Chicago Marathon - October 2009 - Part I by Joe Imbrogno

I'll start with the night before the race. I went to a friends house to celebrate her birthday, and since everyone but me and a friend, who also ran the marathon, was drinking, she made me coffee. Feeling obligated to finish the whole pot (a little over three cups worth), I had a nice caffeine buzz by the time I left at about 9 pm. I hardly ever have caffeine anymore (except when it's in energy gels), so I did not fall asleep until sometime between 5 am and 6am, when my alarm went off. Not exactly what I was hoping for before my first marathon.

But cutting to the race, the first few miles were pretty slow with so many people running around. It was kinda chaotic. After a while, the mobs dispersed a little, and I was able to run at my own pace. At around mile six, I found myself running alongside a pretty girl in tights, running
slightly faster than my pace, but still tolerable, so I stuck with her until about mile 16, when she started going too fast for me to hang with, but she did help to keep a nice pace. At around this time, I still felt strong, but the legs were definitely starting to get a little heavier, but nothing I was concerned about. At around mile 19, I think at about 18th and Ashland, maybe, we ran through a very Mexican neighborhood, which was definitely my favorite. The streets were mobbed with people cheering and people banging on various percussion instruments, and horns. Just what I needed, because the miles were starting to become difficult here.

Before the race, I told myself that, unless I was injured or in a real bad way, I was going to go as hard as I could for the last 3 miles, everything I had left. And I was feeling pretty bad, but I thought that going just under 4 hours total was still a possibility. So, I tried to push it, and
after 1.5 miles of this, the legs said knowck it off, so I had to slow down, as my hamstring started twitching. The final mile seemed like the absolute longest mile of my life. When I finally crossed the finish line, and slowed to a walk for the first time in over 4 hours, my legs were striding still as if I was running, so that was a pretty cool, but wierd feeling.

This race, just like any big race, was, at the same time, a very humbling and inspiring experience. Of the people I saw that finished with times similar to mine, I was definitely the most wiped out. So many people were jumping around and talking and celebrating, while I was finally becoming aware of just how much my legs really were hurting. All these people just inspire me to be better, and smarter.

And no, if you're wondering, I was not able to go under 4 hours. All in all, I am still quite happy because my 5k splits were all similar, and my half way split was 2hr 1', and a total time of 4hr 5'.
I felt bad for ignoring my legs for so long yesterday, but they are making up for it today, as I can hardly walk. But it was still worth it.

Thanks for reading,
Joe