Chicago Marathon Recap

The race is over and I am able to walk again. Stairs were not my friend for several days, but we are on good terms as of Thursday. So begins my race recap….
The morning was very chilly. I am estimating 35 or 38 degrees at the start. We did get 30 mph winds, slight snow and light rain. Not ideal running conditions. Keith & I met Dave, Steph, Jason, Holly (Jason’s girlfriend), a friend of Jason’s (can’t remember her name) and Andy at their hotel for a few prerace pics and some well wishes. It was off to the start line! Dave and I stuck together so we could start with the 4 hour pace group, which was our goal for the day. It took us 11 minutes to get to the start line once the horn blew, but we kept warm being surrounded by 40,000 other runners. I was really nervous and on the verge of tears, but happy to be started. The crowds of people cheering were completely overwhelming. I have never seen anything like it. There was not a single spot on the entire course that did not have tons of people just yelling, clapping and cheering. Some were so goofy, but it was fun. We even saw runners dressed in costume… 2 Elvis impersonators, a few people wanting to beat Oprah and P Diddy’s marathon times and Thing1 & Thing2 from the Dr. Seuss books.

The first 7 miles were fun as we ran towards Wrigleyville with the hope of seeing Wrigley Field, but we were given the shaft. No sightseeing for us. Seriously, how do you run a marathon and not run by the most famous baseball field in history? After that, the only think on my mind (besides how bad I had to go to the bathroom) was making it to the half way point. Did I mention that this course is flat and fast? FLAT my ass… there were hills everywhere and it was such a heartbreak to see yet another one at mile 13. I thought I would cry. This is the point where I thought about quitting, really. If Dave hadn’t been right there with me, I would have called it quits, no problem.

The next 13 miles are pretty much a low blood sugar induced blur. I was not eating my GU in appropriate intervals and I was feeling it. My legs hurt, my back hurt from the cold and my arms hurt from over use due to tired legs. We saw Jill Ziegler at mile 16.5 and I tried to frantically wave at her without falling flat on my face. I got some GU in me and was good to go from mile 19 on. They were playing ‘Chariots of Fire’ around mile 19 and that really got me feeling better! We ran by Comiskey Park (home of the White Sox) at mile 22, which was really cool, because they are Keith’s favorite team and I hope to go to a game there one day. We walked the last few water stops, which was good because physically, we were breaking down fast. The cold had prevented us from warming up properly and we were feeling it with every step. It was a struggle to get from water stop to water stop without negative thoughts creeping in.

But, alas, we saw the sign for 400 meters (1/4 mile) left and started to pick up the pace. We turned a corner and I’ll be damned… it was the biggest hill on the course! I swear I am writing the race director and giving him a piece of my mind!! At this point, all I could think about was the pain forming in my lower front quads and watching Dave pull away from me. He was so sweet, as he turned around to check on me, saw me struggling and mentally that helped me push forward. The last 200 meters was all downhill (should be from that big ass hill we just climbed) and as the wind gusted, it knocked me to the right, and right into some other runner I didn’t know. Luckily, I stayed upright and sprinted to the finish.
The first words out of my mouth upon crossing the finish line were “Thank God. Why do we do this to ourselves?” and Dave’s answer was “I don’t know.” It was the best feeling in the world to get my medal, mylar blanket and a nice cold beer at the finish. It was the most deserved beer ever! We made our way to the family reunion area, which was packed of course, and found Keith, Jill and Andy, where I proceeded to burst into tears like a blubbering idiot. I just couldn’t control myself. I put on warm clothes, snapped a few pics and we were outta there.

I am sure there are more details to share, and as usual, you can find them on Dave’s blog. I promise to post more pics when Blogger lets me...

Would I do it again? I have thought a lot about that in the last week, and I think the answer is YES!! I really want to qualify for Boston, so I may set that as a goal over the next 2 years.

4:22:55 Marathon PR

WOOO-HOOOO!!! I am very happy with my Chicago Marathon time, even though it wasn't the 4 hours goal I was shooting for but I am glad to be finished!! I DID IT!!! I knocked 26 minutes off of my Indy Marathon time from last year and gave it my all, 100%. Be prepared for more details on the blog tomorrow as it will be a marathon tale of epic proportions.
(The pic on the left is one of my favorites. Keith took this of Andy, myself and Jill after the race. They are both Chicago-ites and came to support me during the run. Friends just don't get any better than this! )

Ready to go

Only a few days left! I can hardly stand it. I have been very emotional this week just thinking about running Chicago. I was in tears last night from reading my confirmation packet, so I can't imagine how I am going to be on Sunday.
Keith has been mega-supportive, which is just what I needed right now. He has been my shoulder to (literally) cry on. He has researched the train schedules to & from the race and the expo. He has dealt with my crawling out of bed at 5am on Saturday mornings for my 6am runs. He is quite the cheerleader.
My bib # is 38752 so watch for me on tv or call our cells for a live update during the race. Our phones are going to receive text messages when I start, finish and cross the 15K, 13.1 mile & 35K markers, and Keith will be happy to relay where I am at.

Taper Time!

Finally, we are in taper mode for the marathon. We just finished week 1 of 3 and it was tough to do! Taper is the time when running takes a drastic pull back in effort and mileage so your legs can rebuild and rest. My problem is that with the crazy work weeks I have been had, I haven't been able to fit my few runs in like I should be. I know, bad Brooke.
But, Dave and I did manage to get in a 24 miler 2 weekends ago, at 6am, in the pitch black & with low 40's weather. Brrr.... he was smart enough to wear a long sleeve tee, with his shorts, while I was not. It was a great run with a great time (just under 4 hours). See his blog for details.
This past weekend, I was at the farm, as harvest and hunting have both started. I did get my 10 miler in, but it was hard, probably because i had only run 2 miles the week prior, but its my own fault. I ran the section my parents live on and found myself getting all sentimental about all the different terrains and environments the country offers. I am so used to running on the urban roads, lined with houses and speeding vehicles. I got the pleasure of running through corn & bean lined roads, on gravel and blacktop roads and no traffic except for the occasional farm truck or grain semi. It was so relaxing! I did forget about all the long hills out there, so I am sore, but I already look forward to my next run. My time was ok, as I managed to keep just over a 9 minute/mile pace.
I can't believe the marathon is 12 days away. I had a dream last night that it took me 6 hours to finish the race and woke up very pissy this morning. My goal is to run it in 4 hours and I think if I stick with the pace team (9 mm pace), I will be fine. If I stray from it, I am screwed.
In other news - no dead deer yet. This is bow season and the competition is just starting. Have no fear - pictures will be posted when Keith makes the big kill and I promise they won't be too gorry. :)

We are alive!

We are back from Colorado and have we got stories for you! First of all, thanks to everyone who blogged, emailed, asked and generally harassed me into doing this post! :) I have been so very busy at work since we returned and have been chained to my desk, almost literally. So, that was just the motivation I needed to take the time so sit down and do this. Secondly, on with the good stuff...
It was the BEST VACATION EVER!! We can't wait to go back. There is so much to see and so much we didn't get to do! It was really cool because while we didn't really plan for snow, we got it almost every day while we were there. The mountains are breathtaking when they are covered with snow and the foothills are still green. We were there while the Aspen trees were changing to their fall color (yellow) and while the Elk were bugling (the sound they make during mating season) in the meadows. We were unable to get all the way over the mountains because of the show closing the roads, so we only enjoyed ½ of the park while we were there. For those of you whom we see on a regular basis, you will be treated to watching videos of the Elk in action and looking at the 350 pictures we took. Oh joy!
The air there is so dry that my face and lips were chapped the entire time we were there. We came back with wind burn and tans from the high elevation sun. It was unlike any weather we had ever experienced.
Our cabin was directly across from the Rocky Mountain Visitors Center and our property was practically on top of the park. We had elk in our yard, chasing each other around and beating their racks on our trees in mating frustration. They kept us awake at night with all their bugling, but it provided for an unforgettable experience. Every morning we were awakened by the snow plows driving by on their way into the mountains.
Hiking the Rockies was a whole different experience compared to the hikes we had done in the Smokey Mtns in Gatlinburg. We did all the research (reading books, obsessing over maps, etc.) necessary and got our days all planned out, even taking a day to acclimate ourselves to the altitude. We got over excited and ended up doing 3 straight days of hikes, so we were zonked the rest of the week. We did one easy, two moderate and two strenuous hikes from 5 different trail heads, saw numerous mountain ponds and waterfalls, and lots of small critters (yellow-bellied marmots, picas, mountain blue birds).
Tuesday, we hiked to Bierstadt Lake, a secluded pond in a pine forest, as well as doing several shorter hikes in the alpine tundra, totaling 4 miles for the day. Wednesday, we hiked to Loch Vale & Sky Pond, which was nestled 10,000’ high, between 3 mountains and a glacier. Breathtaking!! We had to climb, almost vertically, up a frozen rock wall to reach it (see pic at left, yes, thats ice, not snow. Nice ass Keith). We probably needed crampons (spikes that hook onto your shoes to climb ice) but didn’t have any, so we just took our time. It was scary, but we did it. We had to get below the tree line because we could see the snow storm quickly moving in. We did a total hike of 10 miles that day.
Thursday, we did the most ambitious hike to date. We didn’t do much research on this trail because the weather forced us to change plans. Snow storms in the mountains can be treacherous, so we opted to hike to Estes Cone (7 miles total) instead of hiking to Chasm Lake (9 miles total). Had we done more research, we would have discovered that Estes Cone is a MOUNTAIN that we were hiking to the top of. Yes, a mountain, we hiked a mountain. OMG. The trail started out with a trail register that said all hikers on this trail must sign in/out… they do this because lots of people hike to Longs Peak (14,000’+) in the dark from this trail and if you don’t come back by your specified time, they can send rangers up to find you. WOW! We signed in, took some pics and off we went. It was slow going because my crappy Columbia hiking books were ½ a size too small and I had open blisters on both of my heels. OUCH! So, we meet this nice woman from the East coast, who is also hiking to Estes Cone and she mentions that’s it’s a mountain, but of course we don’t believe her, but live and learn. We are high enough into the mountains that the storm is already covering the neighboring mountains in show, but we continue hiking, only to stray off the path a bit before finding out way back. It is freezing, the temperature has dropped significantly, hovering around 32 degrees and the further we hike, the wind gusts up to 60 mph. Brrrrr. Eventually, the trail stops and we are left to follow the cairns (groups of rock stacked on top of each other) that have been built by other hikers to lead the way to the top. We hook back up with the East cost chic, Karen, and the 3 of us hike to the top. This is a vertical climb. Yes, vertical, as in STRAIGHT UP… Scary as shit with those winds. Keith is brave, so we made him go first. When we finally got to the top, we went to the top, which was marked with a huge limb sticking out of a crevice. PHENOMINAL views for a phenomenal effort. It was like being on top of the world, but with freezing rain pelting us, 60 mph winds and not enough warm clothes. 11,006 on top of the world to be exact! (the pic at the left is of us on the top of Estes Cone and the pic below is of me standing at the trailhead, pointing to Estes Cone and thinking... i can't believe, we were just up there!! ).
Later that week, we shopped, relaxed and of course, went to the Stanley Hotel!! For me, the biggest Stephen King fan, this was heaven. This is where he filmed his mini series “The Shining” and where he stayed while he was writing the same book. I sooooo wanted to get a picture in front of room 217, but only guests were allowed on the upper floors. We didn’t get there in time for the haunted tour, but I still got lots of pics of the lobby, staircase and outside shots. It was so cool! Neither of us ran the entire time were there, which was odd, but we figured the hiking could be cross training, so we slacked. It was great.
I would highly recommend you all visit Colorado, especially the town of Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park. Next time, we are mountain biking, going on more extreme hikes and not going to relax one bit!! :)
Ps... blogger has a file size limit for images, so i can't upload all the pics i want. This weekend I will load the best ones onto shutterfly and post the link on the blog for you all to see.