A Perfect Day in Chicago!

"Some things take longer than we want to achieve or accomplish, but just because they don’t happen in your time, doesn’t mean they will never happen. Never give up on your dreams, but also never give up working to make your dream become a reality." Meb Keflezighi

A year ago I ran a fantastic race at the St. George Marathon.  I ran a nine minute PR in 2:46:13.  It was a huge accomplishment and part of me thought I would never run that fast again.  Conditions were perfect with cool temperatures, a downhill course, and a strong tailwind.  Yet there was something else inside of me that was shouting that if I could just drop a little more than three minutes off that time I would qualify for the US Olympic Marathon Trials.  If I had run a 2:46 a few years earlier the race at St George would have qualified me, but the standards had been tightened.  Not only had the qualifying time been lowered to 2:43:00 but downhill courses were no longer qualifying courses.  I'd have to do it on a flat course, something I'd never even tried before since most Utah race courses go down a canyon.  Yet the opportunity of running in a race at that level was something I had always dreamed of.  I always felt like I ended my high school and college careers unfulfilled with potential I had never reached.  I'll be 38 by the time the trials take place.  My fast running days are numbered but this was one last chance.

Along with my own doubts, I had others who thought I couldn't do it.  St. George is too fast, I was told.  I'd never run that fast on a flat course.  I knew that in spite of my own doubts and those of others, there was really only one opinion that mattered to me.  That was the opinion of my coach, Paul Pilkington.  I knew he'd be honest with me and that he'd know if I had what it took to reach that kind of elite level. Because of that I was scared to ask.  When I finally got brave enough to ask his excitement was contagious.  He didn't tell me he thought I'd do it, but he thought it was worth a try and that was all the encouragement I needed.  And I knew one thing, if I never attempted it I would always wonder if I could have done it.  Even if I failed I would be glad I tried.  I didn't want to spend the rest of my life wondering, what if?

Before I could even get the next question out of my mouth, "Which race?" Paul was answering.  Chicago.   It was flat, low elevation and a lot of fast runners to push me.  So suddenly I scrapped all my other racing plans for the year and focused on what would have to be a perfect race in October.  I increased my mileage and started running twice a lot of days.  Running seemed to be taking over my summer but if I was going to go for this goal I was going to give it 100%.  I didn't race a lot but from the few races I ran I knew I was in the best shape I'd ever been in.  There wasn't a better time for me to try.  In the weeks before the race I started to realize how badly I really wanted this opportunity to run at the trials.  It was more than anything I've ever wanted in my athletic career.  I thought back to other things I had wanted so much: a top ten finish at state in high school, an individual conference championship in college that I was favored to win, a chance to compete in nationals and how I had cracked under the pressure each time.  Could I handle the pressure this time without breaking down?  As race day approached I worried about the things I couldn't control.  What if I got sick and was the weather going to cooperate?  I studied pace charts even though I knew exactly what I needed to do.  In the days leading up to the race I found myself panicking wondering if I could really hold a 6:13/mile (or faster) pace for 26.2 miles.  I had never pushed myself to this level before and I had no idea how it was going to feel.  The only thing I knew was that I was going for it. I would go out at that pace and hold on as long as I could.  The game plan was run as even of a pace as I could.  Coach gave me a three second window to try to keep my mile pace in.  I needed to hit the halfway point in a low 1:21 to finish somewhere in the 2:42s.  The only question was, could I find that pace and how long could I run it?

The night before was a restless night sleep with butterflies in my stomach.  By 3 a.m. I was up eating breakfast because I couldn't sleep.  I managed to drift off to sleep for a bit longer before it was time to get up.  I had a short walk from our hotel to Grant Park where the race started.  The temperature was perfect for running, 46 degrees and it was only expected to get into the low 50s by the end of the race.  But as I walked out of the hotel I was greeted by a strong wind hitting me in the face.  I would have to deal with 10-15 mile per hour winds.  Chicago is a world record eligible course, meaning it's a loop course that finishes near the start.  This prevents a tailwind the whole way.  For every mile with the wind at our backs we'd have a mile running into it.  I actually said out loud, I can't run a 2:42 in this wind!  I tried to get rid of my negative thoughts.  I'd have to find someone a little taller than me to run behind.  I wasn't going to use any excuses.  I just had to run my pace.

After fighting with the crowds (45,000 people) trying to get through security into Grant Park, I was able to get away from all the people to the American Development tent.  The Chicago Marathon offered this program where we were able to receive a lot of the benefits the elite runners, such as a separate warm up area and bag check and we got to start right behind the elite runners. I found a friend, Rosy Lee, who was also running and started warming up right next to the elite runners.  I was in awe to be running right next to Rita Jeptoo (winner of this year, and last year's Chicago Marathon as well as the last two Boston Marathons.)  This was my first marathon that didn't require a bus ride to the start and I really liked just warming up, checking my bag and heading to the starting line. Shortly after the American Development group was escorted in we stood back as the elites came in, were introduced and listened to the national anthem.  Rosy and I were about 10 feet back from the starting line and it was fun to be so close to front at a big race.  We had to get out quick because unlike most big races that give chip time (your time doesn't start until you cross the starting line) the American Development Program and Olympic Trials would only take gun time.  My time started when the air horn went off.

It only took a few seconds to get across the starting line.  Rosy and I were shooting for the same pace and working together.  We started heading north and the wind was at our backs.  Our first mile split was a 6:17.  It was a few seconds off but I figured since we lost a few seconds at the start we were right where we wanted to be.  Mile two was 6:11.  Perfect.  There were a lot of runners but not so many that we couldn't keep the pace we wanted.  Starting up front made a huge difference with having enough space to run the pace I needed and take the shorter path around the turns (and there are a lot of them in Chicago.)  The first few miles winds through downtown and the streets were full of people cheering us on.  The excitement made this fast pace seem easy and I made an effort not to speed up with the energy of the crowd.  Jason was at the three mile mark to cheer me on and we turned north again to head away from downtown.  The next few miles the wind was at our backs and we went a little quicker than I had planned.  I didn't want any miles faster than 6:10 but some of these were around 6:05.  I needed to save energy for later in the race but the wind was altering my plan a bit.  I knew we'd be turning into the wind in a few miles so maybe a few fast miles here was ok.  I loved the course!  Once we left downtown we ran through parks along the lake shore and neighborhoods where people were out with bands and loudspeakers to cheer us along.  A few miles into the race I noticed a few women that were staying right with us.  One of them said to me, "It looks like you are trying to do the same thing we are."  They were also trying to run an Olympic Trials Qualifying time and soon we had a good pack working together.  Unlike most races where I view other women as competitors I had decided the only thing I was racing against was the clock.  I was glad to have some other women to help us along.  Shortly after seven miles we made the turn I was worried about.  We were going to be headed back into the wind for the next several miles.  I was still slightly ahead of pace.  I found a tall guy and tucked in behind him to block some of the wind.  My goal now was to try to maintain my pace and not waste too much energy on the wind this early in the race.  This worked well for a few miles but I was starting to fall off pace a bit with a couple miles at 6:15.  At this point one of the ladies I was running with, I found out later her name was Sasha, made a move and picked up the pace a bit.  I hated to leave behind the guy I was drafting off of but I was scared that if I stayed behind him I would fall too far off the pace.  So I went with Sasha and had to take more of the wind myself.  But soon we were hitting mile splits just under 6:10 again.  I felt fantastic even with the wind in my face.  This was exactly how I had pictured this was going to feel but I knew I still had a lot of running left.

At the half way point we were back to down town.  Jason was waiting there again for me.  I had been afraid I wouldn't find him in the middle of the crowd but it turned out that I didn't have to worry about that.  He was yelling so loud I could hear him from 100 meters away!  We crossed the mats at halfway and I looked at the clock. 1:21:00!  I couldn't have run the first half more perfectly, even with the wind altering my pace.  I just hoped I could hold it.  Up to this point it had felt really good but by 13 miles in it was taking more effort.  My legs were starting to feel tired.  This was five minutes faster than I had ever come through the half marathon split before.  I knew I would really be testing myself the second half of the race to see if I could keep this pace.  But I remembered my plan.  I was just going to keep holding this pace as long as I could.  At the halfway point we finally had the wind at our backs again for a couple miles as we turned west.  There was a lot of enthusiasm in the big crowd along the streets of downtown.  Some of the ladies we were running with had dropped back but Rosy and Sasha were still right with me.  We were starting to pass a lot of people who had started out too fast and were slowing down.  It made it hard not to start speeding up especially with the wind at our backs.  We had some miles in the low six minutes and were having a harder time keeping a consistent pace.  There were a lot of turns in this portion of the course so the wind was making it difficult to keep the steady pace I wanted.  We were passing people quickly enough there wasn't anyone to draft off of.  As soon as we caught someone we passed them and couldn't stay behind them to take a break from the wind.

Before the race I had told Jason that 18 to 20 miles would be a critical point in the race.  By now I had been going at this pace for two hours but with several miles still to the finish I would need to dig deep.  Yes, my legs were tired but I still felt like I could keep this pace a while longer.  My average pace was still right where it needed to be.  We were still fighting the wind and headed south but I knew that the last few miles we would turn north back towards downtown and that the wind would push us to the finish.  I knew I was going to need that.

We turned onto Michigan Avenue with three miles to go.  Suddenly Rosy and Sasha had both dropped back and I was running alone.  My legs were killing me.  They were hurting so bad and it was so hard to just keep them moving.  All I could think about was that I just couldn't slow down.  I was pushing myself to a limit I never had before.  I was so close but I knew that the slightest mistake here could cost me everything I came here for.  Somehow I had to find a little bit left to make it to the finish.  With every clock, mile and kilometer marking I passed I was calculating in my head how long it would take to cover the remaining distance and if I would make it before the clock turned over to 2:43.  I was trying so hard not to slow down but I just couldn't seem to make my legs go any faster.  A couple times I started to panic and thought I had fallen off pace.  Besides my legs being dead tired I think my brain was having a hard time doing the math at this point.  I wasn't sure I had it until I got to the sign one mile to go.  Jason was there again and he was so excited to see me there still on pace. Another spectator shouted to me that I was in 21st place for the women and I should try to catch the one in front of me.  But all I could do was keep moving.  I had a little over seven minutes to run one mile and I would qualify for the Olympic Trials!

Soon I was passing the 800 meters to go sign and I still had over four minutes.  This was really going to happen!  And then I turned the final corner and had to go up the only hill in the race.  I had heard about this hill and laughed about how a little hill could be such a big deal but with 400 meters to go I honestly felt like I came to a stand still when I got to that hill.  All I had to do was get up that little hill and around the corner was the finish.  My legs burned; my lungs burned.  Really everything for the last three miles seemed like a blur.  I wasn't going to sprint to the finish if I was under 2:43, I told myself.  I just couldn't do it.  There was nothing left.  But then I turned the corner and saw the clock in the high 2:41s.  With every last bit of energy I could come up with I picked it up a bit to try to beat 2:42.  I didn't even know if I did it or not but later I found out my official finish time was 2:41:59.  I ran the second half of the race one second faster than the first.  My average mile pace was 6:11.  It was exactly as I had planned.  A medical volunteer grabbed on to me to keep me from collapsing after I crossed the finish. I was so excited but there was no one I knew around to celebrate with.  I kept glancing behind me hoping to see Rosy or Sasha coming in right behind.  I was so sad for them later to hear they had both just missed qualifying times by a few seconds.  But all I could think about is that I really did it.  All the countless hours of training had paid off in a way I had always dreamed but never experienced.

Meb Kefllezighi became a hero of mine this year when at just a few days before he turned 39 became the first American to win Boston in over 30 years.  A friend posted his quote a few weeks ago and it struck me how much I related to waiting so long to achieve your goals but never giving up on making them happen.  Going to the Olympic Trials for me fulfills years of hard work and goals that just never seemed to work out.  It was a long walk back to the tent to retrieve my gear but I had tears streaming down my face the whole way.  It really is a dream come true.

I finished 21st in the women's race with a field of over 18,000 and 3rd in my age group.  Although I went to Chicago with the intent of only racing the clock I was thrilled to finish that high in a major marathon.   It was a difficult decision for me to pursue this goal.  I knew it would take a lot of time, effort and money.  As a mom, I wasn't sure if I should really expect that much out of my family.  In the end it was a prayerful decision but I felt like the Lord had blessed me with this opportunity and the ability to do this.  There were so many people who helped make this dream come true. My husband and children have been so supportive of this journey.  They never complained that the house wasn't clean and the yard was let go a bit this summer.  Dinner was often late because I had to get another run in for the day.  Andrew and Jared spent countless hours babysitting while I trained.  Jason did many training runs with me and was the best fan I could ask for running all over Chicago to cheer for me.  My coach, Paul Pilkington, taught me to run at a level that a few years ago I didn't dream was possible.  His advise and training has been priceless.  There are so many running friends and training partners that have gotten me out of bed in the morning and spent hours on the road with me making the difficult workouts more enjoyable and sometimes even a bit easier.  I've had a lot of fun with my utahrunning.com team and appreciate the support of our sponsors, What Doctors Know, Nate Graven, and Tim Spleicher.

The night before the race I was reading Isaiah. "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Maybe I'm taking this scripture too literally but I know I was not alone on the streets of Chicago that day.

The night of the marathon I was completely exhausted and yet I lay in bed so excited I couldn't sleep.  I just kept replaying in my mind the events of the day.  I realized that in all my years of marathon running, as great as so many races have been, I have never felt like I had a perfect race before.  There has always been something I would like to go back and change, something I would do differently next time to maybe get a bit faster.  Chicago was completely different.  I finally felt like I had run the perfect race!  Everything went exactly the way I wanted to!  I am thrilled for the opportunity to run at the Olympic Trials.  It will be such a privilege to stand on the starting line with the best marathon runners in the country.  I am anxiously awaiting a trip to Los Angeles in February 2016 and anticipating what it has in store for me.