This time next Friday my family and I will be on the road, heading towards Chicago. I think it has been a little over three years since our last visit to the windy city, and I am truly looking forward to getting back. We lived in the west suburbs of Chicago for just over six years and we have so many friends there; friends we all want to see again. But this trip, while we plan on visiting friends, is about a race.
To date, my longest run has been 21.2 miles with a lot of hills involved. The Chicago Marathon is 26.2 miles of pretty flat, city terrain. I am familiar with most of the course as I worked in the downtown area for a few years, and the course even goes near where I worked. The excitement is starting to build, and during yesterday’s run that is all I thought about. If you have never been to Chicago I would recommend it highly. The people are friendly, the city is something to behold visually, and the food is incredible!
While planning for this weekend food has been our number two priority, second only to the race itself. With so many great places to eat we had to make some tough decisions as to where we would go. I won’t go into detail here, but I will say there will be a post race entry here that will include our food stops - especially what I’ll eat right after the race!
Now, about yesterday’s run . . . I set out to put in a casual pace, but close to my marathon pace of 9:45 per mile. It was about 55 degrees with 90% humidity, so I figured that would be a safe and comfortable place to be. My body was telling me a different story though. I hit mile 1 at 9:20, and mile 2 was an 8:51! I felt like I was slowing down, and I even tried to slow it down, but I stayed in that range for all 8.77 miles. I averaged a 9:22/mile overall and felt really good after the run. I’m not looking to break any land-speed records in Chicago, but I am looking to finish this race. As I’ve said, I have never run any distance further than 21.2, so there will be an element of challenge to those last four to five miles.
My goal? I have three goals in mind for this race; 1) finish the Chicago Marathon, 2) finish the race in 4 hours 30 minutes or less, 3) finish the race without injury. While I want to perform decently I do not want to risk injury to my body. I have a life outside of my running and it includes being a husband and father, holding a full-time job, being a student, a son, and a hunter - returning to my regular life with an injury would hinder almost all of these roles and that is something I cannot sacrifice. So, if at mile 15 my body says to slow down, I will slow down. But the flip side to that is if my body says we can do this all out at mile 23, then I will pick it up. Regardless, I will finish this race and finish strong. I will be glad to know that I have accomplished something that only one-tenth of one percent of the population has accomplished. I will be glad to know that I have a small cheering section along the course. I will be glad to know that I have helped raise funds for autism research. And I will be glad to know that I have finished this endurance trial without injury so I may try it again some day.
What will you be wearing so we can watch for you? We will be there cheering for 60+ members of Asia's team, and Sam Felsenfeld, another parent of a child with autism who is running as well. We will be at the 20.5 mark with a sign saying RUNNINF FIT (Asia's team), and one saying OPERATION JACK (Sam's foundation). Good luck in your race!
ReplyDeleteAdair,
ReplyDeleteSo sorry I missed your crew out there! I could have really used the push there at the end for sure. I did well on the first half, but kind of fell apart around 19 - the hips were getting really tight. I finished on my own two feet though. Full report to come in the next day or two.