Chicago Marathon – 10/10/10
Man, there was seriously high anxiety in the Dobson house last week and especially on Saturday. Everything from who we are going to meet up with at the race, see during the race, when we are going to see the kids, Julie’s Dad and Sue, parking before the race, traffic after the race, preparing our gear, getting downtown for the packet pickup, etc. It was a crazy house around here. By the time we were standing at the start line, waiting for everyone to get moving, I thought we had certainly had enough. It took us almost half an hour to cross the start after the official start of the race, but all of that anxiety seemed to go away, at least for me, when we crossed the start. It’s amazing how running 26.2 miles will focus your mind.
We finished in 5:27. A respectable time considering the weather and Julie’s previous injuries. It got really hot in the last three miles and runners were just wilting in the heat. The medical tents were all filled as we passed the aid stations… casualties of the day. By the end of it, Julie and I both were ready for some medical attention, but we could walk and still had our senses about us. Thankfully Julie’s dad was there and was able to drive us home. I would have been capable, but it would not have been an enjoyable trip back.
Two days post race and Julie and are on the road to recovery. I biked a little this morning and she is at the gym as I type this. Talk has already started about getting Julie a pair of shoes (goodbye Vibrams!) and what races might be next. I’m glad to see that Julie may have been bitten by the running bug because it is one of my true joys and I am happy to have company. Bring on the winter runs!!
Marathon Training
Worst training run: Wednesday, Aug 4th. I started my run at 6:05 am. My iPhone died at 6:37:07 and never came back due to me getting caught in a torrential downpour that I had to run in for 3 miles. You can witness this tragic event because the RunKeeper app I use on my phone was running right until the very end. http://runkeeper.com/user/rdobson/activity/13973939
Best training run: Friday, Sept 17th. This was the 20 miler. I ran the first half with Julie and the second 10 on my own. I felt stronger at the end of the 20 than I have ever felt at the end of any long run I have ever done. My times reflect it too. The last three miles where the fastest out of the 20. 8:58, 8:59 and the last mile was an 8:34. These are the runs that make you want to just keep running. http://runkeeper.com/user/rdobson/activity/16625574
Best song to finish a run to: Fighter – Christina Aguilera. Start this song approx 3 min, 45 seconds from the end of your run, you will not regret it. Damn that woman can sing.
Stats
You’d think the 62k calories would have allowed me to drop some weight… in the end, I lost a total of 2 or 3 pounds.
