100 different countries.
• The song I sang was "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake. Haha. I unplugged my headphones so everyone around me could hear the music and I sang along. A few people even joined me.

Love to all my supporters! I ended up raising $1,150 for the American Cancer Society and you can still donate up to October 27th! Just go to http://determination.acsevents.org and search for me by name (Amanda Winchell).

Happy running!

Amanda, 3-peat marathon runner :)

I run for...Chicago.

One week until the Chicago Marathon! I have been tapering my mileage for the last 2 weeks and I am experiencing such a profound sense of peace. At this point, my hard training is finished and there is nothing that I can do in the next week that will do anything to improve my performance on race day. I've done all that I can do. Now I just need to trust in the training and make a game plan for race day. So today's blog post is about my preparation for Chicago.

Tapering

As I mentioned above, I have been tapering for the last 2 weeks. This is an essential part of marathon training. I have really struggled with the taper the last two years because I wanted to cram a whole bunch of extra miles in at the end thinking it will do some bit of good. But the truth is, it doesn't make any difference. If you stay consistent with your training program, then you have a pretty good indicator of how you will finish on race day. As I mentioned previously, nothing more can be done in those last 1-4 weeks (depending on your training program). Tapering allows your body to rest and restore the vital energy needed to run 26.2 miles. So this year I have fully embraced the taper mode and I'm feeling restless but I know it'll all be worth it.

Nutrition and Hydration

As far as running goes, I'm not doing much. I have cross training on Monday, 2 miles on Tuesday, and 4 miles on Thursday. I will do one last shake out run, 3 miles, on Saturday before race day and that's it! My diet, on the other hand, needs to be right on point. Most people understand that runners need to carb load before race day but that really doesn't need to happen until 1-2 days before the race. So for this week I will concentrate on eating lean meat, veggies, and about 50-60% carbs. During the 1-2 days before race day, that carb ratio will jump to about 70-80%. I've been pretty consistent with my pre-long run meals for awhile. On the day before, I generally have cereal and a banana for breakfast, Subway sandwich with fruit for lunch, and plain pasta with bread for dinner. Throughout the day I usually snack on pretzels, bagels, or crackers for extra carbs. Keeping track of my water intake this week will be as equally important as what I'm eating. This week I will take in an extra 1-2 glasses of water each day. Then 1-2 days prior to race day I will include an enhanced electrolyte substance (usually Nuun) with the water I drink.

Mental Preparation

This is SO important and you really need to have the right balance of tried and true methods versus novelty to keep things interesting. This year during my training runs I have stuck to one primary manta - "Think strong. Be strong." This has been particularly helpful during hill training and speed work. I will, no doubt, be using this on race day. But like I said, it's also important to keep things fresh and interesting because 26.2 miles is a loooooong run. Lol. So my new mantra, to be introduced during miles 20-26.2, will be "I can do more." I think this will give me the push I need at the end to endure the pain and exhaustion I will be feeling at that point. I also recently listened to the latest Another Mother Runner podcast in which they suggested dedicating every mile to someone. This really struck a chord within me, especially since this year I am running for the American Cancer Society. So I will be making a list of my closest family and friends and others that have donated to my cause and every mile will be dedicated to a different individual. The idea behind this is that you think of this person during "their" mile - the good memories, the qualities you admire in them - and it gets you through the miles easier. I'm hoping this works!

The Day Before

Yesterday I FINALLY made reservations for our hotel room next weekend. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! It's going to cost me an arm and leg but I was able to get us a room a mile from the start line and about 2 miles from the finish line. I think it'll be worth it to have a little peace of mind on the morning of the race. We won't have to worry about trains or cars, etc. So we are set to arrive in downtown Chicago on Saturday afternoon. Once we get checked into the hotel, we will go over to the expo. At the expo, I will pick up my race swag and most importantly my race bib and timing chip. The rest of the day is designated to relaxing to the MAX. I will follow my pre-race nutrition and hydration and go to bed early.

Marathon Day!!!!!!

The Chicago Marathon will have two waves on race day. I am slow (haha) so I am in Wave 2 and will start at 8:00am. I reviewed my participant guide last week and this will be unlike any marathon I have run before. It's estimated that a total of 2 million spectators will be in attendance on race day and I will be one of about 34,000 runners. To accommodate this number of runners, there will aid stations (water, Gatorade, toilets, and medical tents) every 1-2 miles. This is new for me. During my last 2 marathons, I had to carry my handheld water bottle and refill along the way. I am hoping to utilize the aid stations this year. For this, you need to plan ahead as well. On my training runs, I generally drink to thirst and I don't typically need something to drink until I reach 6 miles. Then about every 2-3 miles after that. So I will follow this same pattern on race day. As I have for the majority of my training runs, I will carry my own supply of GU energy gels. 

Post-Marathon

I cannot wait for post-marathon. The feeling that comes from finishing a marathon is hard to explain but it is one of the best feelings in the world. That being said post-marathon can offer some challenges as well. When the training has ended, it can be easy to get sucked into a post-marathon slump without a goal to work towards. So I have prepared for this by setting up a reverse taper program: no running Monday-Wednesday, 3 mile run Thursday, cross training Friday, 2-3 miles Saturday, and 6-8 miles on Sunday. After that I will slowly increase mileage again. I have a 5K to work towards in November as well. This will hopefully keep me motivated and on track. 

Staying motivated and keeping a consistent running routine is important because more is yet to come! Next year I will be doing bigger and better things. Stay tuned...

Happy running!

Amanda

P.S. I am still raising money for the American Cancer Society until October 27th. If you have not donated and still want to, you may go to http://determination.acsevents.org and search for me by name (Amanda Winchell).