I finally finished my post race recap for Chicago! It’s a bit lengthy, but definitely an experience of a lifetime!
I was lucky enough to be hosted by my cousin Whitney during our stay in Chicago, but thought it would be a good idea to stay downtown the night before the race. I am so glad that I did! I didn’t wake up until close to 6am on race morning, and felt very well rested and ready to go! I had my pre race meal of a bagel and peanut butter, and then headed down to the start! My cousin hooked me up with some perfect throwaway gear, so I was bundled up quite nicely for the 37 degree temps that awaited me outside.
The hotel was only 4 blocks from the start, so I just followed everyone as I made my way to the corral. This was the first year that Chicago incorporated a 2 wave start for the race, and I am so glad that they did. Everything was incredibly well-marked, and I had no problem at all finding where I needed to be going. I chose not to check a bag, so it was a pretty easy race morning for me. I got into Corral B about 10 minutes before it closed. Perfect timing!
Back in 2008, I ran my first marathon with my former teammate, Annie. We both signed up for Chicago and I was so happy that we found each other as soon as we got into our corrals. Annie had her eye on BQ’ing, so I knew we were not going to be running together. I swore to myself that I was going to be smart at the beginning of the race, and not getting stuck in the hole of darting through the first few miles. I did that back in April in Nashville, and knew those first 3 miles would indicate the rest of the race if I went out to fast. We heard the national anthem, and then we were off!
Annie and I split around mile 2. I felt great, but knew better than to veer from my plan. I didn’t have a goal time in mind since I hadn’t been working with any speed due to my hamstring and hips issues, but I knew I would like to go sub 3:45. My goal was to take it easy for the first 10 miles, and then reassess from there. Right around mile 3, my Garmin flashed low battery. I looked down, and couldn’t believe it! I had charged it the night before, but unfortunately, the watch is just on its way out. I realized I was going to have to do the rest of the race solely by feel. Luckily, I looked at the clock as i crossed the start line, and notice it took a little over 2 minutes to actually start in my corral. At least I would be able to somewhat figure out my time by looking at the mile marker clocks.
Before the race started, my amazing family that came along as my support crew, decided on 4 spots that they would stand to see me. The first one was mile 5.5, so I was so excited when I came up on them! They were cheering like crazy, and I loved seeing them! They were the best! This is also where I took my first 2 Gu Chomps. My plan was to take them in 5 mile increments, which is what I practiced in my training runs.
I couldn’t believe how quickly those first few miles passed, and the same went for the next 4 miles! The course was beautiful, and ran through some of the prettiest neighborhoods in the city. The fall colors were in full force, along with the amazing cool temperatures! I came up on my family again around mile 9.5, gave them a wave, and then headed on out. I wouldn’t see them again until mile 21, so I knew this would be the most mentally tough part of the course for me.
My cousins were volunteering at the 10 mile mark, so I was able to see them in action as well! I gave them a quick shout, grabbed a couple more chomps, and just trucked along. This was the point that I was going to decided how to approach the rest of my race. Without the Garmin, I was at a bit of a loss. I wasn’t able to see my pace every mile, so I wasn’t really sure where I was. I looked at the clock as I crept closer to the half way point, and I noticed I was on track for a 1:47 ish half marathon. I decided the keep the pace I was running, and reassess again around mile 22, which was the longest distance I reached in training.
I don’t really know what happened between the half way point and mile 20. I zoned out. It is crazy how that happens in such a long race. I couldn’t tell you what I saw in that hour. It is completely a blur. Mile 21.5 was just after China town, and was the next spot that my family was at. I saw them with no problem at all, and Marcus mentioned how strong I looked. The best part… I actually felt strong! I wasn’t hitting a wall, and couldn’t believe it. I have never run a marathon yet without approaching that dreaded wall, and this time, I was going to run straight through it!
Miles 22 and 23 came and went. I started to do some (not so fast) math in my head. I had 3.2 miles to go, and was crazy close to hitting a 3:35 finish time. This is where I decided to pick it up. For the first time ever, I was passing runner after runner in the last 5k of a marathon. I felt amazing, and knew I had to leave everything on this course. My last check point with my support crew was at mile 25. I saw them as I was running up, and my emotions completely took over. I looked over at my husband, and totally ugly cried “I’m going to PR!”
He didn’t realize it until I said it either, and was unbelievably excited for me. That last mile of the race, I felt like I was sprinting. I had no clue what my pace was, but I gave it absolutely every last bit I could possibly push. I had been warned about the dreaded last 800 meters of the race by my cousin, as it provides the only course hill. She wasn’t kidding. That hill felt like a mountain to this Florida girl, and hurt so bad. I got to the top, and saw the finish line in sight. I tried to sprint as hard as I could, although at that point, i’m pretty sure it was a glorified pickup. I crossed the finish line, and didn’t actually know what my finish time was. All I knew is that I just ran a kick ass race. I was smart, I listened to my body, and I achieved a big goal – having fun for an entire marathon.
There was not one single moment in that race where I thought it sucked, or I hated the course, or that I regretted the pace I was holding. I loved every second of that race. I was mentally stronger than I had ever been before. Never once did I get down at myself, or start thinking negatively. I looked at my phone for my finish time, as I had signed up for updates to be sent to me via text. The text came through as I looked at my phone.
It said I had finished in 3:35:14.
Yep, I was 14 seconds off of a Boston Qualifying time, and I was thrilled. I had just PR’d by 2 minutes and 43 seconds. I negative split a marathon!!! I trained in the most brutal summer conditions I had ever encountered, and ran the best race of my life. All of the early morning runs and 85 degree days were worth it. The aches and pains that I felt on my runs didn’t matter anymore. I did something I hadn’t done in almost 3 years. I reached a solid personal record in a race distance that my life revolves around – the marathon. I don’t have a single regret in the race. Oh, and I’ve never been so excited to earn one of these…
As for my friend Annie that I started with… I actually saw her cross the finish line, only 32 seconds ahead of me. She earned her BQ. I am so proud of her for reaching this milestone. This was her fastest time by almost 7 minutes. Congrats Annie! You ran a dream race!
The city of Chicago did a great job hosting such a phenomenal race. The volunteers were fantastic and I appreciate every person that was cheering all of us on. There was no shortage of smiling faces along the whole course, and some pretty funny signs. If you are ever deciding whether or not to bring a sign to a race, do it! The runners like it more than you know.
The floods of texts, tweets, and Facebook posts I received before, during and after the race was unreal. I felt such a huge amount of support from so many of you, and I am incredibly thankful. Most of all, thank you to my amazing support crew, Marcus, Emily, Morgan, and Steve. They made it to 4 separate spots on the course, and cheered me on like pros! It was so much fun to share in such a huge accomplishment with my biggest fans. You all are rock stars!
Congratulations Mary. This was such a great race recap. I’m so excited for you that you had such a wonderful race and are so pleased with your results. I definitely cried a little reading this, because it makes me so excited to run my first (that I’m training for right now). I can’t believe you did it all without a Garmin, and I guess that means we should all learn to be a little less reliant on it. Congrats! You’re fantastic!
Thank you Meghan! I can’t wait for you to cross the finish line of your first marathon. There is absolutely no other feeling like it in the world!!
Gosh Darn It! I’m super proud of you and so inspired by you
Loved this recap, lady!!
Heather, thank you! I’ve never been so surprised by my efforts before. It felt good to finally feel like I am starting to figure out how to race! It only took me 10 years
Congrats Mary! What an awesome race! I’m so happy it went so well for you!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone post such amazingly even marathon splits and you did it without a Garmin! You are amazing!
Thank you Carly! I am still smiling about it
What an awesome race – so speedy!! I was nervous that I’d take it out too fast too, and so I wound up negative splitting just a bit too – that alone is an accomplishment for a marathon! You’ll definitely get that BQ next time – especially with a working watch!
Negative splitting is definitely the reason I did well. I have taken it out too fast too many times. I finally figured out how to run these things… it just took me 7 times
This sounds like the kind of race runners dream about. So happy for you! You earned it!
It was Jessie! I actually woke up the next day with a huge smile on my face just thinking about it. lol!
Congratulations, Mary!! What an accomplishment! You look so strong and happy in all of those pictures–you were definitely “in the zone.”
I totally was in the zone! Such a fun time!
Awesome awesome job!!! Loved this recap and all the pictures!
Thanks Heather!
Congrats Mary!
Thanks Danielle!
Oh my goodness what an AMAZING race you ran! Your time was Killer!! Do I sense Boston in your future??
Well I didn’t qualify. I was 14 seconds off. The new standards have a hard stop on 3:35:00. I ran it back in 2011, so I wouldn’t run it again in the next 2 years even if I did qualify. I absolutely love the race, but I have so many others that I would like to do!
Congrats on running such a smart race! It was so great to have you guys stay with us and for y’all to get to see why me and Dave love CHICAGO!
I think I’m going to have to run CM13–probably can get my PR down by an hour if my IT band behaves this time around
You definitely need a CM redemption! I think you could kill the race with a new PR. You are way more of an experienced runner now than you were back in 2010!
CONGRATS!!! I got goosebumps reading this post! I’m soooooo proud of you. Some of my favorite races are the ones I go in not expecting much and surprise myself along the way. And there’s something to say about training for races down here. It might SUCK in the heat and humidity, but running in those conditions will make us stronger, better runners in the end. Congrats again!
Seriously! I was cursing my training the entire summer, but was so happy I trained in those temps. The cool race day made up for all of those terrible, hot runs. BTW, China town was pretty awesome!!
Congrats on a great race! I found you from a tweet from Meghann.
I had a marathon where every step felt amazing too. It reminds you why running is so awesome!
I think Chicago will be my race next year. It’s my home town and I really wanted to run it this year but got a little burned out from training last year. So next year, perhaps. And hopefully that awesome cool weather will happen again.
Congrats again…oh, and that pic of you running through China Town is frame-worthy. Love it!
Congratulations on such an incredible race! I actually had almost the exact same thing happen to me with my Garmin when I ran the Chicago Half in September. I was pretty frustrated at the time (especially since it was my first half, I was already scared out of my mind, AND I had only run Garmin-less once since I bought mine in February), but since there was nothing I could do about it at that point I was kind of like, “Well, I guess we’ll see what happens!” I didn’t negative split, but from the splits I do have I ran more consistently in that race than I had ever run throughout all my training. I still love my Garmin, especially because I’m a total stat nerd when it comes to running, but I definitely now think running sans Garmin has its benefits! It’s nice to run 100% on feel sometimes (even if a race isn’t exactly the time I wanted to test that out haha). Congrats again on PRing!!
CONGRATULATIONS GIRL! So proud of you! Great pics and so glad you enjoyed yourself for such a long race – it’s good to always remember why we run instead of just doing it!
Great splits, holy cow!
Congrats Mary! This was a great report and definitely a great race on your part. You ran smart and have the shiny new PR to prove it!! Hope to see you out on the streeets soon.
Wow, this was so inspirational to read! Congrats on running a totally amazing marathon. Reading things like this makes me really want to give running another try.
YEAHH!! Oh my gosh mary what a great race. I loved reading it because you did well everything right! Listened to your body, found ways to break up the race and enjoyed it
congrats!!
Congrats!! What a great run! I hope y next marathon is even close to as good (it definitely won’t be as fast). Inspiring!!
great job Mary! you are such an inspriation those are some awesome splits!
CONGRATS!! That is an awesome time! What’s even better is that you had fun the entire time!! So happy you loved Chicago!
Thanks Whitney. It was a fantastic race for sure!!
AHHH! AMAZING!!! You killed killed killed it! And so glad to see that you’re super proud of your accomplishment and not bummed about 14 sec off a BQ. I think I saw you speedily running by once. Wish I had the chance to congratulate you in person but sending HUGE congrats now!
Thanks Tina!!! I so wish that we could have met up in Chicago! It was so hectic up there! Thanks for all the support!
Amazing race, Mary! This was so fun to read. I’m so happy for you!
Congratulations! I live in Chicago and was around mile 19. I’ve ran the marathon before and it is an awesome race with a great course!!
You are amazing Mary! Great recap! It was so nice to see you today at Seasons 52
I’m so happy for you Mary! I’ve watched you put in so much work over the last months and do it with so much intelligence. Your balance of life, friends, and exercise incredibly inspire me- I’m lucky to have you as a friend. A 2+ minute PR is a huge amount in a marathon!
I loved getting Marcus’s Twitter updates throughout the whole race. Chicago is such an amazing city and I’m glad you had fun; it reminds me of a cleaner, friendlier New York City.
This was a great recap and most important, you did it!
Thank you Chuck! It was the most difficult training cycle I have ever experienced, and I am thrilled that it all paid off! And I agree, Chicago seemed so clean compared to NYC. I definitely liked it a lot! See you soon!
[...] in Chicago By Mary Baum on October 12, 2012 | 4 Responses So I still haven’t come down from racing on Sunday. Chicago thoughts are still racing through my head. After posting the recap, I got to thinking [...]
YAY! Congrats!!!! Sounds like you had an amazing race! So excited to see what’s next!
I found this recap via Eat Run Watch and I loved hearing your Chicago Marathon tale. I’m new to Chicago and I’m thinking about doing it next year. Thanks again for sharing and Congrats!
Thanks so much Sierra! Glad that you found me! I highly recommend the race for sure! It was definitely awesome.
[...] the Park By Mary Baum on October 15, 2012 | Leave a response I took a solid 6 days off after the Chicago Marathon. I slept in all week, and did no exercise, other than walking my dog. It was glorious! I personally [...]
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[...] The Chicago Marathon is by far, my favorite race of 2012. After completing 7 marathons, I feel like I have finally figured out how to race them (for me at least!). I was without a Garmin and just ran by the way my body felt. I pushed myself hard, and listened very carefully to what my body was telling me. A part of me is still on a high from this race. I didn’t feel a need to register for a race immediately after the marathon, as I knew the accomplishment I felt of reaching a PR was incredibly rewarding! [...]
[...] I ran (and PR’d) the Chicago Marathon [...]