Operation minus 43 starts today

I know what you are thinking.  What the hell is she talking about now? 

At mile 23 of the marathon I was running along pretty proud of myself as I was running while most others were walking.  I am looking around thinking that this was the farthest that I had ever run, I was feeling great and my family was waiting for me just a couple of miles up the road. My goal was in sight and I was going to finish a marathon.  Then, the worst thing happened...a guy walked by me. Yeap, I was running and an old guy walked by me.  I stopped running and thought, you are a loser.  You are running so slowly that a guy passed you walking.  What kind of runner are you?  How fast are you actually going?  Who gets passed by a walker?  At that moment I realized that my time was going to suck, I am a turtle and I am going to be so embarrassed to tell people my time.  I saw Lennie a little up the road, he grabbed my hand and ran with me until mile 25 where he passed me off to my mom who ran with me to mile 26 and then I ran myself over the finishing .2 and finishing line.  I saw my 6 plus hour time and was very disappointed.  All I wanted to do was be under 6 hours and be able to at least not be one of "those" marathoners.  I am not one of those people!  I ran the whole freak'n way but am a really slow runner.  CRAP! 

So, on the drive home from Chicago I kept thinking about the race over and over again figuring out why I was so slow and where I lost so much time. I made a list and have decided that I need to make a plan in order to do better next time.

Operation minus 43 means that I plan to take 43 minutes off my Chicago Marathon time. 

I know, you think that is nuts.  No one can take that much time off.  I will be 43 years old next year so why not go for 43 minutes off my time.  Look at my plan and see how I know it is possible to return to Chicago October 9, 2011 and run a 5:45 marathon (or faster).

1. don't freak out about the hot weather  -5 minutes
2. drop 14 pounds to weight 199 at marathon time -8 minutes
3. see a podiatrist about my foot pain -5 minutes
4. learn to run faster at the 10km clinic -6 minutes
5. don't high-five so many people -2 minutes
6. run in the middle of the road not the right side -2 minutes
7. no more 10:1s -5 minutes
8. only walk the water stations -5 minutes
9. less sightseeing -1 minute
10. take Cold FX so I don't get sick the week of the race -1 minute
11. carry 2 more gels for energy -2 minutes
12. run more races to practice -1 minute

Operation Minus 43 begins now!!!!

PS the slogan for this year's marathon was 10-10-10 "the date to motivate". 

Next year, the race will be 9-10-11 and my slogan will be "run like hell and then some!"

Reality or Fate...or does it really matter?

The reality is that I could talk for hours and hours about this past weekend in Chicago.  Top 4 in my life's proudest moments, (marriage, masters degree and award of distinction are the other 3) tears at the start line, getting my medal and finishing in time for my name to appear in the paper. 
I could tell you about the expo, the heat, the fans and the mile markers.  I could list the 15 ways that I am going to take 1 hour off my time for next year...hopefully cooler temps, drop 16 pounds, less high-fiving :), no 10:1s, only walk the water stations, less sightseeing during the race:), and keep my shoes dry.  But, really I am having a hard time believing what I see every time I walk into my laundry room and see my wall of fame (as I have named it). 
Last October, weighing 230 pounds I go to a hockey game, bump into an acquaintance (who now is a great bud), chat about working out, join a running club and bingo bango bongo a year later I run a marathon - seriously...who does that?
If I can run a 10km race, then 3 1/2 marathons, and then a full marathon in 1 year ANYONE can do it.
The race itself is not the hard part - it is the fun part.  The tough part is sticking to a workout schedule, following a training plan and maintaining healthy choices.  I needed to lose more weight, stop drinking so much, eat better and make some social sacrifices order to be prepared to race.
I realize that millions and millions of people have completed marathons, run races and sacrificed for a goal but when I think of myself as someone who "sticks to it" I am just not that kind of person.  I am not a quitter and never have been but just someone who doesn't say she is going to do stuff because I don't want to let anyone down.  But, for some strange reason and for some strange year, I pulled this off. 
Why wasn't I able to do this years ago when I was in my 20s or even in my 30s??? 
I wonder if it's a maturity thing, or I needed to have the Crohns/thyroid health scare stuff or I needed to find these running people in my life?  Maybe it's just fate but does it really matter?  I did it and to me, that is what matters most.

Priceless

3 Running Room Clinics - $167.85
3 Pairs of Saucony Running Shoes - $447
10km race entry - $30
2 pairs of tights - $80
4 dri fit shirts - $180
1 winter running hat - $21
3 visors - $28
pair of sunglasses - $30
3 - 1/2 marathon entries - $210
14 pairs of socks - $112
box of bandages - $6
packs of energy gels - $165
1 Garmin watch (that was lost) - $215
1 bottle of 500 Extra Strength Tylenol - $13.99
Trip to Cincinnati - $120
3 weeks at Fitness Ridge - $4050
1 massage - $90
1 pair of compression socks - $20
1 Timex watch - $80 (to replace the lost Garmin)
Trip to Toronto - $95
2 Road ID bracelets (because 1 got lost with the watch)- $40
1 marathon entry - $150
Trip to Chicago - $265

Completing the Chicago marathon and stroking it off your bucket list - PRICELESS

26.2 reasons to finish the marathon

26.   For all your students you make do stuff that is really hard for them - time to run the talk.
25.   For all your scrapbooking friends, who already think you are a little nuts.
24.   For your niece and nephews, who hopefully think you are pretty cool.
23.   For Crohns disease sufferers everywhere.
22.   For your friends at Fitness Ridge, who know what it is like to struggle.
21.   For your teacher friends, who have listened to you talk about risk taking, now you need to prove it.
20.   For Tom Cruise, for when he meets you, he knows that his next wife can run a marathon too :)
19.   For people that continue to run away from their problems so they may learn running towards something is so much better.
18.   For France.
17.   For all the people that never believed in you and especially for those that DO!
16.   For the Running Room, so they know that all their hard work and support is worth it.
15.   For the inventor of the Dairy Queen Blizzard - thank you from the bottom of my stomach.
14.   For Lindsay and Alisha for including you.
13.   For forgiveness.
12.   For all the time your spent watching movies and loving it.
11.   For Nike to prove that they need to make their workout gear in bigger sizes because big people run too!
10.   For your grandparents, who would of thought this was pretty cool.
9.   For Bill P for being the first coach ever to tell you that you had potential.
8.   For your cousins for being such achievers therefore, making you strive to be better.
7.   For your aunts and uncles for being such an integral part of your life.
6.   For Megan, so she may believe that she can complete a marathon too.
5.   For JS and his family.
4.   For your brothers, for whom you are always trying to make proud.
3.   For your parents, who never let you have a negative thought.
2.   For Lennie, who always believes you can do anything even when you think you can't.
1.   For you, because you can do it!
0.2   For God because you have some making up to do.

"Why Chicago?"

So, many people have been asking why I have chosen Chicago to run my first marathon.  Kind of a long story but a nice one.

I have been married to my husband Lennie for 17 years.  He is from Quebec and grew up in a tight community with lots of time spent with his family and cousins.  One of his favourite cousins and bit of a mentor; Kevin put himself through university, moved to Chicago and started a wonderful life.  Lennie and Kevin reconnected after many years and Kevin invited us to visit him in Chicago one weekend in 2000. 

Lennie and I are road trip kind of people so we went August long weekend and had the most wonderful experience.  Kevin, his wife Sue and their 2 kids at the time; Sara and Emily gave us the best weekend.  We saw the aquarium, dinosaur museum and went on a boat cruise.  Kevin took us to a White Sox ball game, to many sights and hot spots around town.  We found Chicago to be beautiful, safe and had such a great history.  My favourite memories surround eating dinner in Evanstan at a restaurant called That Little Mexican Place and the day Kevin took us to his work at the Chicago Mercantile (he even got us on the floor to see what it is like to be a trader). 

Lennie and I both think Kevin and his family are wonderful (they have 3 kids now with the addition of Sam their youngest son) and had them come to Canada and stay with us to return the favour.  Since that first trip we have visited many times and enjoyed many dinners out, hockey games, poker games and adventures with their kids.

One visit, Kevin shared with me that every Chicago person has to run the marathon at some time in their life and recounted his experience and it sounded like a riot.  I can remember thinking how cool it would be to run a marathon and that it would not be easy for me as Kevin was an athlete and a runner. 

Fast forward to January 2010, I finished my first 10km clinic with the Running Room and have started the 1/2 marathon clinic with my friends.  It was going very well and one night after a Tuesday night run we were all standing around chatting about races that people had completed.  Alisha and Lindsay were recounting their previous marathon experience and how yucky the Toronto one was that they had completed.  Alisha suggested that we do the marathon clinic after we finish the 1/2 clinic and I said that we could run the Chicago marathon and everyone thought that was a great idea. 

In true Alisha form, she went home and researched it for us and found the registration date of February 1st fast approaching and that it sold out very quickly.  Lindsay, Alisha and I stayed up till midnight the night of January 31st in order to be some of the first to register - we totally forgot that Chicago is 1 hour behind London time so I ended up staying up till 1:00am to register.  We all got in, and now we are 4 sleeps away.

Honesty, I can not believe that it is here.  I can not stop crying about it - I tear up every time I hear a song about perseverance, watch a YouTube video or imagine the finish line.  This past weekend we got together again to make up our shirts, buy Canada hats and confirm our plans for the weekend.  I am so proud that my mom and Lennie will be making the trip with me and will see me finish this odyssey that I am on. 

Tomorrow I turn 42 and am already planning races for 2011 - who wouldn't thought that I would be planning another race.  Stay tuned.