Kristi's Blog: October 2008

The day is finally here!!!! I officially started training for the Chicago Marathon on June 9...18 weeks of running for ONE day! I have to say that this commitment kept my sanity through the busiest work schedule I've ever had. I often woke up at 5am to get my weekly runs in before work...sometimes I'd work out during lunch, or in the evenings...I squeezed in the runs/workouts whenever I could and rarely missed a training day. I may not have run all the miles recommended during the week (some days I'd run 3 miles instead of 5), but I got every long run in on the weekends. After most long runs, I'd stop off at the store to get a Nesquick chocolate milk (my favorite after a run....yummy) and a 22 lb bag of ice...I'd go home and sit in a 60 degree ice bath for 20 minutes....brrrrr, but my body was thankful!! I trained with the Opportunity Enterprises marathon team and raised about $1,500 for the charity...overall, the runners raised over $145k!!! They were the best group to run with...George Nietert, the Porter county coordinator would be there for us every Saturday and Sunday...he'd set out water/Gatorade for the runners so we wouldn't have to carry anything...he'd always give us encouraging words prior to each and every run...he's a GREAT guy...thanks George for all that you did!!! Between the Nashville and Chicago Marathons, I ran a few races...

May 26: Trail Run Xtreme 12-K; Portage, IN
July 12: Best Buddies 5-K; Provo, UT (5-K PR: 23:31; 7:35/mile pace)
August 29: Nike + Human Race 10-K; Chicago, IL (10-K PR: 47:53; 7:43/mile pace)
September 13: Tower Run 8-K Beach Run & 8-K Kayak Biathlon; Michigan City, IN
September 22: Ready to Run 20 Miler; Chicago, IL
September 28: Calumet City 1/2 Marathon; Calumet City, IL (1/2 Marathon PR: 1:44:50; 8:00/mile pace)

I was ready to run the marathon after the 18 weeks of training and racing...I was ready to rock-n-roll!!! BUT, before I get into race day details, I have to write about the Marathon Expo...this is pretty funny!!!

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10: I took the day off to prep for the marathon...I had the most WONDERFUL massage at East Wind Acupuncture...thank you Denise!!! She really worked my legs, hips and butt using essential oils, hot stones and of course her hands...she has an amazing touch!!! After the massage, I ran around to get a few things done, then went home to pick up my mom as we were taking the Southshore train to Chicago to hit the Marathon Expo. I called home to ask my mom to make me a sandwich since I didn't have time to eat lunch...I ran in the house, quickly kissed my kids and dad, grabbed my confirmation ticket, went potty and off we went to the Dune Park train station. Luckily it's only about 3 minutes away because the train was scheduled to depart in about 5 minutes...we made it with a couple minutes to spare!! Sooo, we hop on the train and close to the end of the train trip, a group of girls asked if we were going to the Expo (I had on my Nike Plus race shirt) and they said to get off at Roosevelt...my plan was to get off at the McCormick stop, but apparently the train wasn't stopping there so we got off at Roosevelt with these girls....we were TOTALLY the blind leading the blind!!! After several miles (I swear we were walking in circles) and about an hour we finally made it to the McCormick Place....well, we thought we were there! We all happened to be in the "East" building, but needed to be in the "West" building...sounds pretty simple, right...OMG, this convention center is like it's own city...I swear it has it's own zip code!! After who knows how long, we figure out how to cross over Lake Shore Drive to get to the "West" building...FINALLY we see signs for the Expo...thank god! Fortunately, there was NO line to pick up the packet, so that only took a few minutes...then we went over to the Expo side...the fun was just beginning. We walk in and a video was showing the marathon course...I stood and watched the whole thing....it took forever to get through the course (it was a car driving in fast motion) and I started to wonder about my sanity...if it takes 20 minutes to watch this video in fast motion, it's gonna take forever to run this...of course I knew this already, but reality was starting to sink in. After the video, we visited several booths...tried on some Pearl Izumi shoes and got a free pair of socks....did a gait analysis at the Nike booth...they actually video tape you running on the treadmill and recommend shoes based on the way you run...pretty cool!! We met two Olympic gold medalists...got their autographs, picture and touched their gold medals...holy cow the medals were heavy!! Here's what I ended up buying: Nike Chicago Marathon jacket (LOVE it), Brooks running skirt to wear on Sunday and the "Spirit of the Marathon" DVD signed by some of the cast members. We ended up staying at the Expo until it closed at 8pm...my time management skills totally SUCK so we missed the early train...no big deal at this point because I knew there were more trains...the next one was at 8:50...we should be okay on time, right?!? One minor problem....we didn't know how to get back to the train station!!! I was starving (I should be carb loading 2 days prior and had little to eat at this point)...so I ordered a turkey panini "to go" at the Hyatt located inside the McCormick Place. This didn't take too much time, so I thought we'd still be okay as long as we took a cab to the train station. We jumped in a cab right outside the Hyatt and told the cabbie to take us to the Southshore train station on Roosevelt....well, he had NO idea what we were talking about...he was talking really fast and I couldn't understand a word he said...I kept telling him to take us to the Southshore train station on Roosevelt...the train that goes to Indiana...I actually think he was getting mad at us!! He dropped us off at a train station on Roosevelt, but it was a Metra station, not the Southshore! I was starting to get nervous because we had less than 10 minutes before the train was to arrive...a nice lady at the Metra stop told us to go up 2 blocks to the Southshore platform...we took off quickly and saw where the train dropped us off...whew...another dilemma....we couldn't figure out how to get down to the platform...there was construction and it was dark...OMG, the train pulled up..waited about 30 seconds, then took off...we had missed our train!!! The next one wasn't due until 11:20 (2 1/2 hours away)...I saw a Best Western across the street and suggested that we stay there...fortunately they had a room available...only non-smoking room had a king bed, but we took it!! Ahhhh, I was finally able to eat...it was about 9:30 by this time...so much for getting lots of rest Friday night. My poor mom was without her meds and breathing machine (she has sleep apnea)....lucky for me, I had my iPod and was able to crank up the tunes to drown out the snoring...it only kept me awake for about an hour from midnight to 1am....not too bad! We woke up early the next morning...showered, brushed our teeth (thank goodness for the hotel toothbrushes) and headed over to the train platform. It was much easier to find it in the daylight...it was right next to the HUGE iron leg statues...we had plenty of time to spare...our time management was much better than the night before...we were home by about 9:30am on Saturday....OMG, what an adventure!!!

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11: Saturday was another busy day...my mom took a nap to catch up on lost sleep...I ran around town with Madalyn and the guys went out for haircuts. Andrew had a baseball game at 4pm...I organized all my race day stuff and met the family at the game a little late. Btw, Andrew hit a nice double at the end of the game...NICE work Andrew!! After the game, we headed over to the OE pasta dinner...I ate salad, 2 helpings of meatless spaghetti and 4 breadsticks...OMG I ate waaayy too much! We had a nice surprise from the OE singers...they performed 3 songs for us...I was so touched by their performance, I cried the whole time. I know they worked so hard for this night and they were all so proud of themselves...the looks on their faces was just priceless...I knew at this point I was running for a purpose. There were all kinds of motivating phrases on the tables...I actually took several with me so I could remember them on my run. I crawled in bed when we got home and watched the "Spirit of the Marathon" movie...I was so tired I couldn't make it through the whole movie, but it was the last thing on my mind as I drifted off to sleep....

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12: The alarm went off at 3:35am Sunday morning (my clock is 10 minutes fast, so the clock showed 3:45am)...I hit snooze as I always do hoping to get a few more winks of sleep....funny thing is that my work phone starting ringing at 3:38am...who in the heck is calling at this hour?!?! The call actually got me out of bed...and it wasn't a number I recognized...it was probably some crazy drunk person who dialed the wrong number! I went to the kitchen and made something to eat...two pieces of Brownberry wheat toast (with extra protein), slapped on some peanut butter and threw in a banana for good measure. I ate it like a sandwich...mmmm good!! For the record, I ate first so I could take care of business before I left the house (you'll know why I say this later). I jumped in the shower (as I like to do before a race to loosen up the muscles)...probably took too long...even shaved my legs...gotta have smooth legs when running!! I was glad to have all my stuff laid out and ready to go...I smothered on the Body Glide, got dressed and put my wet hair up in two Princess Leah type buns (gotta have crazy hair on race day)!! Okay, I wanted to leave by 4am...I ended up leaving around 4:15ish...was a bit behind schedule, but not too bad. I got to the Hilton Garden hotel in Chesterton by the toll road around 4:30am or so...bus was to leave at 4:45am...I waited in the dark in my car for a bit...tried to organize my backpack some, then waited by the front of the hotel where I saw my friend Chad....buses showed up right on time....Chad and I board and sit in the front row (we both have a bit of motion sickness issues). We chatted the whole way to Chicago and arrived sometime around 6am...we felt like we were with a posse or something because all the OE runners were dropped off by multiple busses who were mostly dressed in matching bright orange shirts!!! It's still dark (and already in the low-mid 60's) as we walk over to the OE tent in Charity Village. What a setup...we had our own tent, own bathrooms (no lines to wait in), food, water, sports drinks, chairs, tables, gear check...the works!! I saw my friends Chris and Maureen and others....we talked, stretched and got our gear checked in...we had a group photo taken at 7am, then I took off to the starting line. I get a bit nervous before running in a race and always want to make sure I have an empty bladder...I'd already gone pee a few times at the OE tent, but I had to go ONE more time...found a bank of port-a-johns and waited for at least 20-30 minutes...still had about 20 minutes until the start! I found where the runners were lining up and walked through the mob of people. I wanted to be at the front of the "open" corral so I could hook up with a 3:45 pace group in either corral "D" or "C" (these were the seeded corrals). I wormed my way all the way to the front of the open corral and had to wait for the gun to go off before I could get in the chute. I waited and waited for what seemed like an eternity...my iPod was playing Chris Brown "Wall to Wall" and I played it over and over and over...I danced and bopped around to the song in anticipation of starting, then off we went!!! YEAH, it's "GO TIME"!!! I was behind the 4 hour pace group in the "open" corral...when I started running, I weaved in and out of people like crazy....I had my eye on those pacers (the guys running with the little sticks with finishing times on them). I caught up with the 4 hour pacers in the "open" corral...then the 3:55's in corral "D"...then the 3:50's in corral "D", then the 3:45's in corral "D"...I felt so good that I kept on passing runners! Okay, so then I saw the pacers in corral "C"…passed the 3:55’s, 3:50’s and almost caught up with the 3:45's in this corral...they were within sight, but I never did run with the group. I was feeling REALLY good at this point (of course I was, it was early on in the race)...I looked down at my Garmin at about the 3 mile point and it said I had gone 4.7 miles...WTF?!? At times, my pace was 5:25/mile or 17:00/mile (yeah right, obviously the Garmin wasn't working right)!!! I had put my name on the front and back of my shirt in black electrical tape...LOVE the spectators...they'd shout out my name as I'd run by...what a great feeling...unfortunately I sweat so much and ran through so much water that the letters were falling off...the "K" and "r" started to stick together, so I just ripped the entire name off at one point (maybe around mile 10). I was feeling great until about mile 8 when my hips started to bother me...I expected this to happen, so I pushed through the pain. I walked through every water stop and took water and/or Gatorade...as the race progressed, the more time I spent walking through the stops. I saw Wendy (a running buddy of mine) at one of the water stations around mile 5. I passed Elvis early on in the race...he was running soooo slow!! My favorite places to run through were Pilson (they were handing out their own drinks...I think it was beer)...it was very Latin and festive...the other fun neighborhood was Chinatown...there were big dragons and lots of cool stuff to look at! Along the way, people set up little tables with snacks on them, like pretzels, candy and drinks...others had sticks with vaseline on them for those with chafing issues (thank goodness I didn't need any)!! At one point, I grabbed a packet of Smarties candies...I threw a few in my mouth, then pitched the rest on the side of the road...I came up on Greg, one of the OE runners (he said it was past the halfway point...I can't remember). I called him Arnie at first (I met Arnie and Greg at the same time and got their names mixed up)....he said, "my name isn't Arnie"...I said, "Oh, I'm sorry Greg" (my brain doesn't function properly after running several miles)....we chatted for a minute or so, he asked me what my goal was and I told him I was shooting for a 3:45 then took off. I was actually on target for a 3:45 marathon and had about a 2 minute cushion until about mile 15...then I started to eat into the cushion, but was still on target until about mile 18...this is when things went downhill. Okay, for those of you who know me this won't be a surprise...I'm not too shy about talking about this either...I packed a few Imodium chewable tabs just in case....I had the urge to go the bathroom and popped a tablet...I was determined NOT to stop...I had the urge again...took another tablet...was okay for a while, then the urge hit again....sooo, I ate the 3rd and last tablet. This was probably the dumbest thing I could have done....I totally dehydrated my body and it was getter hotter and hotter as the morning progressed. Even though I drank at every water stop, it was NOT enough...the result of this madness was severe muscle spasms and cramping in my calves. It caught me off guard and was so bad that I almost fell to the ground the first time it happened...I'd shout out loudly in pain & frustration and started talking to myself (out loud at times)...I must have looked like a total crazy person!!!! The spasms started at mile 18…I had 8 miles to go. I had to change my stride…every time I tried to speed up, my legs would cramp up, so I had to shorten my stride and run with my feet mostly flexed…the temps were rising...good thing there were plenty of “misting” stations, people with hoses, sponges in big freezing cold kiddie pools…I’d grab extra water and splash it on my face and head to stay cool…whatever it took to get through those last 8 miles. At this point, I knew it wasn’t going to be the day for me to qualify for Boston, but surprisingly, I was okay with it. My strategy was to finish in 4 hours…with about 5 miles to go, I didn't want to run anymore, but I remembered to run with my heart...I even pounded my chest to remind me (there I go acting all crazy again)!! Unfortunately right before mile 24 I stopped to stretch the calves on a curb and the urge to "go" hit me one more time (I will NEVER eat two helpings of spaghetti and 4 breadsticks the night before a marathon again)…fortunately I was right next to a gas station…I ran over as fast as I could (and I was NOT interested in getting gasoline…too bad ‘cause some premium may have given me a boost)…the store looked as if it may be closed…it was dark inside and one of the doors had a big “X” taped on it, but I had to take a chance. I burst through the door (thank god it opened) and frantically asked if there was a bathroom…some guy pointed in the direction of the bathroom and I ran to it as fast as I could….whew, that was a close one!!! Of course there was NO toilet paper, but I had some extra tissues in my pack…I must have been a sight because as I ran out of the bathroom, a lady with her young daughter asked if I was okay…I responded with a feeble “yes” and announced there was no TP…LOL!!! This little escapade was a 5 minute setback…I went in at 3:33 and came out at 3:38 and I still had about 2.4 miles to go…I was now shooting for a 4:02. I have to say there was ample water and Gatorade this year...the temps rose to about 85 degrees...not as bad as last year, but was still really hot...I remember how sticky the road was at the end of the race, probably from the spilled Gatorade...the last several water stops had lots of bananas and people handing out baggies of cut up orange slices...mmmm, good! The last couple miles were a complete blur and the last mile seemed like the looongest mile of my life! I kept waiting to turn right from Michigan Avenue to Roosevelt and it took FOREVER!!! Finally the turn, up the hill over the bridge and left on to Columbus…what a relief it was to see the finish…I ran as hard as my body would allow!!! I MADE IT!!!! 4:01:08….not bad considering the circumstances! I was so happy I finished….once I crossed that finish line, I started feeling sick, thirsty, nauseous, dizzy and had horrible leg cramps to top it off. Got my mylar blanket, cold wet cloth for my head, finishing medal and timing chip clipped off my shoe…it was a very long walk to get water…I needed to sit down but a volunteer told me to keep moving. I walked a short distance then laid down on my mylar blanket on the pavement…I had the cold cloth over my face and attempted to stretch out my legs…another volunteer came over to help me stretch, but it didn’t do much good…I laid there a while longer until I felt good enough to get up…I attempted to walk over to charity village to the OE tent…I ran out of water and was really not feeling well at this point. As I was walking, the police had to stop walkers to allow an ambulance into the medical tent. I rested my head on the gate as the ambulance went by and the police officer asked if I was okay. I said I needed water and he instructed me to go into the med test…let’s just say I wasn’t in the mood to argue with anyone, so I shuffled into the tent. I was logged in and they led me to a cot where I proceeded to lay down. 4 people were working on me at once…two asking me questions and taking my vitals and 2 massage therapists working on my legs and feet…they basically gave me water and Gatorade and a cold cloth for my head….after about 20 minutes I felt well enough to get up. As I tried to get off the cot, my right foot locked up and I couldn’t get it to move…my foot would not go down on the ground..it was stuck in a flexed position…my brain told it to move, but it wouldn’t budge!!! I was finally able to get up and hobbled over to the OE tent in charity village in my socks…I went down the back way…I had to go down a hill and OMG that hurt…had to go down sideways…going down is so much worse than going up!!! I saw my family and tried to shout to my mom since I was moving so slow…I yelled as loud as I could several times until my mom heard me…they were wondering where I was! I had to keep moving or my legs would cramp up again….I kept walking while my family got me some food…eventually I was able to sit down and stretch out. I waited at the tent until I knew my friends were done…it was a hard day for many…we decided to take off and walk back to the car….what I didn’t know was that the car was about 3 miles away!!! I walked the whole way back to the car…it wasn’t pretty, but I did it!!! Actually, it was probably the best thing for me. We headed over to Angela’s (Mike’s sister) house where I was able to shower, eat and drink a beer. What a day…one I will never forget!!!

Here are some of the sayings I remember seeing along the way that helped get me through...

Pain is weakness leaving the body
Pain is only temporary, pride is a lifetime
It's okay, it's normal to hurt
You may wonder why you're doing this at mile 18...at mile 26.2, you'll know why

Here are my split times...too bad I can’t run negative splits!?!?