Chicago Marathon 10-10-10

I flew from Ontario to Midway on Southwest. I hate flying Southwest. It's always a cattle call flying with them even with their current boarding system. From the airport, I took the L to the Roosevelt station to take a shuttle to the expo. The shuttles were actually yellow school buses with seats designed for youngsters.

Welcome to the expo!

The expo was excellent. I hope the LA Marathon was there taking notes. So many booths and I only bought arm warmers and a long sleeve 1/2 zip shirt. I did not sign up for any races. I'm still sticking to the plan to ride out the races and take a break.

Wall of marathoners

Took a while to find my name

After going through the expo, I took the bus to the Fairmont Hotel and walked over to my hotel on State and Lake. I stopped by a CVS to pick up some supplies. After checking in at theWit hotel and dropping off my stuff, I went back out to eat. On my way over to the Billy Goat Tavern, I bumped into Paul Frank Maniac Dave and his friends. We wished each other luck in the race tomorrow. I had a double cheezborger and a Coke. It was pretty quiet inside since I was there at an odd hour between lunch and dinner. Afterwards I went back to my room and relaxed while getting my gear ready.

Double cheezborger and Coke

2 weeks out from the race, I was unable to run more than a mile without excruciating pain in my neck/shoulder region. I didn't know then if I would be able to run the Chicago Marathon. But I was still planning to make the trip at the very least to be a spectator. My goal before I hurt myself was 3:55 or bust. Well I was able to recover enough to run about 12 miles without relative pain. So I resumed my goal of 3:55 with a backup goal of 4:30.

I left my room at about 6:15am to walk over to the starting area. It was a bit crowded and I missed the Marathon Maniac photo op. But I did see the few lingering maniacs which included Dave, #1, and #2. I was hoping to bump into irungirlSD from RWOL but I couldn't find her or her husband. So I went to use the portapotties and checked my gear bag.

They have lots of portapotties in the starting area but somehow I always end up in the slowest line. I dropped off my bag as soon as I got out and headed for the corral. The corral entrances were a little hectic near the start of the race. You can enter from the sides like the Marine Corps Marathon, but you can't really tell from the back. I eventually made it to the 9 min pace section of the open corral. It was a zoo inside the corral. I think NY does a better job at moving the masses because spectators aren't allowed at the starting area. But it's just tough to move that many people without it getting a little bit crazy.

First Half
I don't remember much of the race from the half marathon and on. The first 10k was fine. I was running by effort and I kept trying to slow myself down to a 9 min pace. For about 8 miles I ran with the 3:55 pace group. But I dropped off because my right ankle was bothering me. I knew it wasn't something I could push through. It has been hurting me in every race since I hurt it right before the Seattle RnR Marathon back in late June. When I got to the half way mark, I kind of knew it was going to be a 5 hr day. Then the weather just kept getting hotter and hotter. I switched to a strategy of "let's not pass out. Please finish in one piece."
1: 8:33
2: 8:39
3: 8:54
4: 9:12
5: 9:04
6: 8:49
7: 9:24
8: 9:17
9: 9:51
10: 10:14
11: 10:01
12: 10:19
13: 10:40
13.1: 2:04:01

Second Half
I started taking an increasing amount of walking breaks. Somewhere near mile 23.5... right before we made a turn on Michigan to head for the finish line, I saw two middle-aged women sitting at a bus bench. I was so pooped. I just sat down right between the two of them and asked when the bus is coming. They laughed and asked if I was alright. I said it's hot and I just needed to take a break.

As we took the final turn onto Columbus, boy that finish line was a sight for sore eyes, legs, ankle, etc. I tried to run as fast as I could which was not very fast. The guy on the PA was telling us not to sprint... to take it easy since the heat alert was at red.
14: 12:04
15: 11:59
16: 12:24
17: 12:30
18: 15:08
19: 14:20
20: 14:51
21: 15:56
22: 13:27
23: 14:18
24: 16:34
25: 15:50
26: 14:58
26.2: 2:07
Finish: 5:09:20

After the race I developed a really mean stomach ache. I just went straight back to my hotel room to rest. I couldn't eat or drink anything and just sat there. I've never had this sort of pain after a race. When the pain finally subsided, I took a shower and kind of zonked out watching TV. I think it was the Giants vs. Braves. My brain felt fried after the 26.2 mile romp in the heat. After a while I dragged myself out to eat something at Harry Caray's. I had a Caesar salad, a 23oz medium rare bone-in ribeye, and a Pepsi. Holy Cow! Good times.

23oz of beefy goodness

This course was extremely flat. This was definitely a PR course if the conditions were favorable. I would really love to come back and run this race when I'm healthy. I rank this race just below the Marine Corps Marathon on my short list of favorites:

1. New York City
2. Honolulu
3. Marine Corps
4. Chicago
5. San Diego

Monday morning, I checked out of the hotel and headed down the Magnificent Mile to Niketown to buy a finisher's shirt. The store wasn't open until 9am, so I bought the Chicago Tribune from a CVS and walked up to the Hancock Observatory. They weren't open until 9am and it costs $15 to go to the top, so I went back out to take some pictures of buildings. They have some very nice buildings in Chicago. I ended up buying a long sleeve finisher's shirt with a map of the course on the front. Too bad I left it on the train when I went to the airport. I had already left the station when I realized what had happened. Someone out there has a nice finisher's shirt.

Chicago Theater

Marina City "Corn Cob"

Chicago River

Chicago Tribune

Water Tower & Hancock Observatory