Chicago Marathon 2011

I didn't get the $100,000 prize for winning the Chicago Marathon; Moses did that. I didn't even break 5 hours as I had hoped but I was contented by this experience. For anyone who questions the sanity of a crowd of 26.2 mile road runners, you need to make the trip to the Windy City next October. The leaves are turning brilliant hues as you take it to the streets this time of year. I want to thank Kelly, Shaun, Amber, Caitlyn, Jack & Emily for supporting me in my quest to return for my second marathon experience. This is the trip I almost didn't make after battling injuries from mid July through September. My training was far from what the plan called for but I had recovered enough and did one test run of twenty miles to know that perhaps I could make it to the finish line. I was not well conditioned beyond mile twenty, the heat rose to nearly 80 degrees and leg muscles convulsed over the final 6.2 miles of the course. That being said, I was able to complete a marathon I had uncertainties about through the summer. I went into the race thinking I'd finish whatever I could since I paid for it already. I came with no real expectations, merely hopes. The good thing about this approach was that I entered the starting corral calmly and relaxed. When the race began we shuffled in a steady stream northward zigzagging streets for 7 miles along the Lake. The cheering crowds were several rows deep in places. Their enthusiasm was infectious. In fact through the whole course there were spectators lining the streets. Entering the many ethnic villages of Chicago gave a sense you were running around the globe. As temps rose we were treated to water streams from hoses and cold water sponges along the way. Running on sponges felt good but running through banana peels was a little more challenging! There were abundance of gatorade and water stations of which I walked through probably 90% of them. Because they added more stations along the way, it seemed that at times it became a distraction and slowed momentum. By the time I got to mile 8 there finally seemed to be some spacing between runners but before that your pace was held in check by slowing runners zipping across for the refreshment tables or portapots. Though my energy was fading past mile 20, I knew I was too far in to check out. My cramping muscles forced me to walk enough to calm them down before resuming my return to running. This definitely slowed me down but I remembered how troublesome they became in Akron and I didn't want a repeat of that. The last 2 miles were the toughest until I made the final turn up the bridge at mile 26 where my personal cheer section awaited. When I passed them, I mustered as much smile as I had in me although seeing them waving and yelling renewed my weary spirit to the top of the bridge where I reached my final descent to the finish line. It is here where I have preached to myself and others "FINISH STRONG." This is where exhausted legs rallied one more surge of speed as I was about to cross over into the real of running marathons instead of just one. Everything I trained for that was started in my basement on a treadmill while snow stacked up around me last winter all pointed to this moment I had envisioned. In moments after crossing, I wept as I thought of the adversity that tried to keep me from this moment. This was nearly 45 minutes slower than my 2008 marathon and yet in that moment it did not matter. A willingness to press on when I was hurt allowed me to savor a moment as a volunteer placed a finisher's medal around my neck and say, "Congratulations!" In about 20 minutes I shuffled like a 150 year old to meet Kelly where we embraced and I heard her say, "I knew you would do this. You're so strong. I'm proud of you." And I could not help but thing that what I did pales to what my soldier sons do. In a moment I removed my sweat soaked race shirt and put on an Army Ranger shirt in honor of Andy who ran the last 3 miles of my Akron race only this time he was unable to attend as he is deployed in Afghanistan. I missed him and the rest of my family in this moment. But I was blessed to have the incredible support of friends who joined us on this journey and sacrificed because the believe in me. It was moving to share that moment with them at the finish. Right now I am resting, healing and reflecting. I can't wait for more of these moments even though I am well aware of the discipline it will take to get there again.