I DID IT!
I can't believe it's over. Race day was an incredible experience from start to finish. While I can't put into words the emotions and all that surrounded race day I will try my best...just know to magnify it by like a bunch ha ha
Waking up on race day was a lot of nerves and excitement. I will admit a lot of my nerves were (as I've mentioned before) related to pooping before the race so I wouldn't have to during the race. Ha Ha. Alice and I were super prepared by laying everything out the night before and setting apx 12 alarms to make sure we got up, but it didn't stop there. With our fear that we'd never get a cab to get us even remotely close to "charity village" (Charity Village is where those running for a charity had set up heated hospitality tents. It was great...you had to be associated with a charity or have a friends and family wristband to get in so while others were out in the cold we had heated tents and tons of port o potties ha ha) Our charity, OAR (Organization for Autism Research<--amazing organization, btw) was set up there and taking a 6:00am team photo. Alice and I left our hotel by 5:15 am...ps we had to go 2 miles from our hotel ha ha. Needless to say, at 5:30am, we were the 1st team members there ha ha. I was happy we arrived on time but still, I was carrying my lack of pooping fear with me. Around 5:45 they started to announce that all charity village members had 15 minutes before they needed to go to the main gates to go through security. (Our wave was starting at 8:00am but since security was tighter than usual they wanted everyone to be ready and expecting long lines). This was it...my last chance (or so I feared) to poop. I will spare you the details and just say it was the greatest port-o-potty experience I have EVER had ha ha. I'm sure others knew as I came out, with arms raised, yelling, "VICTORY" ha ha After that hurdle crossed I was ready to roll! Our "team" photo was taken with the few members who made it in time then we were on our way. After leaving the cozy hospitality tent in Charity Village we realized it was actually quite cold and we had a good deal of time before we were going to get running. After a lot of waiting around and hearing the same race day announcements 50 times it was time to finally make our way to our corral.
As I stood in the corral waiting I wasn't nervous or scared or anything...I was kind of excited I guess. I was literally taking it all in. "Born To Run" was playing, the MC was trying to pump everyone up and the corral was starting to fill up. It was surreal in a way. I knew this day was going to come eventually, but it was finally here....all the training and planning were coming down to this moment.
I have to admit I didn't really understand how people kept thinking running a marathon was crazy, amazing, impressive, etc. I thought it was a running race that I was spending a good deal of time getting ready for. I didn't think it was anything out of the ordinary, I guess. In my heart I believe anyone can do what I was doing. As time went by the number of people who shared the above mentioned thoughts increased and I thought maybe this is a big deal. If kind of made me feel special. Well that feeling special ended when I was there in the thick of 35,000+ runners. I didn't think I was very special...I was a dime a dozen on the streets of Chicago....everyone was doing it! ha ha
We stood and listened as they started the race for the elite wheelchair division, they were followed by the regular wheelchair racers. Soon the elite runners were off....then the 1st wave. We were about 30 minutes away. As the time ticked by runners checked (or if you're me-re-checked) watches, made sure ipods were on and ready, gps running apps were prepped and last minute photos snapped. Alice and I took our last pre-race photo and then we waited some more. ha ha Slowly we inched our way closer to the start....then we'd stop and wait more. We'd inch then stop, inch then stop. We tossed out warm layer and then it happened we started the trot. Before we knew it we were wished well by the MC and the start line was right there. I wished Alice well and I was on my way.
I had my ipod on insanely loud then took it down to listen to the crowds. The cheers were thunderous. It was a very emotional few minutes in which I was actually holding back tears. Sure I didn't know a single person in the crowds, but it didn't matter. It felt like they were there for me. I remember one sign said, "Go Kelly" and I made believe it was intentionally made for me. ha ha
I thought a lot as I was running the first two miles. I didn't want to start too hard as this was my 1st marathon and I didn't want to gas out too early. I had a pacing bracelet helping me focus on my long shot goal of 3:40:00 (my BQ time). The first two miles were packed. They were packed to the point where I couldn't have run faster if I wanted to. In those 2 miles I lost a good 2 minutes and knew hitting 3:40:00 was going to be near impossible...as much as I
wanted to I knew it was a long shot and I couldn't let it bother me. I never got negative about the reality of not hitting my 3:40:00 goal-I just shifted my goal to "sub 4 and enjoy the hell out of the race because you've worked for 18 weeks to get here." I tried to listen to all the advice I had been given like, take it all in, look, listen, high-five spectators and I did each thing. It was MY race and I was going to enjoy it (as much as you can enjoy it with all the pain you experience ha ha)
As I ran, amazingly, it wasn't my knees or hip that bothered me...it was my neck and shoulders. I remember making conscious thoughts to pull my shoulders back and down.
When I got to mile 7 I remember thinking, "if this was a 1/2 marathon you'd be more than 1/2 way done...this is a full and you have 19.2 to go..that's a lot" ha ha I also remember looking down to my wrist to see what my pacing bracelet said vs my watch. My watch said 0:48:and change and my bracelet said 0:58:44 and I was in shock. I, for some reason, thought I was 10 minutes ahead of what I had to be at. I gave my watch and bracelet a 2nd look an realize, "no, no....you just hit your watch and stopped it" (ha ha and boo all at once). I stated to do math...something I like to do when I run to really keep my mind off of the pain or discomfort I'm in. I decided to just run without my watch until mile 13 then I'd start it at the 1/2 way point to refocus me. I realized I could lose a complete focus and then I'd REALLY be tossing my possibilities of 3:40:00 out the window. So at mile 10 I started my watch again. I was still off the times I needed to hit, but not by tons. 2 minutes isn't a lot of time...except when you need to take it off your run that is already hard for you.
The beginning few miles seemed to go by quickly, by the time I got to 15 I realized I was more than 1/2 way, but still there was a hell of a lot to still run ha ha. Some people were fearing mile 18 as 18 is a good chuck done with a decent chunk still to go. I wasn't fearing any mile (I was told to also fear the wall at mile 20, but my thinking was in training I did 21 and felt amazing after so I can't be worried about a wall at 20 now). While I didn't fear a wall I met one ha ha At mile 22 I literally became exhausted mentally and physically. I remember saying to myself, "Holy shit, you still have 4.2 miles to go and the last .2 is a hill...what the shit are you going to do? How will you get there?" My legs felt like heavy, my neck and shoulders agonizing, my form was sloppy, I was chaffing at the bottom of my sports bra and (for whatever reason) in my left armpit. The hardest part was the crowds had thinned out a good deal at mile 22...It was literally the point I needed perfect strangers to help me the most. Somehow I dug deep and pushed through. When I saw the 23rd mile marker I was thrilled. I thought, "A little more than a 5k to go...no possible way you'll be running more than 35 minutes" I felt like everyone was thinking that too. Mood seemed to change...it was probably just me thinking that, but whatever it helped ha ha. Crowds started to increase again and it was the final stretch. (Thankfully the end was coming because if I had to eat another jelly bean or chomp or sip more Gatorade I'd die ha ha) I don't know where it came from, but I (THANKFULLY) had a little more energy to get me through the final 5k. My other two saving graces were some random spectator who made direct eye contact with runners and pointed at them saying, "YOU CAN DO THIS...THIS IS YOUR RACE." Luckily I caught her eye and she uttered those words and it was like she knew me and believed in me-it worked and I'm thankful for her. The last saving grace was some announcer saying, "Ok everybody let's give these runners some added encouragement because if they don't push it they won't hit the 4 hour mark." Well that was about all I needed. I lost my 3:40:00 miles back and was cool with it, but not doing sub 4 hours wasn't going to work for me. I pushed it up that final hill and watched as the signs told you how far you had left. I saw the 400M sign and thought 1 time around the track. 200M and I could visualize myself on my high school track about to start a 200M race. As the meters decreased I was getting happier and happier. To be honest, I wasn't exactly sure where the actual, exact, finish was. ha ha I remember thinking, "you did it, you actually did it." then my legs got shaky and I realized the tightness in my chest. They keep you moving through the finish line handing you emergency blankets, medals, water, food, ice bags and beer....yes, beer! Once I was through the lines they ushered you down I realized just how badly the chaffing hurt. I went to a medic who winced when I left my arm and my shirt....in hindsight I hope she was wincing at the burn and not my smell ha ha.
It was incredibly cool to have runner tracking. While my friends and family weren't at the actual race they were there with me as they received text messages when I hit different mile marks like my 5k, 10K, 1/2 marathon, etc. As I ran I thought, "they know exactly where I am..how cool. I wonder what they are saying about my times." Seconds after I finished text messages starting coming it congratulating me. I couldn't keep up with the congratulation messages on Facebook. Since my watch had stopped I wasn't actually sure of my time so it was my little sister who actually notified me that I did hit my sub 4 goal!
Getting a text from Alice was great! While we only ran one training run together we had the same schedule and experienced very similar ups and downs so I felt as much a part of her training/race as she did mine so I was thrilled for her finish like I was thrilled for my own. We reconnected and head for Charity Village to connect with our team and enjoy the amenities of the hospitality tent. I ate like I hadn't eaten in days and winced through a massage. We talked with other runners from OAR, shared race stories, and took photos to capture memories of this amazing experience.
Alice and I went to Chicago not knowing anyone, but through OAR (the group we raised money for) we met some really great people. We even made a friend and went out to dinner with him as we now had Chicago marathon and OAR to link us.
After the race Alice and I talked for hours about it. We didn't run together but we remarked on things we both saw along the course..mostly the clever signs (which I will post about). In one of our talks I told her how it didn't feel like I had been running for close to 4 hours and in that time I can only name about 5 songs I actually remember running to. I had been listening to my ipod for a majority of the run but I think my focus on everything around me had me ignoring the music. While we knew we needed to ice and nap before going out that night we found our bodies to be exhausted but brains on overdrive and unable to slow. We went out that night and crashed early from all the excitement and emotion (and lets face it, physical demands) we went through that morning.
It was a motionless sleep. Getting up and actually out of bed the next morning was tricky but I wouldn't have had it any other way!
"The
miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to
start."
-John Bingham
-John Bingham
