My hubby and I made the trek to Chicago early Saturday morning in preparation for Sunday's marathon. We took the train from Milwaukee to Chicago and of course on this trip into the city we were delayed about 15 minutes. I was antsy. I wanted to drop the stuff off at the hotel and head to the expo. We arrived at our hotel by about 10:15 and lucky for us our room was ready. We decided on a hotel in a different part of town for this trip and let me tell you I am so glad we did. The Langham was a beautiful hotel with amazing staff. We will be back. After we dropped our stuff off, we headed to the shuttle pick up stop and were off to the expo. The expo was huge but was very crowded. I picked up a few things and we headed back to the hotel so we could have some lunch. After lunch I got my two mile shakeout run in on the hotel treadmill. I was going to run outside with my hubby but he forgot his running shorts so I decided to run inside as I don't know my way around town like John does. Saturday evening we had a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant. I had chicken and roasted sweet potatoes which was a great pre-race meal. We were both exhausted from the early morning wake up call and we were ready for bed by 8pm. It was an off and on night of sleep for me.
I was up by about 4:45 am on race morning. I got myself and all my gear ready for the day. It's amazing how much stuff you need when running a race. The hotel had food and water out for the runners that morning which was a nice touch. I grabbed a banana and water on my way out to the shuttle which the hotel provided to it's guests. The amount of people out and about that morning was amazing. So much energy in the city at 6am. We made our way to the hospitality tent we had tickets for and I ate a little more while trying to calm my nerves before I headed to the corral. We saw coverage of the national anthem being sung and the start of the hand cycle division. I was glad that John was with me because shortly after seeing that I had my meltdown. I cried on John's shoulder so worried about whether or not I could really do this. He had complete confidence in my abilities but told me that I needed to listen to my body because he needed me healthy at the end of this. I pulled myself together and headed to the corral.
As I entered the corral, an eerie sense of calm washed over me. My mom and daughters texted me before the race wishing me good luck. I watched the video they made for me complete with a race sign. It melted my heart. It was close to 8:30 when my corral finally crossed the start line. I felt really good starting the race and was hoping that feeling would continue through the entire race. I heard a familiar voice yelling to me and holding a sign for me shortly after I hit the two mile mark. It was good to see John but I was too far over to sneak a kiss before continuing on.
The next few miles went well. We ran through Lincoln park and I was cruising along feeling good. I was nearing Wrigley Field and turned onto Addison. I thought of my friends and their little girl Addison at that moment. It brought a smile to my face and as I was making a turn there was John. Again, I wasn't able to sneak a kiss because it caught me so off guard. I continued on and was worried what was going to happen when I hit the 10 mile mark. That is the point in a half marathon I start to get a little challenged mentally. That didn't happen during this race. Before I knew it I hit the halfway mark. My plan was to push it the second half of the race and I was staying consistent with pacing until mile 16. Then it started to get really tough. At mile 17 I was ready to give up. I still had 9.2 miles to go. I was so tired. I played lots of mind games at that point. I told myself I could quit as long as I went one more mile and that went on and on until mile 20. I developed a blister on my foot at mile 18. Every step I took was becoming painful and I could feel the blister getting bigger and bigger.
When I hit mile 20, I told myself I had 6.2 to go. That was less than one of my short runs in recent weeks and this was doable. I had heard that a marathon often comes down to the last 6.2 miles and I totally believe that. I slowed down on these last 6.2 miles. I didn't care as my goal was to finish. When I stopped to walk there were a few times I texted John. He told me the trains weren't lining up with my timing and he missed me at a few locations so he was just going to meet me at the finish. I was a little bummed about that because seeing him during those last few miles might have helped to give me that little push I needed. Sure, they placed all the photographers in the last few miles when I was struggling the most. When I saw them I forced myself to push it and put a smile on my face. That simple act helped a lot. Even though I wasn't feeling it, the smile instantly boosted my mood.
I reached for my final salted caramel gel at about mile 22 and realized it was gone. It must have slipped out of my belt somewhere along the course. I realized I had some sport beans left and had a few to get me through the next few miles. At that point in the race they were too sweet. I put them away and fueled with gatorade and bananas that were provided on course. This wasn't ideal but I had no choice but to make it work. Soon I was making the turn onto Michigan avenue. I knew that this was a fairly straight shot to the finish line. I was struggling and then "Don't stop believin" came on. It brought a smile to my face. Then, I saw the sign on the course that said "One mile to go". I texted John and let him know where I was at. My text said this: one mile to go. holy shit, I might just do this. I kept pushing through. 800 meters to go. I made the first of the final two turns into the finish. I was hoping there were no photographers at that point because the tears were starting to flow. I have an ugly crying face but I was all emotions at that point. Then I see another sign. 400 meters to go. I picked up the pace a bit more. Now, the final turn. The finish line was truly in sight. I was looking for John in the bleachers and didn't see him. My heart sank. He was going to miss this. Then I heard his voice and realized he was on the other side of the road. I was almost there. I crossed the finish line with my arms up in the air like I had won the whole damn race. As I think about, I did win that race. It wasn't about beating anyone else, it was about proving to myself that I could do this and that my friends is what I call a victory.
This race challenged my physically and mentally. There were highs and lows in this race. There were times when I wanted to give up. I am so glad I didn't though. I worked too hard for this to give up and in reality that isn't the kind of person I am. I continue to push through when things get tough.
John met me and I hugged him and again cried on his shoulder when he called me a marathoner. They were some of the happiest tears I have cried. I was a marathoner.
Then I looked at my phone and saw all the love and support sent my way during the race, I cried again. My heart was so full and all I could feel was gratitude for all the wonderful people that have crossed my path. It means the world to know there are so many people backing and supporting you. When you believe in yourself, others will see it and they will start believing in you too. If there is something you dream about, go chase it because it can be reality with hard work. There was no shortcut to my victory. It was hard work, sweat, and trust. Now I rest the next few days and slowly start to build up my training because I am doing this all over in about 85 more days.
Great recap and great race Melissa!! Congratulations. What a great day!!
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