I RAN A MARATHON. AND LOVED IT. AND WANT TO DO IT AGAIN.

Oh my goodness.  Where do I even begin?

I ran the Chicago Marathon.  And finished.  And met my "secret" time goal.  AND WAS SUPER HAPPY THE ENTIRE TIME (Ok, minus a few miles...), because, I WAS RUNNING A MARATHON!  FINALLY!

I am seriously still so emotional when I think about Sunday.  I've wanted this for SO long.  I've waited on injury and pregnancy, and I still can't believe that it actually happened.  This day was SIX YEARS in the making.

So, I suppose we should start at the beginning, no?

Expo:

I decided to hit the expo right after work on Friday.  I got downtown in record time for a Friday afternoon and spent about an hour at the expo.  I bought the "Run Chicago" Sparkly Soul headband, and I thought I'd end my shopping there when I discovered the huge Nike booth.  I decided to buy one of the marathon shirts, because, hey, I was actually running the marathon...and then I saw the capris.  Despite the fact that I had tested my marathon outfit during my 20-miler, and the fact that I knew it was a rookie mistake, I went ahead and purchased new capris for race day.  Shockingly enough, I made the right choice:)

Saturday:

My in-laws very graciously offered to come into town on Saturday and watch Layla.  That way, I was able to head to the city on Saturday night and get settled with my brother and sister-in-law, and Mike would drive down first thing on Sunday.  My sister-in-law and I went to dinner with a few friends to celebrate their birthdays, and I returned to their place in the South Loop for an early bedtime.  However, I hadn't factored in that I was too nervous/excited to sleep - and I had to deal with their very sweet but very clingy dog who wanted to snuggle all night.  Needless to say, I think I got about four hours of sleep the night before:)

Sunday:

My alarm went off at 5:15 a.m., and despite the little sleep, I was wide awake and ready to go.  I had two bananas, a waffle with peanut butter and some coffee before I left.  I decided to walk to Grant Park, stopping at Starbucks along the way for water and coffee.  I basically just hung out in the Corral H area and stretched, relaxed, etc. before it was time to line up!

(I couldn't have asked for a better day.  The weather was perfect.)

While I was waiting to start (and trying to fight back the tears because I was SO excited!), I met a gentleman who was wearing the same hat as I was - a neon yellow OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon hat.  We chatted about how much we loved that half-marathon, wished each other luck, and it was time to go!

(The view from Corral H!)

Mile 1-6

Miles 1-6 FLEW by!  I felt awesome, and the crowds were simply electric!  I saw Mike twice, and the "two Jens" - one friend from college and another from work.   Splits were spot on - 10:31, 10:33, 10:32, 10:22, 10:20 - and then 17:24.  Yep!  I lost seven minutes when I decided to use the bathrooms in Lincoln Park.  I was really bummed about it, but hey.  I had to pee.

Miles 7-13

I think I overcompensated a bit for missing that time at the bathrooms, and coupled with the crazy crowds, I continued to feel awesome for the next six miles or so.  One of my favorite stretches was in Lakeview - the music was fantastic, and I loved the energy.  I saw the two "Jens" again, as well as my friend Christy, and despite tripping on a sewer, everything felt great.  Splits: 10:04, 10:23, 10:24, 10:38, 10:28, 10:18, 10:28.

Miles 14-17

Despite the fact that I saw Mike twice in the West Loop (plus Marty & Megan), I started to feel a bit tired here.  I finally turned on my music, and tried to focus.  My friend Sarah jumped in to run with me around mile 16, and I was really grateful for her company.  However, I noticed that my foot was bothering me, so right around mile 17, I "pulled over" to check it out.  Turns out, my toenail was starting to fall off.  Immediately after,  I saw Kelly and Patsy!  Splits: 10:42, 10:31, 10:14, 12:18

Miles 18-21

While I definitely slowed down, I still felt pretty great.  I saw Jen again at mile 20 (and everytime I saw her, I cried - we used to run around and spectate the marathon together, and here I was, actually running it!), and I just tried to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.  This was easy to do with the crowds in Pilsen - they were AMAZING!  Splits: 10:48, 10:44, 11:18, 11:20

Miles 22-24

Yeah.  By this point, I was over it.  I saw Mike at mile 23, and Sarah jumped in with me once again.  I was pretty crabby at this point, and the stretch back up Michigan felt like it took forever.  I tried to only walk through water stations up to this point, but I took a few walk breaks in these final miles.  Splits: 11:20, 11:38, 11:40.

Miles 25-27 (Garmin measured 27.17 miles)

At this point, I was PUMPED!  I couldn't fight back the tears, and as we cruised up Michigan, I was just smiling from ear to ear.  As I made the turn onto Roosevelt, I ran right by my "hat buddy" from the start.  He was walking, and I gave him a pat on the back.  He ran into the finisher's chute with me, and even though I don't know his name, it's cool that we started and finished the race together.  Splits: 10:53, 12:55

(The first, and probably only time, I'll order the "official" photo.  Here I am, eyeing the finish line!)

Garmin time: 27.17 miles in 4:49:03 (avg. pace 10:38) / Official time: 26.2 miles in 4:49:02.

(Post-marathon selfie.  I finally got one of those ridiculous mylar blankets!) 

(My parents decorated our house with balloons and signs!)

(Post-marathon hot tub soak!)

I definitely learned a lot from this entire experience, from training to just how capable I am of running 26.2 miles.  There were a lot of early mornings, and questions about whether I could actually accomplish this goal without injury.  But, I did it, and even though it wasn't perfect, I am so proud of myself.  I always said that I'd never run another marathon after this, but for me, this experience was similar to childbirth.  My delivery sucked, but as soon as I held Layla in my arms, I knew I would do it all over again in a second.  And that's exactly how I feel about running another marathon.  I know how lucky I am to have supportive family and friends who helped me achieve this goal.  And I also know how lucky I am that my body was strong enough to make this happen.  I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Just don't tell my husband, ok?  I think he's exhausted:)