I'm Back - Chicago Marathon Race Review

I'M BACK .....WHOOO HOOOO - START THE PARADE. I'm am coming back to my blog.

Two weeks ago I completed my second marathon in 6 weeks. Luckily I had miss LB to pull me along. I was extremely skeptical before the marathon, was I really ready, had I recovered enough since the Ironman to run another marathon and not further harm myself?? After a two week training hiatus/IM recovery I did very minimal training. I slowly ramped it up to a 16 mile run then spent two weeks tapering back down - was this even possible?? The week prior I felt winded running 4 miles and as much as I told myself 'take it easy at the start and you can do this' I had serious doubts. Still LB was there telling me I can do this. Is it bad before a race to plan a bail out point? I checked the race map, compared it with the CTA map, and decided that between miles 16 and 18 I can take the red or blue line to the finish line. So Yes, I ran with my CTA card just setting myself up to DNF.

Well just so you know I did not DNF. I finished the Chicago marathon in 4:07:00. This was the first time I actually RAN a marathon. My last two attempts (2004 Chicago) and (2009 IM Louisville) there was a TON of walking involved. LB was not allowing much walking, maybe a little here and there to get through the aid stations but besides that tiny bit of rest it was run, run, run.

I ran on behalf of Girls on the Run, Chicago chapter raising almost $600.


Now that it is officially my off-season (BTW there is no off season in running) I'm going to change the focus on my blog. I did an Ironman, I ran a marathon, and while training for those events I've gone through a number of changes and have created a list of things I want to focus on. These include to continue with my goal of healthy eating, increase my yoga practice, and start weight training (mostly to combat my hamstring/hip issue).