Roxymama's 5k to Marathon, Time to Collect Another Castle

[roxymama]

Wow! Amazing start to your report! I’m not a regular poster but do follow. I’m so sorry for your loss! I lost my father to cancer 5 years ago, but it feels like yesterday. The pain is still so raw! I run with his spirit too! He was a drill instructor and I often cadence to myself on LRs.

I caught your finish on live stream and was so happy to see a fellow disers and DB trainee! Can’t wait to read more!!

I keep waiting for it to feel normal, but am embracing that it probably won't ever be normal to lose a parent. And that's okay. I love that you cadence when you run!
Thank you for finding me on race day! My 15 seconds of fame

So excited for this report! Great start, wish I could've been there with all of you.

I wish you could've been there too! If you ever run it, my offer still stands to cheer for you in some capacity on or off course

 

[roxymama]

Love the monster letter tee! Love love the sweaty bands and love your peacock feather sneakers! Yay expo and mini dis meet!

I had three pairs of Launch 4's for training this year. One boring and two colorful. Luckily they all fit the same and I saved the peacocks aka my "race turkies" for my later weeks of training. I only put 40+ miles on them pre-race.

You look great in that jacket! Our Chicago shirts arrived today also. It was great seeing you again this weekend.

I'm so proud of how you maintained your running and I'm so sorry about your mom. You are so strong and I know she must be so proud of you and cheering you on.

Thanks Zelly. My dad told me that after I crossed the finish line he thanked my mom. And we both lost it. Sometimes being strong doesn't mean having everything all put together. Sometimes we fall apart but are still strong throughout our struggles.

 

[rteetz]

I really enjoy race expos. They get me excited for the race I am about to run. Cool jacket! I probably would've bought one myself. You mentioned you're only going to earn the Donald medal... I think a few other medals could be calling you name too

I might just throw my name in the lottery again for next year.

 

[roxymama]

Chicago Marathon Race Recap Part Two: Shake it Out and Find some Carbs

Saturday morning was shaping up to be a stormy affair. Leading up to race day the weekend forecasts had little rain clouds and lightning bolts throughout. I was really hoping we'd get a break for Sat and Sun mornings. When I woke up in the morning to bad weather and bad radars, I texted to a few people that I'd probably need to call an audible and stay home. It's a 40+ minute drive from my house afterall. Bummer. I saw that many were one step ahead of me and they'd already called off the shakeout run on the lakeshore path. If anyone is in town in the future and would like to meet up on a nice weather day just let me know!
At about 8am there was a clear window near my house so I threw on my run gear really quickly and did a fairly slow 24 minute run. The trees were dripping water all over me and I just thought "might as well embrace getting a little wet." My legs didn't feel like they had a whole lot of zip in them. GOOD...I always run better the day after a "bad" run.

When I got home roxyhubby told me that he realized the dinner reservation he made for Sienna Tavern was for Sunday night instead of Sat night. Oops! But he saw that they had plenty of lunch openings and we decided to meet his mom for a late lunch before she took roxykiddo back to their house for a night with grandma and grandpa. We headed downtown and started seeing the corral areas being set up and the finish line ready to go. I am so glad we drove past because every other Chicago race that I have run has at least a 1/4 mile or more past Mt. Roosevelt before you get to the finish line and it looked like the marathon finish was so close. Makes sense when I saw the 26 mile marker part way up the hill.
BTW Driving down Mt Roosevelt is easier than running up it.



We got to Sienna tavern and were sat in a large booth. I was a ball of nerves at this point and was not sure how I was going to manage to eat food. Few minutes later I see a familiar face...is that @DopeyBadger and his family. Yep!! And the waitress sits them down in the booth right next to ours. I guess we chose an okay lunch spot for pre-race if my coach is also eating there.
I managed to eat this popover bread with a little bit of prosciutto and cheese.
I wasn't able to eat very much of the ravioli I ordered. Nerves man. Drank so much water though and passed on my usual restaurant treat of a diet coke. Limiting the caffeine so that my caffeinated race gels would have a better effect (and so I could try to sleep that night!) Sent the majority of my pasta home in a takeout with MIL. Got some encouragement from the dopeyfam and then said goodbye to my kiddo and MIL.

It was really starting to get chilly and hubby only brought shorts so we stopped at Old Navy for some fancy sweat pants for him to wear while he tracked me throughout the city on Sunday.
Hubby and I checked into the Wyndham Grand and got switched to a King and a corner room. Could see the river out one of the windows which was nice. Here's proof that I was still smiling despite the overwhelming nerves at this point.


I laid out all my things for race day and then before I knew it hubby was asleep. So I thought, what the heck..NAP TIME! I think I got maybe 40 minutes of drool on my pillow sleep. I don't nap well so this was great. And I woke up starving. Didn't want to go into race morning on too empty of a stomach so we tried the food thing again by going to Beacon Tavern by our hotel.

I literally googled "what not to eat prior to a marathon" and "what to eat prior to a marathon" from our table. Overthinking things. I wanted a glass of red and Paula Radcliffe drinks one glass of wine before a race (according to google) so I did. Along with so much water.


We shared a little relish tray...I only wanted those tiny hard boiled eggs. And now I want this specific chicken dish for Christmas (as does my MIL after we sent her this picture)




And I ordered the marathon runner's special. Spaghetti noodles with lobster. And HOLY LOBSTER...I was expecting like little tiny pieces. I couldn't eat it all but I made a good dent and was definitely feeling like I had the carbs and sustenance I needed for race morning.


I did order the assorted macarons as my dessert to go. I ate one that night (missing from photo because I ate it) and saved the rest for post-race. They were amazing!!!


We took the short walk back to the hotel and I finished up setting everything out. Checked the weather every 5 minutes...still rain in the forecast. Willed myself to go to bed for real at 9pm after mindlessly flipping through the tv channels. Had a big morning ahead of me!

To be continued Part Three: The Marathon!

 

[PrincessMickey]

I haven’t posted over here yet but I have been reading along. Congrats on your first marathon!!! I’ll be running my first in Disney in January. While you were running your marathon, I was running our hot chocolate. I had read your recap last year and thought it looked like a fun race so I signed up for ours. The jacket came in very handy, it was so cold, almost everyone was wearing theirs, including me. It was so much fun though! And our medal has mountains.

 

[roxymama]

I haven’t posted over here yet but I have been reading along. Congrats on your first marathon!!! I’ll be running my first in Disney in January. While you were running your marathon, I was running our hot chocolate. I had read your recap last year and thought it looked like a fun race so I signed up for ours. The jacket came in very handy, it was so cold, almost everyone was wearing theirs, including me. It was so much fun though! And our medal has mountains.

View attachment 357497

I'm glad you decided to run it. I love the distance and the bling. It's funny that to them Denver = mountains and Chicago = hot dog. I mean, they aren't wrong.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

This recap is giving me alll of "the feels." I am just so incredibly proud and inspired by you and your realness and dedication and tenacity and optimism and openness.... and the list goes on I can't wait to hear all about the actual race!

 

[KSellers88]

Loving the recap! I absolutely love your comment about "pollinating" the different booths, that is a perfect description and exactly what I do! Cannot wait to read the rest.

 

[michigandergirl]

Great recap so far!!! Even though the lottery gods weren't with us, I am so happy you were able to go the charity route. You were ready for this. And I'm guessing that all the running you did leading up to it was beneficial in helping you work through the grief of losing a parent too soon - I know it's helped me tremendously when I lost my Dad several years ago, and it still helps today. I'm sure your Mom would be so proud of you and I'm sure she was smiling down on you on Sunday!!

 

[jennamfeo]

I am LIVING for your recap and loving every second.

 

[sourire]

Love your recap so far, and can't wait to hear all of the race details! I know we've discussed this before, but I really found running when I was losing (and ultimately lost) my dad about 6 years ago. Definitely felt his presence during my marathon, and I know that your mama was with you during yours and is so proud of you!

 

[roxymama]

This recap is giving me alll of "the feels." I am just so incredibly proud and inspired by you and your realness and dedication and tenacity and optimism and openness.... and the list goes on I can't wait to hear all about the actual race!

Thanks, that means a lot! Stay tuned...I thought my recapping would be rusty and I'd forget everything from the race and not have enough to say. I'm like on three full paragraphs of just the corral waiting around morning stuff...sooooo.

Loving the recap! I absolutely love your comment about "pollinating" the different booths, that is a perfect description and exactly what I do! Cannot wait to read the rest.

Pro Tip...my husband says he never has to ask what I want for Christmas or birthday. He just watches what I pollinate throughout the year and makes a note of it mentally.

WDW gift shops are a dream for me. I go around touching everything in every shop and yet only leave with a handful of things.

Great recap so far!!! Even though the lottery gods weren't with us, I am so happy you were able to go the charity route. You were ready for this. And I'm guessing that all the running you did leading up to it was beneficial in helping you work through the grief of losing a parent too soon - I know it's helped me tremendously when I lost my Dad several years ago, and it still helps today. I'm sure your Mom would be so proud of you and I'm sure she was smiling down on you on Sunday!!

Thanks for the push to think about trying this race. We will have to find another run to do together even if its closer to your neck of the woods. I'm still not quite so sure about that 2019 lottery. I'm like one of those magic 8 balls stuck on "ask again later."
Sorry to hear that you are in the same boat as me with losing a parent. I wish none of us had to be members of that club.

I am LIVING for your recap and loving every second.

OH GOOD!!! There will be lots more seconds to come as I got a whole lot of miles to finish up. Writing a marathon recap is like its own mini-marathon.

Love your recap so far, and can't wait to hear all of the race details! I know we've discussed this before, but I really found running when I was losing (and ultimately lost) my dad about 6 years ago. Definitely felt his presence during my marathon, and I know that your mama was with you during yours and is so proud of you!

Thank you, and I think you are right. She was for sure with me. Though she probably would have told me to wear warmer pants and a jacket

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

Oddly @CheapRunnerMike wore a pineapple kit during the race

There is NOTHING odd about a grown man wearing a pineapple kit! I also fully support your choice in Sparkle headwear Now back to reading your posts...

 

[PrincessMickey]

I'm glad you decided to run it. I love the distance and the bling. It's funny that to them Denver = mountains and Chicago = hot dog. I mean, they aren't wrong.

This was my first 15k and I love the distance too. Long enough to be a challenge but not quite as brutal as a half.

 

[michigandergirl]

I'm still not quite so sure about that 2019 lottery.

Honestly I'm not so sure about it either. I'm going to wait until after my marathon on the 21st to make that decision.

 

[Ariel484]

More plz.

 

[roxymama]

More plz.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I'm also enjoying your recap. I'm a lot less nervous about enjoying some dessert at Walt Disney World before the marathon after reading your dessert comments. I usually go hyper conservative about desserts before a race, but I feel like I can relax this a little bit.

I keep waiting for it to feel normal, but am embracing that it probably won't ever be normal to lose a parent. And that's okay

While I have yet to lose a parent, I don't think it's ever supposed to feel normal. You should miss your mother. Take solace in two things. 1. She's in a better place and free of the pain from cancer. And perhaps most important is 2. You will see her again and she will know you and you will know her. Your relationship over many wonderful years is not suddenly lost because she's gone. Death is but a comma and certainly not the end.

 

[roxymama]

Chicago Marathon Race Recap Part Three: Pre-Race and First Half

(disclaimer: all pics from this point on are courtesy of roxyhubby because I put my phone in a baggy race day)

The marathon had three waves with separate start times. Red at 7:30, Blue at 8:00, and Orange at 8:38am. I was in the first corral of the Orange wave. I decided to set my alarm for 5am. Figured that would give me enough time to wake up, shower, eat, digest (ahem), and change. And try not to vomit from nerves. If we could be out the door by 6am and inside the charity village by my team picture at 6:30am then I’d probably go to my corral at 7:30. And then corrals close by 8:10am. Phew. That seems like a lot of time but it all moved very quickly come race morning when I woke up at 4:55 and cancelled my alarm.



Getting ready went fairly smoothly (no weird clothing hiccups, etc) but as always it took a lot of effort to get my bread and peanut butter down. I wish I wasn’t like that and could just eat like a normal human when anxious. I was worried that the forecast from the night before which showed just a small pocket of rain had now turned into 5 straight hours of “maybe rain.” At least the lightning bolts were missing. I’d rather run in a light rain than fear the race being delayed or cancelled.

We checked out of the hotel and walked our luggage to our car on the way to Roosevelt University where my charity (and a few others) were holding their pre-race hospitality area. And made it inside just in time for the team photo. Because I am a tad tall I went to the back row. Shout out to all the other back-row inhabitants of the world!!!


I received a text that @ZellyB and @Chris-Mo had made it and were in the room with the food and drinks.

Was actually a big help to have you guys there to sit and chat with. Nerves are a recurring pre-race issue for me and talking someone’s ear off is a great distraction. Thank you for being so sure that I’d finish and do well. I still wasn’t so sure but was willing to just be confident and see what would happen. The charity room had tons of amenities. Tape and bodyglide and bandaids and baggies and mylars and markers and pins and water and coffee and food and race magnets (yes I grabbed a 26.2 which meant I needed to finish this.) Roxyhubby mentioned that he noticed I didn’t eat a lot of my pb sandwich earlier. But I was still so nervous. So a few minutes later he just hands me a nutrigrain bar and I absentmindedly start eating it. I didn’t even notice I was eating it. That was a good “dad” tactic…we do that with roxykiddo all the time. Just put food in front of her and not say anything and back away slowly. I hit up the NORMAL INDOOR BATHROOMS twice. And chatted with some ladies in there. Lots of “what do we do if it rains” nervous banter. Chris told me to grab a free mylar wrap. Eventually they called our corral and I said bye to hubby and to zelly & chris before heading through Gate #4 to J corral. One of the girls from the bathroom line just happened to be near me on the way through the gate and we just started chatting. Another nearby girl joined in (she was running for St. Judes) and weirdly also rowed in college during the same years that I did! I always end up talking like long lost best friends with strangers in corrals…the gift of gab I guess? At this point I was wearing my broken zipper cheapo rain jacket thing and was not cold at all. A women nearby was absolutely shaking and rubbing her hands together and I gave her my mylar blanket. I sort of regretted that a tiny bit when it started raining on us with about 20 minutes to go, but I hoped that karma would pay me back. Ok, I’m getting to the race start here now I swear! We were walked up to the very front once the blue wave had gotten on their way. I’d say I was at least 2/3rd back in my corral. I had made a concerted effort to not start in front of the 4:30 pacers. I didn’t want to go out too fast. So about my goals…

I’ve ran three half marathons to date. 2:27 (included ~11 min of character stops), 2:30 (hot race) and 2:25 (not well trained race.) So naturally the idea of running a 5 hour marathon or less seemed both daunting and do-able if everything went right. Da Coach had me training at paces that would point me towards a 4:30 finish with ideal temps. I told him (and the whole running thread) that I wanted get a time starting with a 4 even if 4:59:59. He thought I had it in me to finish between 4:30 and 4:59 and gave me paces to try to fall within at different points on the course and more importantly paces not to go faster than early. I wrote these in pen on my left arm.

Start to 5k 33:01 (10:38 pace)
I started to the right of the pack so I could let all my pacman ghosts go on ahead of me. Including the gals I had been chatting with. The plan was to go easy, really easy for the first 6 miles. To not go below 10:50 pace. Garmin data is worthless for the first few miles in Chicago and so I really had to just rely on feel. To say I backed myself down countless times is an understatement. I really was trying to emulate what those easy and relaxed miles felt like at home. So I still was a little faster than that, but not bad for how much adrenaline was pumping and no garmin confidence to keep me in check. Roxy hubby was on a mission to find me at mile 2, 8, 14, 17, 20, and 25/26ish. Either I was too fast or he didn't see me because we missed each other at mile 2. I was having a blast people watching in the city and i was shocked how quickly I was past the first several aide stations and heading north so soon. I was happy my 5k was 33 min because that meant I was doing something right....an 11 min mile...because race math is dumb math...I always forget about those pesky .1's

8k 52:49 (10:38 pace) - how's that for consistency?
Couldn't believe how quickly I was approaching Gel time (chocolate!). I've been in races where things just don't feel quite right and then there's those that my body feels really strong. It was a relief that I was in the latter category right now. A few "but when will the wheels fall off?" thoughts entered my head a few times so I told those thoughts to shut up. Knowing hubby was taking the red line to mile 8 was a huge help...I was looking forward to him seeing me running strong and easy. I was looking forward to a big high five. The whole race to this point I had been following along the blue line that marks the shortest distance on the course. It had become an excellent distraction to stay near it and hunt for it. Now and again I'd choose the higher middle part of the street if there was any sloping grade. To this point my garmin still wasn't totally normal, so I just kept telling myself that I need the overall time at each mile marker to be greater than a 10 times the mile. So far so good. But I was realizing that 52 is less than 55 so I thought maybe time to check myself a bit.

10k 1:06:25 (10:56)
Still feeling good. I can't remember exactly when it stopped raining and when it started back up but pretty sure it was right around here that I started really running into puddles (literally.) I tried avoiding them but I for sure had wet toes by now. I'd already memorized a lot of people by me's shirts and shoes and running style. Was enjoying reading the signs in the crowd and was happily saying Thank You to every volunteer that handed me water or gatorade. I was taking one gatorade every other station and one to two waters each time. Was proud of myself that I'd yet to walk a single step..I was running through every aid station. Pinching the cup and drinking on the fly. I'd practiced drinking and running on EVERY SINGLE TRAINING RUN this summer. When Da Coach told me to do everything in my power not to walk even if it meant running super slowly, I took that to heart. My water drinking practice may have been one of the biggest breakthroughs in my racing career to date. By this point the mile markers had started to ding pretty close to where they were supposed to be, if not perfectly. I knew I could start trusting my real time pace again. Told myself as I crossed the 10k that the race just started and its no longer a marathon but 20 miles. Of course that still seemed long so I just focused on getting to the mile 8 north most point of the course.

15k 1:39:10 (10:33)
My marching orders were to shoot for 10:50 to 10:35 for miles 7-12. I thought...I can do that! And so I did that. Or at least really close to that. I was definitely on the faster end of that spectrum. But it was feeling so easy. (I bet that statement sounds familiar to many a marathoner!) I found roxyhubby in the crowd at mile 8 before he saw me. I blew him a million kisses and got my giant high five. I would have stopped to hug him but I had no desire to stop moving yet. I hoped to see him again at mile 14 and if I kept this up (and wasn't too stupid about pressing yet) then I had a new HM PR in the bag. Again I just kept hoping that the wheels wouldn't fall off. Wondering when they would...as I assume they always do at some point in a marathon. I waited to hit the 15k mat before gel-ing up again. Chocolate again. My next one would have caffeine.



20k 2:12:09 (10:38) - I seem to like this pace or something
The only part of the course that I thought didn't live up to the hype was boystown. I had thought that it would be this super wild party based on memories of past marathon tv coverage. Instead it was a very small party that lasted maybe a block. It was raining though. I did get a kick out of the costumes but I flew past it so quickly. These things must really be a blur to those elites running their 1 minute miles.
My bad race math got excited to hit 20k because that meant half marathon and then I saw what time I was at and thought OMG SUPER PR, but then OMG TOO FAST. Until I remembered I hadn't even seen the 13 miles sign yet and pretty sure a marathon is 42k, so divide by 2 and D'oh.
My "try for" paces past mile 12 through 17 was 10:35 to 10:25. I added what felt like just a smidge of sauce as I crossed 13 and headed to the halfway mat.

HALF MARATHON 2:19:25 PR!!!
Grinning ear to ear. I've finished every half marathon to this point walking on and off during parts of the last three miles. For aid stations or hills or just because it felt like something to do or I was hot or my legs hurt, etc. The time was what it was...but the fact that I just ran 13.1 miles without walking a single step and doing it fairly evenly paced the whole way....I was immensely proud of myself in that moment. I cried. But happy tears. No man's land lay ahead. I knew I could get to mile 14 because hubby would be there. I knew I'd done long runs in training. But this was new. When would the wheel's fall off?



To be continued!

 

[roxymama]

I'm also enjoying your recap. I'm a lot less nervous about enjoying some dessert at Walt Disney World before the marathon after reading your dessert comments. I usually go hyper conservative about desserts before a race, but I feel like I can relax this a little bit.

While I have yet to lose a parent, I don't think it's ever supposed to feel normal. You should miss your mother. Take solace in two things. 1. She's in a better place and free of the pain from cancer. And perhaps most important is 2. You will see her again and she will know you and you will know her. Your relationship over many wonderful years is not suddenly lost because she's gone. Death is but a comma and certainly not the end.

Thank you for those beautiful sentiments. And I say everything is ok in moderation...so if you want a sweet treat the night before your marathon go for it. I would stay away from a giant ice cream sundae but a mickey cake pop never hurt nobody

There is NOTHING odd about a grown man wearing a pineapple kit! I also fully support your choice in Sparkle headwear Now back to reading your posts...

I'm going full Tiki-runner for the disney half. Still searching for a good handheld parrot.



And I think I will need to post my final half of the race recap tomorrow. It's approaching past my bedtime and I've developed a post race cold.