The 2012 Chicago Mere-a-thon

When Tom Skilling tells you that the start of the race will be about 34 degrees, and by the time you finish it should be in the high-40’s with partly sunny skies and no rain, you know it’s going to be a good race day.

When I started walking to the car at 6am, the air felt nice. By the time I actually got to the car, a mere 45 seconds later, I was cold. Brrr! It was going to be a cold race. But cold races are usually where I perform the best. It’s when the sun is out, the humidity is high, and the temperatures creep above 70 that I am miserable on the course.

Thankfully, the Weather Gods were on Team Meredith on Sunday!

Before the race, I saw a co-worker heading to the corral, so it was nice to touch base with him. Then while in the corral, I’m not sure what happened…Usually, you can strip off your clothes and stand in the corral, basking off the warmth of fellow runners. Not this time. No one was huddled close together. Everyone gave the infamous “bubble” to each other, as not to intrude. I keep shaking and shivering all the way until I started running (30+ minutes later!).

Walking to the start line, I got pumped by “RIGHT NOW!” by Van Hallen. This is the 3^rd Chicago Marathon that has played this song as I crept up to the start line. Must be a sign. I was excited!

The 4:15 pace group was who I tried to stick near for the first part of the race. Either right behind or just leading them, the pacer and her team sporting bunny ears and white cap kept me on pace. I lost them right after a water station after mile 12. How runners can run and drink at the same time baffles me. Between mile 15 and 16 I got a little tired and contemplated walking. It’s a little early to hit the wall, I thought to myself.

So I played a little game that I’d like to share with you. It’s called “Pick ’em and Stick ‘em”. I picked someone who had a consistent stride and good pace and stuck behind them. I literally served as their shadow, following them with my head down, weaving in and out of other runners together. Ideally, this individual would not notice me (stealth ninja moves!). Mr. Red and Orange Shoes got me through 2.5 miles until I felt good again. I tried this again later in the race, however no one did as good of a job as my first guy.

Lessons for other runners

1.       NEVER stop in the middle of the course. Seriously, it’s just plain dangerous. Knock it off.

2.       Throw your banana peels to the side of the course. The cartoons don’t lie: they are slippery and I am sick of almost biting it on the course.

3.       Get those damn headphones out of your ears. All you runners who did that on race day made it suck. I didn’t make ANY friends this year. That’s not natural. No one wanted to talk because over 75% that I saw wore headphones.

4.       GET OFF YOUR PHONES. Texting, Tweeting, Updating, and… get this – TALKING? Really!?! At mile 4 there was a woman yelling into her Bluetooth saying “You shouldn’t be running! You are a terrible runner!” and everyone around her thought her to be a total “B” because most of them didn’t realize she was talking to someone else on the phone. Regardless, she was an idiot. Also, for those who were just chatting away “Oh yeah, no, it’s fine, I have time. Mile 15 feels good, what are you up to?” Cut the crap. Hang up, call them when it’s over. And for those dumb eough to whip out their phones and text others? That’s just plain dangerous. I tripped over many of you. Don’t text and run.

 

At mile 24, I was tired and chilly, but I kept the mantra “The more you run, the faster you’re done”. It worked. Crossing the finish line at 4:37:30, I felt okay about everything. By Tuesday, I was walking fine and even jogged a little without pain. That, in itself, is a success!

 

My next goal: scale back from 26.2 and focus on shorter, faster races. 13.1 and 15k’s are in my immediate future with the goal of breaking 2 hours for a half.

 

All – in – all the 2012 Chicago Mere-a-thon was a great success. It may be the last one for a while… at least until runners go through “Runners Etiquette” and stop being cotton-headed-ninny-muggins on the course.