2005 Chicago Marathon (October 9, 2005)

WARNING: this report is very detailed and if you want to skip to the race itself, just scroll down to where it says “THE RACE”.

I ran my first marathon this weekend at the ridiculously large event known as the Chicago Marathon.  I went there with my wife (Elly), my sister (Jaira) and my wife’s sister (Audrey).  Elly had been training for this race but all of a sudden was having severe IT Band (knee) problems.  She did not run at all last week and received some pretty drastic treatment on Friday in hopes that her knee would be able to perform on Sunday.

As it turned out, her knee problems may have been a slight blessing in disguise.  Because while the rest of us were all nervous and freaking out about running our first marathon, she was just thinking she would start the race and drop out as soon as her knee would no longer work.  She was hoping to get to run 5 miles.

We arrived in Chicago at 4:30 P.M. on Saturday afternoon.  We were quickly overwhelmed with the size of the event while wandering around the Fitness Expo at the McCormick Place.  We picked up our packets and headed for our hotel.  We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and paid the highest hotel rates I ever hope to pay in my life.  But at least we were within walking distance of the start/finish of the marathon.

After “carbo loading” at Baja Fresh that evening, we retired to our hotel room to hydrate and rest before our big day.  We unwound by watching a cute romantic comedy (A Lot Like Love with Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet).  The movie ended at 9:30 P.M. which was the time we were hoping to get to bed.  Elly seemed a little down as she iced her IT Band and the rest of us were just giddy knowing that all of our training was for this one event early the next morning.  We set all the alarms for 5:30 AM and turned the lights off.

Elly slept great.  Audrey slept well.  Jaira slept okay.  I (Brett) did not sleep.  I literally lay awake all night.  I don’t know if I was trying too hard to sleep or if I was too excited/nervous about what seemed to be the most ambitious undertaking of my life.  But I did not fall asleep at all the whole night.  Neither did I yawn at any point in time.  But I was not that worried since I had heard that this was very common for first-timers and that it is still possible to run a marathon even without getting any sleep the night before.  I just hoped that my nervous energy would continue for the rest of that Sunday morning.

I finally got up at 5:00 and ate a breakfast of a banana and a pop-tart and had a big glass of water.  I took a shower to relax my muscles and to clear out my sinuses.  Elly was loose and seemed to be upbeat after a good night’s sleep.  She said she was going to give it her best, though I was doubtful she would be able to get very far.  Jaira and I were both excited and Audrey was a bit reserved because she was experiencing some pain in her left ankle.  We left our hotel at 7:00 to head over to Grant Park where the race was to begin (and end).

I had three goals for this race:
1) To finish the marathon.
2) To finish the marathon in under 4 hours.
3) To finish the marathon in under 3:45.

I felt that these were achievable with my level of training.  I would be pleased with (1), very pleased with (2) and absolutely thrilled with (3).

THE RACE

Oh my gosh!  Do you have any idea what over 35,000 runners looks like?  Those of you who have run this race know exactly the overwhelming feeling as you pack yourself into the start of this marathon.  For a first-timer who had bonked on his last long run and who didn’t get a wink of sleep the night before, I was thinking to myself “What in the world are you doing?”

The race began.  The sky was overcast and temperatures were in the low 50s.  There was very little sign of wind at this point.  I guess you couldn’t ask for better running conditions.  As I was bunched in the back of the pack, I walked toward the start line as the crowd would allow.  At the start gate, I began running.

Mile 1: 8:56
If you have run the Chicago Marathon, you know exactly what this first mile is like.  You have no control of pace as there is absolutely no room to maneuver.  So you just move with the pack and hope to find some space at some point.  There are thousands of screaming people all around as we head into downtown Chicago, but all I’m concerned about is not tripping the person directly in front of me and not elbowing the ribs of the people to my left and right.

Mile 2: 8:45
See Mile 1.

Mile 3: 8:27
See Miles 1 and 2 with this addendum: I almost stepped on a dead sewer rat during this mile.  I’m feeling pretty good and would love to be able to keep this pace for the rest of the race.

Mile 4: 8:17
I am picking up a little speed as I am able to dart through pockets of people.

Mile 5: 8:21
Gatorade/Water station was pretty tricky to navigate, but I made it through safely.

Mile 6: 8:12
Almost ten kilometers are completed and I’m feeling great.

Mile 7: 8:13
Lake Michigan is off to the right as the sun pops through the clouds for the first time.

Mile 8: 8:10
My hamstrings are starting to feel a little tight.  Uh oh...there’s a long way to go.

Mile 9: 8:23
There are still people everywhere.  No telling how far I’ve run laterally at this point.

Mile 10: 8:12
My hamstrings are definitely getting tighter and my right groin is all of a sudden noticeable.  It’s time to start playing some mind games: only a 5k to the half-way point!

Mile 11: 8:07
I am very pleased with my time at this point, but in the back of my mind I am wondering if I am going to be regretting these sub-8:30 miles.

Mile 12: 8:26
Overall, I am still feeling great as I am getting closer to the half-way point.  The time has flown by compared to my training runs of this distance.

Mile 13: 8:16
Half-way to the Promised Land!

Mile 14: 8:23
My hamstrings are getting tighter with each mile.

Mile 15: 8:08
Wow!  That was a fast mile.  Let’s keep them coming!

Mile 16: 8:14
The mind games aren’t working for me anymore.  My hamstrings are starting to worry me knowing that I still have 10 miles to go.  Will they hold up?

Mile 17: 8:21
I’m starting to hurt.  Let’s see...what can I think about that will cheer me up?  It’s only an easy 5K to the 20-mile mark.

Mile 18: 8:35
My pace is slowing and my body is hurting.  The bottoms of my feet are starting to hurt.  My hamstrings are very tight and each step is hard work.  Time to start taking more gatorade at the drink stations.

Mile 19: 8:28
Someone handed me a banana and I wolfed it down as I tried to hold my pace.  I think the banana helped a lot because I felt better almost instantly.

Mile 20: 8:36
Just about everything is hurting at this point and I still have six miles to go.  I’ll just concentrate on these next three miles.  I just need to put two 5Ks together to finish this thing.

Mile 21: 8:41
In case you can’t tell by the increasing splits, I am struggling.  I would love to stop and walk, but then I might not be able to get running again.  I have to keep going.

Mile 22: 8:39
My legs feel like a bag of rocks and there is no spring in my step.  My breathing is more labored.  I am now thinking about how many more minutes I have to continue this agony if I can keep this pace: 35 minutes.  I don’t know if I can do that, but I’m going to keep going for now.

Mile 23: 8:38
See Mile 22 and change “35 minutes” to 26 minutes.  Only a 5K left.  Surely I can do this!

Mile 24: 9:08
I’m just trying to hang on.  I poured a cup of water over my head and that seemed to wake me up a bit.

Mile 25: 9:02
See Mile 24.

Mile 26: 8:47
This mile ends at the top of the steepest hill of the course, but to be honest...it really isn’t steep.  But it looks awfully scary when you feel as bad as I did at that point.  But I knew the end was just around the corner.  I could hear the roar of the crowd and I started to believe that I could actually finish this thing.

.2: 1:45
I coasted into the finish with tears in my eyes.  This was a dream come true for me and I am in disbelief that I was able to pull it off.  The crowd at the end was unbelievable.  What a dramatic finish!

Post-Race Thoughts
If you would have asked me during miles 19-25 if I would ever want to run another marathon, I would have responded with an emphatic “NO!”  However, the euphoric feeling you have from completing such a monumental feat lasts a lot longer than the agony of those six miles.  And much to my surprise, Elly was able to complete the whole marathon despite her injury.  So we all had something to celebrate!

Summary

Brett Barton  (Bib #30749)
Time:  3:42:21
Pace:  8:29
Fastest Mile: 8:07 (Mile 11)
Slowest Mile:  9:08 (Mile 24)

Audrey • Elly • Me • Jaira