mar·a·thon·er, noun. Someone who participates in long-distance races (especially in marathons).
In recent news, I have elevated to "marathoner" status. That's right my bloggy readers, I now have two marathons under my belt! "My name is Brittany Wilson, and I am addicted to running." My bud Jen and I dragged our husbands to Chicago two weeks ago so we could compete in the Chicago Marathon. Yay!
When we decided to run the Chicago Marathon, it was already filled. So we had to purchase bibs from people that were no longer able to participate. Jen bought a bib from Brynn (the butcher) and I bought my bib from Nupur. I had a friend draw the above picture, I added the words, made a silk screen, and printed matching shirts!
The Chicago Marathon had 37,000 runners! A far cry from the 800 in our Newport Marathon last year. Oh, and one lady ran 38-weeks pregnant and had a baby shortly after crossing the finish line. And another man died. So yeah, I ran in a race where one life was taken and another was given.
I won't bore you with all the details. Though, it has come to my attention recently that many people are unfamiliar with the ends and outs of a marathon. Notably that a marathon by definition is a 26.2-mile race. I've had many people ask me how far my marathon is/was. Also many people are unaware of how long it takes one (of average running speed) to run a marathon. I've had one person innocently say that they heard I ran the race in two-hours, and was able to qualify for Boston. Yep, that was me, drafting behind the Kenyans... (It's the elite runners that come in around the two-hour mark. The average time (at least for the Chicago marathon) is four-hours and 45-minutes. And my age group (female: 25 - 30) has to run a marathon under three-hours and 40-minutes to qualify for Boston.)
Us, running in the MASS of people. It never really did thin out... even at mile 26.
The Kenyans. I think the winner came in at 2-hours and three minutes. Like I said, I was right behind them. Because I look like I am an elite runner...
By now you're wondering what my time was. Drum roll... ... ... ... ... I was successfully able to shave 17-minutes from my last marathon, bringing me in at 04:02:37. Not too shabby. Especially considering that I was not feeling confident the morning of the race that I would even be able to beat my old time, let alone reach my goal (which was to run a four-hour marathon... I know, two-minutes over! Even so, I'm counting it).
Mile 12. The only time Wyatt and Jon were able to really cheer us on.
I could go on about how we walked the streets of Chicago far more than we should've the day before, how my ankle/shin was sore from all the said walking, how I didn't sleep very well two-nights before, how I woke up at 3am WIDE AWAKE race day and proceeded to stare at my clock for three hours, how I was successfully able to "go to the bathroom" before the race (a stress of any long distance runner), how I surprisingly felt GREAT the first 21 miles, how I peed my pants at mile 24 (yes, while running), how I nearly gave up at mile 26 (who's bright idea was it to add a hill 0.2-miles before the finish line?!!), and how great I felt at the end of the race. Yeah, I won't go into detail...
Another shot of the thousands of people.
Here are the highlights of the weekend:
1. Returning to my beloved city, Chicago! It has been five years since I lived in Chicago and I felt like I had never left. I was GRINNING from ear-to-ear the minute the plane landed.
Grinning from ear to ear!
2. Strolling (and running) the streets of Chicago with Wyatt (just strolling, not running), Jen and her hubs, Jon (also just a stroller, not a runner).
This is what Jen looks like when she's not running. (I thought she'd appreciate this picture.)
3. Absolutely PERFECT weather! Sunny, CLEAR, and warm (the temperature hovered around 75 d's the entire three days.)
4. Visiting with my Chicago friends I haven't seen for years (sad I missed all the others).
5. Running a marathon.
Happy finisher!
6. Seeing Wyatt act as the paparazzi as he sprinted by my side, camera in hand, trying to snap a few shots of us as we passed.
7. Chicago food. It is the best.
Yeah, so it was an awesome weekend. And I'm sure I'll be maintaining my "marathoner" status by signing up for another in the future. Next time, I hope I can come in sub-four-hours. And maybe, with a lot of training, someday I will qualify for Boston.
In recent news, I have elevated to "marathoner" status. That's right my bloggy readers, I now have two marathons under my belt! "My name is Brittany Wilson, and I am addicted to running." My bud Jen and I dragged our husbands to Chicago two weeks ago so we could compete in the Chicago Marathon. Yay!
When we decided to run the Chicago Marathon, it was already filled. So we had to purchase bibs from people that were no longer able to participate. Jen bought a bib from Brynn (the butcher) and I bought my bib from Nupur. I had a friend draw the above picture, I added the words, made a silk screen, and printed matching shirts!
The Chicago Marathon had 37,000 runners! A far cry from the 800 in our Newport Marathon last year. Oh, and one lady ran 38-weeks pregnant and had a baby shortly after crossing the finish line. And another man died. So yeah, I ran in a race where one life was taken and another was given.I won't bore you with all the details. Though, it has come to my attention recently that many people are unfamiliar with the ends and outs of a marathon. Notably that a marathon by definition is a 26.2-mile race. I've had many people ask me how far my marathon is/was. Also many people are unaware of how long it takes one (of average running speed) to run a marathon. I've had one person innocently say that they heard I ran the race in two-hours, and was able to qualify for Boston. Yep, that was me, drafting behind the Kenyans... (It's the elite runners that come in around the two-hour mark. The average time (at least for the Chicago marathon) is four-hours and 45-minutes. And my age group (female: 25 - 30) has to run a marathon under three-hours and 40-minutes to qualify for Boston.)
Us, running in the MASS of people. It never really did thin out... even at mile 26.
The Kenyans. I think the winner came in at 2-hours and three minutes. Like I said, I was right behind them. Because I look like I am an elite runner...By now you're wondering what my time was. Drum roll... ... ... ... ... I was successfully able to shave 17-minutes from my last marathon, bringing me in at 04:02:37. Not too shabby. Especially considering that I was not feeling confident the morning of the race that I would even be able to beat my old time, let alone reach my goal (which was to run a four-hour marathon... I know, two-minutes over! Even so, I'm counting it).
Mile 12. The only time Wyatt and Jon were able to really cheer us on.I could go on about how we walked the streets of Chicago far more than we should've the day before, how my ankle/shin was sore from all the said walking, how I didn't sleep very well two-nights before, how I woke up at 3am WIDE AWAKE race day and proceeded to stare at my clock for three hours, how I was successfully able to "go to the bathroom" before the race (a stress of any long distance runner), how I surprisingly felt GREAT the first 21 miles, how I peed my pants at mile 24 (yes, while running), how I nearly gave up at mile 26 (who's bright idea was it to add a hill 0.2-miles before the finish line?!!), and how great I felt at the end of the race. Yeah, I won't go into detail...
Another shot of the thousands of people.Here are the highlights of the weekend:
1. Returning to my beloved city, Chicago! It has been five years since I lived in Chicago and I felt like I had never left. I was GRINNING from ear-to-ear the minute the plane landed.
Grinning from ear to ear!2. Strolling (and running) the streets of Chicago with Wyatt (just strolling, not running), Jen and her hubs, Jon (also just a stroller, not a runner).
This is what Jen looks like when she's not running. (I thought she'd appreciate this picture.)3. Absolutely PERFECT weather! Sunny, CLEAR, and warm (the temperature hovered around 75 d's the entire three days.)
4. Visiting with my Chicago friends I haven't seen for years (sad I missed all the others).
5. Running a marathon.
Happy finisher!7. Chicago food. It is the best.
Yeah, so it was an awesome weekend. And I'm sure I'll be maintaining my "marathoner" status by signing up for another in the future. Next time, I hope I can come in sub-four-hours. And maybe, with a lot of training, someday I will qualify for Boston.
The marathoners (plus Jon) basking in the sun of a job well done. (About to gorge on some delectable Italian Beef sandwiches!)
