Sunday, October 28, 2007

Marine Corps Race Results

Congrats to Susan Barry for completing the Marine Corps Marathon in 4:12:29! That's a great time, you should be very proud of yourself.

Also a cheer goes out to Dan Barry for a swift 10K, finishing in 52:29.

Great job to both of you! Can't wait to hear all about the races.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Saturday, October 27, 2007

As the risk of the wrath of the outraged, but bearing in mind next Saturday is NOT the second Saturday of the month, we will run from the parking lot by the zoo at Lake Ave. & Gould. (see map below) We may have some surprises waiting in store for us should the second Saturday be not the only Saturday that is special to the sunny folks at the Center. The timid may wish to park on the street.

7:00 AM as usual

Good luck to Sue Barry. This weekend she runs the Marine Corps Marathon.

Jud


Route to the North – 7.07 miles

Route to the South – 5.51 miles



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Saturday, October 20, 2007

10/20 7 AM

Great day for a run this past Saturday. Cool weather and gentle footing.

With all the rain that is coming, I am grateful you selected a paved course for next week’s run. We will run cemeteries. Meet at the Piggly Wiggly parking lot at West Blvd. and Washington. Coffee will be at Wilson’s.


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Cemetery Route - 5.85 miles

Last week there was much discussion about the Chicago Marathon. You will want to read Mike D.’s comments, Kristin’s comments, and check out Bill F.’s link to his blog. Makes you wonder about those of you that are preparing for the Goofy Run.

Bill will be gone for 4 weeks (Australia, no less) and he wants us all to make sure Steph makes the Sat. runs so if she fails to appear next Saturday, he expects us to bombard her with reminders.

http://www.runracine.com/

Friday, October 19, 2007

Jodie's CHI Summary

My Chicago Marathon…I've wanted to run this race for 5 years. In my mind I think of the Chicago Marathon as a premiere event when it comes to running. The morning got off to a smooth start, warm but all was going well. The drive down turned out to be a good choice, bathroom stops were addressed, found it easy to park, etc. As we walked to the starting area it didn't seem too crowded. I thought Marine Corps was much, much worse. We headed to the starting line and our group split up. Bill & Mike headed further back into the pack while Kristin and I slipped in as close to the preferred start group as we could. (Thanks for the tip Melissa) It was only minutes after Jodee Mesinna finished the National Anthem, the gun went off and we were crossing the starting line. Here we go! I had Kristin at my side and all was well. We were like freed criminals, covering the first few miles at an average of 7 ½ minute miles. Oops, way too fast. It was a beautiful morning, the shade of the buildings and the light breeze off the lake kept my mind off the potential for the day to turn hot & muggy. I felt great. The miles seemed to be clicking away as I enjoyed the lively crowd. The various things going on with the spectators was amusing…I even got to high five Elvis. I think running by the Sears Tower just before mile 13 was the best part. The spectators were going nuts and I was stunned by the energy. I hit mile 13, saw Steph & Melissa cheering from the sea of people on the sidewalk. That got me pumped all over again. I covered the first 13.1 miles in 2 hours! Could this be a PR Marathon???? That was answered just a few miles later with a big "NO"! Around mile 18 I became anxious about my ability to finish this one. When did it get so hot? Why is this suddenly so hard? Why did I leave Kristin? I thought of conversations with Judd regarding the 2nd ½ of a marathon. "There is still a lot of race left". That 2nd ½ can really make or break you. This one came close. I felt confused, didn't know if I was hot or cold, my shoes seemed more like wooden blocks and I had to focus hard to keep my body moving forward in a productive fashion. The noise and actions of the crowd was now very irritating and made me feel dizzy and delirious. I was walking all the water stops, taking in one Gatorade & two cups water per stop. These breaks gave me a goal to get through the next stretch. I later felt bad about the amount of liquid I was sucking down. It turns out not all runners had the luxury of hydrating on the course as the supply was low. Sorry!!! Fellow runners were dropping out due to cramps, puking and or passing out more than I've ever seen in any event. That mentally sent me into a panic. Are my symptoms bad enough to get me to that point before I finish? My suffering seemed to peek and valley as I trotted closer to the finish. The last 3 miles took forever. What was that I heard? Something about the race being over but everyone was still running & cheering. I thought I was not thinking straight. I don't remember what mile I was but I was almost done and the course was being filed down to a single file line. A man was shouting that the race was over and to walk to the finish. No way!?!?! I continued to run to the finish line as all seemed to still be on the up & up. I crossed the finish line and had to do everything I could to keep it together. It was so hot and the pack of exhausted runners was sucking up all my oxygen. I wandered out of the finish area and crashed in the shade under a row of trees. I did it! This was the hardest run I've ever done. The finish was odd and disappointing due to the impact of the race closure. It's hard to be happy with finishing when you know so many others were pulled from the course. It's been a week and three days; I have not run since. I don't know if I'm protesting or still in shock. The rut is scheduled to end first thing in the morning. Thanks & congratulations to Mike, Bill & Kristin. It was an ugly one and we all earned our medals. A special thanks to Steph & Melissa for taking such good care of us. Look out Disney…here we come!

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Kristin's blog entry - Chicago Marathon

I can truly say I have never experienced anything like it! This was probably one of the most challenging physical things I have ever done in my life.

During the week preceding the marathon, we all continued to keep our eye on the weather channel to see what would be in store for us. On the Sunday and Monday prior to the race, the weather called for heat up through Friday but then a major cool down for Saturday and rain but cool on Sunday. Not that I am a big fan of running in the rain, but I thought it would be better than 80 degrees. As the week progressed, the weather system was pushed out a day - now the heat was expected through Saturday - no big deal I thought. We still have til Sunday - well, not so much!! By Thursday it was clear that the weather was going to be brutal on Sunday, we just didn't know how brutal.

On Friday, Bill, Steph, Mike, Jodie, Carol, Melissa and I had some fun and took the train into the city to go to the expo - talk about cool!! There was so much awesome running stuff there I felt like a kid in a candy store.... and then Jodie and I made the big purchase - the 2007 Chicago Marathon jacket. This was a big risk - I knew that if I didn't finish the marathon I would have never worn the jacket but I took the chance!! I went with the traditional black - Jodie took the vibrant green - way to stand out, Jodie!!!

Sunday came and Bill, Steph, Mike, Melissa and I met at Jodies house at 4:45 a.m. It was already 72 degrees at this time. - most people say they just don't get runners and why they do what they do, like meeting in the middle of the night to head down to a race. But, we made it there in record time and even found a parking spot in the Grant Park parking garage - I thought this was a good sign!!

We immediately made our way over to the long line by the port-a-potties - a race tradition!! Afterwards Jodie and I headed toward the front of the pack and Mike and Bill stayed back a bit. In hind site this was a good decision.

Things were moving well in the beginning - we saw Steph and Melissa at mile 2 just to say hello!! By mile 10 Jodie was stronger than I so I slowed a bit while she forged ahead - you go girl!! At mile 13 I saw Melissa and by this time Rich had come down to watch as well (thanks Rich!!). I pulled over to say hello and wanted to get out of the mainstream in case I puked - a very distinct possibility at this time. As I was standing there I felt my skin get goose bumps - never a good sign in the heat, but I waited for a few moments and slowly continued on.

By mile 17 I again met up with Melissa and Rich - it was awesome to see a friendly face in the crowd. There was serious question at this point as to whether or not I could keep going but I forced myself to slowly move forward. It was less than 10 miles at this time - I had run 10 miles millions of times!!!

I continued to forge ahead and then at mile 22 I heard them say the race was officially over but they did not close the course. The crowd was still awesome and very encouraging. I clearly was too far along at this point to stop moving forward. Needless to say the moving could not have been mistaken as "quick" but it was forward.

At mile 25pointsomething I again saw Melissa and Rich who reminded me the race was officially over and I should just walk in but now it was personal. I had to run across the finish line! (and now I can wear the jacket).

This was soooo difficult. I could not believe what I was seeing through so much of the race. Running around people who had passed out and were laying across the road, passing people left and right who were tossing their cookies on the side of the road, hearing people yell for help when the medical people were off assisting someone else - - I continued to ask myself why would I keep doing this?

The best part of the weekend.....preparing for the run, spending time at the expo, getting to the marathon and being with an absolutely great group of people throughout this process. For all of those of you I run with or spend time talking about running, I thank you. You are all awesome and I would NEVER be able to do this without all of you, nor would I want to.

And Bill..... this is for you. I read your blog and I disagree with one thing you said....you do deserve the medal. Mother nature pulled a fast one and it was out of our control. You have more internal fortitude than anyone I know and you would have finished!! YOU EARNED IT!!!

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Chicago Thought

Well first I would like to thank everyone that encouraged and coached me along the way. Without your help I wouldn't have even tried.
Before the race even started I managed to break my earphones and could only use one side but that was ok. I had an old pair of sunglasses to use when it got sunny, I lost those at mile 5! As the race went on and things got hotter I really doubted if I would finish and that was at mile 7. There seemed to be no water stop between 4 and 8 or something like that. I carry a huge jug but even that was almost gone. I never seemed to find my groove. My Garmen was not able to give me an accurate reading because of the buildings so I tried to watch my pace group as best I could. Later the Garmen was fine.
As the temperature rose the water stops took more time to get through and the runners were slowing. About halfway I would run as far as I could then walk a little then run again. I made it to mile 20 doing this. My time was really slow at this point but I knew I could make it now. Then the police announced that we had to stop running and could only walk the rest of the race because of the extreme conditions. I really was drained at that time. Another runner asked me if she could walk with me because her foot really hurt and needed some encouragement. I'm glade she did, we walked as fast as we could. At that point the race looked more a sea of refugees. She ran in the last mile and I ran in the last half mile.
Even though the weather conditions were extreme bad, It wasn't something I could look back at and say " what a great race I did". It was hard and ugly but I'm glade I was able to finish. And to see so many people struggle and help one another was really amazing!
Will I do it again? I think so, Thanks, Mike

10/13/07 7:00 AM

With all I have read about the Chicago marathon, it’s a wonder anyone finished but three of us did. We are waiting to hear about it at coffee.

I hope Bill F. is all right. I’m doing just fine…I have posted my race report on my running blog which you can find by clicking HERE. See you all on Saturday!

Saturday’s Run: something soft and flat for the marathoners. Bike trail south(6.19 miles). Meet at West Blvd. and Durand. 7:00 AM.


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Saturday, October 06, 2007

October 6

By popular demand we will start at my house: 465 Melvin, the corner of N. Wisconsin and Melvin (Melvin is the first stop light north of the zoo and Wisconsin Ave. is two blocks west of Main).


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Usual time: 7:00 AM

Good luck to those running the Chicago Marathon this Sunday. It is a really fun run. The temp will be about perfect but the weather calls for some scattered rain. Let’s hope it stays scattered long enough to finish the race. This will be Mike D’s first marathon and Bill F. will add another state to his ever enlarging list.

Jud

4.5 mile loop Erie-4 Mile-Main

5.9 mile loop around Lighthouse