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 :)