Courage of Conviction

I didn’t have a chance to post yesterday.  I’ll keep this one short and to the point.  Today was the marathon.  I completed the marathon in 4:39:35.  I’m really happy with my time.  That’s my second fastest marathon - only 9 minutes behind my NYC marathon time from 2 years ago.  I was in better shape for that one too. 

Here are some neat things about the marathon - there were 40,000 runners.  Which means that it took me 15 minutes to get to the start line.  I wasn’t able to carry my camera with me through the marathon, I had too much other stuff to carry.

My knee held up pretty well.  I started having some problems with it around mile 23, but it held up the rest of the way decently until I crossed the finish line.  All in all, I’m very pleased.

Don’t expect a posting tomorrow - travel day tomorrow.

Today was my first full day here in the Chicago area. 

I got up and went for a short run this morning - about 2 miles.  Mostly to see where I need to stretch some more and where my pains, if any, are.  It was a good run in the sense that I’m not hurting anywhere and that I determined that I was overdressed for the conditions (it was 35 degrees this morning).   

After that, I had an opportunity to attend one of my cousin’s classes.  That was a neat experience.  It helped me feel much younger being surrounded by early 20-somethings. 

After class, I was off to the marathon expo.  For anyone who has ever been to a marathon expo, you know what this is like.  Actually, I’ll correct myself - anyone who has been to the expo for a major marathon like Chicago, NYC, or the Marine Corp marathons.  They are huge - absolutely huge.  It took me two hours to get through it all, and that’s a continuous walk through the expo.  When I cam back to the room and emptied my bag, I couldn’t believe how much stuff I collected. 

I did end up buying some items that will help me out on race day - sunglasses that will stay close to my face, a headband that will keep the sweat out of my eyes, a sports pack to hold GU that I bought (GU is energy goo, for lack of a better term).

Then it was off to dinner with my cousin and her friends.  That was fun also - again, made me feel much younger.

Tomorrow is sightseeing day and a visit to the marathon finish line.  I want to make sure I can visualize the finish line while I’m running.  It will help me get through some of the tougher times.

Well, I’m here in Chicago, or Evanston to be more accurate.  I’m staying with my cousin who is a student at Northwestern.  I’ve already had Chicago deep dish pizza.  I had it this evening so that it will be all digested by the time I’m ready to run Sunday morning. 

At any rate, the flight out of Reagan National was uneventful - no problems at the airport, no lines, only a slight delay before take-off, etc.  In fact it was a nice travel experience. 

Chicago is a neat big city.  It reminds me of NYC in many ways, except one - the people.  (BTW, I do like the people of NYC and think they get a bad rap)  The people here in Chicago are definately mid-western in their approach to dealing with other people.  Those of us from the East Coast don’t talk with strangers when we travel because we don’t want them to bother us - not that we really know that they would, but you get the idea. 

The people here don’t talk to strangers when they travel, it seems to me, because they don’t want to bother the other people traveling.  It’s definately a more humble attitude I’ve noticed. 

I’m not really attempting to prove anything here, just making an observation. 

Tomorrow I’m off to the marathon expo and more experiences of the windy city.

The next few days I’ll be in Chicago.  I’ll be running in the Chicago Marathon this Sunday.  This will be my fourth marathon, and my first visit to Chicago.  I’m looking forward to going.  I’ll blog on my experience over the next few days.  I may even have pictures soon after the marathon.