Chicago Marathon

So I spent the Saturday before the race doing very little. I went to the Expo (which was pretty awesome). Everyone was taking pictures in front of the 10-10-10 signs (fyi - this date won't happen again until 2410- I learned this fact from Ms Margarat Taylor) and it was all very exciting. I spent the night watching the marathon portion of Kona. It was actually very inspiring and motivating.
Sunday morning was exciting but unfortunately it was already warmer than what I wanted. I was hoping to wake up and need a long shirt or gloves but it didn't happen. The race was only a short distance from the hotel so we walked to the Elite Development Tent. At 0705 we began walking to our corral. We had to walk thru all the other corrals and the oddest thing happened. I saw more men peeing EVERYWHERE. On sidewalks, in bushes, on fences. I mean everywhere. I just couldn't believe it. Why do people think that's okay. It's not. There were port a potties everywhere.
So the race began right on time. I was in a crowd of people. I've never been surrounded by so many people. Very fun! We started off running and I realized that someone had lied to me. Chicago is not flat. We immediately began running up and down over bridges and hills. I was really excited for the race to begin. I'd been training and racing for months all to prepare for this one race. I knew that my goal was to qualify for the trials. Play it safe and qualify for the trials. Besides I already knew it was going to be too hot for me to take any chances. Around mile 7 I kind of found myself alone. I had a group of people ahead of me. I decided I would catch up to them and see what the pace was like. Once I caught up with them my garmin said 6:06. Oops too fast. I knew I had to options I could take a chance on the pace or I could slow down. I opted to slow it down back to my planned pace. At mile 10ish my Italian guy caught back up to me. (I had decided earlier in the race that this was my guy - and I was afraid he had let me down). We ended up running the rest of the race together. He didn't speak much English but we were able to communicate enough that we took turns getting each other water/Gatorade. And every time I fell off pace (mile 21-23 were a little tough for me ) he yelled something at me and pointed beside him. At the halfway point I was right on 1:22:38. Yay. Right on cue. At mile 20ish I passed Joan Benoit Samuelson. The crazy thing was that she was smiling. Still smiling and she ran a 2:47. She's amazing.
Also at this point I knew that it was going to be a very hot rest of the race. Very hot. It was already very warm. Like I said there were a couple of miles that were a little rough but the crowd kept cheering for my Italian running mate (Italia!!) and that kept me going as well. Mile 24 was beyond sweet b/c this is when I knew all I had to do was run 2 .2 very consistent miles. The finish for Chicago is uphill. Once again, this isn't a flat course. But it was amazing. It's been such a long time since I ran a fun marathon so it was great to finish. The announcer said my name and city as I crossed the finish line and he welcomed me to the Olympic Trials which was pretty cool.
The finish line was very smooth. The massage tent people were pros. I've never seen the massage tent run so smoothly. Very cool.
We had to fly back to VaBch that evening. I would have loved to have spent more time in Chicago but it was back to reality and real life.
Real life means Coach made me run 7 miles the next day with him while he rode the bike. Coach actually has a different take on post marathon running. I usually take at least a week off from running. He doesn't believe in that. So I even went to track last night. Yay for me. I actually feel good. So, I'm already looking forward to my next marathon and hoping I get faster
After mile 20, it started getting very hot. I realized that

In Chicago

I'm here in Chicago and I already feel very overwhelmed. Already I'm thinking way too much. Am I good enough? Should I have trained more? Should I have trained harder? Being here is very humbling and all I can do is trust in myself and remember what I'm doing here in the first place. It's very easy to forget that the only reason I run is for myself. Not for my sponsors. Not for my coach. Not for anyone but me. I'm the only one whose opinion really matters. No one else is going to be out there with me on the course but me. At mile 21 I'm gonna have to push myself to the finish line.
All I can say is that I'm so excited about being here. I have to remember that I've trained very hard and that I really love running. I can't wait for race morning. I can already feel the butterflies and the anticipation.

The Taper

So for the last couple of days I've been in "The Taper". Some people hate the taper. They complain about feeling like they aren't doing enough and are restless. Me, I love it. After months of training I can feel my legs again and it's great.
I've spent this week doing all the right things. I've stayed off my feet, got my massage from Balance (thank you Jessica) and getting my hip worked on by Jim Browning.
I also seriously believe in making sure I eat enough pasta and cookies (sugar is fuel also). Oh, and pancakes too.
I'm very excited b/c I leave tomorrow. I plan on getting my good luck run in with Mike D and then I'm off to Chicago.

And I'm off to watch Grey's Anatomy. Love the show.

The Competitive Edge

On my long run on Wednesday Coach and I were discussing the Competitive Edge. What it is and who has it? According to my Coach, it's also called the Rocky Factor. It's an internal feeling that drives an athlete to sacrifice for his/her training. This athlete will go out on race day and will leave everything out of the course. This runner isn't afraid of blowing up and not finishing because he/she will leave nothing to chance.
Not everyone has this competitive edge. Do you?

Lynchburg 10 Miler

Yesterday I ran the Lynchburg 10 miler which is a very historic race (37 years). I have the privilege of writing that I won the race. So awesome! I join the list that has Joanie and Greta on it as well as Catherine the Great. The race was awesome. It starts on a downhill slope so for the 1st mile you are flying. Then starts the pain. The hills of Lynchburg are hard. No lie. I was breathing hard by mile 2 and having a few doubts about my sanity. Around mile 4 a guy comes up and passes me. Every time we went down hill he would pass me and then we would go up a hill and I'd pass him back. He had me worried for a bit b/c I couldn't figure out if he knew something I didn't. After a pretty ugly hill that topped out at mile 5 he went away so then I was just back to cruising. The cool thing about this race was the support. Lots of people along the side of the road yelling and it is an out and back course so heading back there were tons of people cheering which was super sweet. Around mile 6 it occurred to me that 1st place girl was pretty close and I could catch up. It's amazing how your mind becomes totally focused and it's all so clear (b/c the only thing that matters is that one person). This was another race that where I don't remember ever feeling pain. I was just so focused. We took a left corner that would take us back to the finish line and this is where I passed her. The crowd actually went crazy which was pretty cool. So for the next couple of miles all I could think about was running hard. The last mile was pretty crazy. It really is a long hard mile up a pretty steep hill.
This race is one of these days that just makes it all worth while. The pain and the work. All the long hours of running, planning, lifting weights, and just all of it. It's just all worth it.

The Last Run

So my good friend (and amazing runner partner) is off to France. We had a wonderful morning run (20miles) this morning with Coach on his bike. It was a beautiful morning and we had an amazing run. Needless to say, I'm happy for Kelley but I'm sure gonna miss her.

Chicago Half Marathon

Hello all,
I'm in in the amazing windy city of Chicago. I love this city. The tall buildings are beautiful and it's just so cool. I'm in a wonderful hotel called The Palmer House Hilton which was built in the late 1800's. Very cool. I woke up this morning and the weather was in the 50's and it was raining. WAY different than our fair city of Va Beach. I've already wondered out loud if I could move to Chicago but I would miss my city way too much. IDK.
The weather tomorrow is suppose to be in the 60's in the morning. So the weather is definitely ready for racing, I've been to the Expo. It was small which is nice for trying to figure stuff out in a big unfamiliar city. But this is perfect for me figuring out Chicago before the marathon. Speaking of the marathon there are flags out everywhere with 10 10 10 on them. How cool is that!

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. I do know that I have a horrible head cold and my sinuses are draining (very attractive, I know) so that really sucks. I'm hoping it won't affect my performance for tomorrow. I feel that I've emotionally put RnR out of my mind and that I'm ready (emotionally and physically) to race tomorrow. Wish me luck!