Warning: I'm really really really wordy tonight!

First of all, thanks again to all of you that replied to my clothing questions in the other Chicago thread. I took the advice given and wore shorts, cotton gloves (thrown off within 2 miles), a Coolmax t-shirt, and a $6 k-mart long sleeve (thrown off around 3 miles)

Me: I'm a 22 year old female grad student. Running a marathon has been one of my life goals since I was in high school. When I got my grad school acceptance letter, I decided that this was the time to try to run one. My primary goal for the race was to finish, and my I'd-really-like-to goal was to run 10 minute miles. My longest run before the marathon was a 20 miler in 3:30 a few weeks ago.

My boyfriend was my lone fan, and he got the job because he lives in Chicago. My parents were going to drive the hour down to watch, but we figured that they would get to see me for maybe 5 minutes afterwards, and it would be ok for them to miss it.

We decided to take the Blue Line instead of driving. The train was really crowded, but you could tell that almost every single person on it was either running the race, or going to watch it. It was kind of neat to be surrounded by other runners that early in the morning. Everyone was really friendly, too- a change from the usual people on public transport.

As we walked to the park, everyone we passed was dressed in running clothes, or carrying the gear check bag. My first thought as we approached the park was "holy s@#!," as I first got a glimpse of the number of people.

First order of business was to hit the portapottys ... glad I did this first, since there was a good size line. I talked to people later that almost missed the start because they were in line. The next thing was to check my bag. I removed my warm clothing (it was pretty cold!) and got everything pinned on. I had bought a belt for my race number, but needed to pin on my pace group number and my powergel packs. The gear check area was crazy, and I lost my boyfriend at that point.

So I headed for the start. I knew that 37,500 people were going to be running, but I don't think I had really realized what that actually looked like. I looked for the 4:30 pace group sign, and tried to find somewhere to stand. It, again, was crazy! Whoever said that with the number of people running, you could run naked and be warm was right, at least about the start. We were packed in so tight that my legs felt pretty warm. The ladies around me were getting rather annoyed at all the spectators who kept trying to come into the area (with big bags)- there was barely room for us, much less spectators. A lot of people started removing excess clothing- I was handed several things to hand over to the side, and saw a ton of things go through the air.

The gun must have gone off, but I never heard it. We didn't even move for the first 2 minutes. Then we slowly started to inch forward. After a grand total of 13 minutes (and the same 3 songs on the PA), we crossed the starting line. I started my watch and we started to run. I tried to stick with the pace group leaders for the first bit. I figured that that would be the best strategy to run on pace. (At the expo, I was advised that the 4:30 group would be the best for me to start with). Unfortunately, the first couple of miles didn't reflect our goal pace of 10:18/mile. We were slow, near pace, then fast, then slower again. This made me a little anxious.

Before the 6 mile mark, I decided to make a pit stop. I had wanted to earlier, but the lines were huge. These lines didn't look that bad. What annoyed me was that the person in front of me was a spectator! Taking up a spot in the line from the runners. Maybe it's not that big of a deal, but I thought it to be a little rude. I didn't say anything, though. So that trip killed about 2 minutes, and the water stop after took about 20 seconds or so.

By the time I was done, the pace group was long gone. Our leader was still carrying the lollypop sign, but I couldn't even see it. I thought I would gradually catch up, and picked up my pace a little. I misjudged my speed, and ran the next mile a little too fast. Then I settled into a 9:45ish pace that felt decent. I did catch up with a girl from my pace group that had also gotten behind at a bathroom. We ran together until the water station around the 9 mile mark. I had decided to open my first gel pack, and that took me a bit. (Strawberry banana ... yum). I guess in my refueling, I must have missed the 9 mile marker. I remember looking at my watch and see 11:xx, and I knew I was running faster than that.

I caught up to the pace group leaders finally towards the end of mile 12. They were still carrying the lollypop sign- apparently they carried it for the entire race. (I can't believe it; those things look heavy!) I ran with them for 2 miles, but then they seemed to drop back a little. (They said something about fast). I passed the half way point around 2:14-2:15. I decided to go off without the pace group, since I was feeling good.

I don't remember much of interest for the next couple of miles. We passed by a lot of people cheering, which was awesome. At some point, a guy on the sideline announced that the women's world record had been broken. I was surrounded by a group of women, and we all cheered. I didn't take a gel at the gel station, but instead waited to take my second one at the water station.

As mile 20 approached, I was worried about "the wall." To my joy, it didn't appear, and I realized I could pick up my pace. This is about the point that I started saying cheesy things to myself (I AM a marathoner!) and also realized that I really was going to finish. The next couple miles went by in a blur. At mile 23, I was really excited, because I knew for sure that I would in fact finish my first marathon. Mile 25 was actually the hardest mile, as my legs were starting to get tired. We ran through a tunnel at some point, and that was pretty cool.

The 25 mile sign was a great welcome, and I made myself pick up a little. I was pretty excited to see the "1 Mile to go!" sign. We ran up a little small hill, and that was not fun. A short distance later, and we could see the finish line. I can't even explain how emotional that made me. I almost cried running to the finish line. I tried to run in as strong as I could.

The after part is another blur. I got my shiny silver thing (keeping that for sure) and a bottle of water right away. I stopped to have my chip removed- I felt bad because I had laced my shoelaces through it (I was worried about the plastic holding. And I did see a loose chip on the course, so my fears weren't totally unfounded). The girl that was helping me was really nice about it, and congratulated me on finishing. I got a banana, and some cookies, and had my picture taken. I went to the podiatry tent to make sure my toes were all still there. The guy there didn't see anything- he seemed surprised. (I was surprised. I though the rest of my one toenail would've fallen off).

Then I grabbed another banana and tried to get my stuff from gear check (big pain). I stretched, and put my warm ups back on. Then I stretched more, and found my boyfriend at Runner Reunite. He was proud of me :) We stopped by the merchandise tent- you'd better believe I wanted that finisher shirt! Then we walked to the train to go home.

I'm feeling surprisingly good. My knees are achy, but no more so than they were after the 20 miler. The balls of my feet are sore, but I expected that. My muscles are doing pretty good- I expected to feel much more fatigued than this. I didn't have any chafing problems (thank god), but my nose hurts (it ran the whole race, too). I'm hoping I feel this decent tomorrow.

Overall, I thought this was a great race. There was plenty of water and gatorade at all aid stations (they had run out of powerade at the half marathon last month). It was neat to run all over Chicago. There weren't too many hills/inclines. And all the people that came out to watch- fantastic.

Splits
1 | 10:35.44
2 | 10:45.31 | 0:21:20.75
3 | 10:17.66 | 0:31:38.41
4 | 09:45.21 | 0:41:23.62
5 | 10:23.21 | 0:51:46.83
6 | 12:28.42 | 1:04:15 (pit stop)
7 | 09:17.26 | 1:13:32
8 | 09:43.87 | 1:23:16
10 | 19:31.78 | 1:42:48 (missed the 9mi sign)
11 | 09:42.12 | 1:52:30
12 | 09:44.51 | 2:02:14
13 | 10:16.07 | 2:12.30
14 | 10:18.20 | 2:22.49
15 | 09:51.09 | 2:32:40
16 | 10:08.51 | 2:42:48
17 | 10:00.97 | 2:52:49
18 | 10:03.06 | 3:02:52
19 | 10:36.33 | 3:13:29
20 | 10:18.55 | 3:23:47
21 | 09:56.35 | 3:33:43
22 | 09:49.71 | 3:43:33
23 | 09:43.06 | 3:53:16
24 | 09:42.03 | 4:02:58
25 | 09:58.94 | 4:12:57
26 | 09:32.87 | 4:22:30
26.2 | 01:42.58 | 4:24:13
chip time = 4:24:12

I still can't believe I ran it today! And, I think I may run this again next year. If I do, I'm going to put my name on my shirt so everyone can cheer for me.

Thank you for reading this far, if you made it!
Marisa