This quaint little race took place in the north suburbs of Chicago and hosted three distances for the runner to challenge themselves. There was a half marathon (13.1 miles), full marathon (26.2 miles), and a 50 mile distance. The start and finish for all the races started at a quiet park just outside of Vernon Hills, a suburb of Chicago.
When I arrived, the first parking lots were already full and there were plenty of runners bundled up against the pre-dawn cold and milling around the check in area underneath a picnic pavilion. The sun was just starting to lighten the sky in the east and the tiny pond next to the pavilion had a hazy mist rising up from the surface. The morning stillness was punctuated by the activity and anticipation of the 50 mile runners setting up their drop bag and checking in for the race. With the sky turning light pink and purple and the frost crisping up the grass leading up to the start line the ultra runners double checked watches and headlamps and were off on the loud honk of the air horn and cheering from a small group of family and friends.
There was an hour til the start of my race so I headed to my car to warm up like most of the other racers. On my way back to the car, off to the right, next to the pavilion, a young girl in a food truck calls out, “free hot chocolate”.
“Don’t mind if I do. Thanks” I say grabbing a cup and warming up my hands.
I head back to my car and turn on the heat and put on some tunes to get ready for my run. I pin the race number to my shirt and put on my arm warmers and grab my hat and gloves that were specifically chosen to throw away once it started to warm up, and strapped on my water bottle holder.
After a quick warm up and some Radiohead to get me rocking, I head over to the starting line to get ready to get going. As the clock runs down to 3 minutes til the start, I realize that I forgot to put on my GPS watch. I consider for a second to run without it. Just go all natural. I decide that it will help so I hightail it back to my car and quickly grab my watch and I get back to the start just as the air horn sounds, starting the marathon.
The first few miles cruise by really quick. The pack is keeping a pretty quick pace and I hang in toward the middle. Surprisingly I feel really good and am not getting out of breath so I decide to turn it on a little more. So much for my race plan of sticking steady to 10 minute miles. At the 10K mark I am averaging between 8:30 and 9 minute pace per mile. Everyone around me seems to really be enjoying the perfect day and beautiful fall woodland scenery that we are now cruising through. There are nice conversations going on about running and last year’s muddy race.
As we head into the halfway turn around point we start to see the lead runners heading back on the trail and there are shouts of encouragement from all the runners. “Looking strong”, “Keep it up”, “Good job”. I think that this is my favorite part of racing. Feeling like you are part of a larger group of people all here for the same reason, running, having fun, and proving something to ourselves.
At the halfway turn around aid station, there is a group of people stopping to get a drink and snack, but my legs are feeling really good and my competitive juices are flowing from seeing how many people are in front of me so I keep on rolling and pick up the pace. I am surprised that I am over halfway. It is going by really quick.
The trail opens up in front of me. I don’t see any other runner for a while, just me, my feet, my breath, and the trail reaching out. After another half hour, I am starting to slow down a bit and my legs are tightening up. The hills are burning the legs but I keep focused and decide that I will just pull my pace back and keep on going. At the next aid station I fill up the water bottle and another runner comes up from behind and we head out at the same time.
She is keeping a good quick pace, and I speed up the legs a bit to keep up, and we start talking about the run so far. It turns out this is the second marathon for both of us and the goal is to beat our previous times. At the pace we are now going, our last times will be well in the rear view mirror. The next few miles are tough. My legs are getting stiff, but the conversation takes my mind off the legs. As we pass 20 miles, I get my second wind and realize that it is only a little further and the race will be over soon. We keep the pace up nice and quick, and a couple times I start to slow a bit and get some encouragement to quicken up the feet.
As we head into the last 3 miles we start to catch up with a few runner that were out in front of us. We pass a couple and then we get one runner pacing with us. Then there were three. The new runner is feeling pretty gassed and doesn’t say anything, but he hangs the group step by step. Soon we get another runner pacing our group. He is also feeling the burn of these last few miles but locks his steps with ours. Having a group like this does pull you through the pain you are feeling and gives you something very simple to focus on, just keep up.
We all see the 25 mile marker. I get a big smile. Sensing my excitement I am told. “Don’t let us hold you back.”
With a burst of speed, I call out, “see you at the finish line”. I push my sore legs as fast as they will go. I keep telling myself 7 min. left. 5 min left. 3 min left. Keep pushing. Quick steps. 1 min left. Then I see the finish line and give it everything I have in the tank.
I cross the line and am look up at the race timer. 3:47. Wow. Almost an hour faster than my last marathon, and more than a half hour faster than my goal time. I feel satisfied and completely worn out at the same time.
As I see the rest of the group cross soon after I give some high fives and thank them for helping to push me through to the end.
It is now recovery time. I head to the car to stretch out my legs. Then it is food time. There are sandwiches served with water and sports drink and cookies. I fill up my plate and find a nice spot in the sun to relax and fill up. It feels like a nice little family picnic with everyone kicking back in the sun and enjoying the fantastic fall day. I know that my legs are going to be really sore later, but for now I just soak in the satisfying feeling of finishing.
I can’t wait for next year. Maybe I’ll do more than “just” a marathon.
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| Happy to be finished!! |
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