I run for...the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...running a marathon is hard. If it were easy everyone would do it. Every year runners that complete the marathon join an elite group of just 500,000 people. Yesterday's 2015 Chicago Marathon in its entirety was a success but there were several obstacles along the way.

Sleep. It's so important the week before a race and I'm glad I had my FitBit to show me that I met my sleep goal (7 hours and 30 minutes) all 4 days prior to race day. My nutrition was on point the whole week before the marathon as well - lots of carb rich, low fat foods to help keep me fueled for 26.2 miles. Everything on the surface the week prior looks great, like nothing could go wrong, but I'll be honest leaving for Chicago on Friday I had my doubts as to whether I would get to run.

Thursday night coming home from work, after an 11 hour day mind you, I felt sick. Nooooooooo! I checked my temperature. Sure enough....99.9 degrees. My throat had been scratchy all week and on this day, Thursday, it was a lot worse. I checked my throat in the mirror when I got home....looked like strep. Nooooooooo! I quickly started using every remedy in the book. I gargled salt water, drank tea with honey, took an Aleve every 8 hours, kept taking my allergy meds, and luckily I found a recent prescription for an antibiotic. I took one dose of antibiotic that night, all day Friday, all day Saturday, and race day morning. By Saturday, I did feel MUCH better but with the way race day went, I'm wondering if the illness and the antibiotic had something to do with my performance.

Friday after work my husband, my son, and my mom picked me up at work and we left straight for Chicago! Traffic wasn't too bad and we settled into our hotel room about 9:30pm. After last year's craziness of having to walk 2 miles to the start and then from the finish to our hotel room, I knew I had to be closer this year. I booked our hotel in January to make sure we could get a room at a CLOSE hotel. This was The Congress Plaza hotel, a historic hotel right there on Michigan Avenue and also apparently the most haunted hotel in Chicago. Fun!

View of our hotel room

Saturday we got up and took our time getting around and ready for the day. The only thing on the agenda was to get to the expo to get my race packet. The expo wasn't far from the hotel so we walked there. The expo is always quite the experience. Tons of people everywhere! I think we were all a little overwhelmed even though I knew what to expect. We looked at all the booths. We stopped by the ACS Team DetermiNation booth to get my ribbons for race day and my mom got her a shirt to wear and Emerson a cow bell to ring. At the expo, we also might have found a next race for me...the Illinois Marathon in Champaign in April. I would probably do the half marathon in April but my mom was thinking about running the 4x marathon relay with my aunts and uncle. I'll be sure to keep you updated about my plans for this. The only other thing I absolutely HAD to get while I was there was my watermelon Nuun. I used my last tablet on my way up to Chicago. I had trained with my watermelon Nuun and for that reason wanted it for race day. Nothing new on race day! That goes for your flavor of electrolyte tabs as well.

At the ACS Team DetermiNation booth

Finally, race day was here. I woke up at 5am feeling wonderful. Had my usual pre-long run meal - a plain bagel with Spark to drink (for the caffeine). Got down to the ACS Team DetermiNation team photo in the ball room about 6am. I was able to take a few pictures with my family. I got my names pinned to my back - in honor of Yvonne Ray and in memory of my Mema and Uncle Marty. Then I decided to head back to the room to wait before going to the corral. I ate a banana as last minute fuel and continued to stay hydrated. Always the last thing you want to do before getting to the corral is go pee. I learned this lesson after I stopped in Savannah at the port-a-potty and I think in the Go St. Louis half marathon. So while I was at the hotel this was the last thing I did.

The ACS Team DetermiNation photo

I got to the corral around 7:00am. The first wave started at 7:30am. I was in the second wave and wouldn't be starting until 8:00am. There's not a lot to do in the corral. I had my headphones in listening to my marathon playlist on repeat and people watched. Lol. You also try to do what you can to stay warmed up without expending too much energy. The corrals moved slowly up to the start line. I had a lot of anxiety in anticipation for the race to start but I knew I was ready for this. About 8:30am I finally crossed the start line.

I started off slow like I had planned, letting people pass me, knowing that if I start out too fast it'll get me in the end. The beginning of the race felt great. The first 5K went by as planned - 36:49. Then I hit the 5 mile mark and I can't stand it any longer.....I have to pee. Nooooooo! So right after the 5 mile marker there's an aid station equipped with port-a-potty's and.....long lines. But I couldn't take it. I apparently did not plan my last bathroom break late enough. I don't know how long I waited in that line. It felt like forever. But I did my business and got back to running. I tried to make up time as I went. I finished my 10K at 1:25:26, significantly slower than the first 5K. I blame the port-a-potty's.

As I made the turn from the north side of Chicago on Addison, I hit mile 8 and this was my moment to turn my pace up. I had planned it this way just like last year. For awhile, this was easy to do. I ran through Boystown, a lively LGBTQ community complete with drag queens performing on stage. This is my favorite thing about running Chicago. You totally forget sometimes that you are running a marathon. The fans and spectators are ammmmmazing in this city.

Then my next obstacle hit me at mile 12. Cramping. It started just as a twinge in my right calf but after awhile any time I tried to push my pace, my leg seized up on me. It was so bad I would have to stop to massage it out on the side of the road. I frantically texted my husband and my mom and asked them to bring me salt. I had been drinking my Nuun as I usually did on my long runs and at mile 12 I had already consumed two servings of Gu but somehow I was losing a lot of salt. It was unseasonably warm on race day. As I kept wiping the sweat off my face, I could feel the grittiness of the sweat on my skin....salt. I've always known that I'm a salty sweater (ew...I know) but what was going on with this cramping?!

At the halfway point, I saw my son, my husband and my mom cheering me on, a much needed pick me up! Steven gave me two salt packets. I quickly dumped one into my water bottle and tore open the other packet to eat. I gave myself a couple miles to let it do its magic. Nothing. No change whatsoever. In fact, I think it got worse. This was the most frustrating thing ever. I felt great. I knew that if only my legs would cooperate I could go faster and make up for lost time. My legs never cooperated. What started in my right calf traveled to my shins, then to my left calf, then to my hamstrings and quads. It was a lost cause. Once I hit about mile 18 I finally just accepted this as how it was going to be. I didn't try to push my pace because my legs would seize up every time I did. So I just keep my head down and kept my stride to a shuffle. I knew I was going slow but at least I was going forward.

As I always try to do, no matter what the circumstances, I finished strong. From 40K to the finish line, I had my fastest pace since the first 5K. I knew I was probably close to not finishing within the 6 hour 30 minute course limit. I could see the event car with the timer on top alerting runners to a DNF (do not finish) fate. However, I didn't let it get me down. I would finish no matter what and in fact, I crossed the finish line with about 5 minutes left to spare - 6:24:53.

Got my medal!!

It's hard to recount the events of the day and not see the potential to do so much better. I am better than a 6:24:53 finish. I don't like making excuses but race day was full of problems for me - strep throat the week before, antibiotic (something new) on race day, stopping to pee, and severe cramping in my legs. But here's the way I see it....I will have good races, bad races, and ugly ones. This day, October 11, 2015, my 4th marathon, will just be one bad one in a long line of races for me. I #cantstop #wontstop. Lol. I will forever be trying to one up myself, trying to do better than the year before. That's the great thing about running. Was I technically competing against 45,000 other runners during the marathon? Yes. But I'm really only competing with myself. Next year here I come!

And yes, you can bet there will be a next year. I'm trying to scout out my next marathon right now. I've got my eye on the Twin Cities Marathon in Minnesota, the Philadelphia Marathon, possibly Chicago again, Portland, Pensacola, the Marine Corps Marathon, and the list could go on and on. I just wanna know...who's coming with me? This solo running is getting kind of old. I would love to help someone else train for and run in their first marathon!!!

Happy running,
Amanda

I run for...big dreams.

Marathon 1, 2, 3 & soon to be 4!

One run. 2 miles. That is all that stands between me and 26.2 miles. This week I have continued to taper. I always get so restless at this point in the training. I'm running less and it feels weird but I have to trust that I have done everything I have needed to do the last 18 weeks. 18 weeks of 350 miles. I'm at 550 miles for the year so far. I managed to get in two 20 mile runs this year, something I haven't been able to do since marathon training year #1. No illness and no injuries. I've got this.

This week has been an easy one. 6 miles on Monday, 2 mile walk yesterday, and 4 miles this morning. I will rest for the next two days and then do a short 2 mile shake out run on Saturday, the day before the marathon. This last little run is important in order to improve blood flow and reduce pre-marathon jitters. Then...race day.

This year I'm feeling more at peace with marathon day than I ever have before. Once again I am amazed at the places running takes me. Have I ran a marathon before? Yes. Have I ran Chicago before? Yes. But I have never been in this position before where I have 3 marathons under my belt and I'm running a race that I have run before. It's comforting and familiar. I think that has ultimately led me to be at peace about it.

 

As with my last 3 marathons, when training comes to an end and the marathon is over, I will be thinking about what's next. I will most likely be running another marathon next year. I can't help myself! Sure, I've imagined being someone who runs whenever I have "free time" or someone who runs occasionally for exercise. Then I could devote more time to cycling or swimming or painting or...whatever. I think about it but I know that I would be deeply unsatisfied and unfulfilled. I have no idea how I got here but I know without a doubt that running is my passion. As marathon season comes to an end, I look ahead with BIG dreams for my continued journey in running.

Running is important for all the reasons I have presented in this blog. One of the biggest things that I wanted to accomplish by starting this blog is to show that running is for everyone. It can change your life. Dream BIG and never let your fear hold you back. With running, anything is possible. Truly.

Happy running,
Amanda

*** I can still collect donations for the American Cancer Society up until Monday, October 26th!!! If you have not donated yet, do it now! This is for a good cause and our team is so close to reaching our goal of 1.5 million dollars!! Go to the link here to donate! Thank you!***