Run #99 The Big Kahuna
Ran 20 miles today....I'm hurting something fierce. Consider this a placeholder until I describe the gory details later, probably tomorrow. But I did it. 20 miles. 
Updated Monday Morning:
Ok, this is going to be a really long post, so I’m writing subtitles for each section!
AND WE’RE OFF So the CARA Ready to Run 20-Miler kicked off at 7am at the northern end of Chicago’s lakefront at Foster Beach . There were 66 waves of runners at approximately 50 people each wave, starting with the fastest pace of 7:30 minutes per mile. The slowest pace allowed was, you guessed it, 12:00 minutes per mile. The 12’ers like myself were the last four waves, and I was in wave 65, along with Megan from my training group, so that was cool. Lu (Latina Lu) was in 66 and my friend Sandra from church was in 65, too. Our other Lou is in Europe right now, and Jaime ran yesterday with the group.
So we’re about to kickoff, and Ben Bradley, reporter from Channel 2 is sending us all out onto the path. He told this funny story about when he was 8, he ran the Park Forest Scenic 10 Mile Run, and he didn’t want to run in the forest preserve part, so he skipped it. At the end of the event, he was deemed winner for his age group because no one had picked up on his having cheated. He said he was crying on the winner’s podium. HAHAHA! Why I’m telling you that, I dunno, I guess I thought it was kinda cute. Anyway…so we’re off, wave 65 at 8:04 on the dot, according to the clock. (And oops, I forgot my beloved Garmin Forerunner, can you believe it?)
The legs are feeling good, take it steady, take it steady. It was pretty cool when we started out, in the upper 40’s. We headed north for a teeny bit up to Bryn Mawr at 5600 NORTH Lake Shore Drive and then back south for our adventure of the day, running the length of Chicago ’s lakefront down to the South Shore Cultural Club at 7100 SOUTH Lake Shore Drive .
So at Mile 1 I decided to get my head in the mental game before the mental game got me. I said to Megan “we can get to Diversey, we’ve done it before, right?”, using the strategy of breaking up the run in bite-size pieces, rather than falling into the trap of thinking “we just ran 1 mile, da-a-a-a-a-a-ng we have 19 more to go!” She said “yes we can” and we kept rolling. We took slightly different routes along the lakefront, actually running right along the shoreline pathway in a few places, instead of the more popular running/biking path. It was cool, except instead of being under the cover of trees, that morning sun was hitting us head on. It wasn’t hot, but it was bright. So after some twists and turns, Megan, Lu and I were doing great, just like a training run. Right on pace, hitting the water stations but not lingering. Somewhere around the 7 mile mark, we came upon another group of women who appeared to be training buddies. One lady seemed to be complaining “why did we agree to do this?” And it was bringing me down until I overheard her say “And for people who say marathon training is hard, try chemotherapy.” Wow, I didn’t know what to make of that, other than I should be glad that running is my only pain right now. Just before the 10-mile mark near Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park, my friend Jill surprised me on the path, cheering me on saying we’re just about halfway there. THANKS, JILL!!! Jill has an amazing story, less than 3 years ago she fell ill while pregnant, had the baby 2 months early and was in a coma for a bit. Had to re-learn how to walk again and everything, and last year she ran the NYC Marathon. Now how amazing is THAT?!?!?!
HALFWAY AND STILL EASY-BREAZY! So we hit the 10-mile mark and Megan said we were at 2 hours and 3 minutes, which included our water stops, so we were doing fantastic (since 12:00 on the dot is 2 hours even.) Right after we passed the 11-mile mark I saw a freshly road-killed rat, it was so nasty, and I couldn’t get the image out of my head for quite some time. We anyway, we’re passing the Shedd Aquariaum, the Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum —all things Chicago . Great scenery. We get to Soldier Field where the Bears would be playing later in the day. It wasn’t even 10:30 and there were lots of people hanging out preparing for the 3pm game. It looked like lots of fun. I’ve never really seen Soldier Field on game day, I try to avoid that area like the plague (traffic). Around the 12-mile mark, we’re all getting a little tired, but we keep going. At some point in here, Lu went ahead because we stopped a little longer at a water station and she needed to keep going, which is understandable. Megan and I kept going, and I was hitting my GU’s while running, she was waiting for the water stations. Shortly before the half marathon point (13.1 miles) Megan said she was going to walk a bit, and she’d try to catch up. So at this point I was running by myself…yes, although we started out with about 50, everyone was getting pretty spread out. So I get to the next water station at 31st Street Beach. There’s a decent bathroom there, and for the first time ever during a run, I actually used the bathroom. Took my time, too, cuz ladies, you know how public bathrooms take time if you’re paranoid about their filthiness. After the bathroom I blew my nose, and it was the most therapeutic nose-blow I’d ever had. I felt so clear-headed. So all this took at least 5 minutes, and then when I came out, here’s Megan arriving at the station. So I decided to wait for her, so I stretched a bit while waiting. Then she stretched. I think this stop alone at 10 minutes into my time, but if it was going to get me to the finish line, I really didn’t care. For the first time in the day, I brought out my beloved iPod. And we’re off again. “Only a 10K (6.2 miles) to go, ” I remarked. “we can do that, right Megan?” “Right!” And soon we passed the 14 mile sign, WOO-HOO!
At some point in the next mile or so, Megan needed another walking break so we agreed we’d see each other again sooner or later. She was not feeling 100% even before we started, but she was ok and I knew she’d finish, one way or another. So I’m trucking along and hit the 16 mile aid station. I was really starting to feel kinda tired now, but hey! 4 miles or 48 minutes (at pace) to go. At the last minute I decided to take another GU, standing by the trash bin. There was no one around except down at the other end of the station. I went to throw my GU wrapper away when what’s this? Money in the trash? You bet your bottom dollar I picked it out. It was just some one’s…wrapped around a 20! I looked around, didn’t see anyone looking for it, it was probably dumped by a tired runner getting rid of GU wrappers or something. So yep, I kept it. Don’t judge me, it’s not nice.
OH SNAP! 20 MILES IS A LONG WAY! Around 17 miles I started to get really tired. Only a 5K to go, I told myself, but it was hardly any consolation. I kept going, but now I decided, finally, to walk a little bit. I picked a point up ahead and said to myself “start running right there.” And I did. I did this 3 times, once in the 17th mile, the 18th and even the 19th mile. During the 18th mile I stopped and stretched for a few minutes b/c my left hamstring was sending me a throbbing pain every few minutes. When I saw that 19th Mile sign I was so happy. I remember thinking “even if I walk this, I’m done in 15 minutes or less!” When I did walk, it was for a minute, not long at all. What’s that up ahead? THE SOUTH SHORE CULTURAL CLUB???? The finish is close now!!!!! I keep going, keep going keep going. You’re about to finish 20 miles, this is just not natural….finally, there’s the finish line! What, there’s no clock? Keep going keep going! YAY! I did it!!! Me, being ever so obsessed with my time, I had to pull out my cell phone to check the time. 12:32….so 4 hours and 28 minutes. (12 minutes pace on the dot would have been 4 hours even.) Who cares, I just ran 20 miles!!!!
So I stretched at the finish line, and in came Megan about 5 or 6 minutes later. I cheered her on and congratulated her and off we went for the post-race party. I grabbed a banana and two mini bagels, which I ate on the shuttle bus ride all the way back up the lakefront to Foster Beach . I got in my car and headed home.
IN A BAD WAY So I’m driving and I remember that I have no diet pepsi at home. Better stop and get some since I know I probably won’t be going anywhere else today. I pull into the parking lot at Walgreens, resolved to pick up a few bags of ice, too, and try the famed “ice bath” for making legs feel better after really long runs. I step out of the car when BAM! Blinding pain in my left leg! I tried to straighten it out and more pain! Then I felt my hearing start to go out and I knew I was about to pass out, so I carefully sat back down in my car with my legs outward on the pavement, trying to stretch them. Finally the feeling passed and I decided to go home instead, for fear of falling out in Walgreens and explaining to the paramedic that “I’m ok, I just ran 20 miles”. “You did WHAT?” And then spend 3 hours at Some emergency room trying to convince them that I’m really ok. So I get home and pull into the garage. I go to get out and BAM! Blinding pain in my right leg, hearing starts to go out again, so I sit back down and wait. Finally I get out and head to the door. Fresh air, wonderful. The pain is coming back, so I laid down on the cement in the back, and stayed there for about 10-15 minutes. I heard people walking by the gate, but I don’t think they saw me, or they did and didn’t say anything. When I finally felt like I could handle the stairs, I went up to my sister-in-law’s, got the girls and went back down to our place. And I laid on the couch for about 2 hours before I felt like I could shower.
I’m feeling much better today, but still unclear as to what the deal is with my legs. Did I not drink enough water or Gatorade? Did I not stretch enough? I don’t know. I’m ok today, the only thing still sore are my heels.
So that's the tale of my 20 Miles. Been there, done that!