"Do epic sh@*" was one of the signs I saw on the Bank of America Chicago Marathon course. It was definitely epic for myself and the other nearly 45,000 participants. My plan this year was only to visit Chicago for the AAO conference which starts later this week. On a whim I entered the lottery thinking I had no chance of getting in and was surprised by the confirmation in April. I was thrilled to change plans and have the opportunity to do two world major marathons. I had a tough task of treating Chicago as a training run and not going all out. I had to get my pace under control and because downtown Chicago has funky gps signals I couldn't glance at my watch to check on my pace so I had to go by feel (which is better anyway). It was a fantastic trip through 29 neighborhoods with great crowd support except around 15-16 (people were there but dead quiet). I remembered to wave at the senior citizens at the residence we ran by. The Hispanic neighborhood of Pilsen was lively with music. We had great temperatures but with little shade on the course, I ended up getting rather warm in the late miles. I have to thank my family and friends for the support during training and during the race. What touched me the most was the virtual circle of support from my running family, BGR! NYC. My phone was in ultra power save mode during the race and when I was done, I switched to normal mode and got a blitz of notifications. They followed myself and fellow NYC sole sisters from start to finish; cheering, praying, willing us through. Prayers go out to the two men who went into cardiac arrest; one is fine the other is in critical condition.
I am very pleased with my 15 min pr. I have a certain time goal that I will shoot for next year but I am happy to have finished #2. 3 years ago doing this form of epic sh@* was something I never dreamed could be possible. I enjoyed meeting my virtual friends and making new ones. In 20 days I will take on my hometown marathon. Thank you Chicago for a fabulous time.
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