To backtrack just a bit. We had big plans for some summer hiking, but the summer was a rainy mess! Truly one of a kind. Add this to Eric having a very persistent injury, and me easing into marathon training and hiking became low priority. Fall rolled in with better weather, just as I qualified for United States Finals on my horse (!) Needless to say, I had no plans to derail that with the chance of breaking my leg hiking (unlikely but still...)
Anyways. Quick recap here just so I manage to remember how this played out when I look at this blog again in a decade.
After not marathoning in person since 2019- and basically being sidelined from the sport for years due to repetitive injuries (culminating in my 9 months of plantar fasciitis) In January of 2023 I was finally sound, and ready to try again.
(I am going to completely pass by the training montage. long story short- I knew the comeback had to be slow and extremely cautions, and my plan was to show up to Chicago in October ready to run a HALF marathon. And to be uninjured.)
Things went according to plan.
I arrived in Chicago to some of the best weather I had seen all season (remember that rain I mentioned? by some stroke of luck it did not follow me to the Windy City.) I found Chicago to be an easy city to navigate and I made my way around very successfully, and inexpensively using their train/subway system (is it the L? I can't recall) After checking in to my hotel (the quirky, and quirkily named 'stay pineapple" I made my way (via train) to the expo. It was late afternoon on Saturday at this point, and the line for security was worryingly long, but moved fast and then the crowd opened up. It was easy to pick up my bib and shirt, and then I made short work of the expo. (I would honestly rate this expo pretty low in comparison to Boston and NYC but I wasn't looking to spend money so it was ok!)
It was for the best anyway, as I still wanted to do a practice walk from the hotel to the start, and find dinner as well.
Practice walk was good and came in at 15 minutes. I was able to easily get dinner because one person can eat just about anywhere (expect city prices, for sure) I had some gelato as a night cap, then cruised to Macy's for a throwaway sweatshirt, then it was off to bed for me. Oh, and I tried to see the sights but evidently they are under construction.
I will note, that as quirky and dated as good old Stay Pineapple was (quirky, dated, and mind bogglingly expensive...) It had the MOST comfortable bed I have ever slept in.
Fast forward to the next morning and I woke up right on time to the sounds of super loud music. As it turned out, there was a race aid station right below my window. Totally fine, since it was time to get up. I did my normal thing. Got coffee and a donut. Took a shower. Got dressed and procrastinated. Got to the start line at the *very last* minute. Actually, I got there in time to stand in a port potty line that I refused to get out of, which caused me to miss getting into my corral which I gave zero craps about. I hate having to pee in the first few miles so it all worked out. I just entered in the last corral and it was fine. Of course, when you are in the back of the last corral it takes 30 minutes to get to the start, but not a problem.
And then I ran the marathon.
As expected, I was exactly fit enough to run a half marathon, so that is what I did. The course was BONE flat, the flattest thing I have ever seen, which messed with my legs in ways I could not have expected. (left leg IT band, which has never hurt a day in its life was screaming and hollering.)
After mile 13 I took it as easy as I needed to in order to avoid having a bad time. I patted all the dogs. I stopped to have a beer (like a shot of beer) with new spectator friends.
I walked some, I ran some. I enjoyed the dancing drag queens and the every mile musical aid stations. I was pretty surprised to have such a painful IT band because that never happens (and has not since.) Either way, I had no grand delusions of a finish in the speed of Me of Old, I wanted to have a good time in the manner of Me of New. And I did! I really enjoyed the race and rate it VERY high on my list of races- it is a solid second place finisher, just after Boston. Crowd support was crazy and the roads were nice and wide so after the first couple miles the runners thinned out a bit (it's a crowded race, if you care about your time maybe start in your assigned corral hahaha.)
And JUST LIKE THAT I was finished, in something like 4:38 or 4:36, I can not remember.
I ate an apple and these amazing tiny chocolate covered donuts. I walked back to the hotel and took a sink bath since I had needed to check out before I left. I took myself out to brunch and made new friends. Then I got back on the train that was packed like sardines, spent over 2 hours in security at O'Hare, almost missed my plane, and then went home. 36 hour trip for the win.
THE END
