Daily Loaf

520+ – Miles Ran
16+ – Weeks of Training
10+ – lbs lost
8 – Toenails Lost
2 – Pairs of Shoes
1 - Bra Size
1 – Officially diagnosed reoccurring injury (ITB)

All this to run 26.2.

Leaving my hotel race morning, I stepped out onto an all but deserted street and began my lone pilgrimage to Grant Park, my heart all aflutter. Turning onto Michigan Ave I beheld the most amazing view of the city all aglow in the early morning, the street lined with runners, looks of determination, anticipation and a healthy dose of fear across their faces.

Start Corral - Upon arriving, I quickly found the open start corral and fell into the mid-nine-minute mile section. It was a balmy 33 degrees and this Florida girl was not prepared for the temps. I shivered and tried in vain to stay warm by chatting up the other runners. As the gun went off the crowd surged forward and “throw away” clothes exploded into the air and rained down around us. It was GO time.

Start – Mile 5 – As I crossed the start line I couldn’t help but get caught up in the moment; I screamed, I jumped up and down and I waved my hands up in the air like I just didn’t care. 26.2 lay before me and I was awestruck by the sights and the sounds of the city before me, the spectators all around. It was sensory overload and I relished in every moment of it! As we entered a tunnel, the sound of runners screaming and feet pounding the pavement was deafening. You could power the world over for days with the energy bouncing off those walls. By chance alone I managed to see my cousin Michelle and Beth around the two mile mark and it fired me up 10 times more than I already was; I was really doing this, I was running the Chicago Marathon. In that moment I realized this wasn’t a dream!

As I approached the three mile mark U2’s “Beautiful Day“ was blaring on the course and it gave me chills as I had unofficially made it my marathon theme song. It was in fact, turning out to be a very beautiful day, I was feeling amazing and with the song blaring in the background, the smile plastered across my face only widened.

Miles 6 – 10 - As we ran through the Lincoln Park Zoo, runners fell off to the left and right to pee in the trees and bushes. Not one for exposing myself in public, I opted for the Port-a-Potties instead. Got in, got out (with minimal peeing on myself) and it only took me a minute or so to catch back up with the 4:15 pace group. The next few miles flew by — not going to lie, I honestly don’t recall much. I was just caught up in the moment; taking in the sights, looking for “Team Redhead” (aka my cousin and Beth) at every corner, trying to stay focused on my pace and remembering to Gu/E-Cap/Hydrate at regular intervals.

Miles 11 – 15 – Somewhere around here I realized that I was all up on the 4:15 pacers ass and had been that way for the last 10 or more miles. I wanted more, so I made the decision to get ahead of them, if only a little. This was either going to be a big mistake or the winning move and only time would tell. I ditched the last of my throwaway gear and never looked back… shortly thereafter I crossed the halfwway mark and said a little prayer to the running gods… “Please let me stay strong!!!”

Miles 16 – 20 – In my head these miles were crucial, somewhere around here “The Wall” would be lurking and it could spring on me at any moment… except I felt AMAZING. To be honest, I barely felt the previous miles. I was just cruising along taking it all in…

Miles 21 – 25 – Mile 21 slipped by virtually unnoticed and out of nowhere here comes Beth at mile 22 jumping in next to me! I screamed and hugged her and she asked me how I was feeling… If I recall correctly I looked at her, with the stupid grin still plastered on my face and said; “I don’t want to jinx myself but I feel great! I am having the most amazing time; This is the greatest day of my life!“

The next few miles seemed to pass by in a blink of an eye; We laughed, we cheered, we attempted to fire up the runners around us on no man’s land stretch aka mile 23, we proclaimed how awesome I was, we cracked ourselves up at the fact that she was a running bandit in the Chicago Marathon! At the 40k we came up on some photographers and in honor of Coach EK, Coach Tom and Navy Steve we passed underneath them holding hands and screaming our fool heads off! Those were my favorite miles of the run.  As we approached mile 25 I looked at her and said, “You better get going if you want to see me finish because I’ve got this!“ So off she sprinted and I geared up to kill it…

Mile 26 – 26.2 – Here it was, the home stretch. Had I really been running for almost 4 hours? Had I really run 26 miles already? Somebody pinch me because this must be a dream right? No?!?! As I rounded the corner and charged up the hill there was the 26 mile marker and after that… The Finish. I sprinted it in with all that I had and as I crossed under that finish line… Actually just file that moment under “Indescribable” because there are no words to describe that moment. You just had to be there.

Finish - After crossing I noticed the clock and realized I had killed my intended race goal of 4 hours and 15 minutes, final chip time would reveal that I had finished in 4 hours and 8 minutes, a full 7 minutes faster! Not only that, but I had run the Chicago Marathon and finished!!!

Post-Race Thoughts – Truth be told it really was the most amazing, picture perfect, storybook ending, marathon of my dreams. I ran strong, I ran smart, I exceeded all my expectations and goals, I ran my heart out and I loved every.single.minute.of.it. Fairy tales do come true!

The entire experience; from start to finish, was nothing short of amazing. The course, the spectators, the volunteers, all of it… If you add one destination marathon to your “To Do” list, I highly recommend Chicago. Best believe Chicago will forever hold a piece of my heart…

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