15 Miles

I survived the 13.1 miles of the Chicago Distance Classic with only a few minor injuries (blisters on four toes - one of which a blood blister). So to prepare for my 15 mile run I stopped by Running for Kicks for some new shoes and some GU packs. I have never had these packets before, but was told they were necessary for marathon training. Picked up about a dozen of these and was ready for my long run.

The run on Saturday went really well actually. I was running solo, so I anticipated wanting to stop about half way through or maybe mile 12, but I kept going until about mile 13.5. My legs were killing me. So I walked for about a minute, then finished the rest of the run. I took two GU packs: one I took 15 minutes before my run, and the other about 1:15 into the run. Neither flavor tasted good, but the Strawberry was better than Orange.

When I got back home, two of the blisters had popped. But that is not a bad thing. These were the kinds of blisters you get from impact, not from rubbing against something. I remember getting blisters on my heel when I played football in highschool, and those were much more painful. The blisters I had on my toes were ugly, but didn't hurt.

Now I am faced with the decision if I should run the Banco Popular Half Marathon on Sept 14. The only reason I would run it would be that it coincides perfectly with my training schedule (my schedule shows 14 miles for the long run that week). Plus it is a lot more fun running in that atmosphere than running solo. We will see. I have a couple weeks to decide.

Chicago Distance Classic

Nothing like waking up at 4:00AM to run 13 miles! It was a long day, but a great day nonetheless. Got to the Team World Vision tent a little after 5:40AM to stretch and take some group pictures. Then it was off to the starting line. All I can say is it was pure adrenaline. Other people have said the hardest part is waiting to start. And I couldn't agree more. I had decided to shoot for 1:45 as a finish time, but we were several hundred people behind that pace leader. So I actually ran with the 1:50 pace leader for about 10 miles. I was feeling really good so I started passing some people (either that or they were getting tired). By the time I saw mile marker 13 I gave it my all. I finished up at 1:46:40 which I was pretty proud with. This qualified me to start the Chicago Marathon in Corral D (a slightly earlier start than the majority of runners).

But it gets better! The course was incorrectly certified, and was actually LONGER than 13.1 miles. So after the recalculation, I was in Corral C!! I was pretty excited about that.

How sore was I? Was I able to walk after the race? The rest of the day I was moving pretty slowly. The next day my legs were still a little sore. But I was running again on Tuesday and felt pretty good. I have blisters on 4 of my toes, but I can deal with that.

What's next for my training? I have 15 miles to run Saturday morning (without anyone cheering me on or handing me Gatorade). And Alex has his first soccer game at 11:30 that day. Wish me luck!!