Disappointed (1)

For the last two years I have trained to run a marathon. The first marathon I was going to run was the Inaugural ING Atlanta in March (2006), but because of an overuse knee injury I focused my training on the half marathon instead and just readjusted my focus for a different marathon for 2007.

For the last 20 weeks I spent countless hours training for the Chicago Marathon. It was going to be awesome! The temperature was going to be cool (October in Chicago has to be cooler than Atlanta, right!?!) and the course was going to be flat - both of the qualities made Chicago an ideal first marathon.

I was a bit burned out by the training by myself, but the idea of crossing the finish line with my head and arms held high kept me going through the early morning runs, the runs at lunch during the week, the runs through the rain, and the dreaded long runs on Saturday or Sunday morning. Not to mention all the time I was spending on the road running was being taken away from spending with my family! (By the way - Jen and Morgan were totally the best support team during the whole training regiment. They were awesome whenever I was on my way out to run or when I got back late at night or early in the morning!)

So two weeks before Chicago the weather looks wet, but doable (maybe rainy, but the temps in the 60-70s). One week before the race the temperature spikes and is predicted to be somewhere in the mid to upper 80s. Not exactly optimal marathon running temperatures - but still not a problem for me because I have lived and run in the South most of my life (maybe the heat, humidity, and hills of Atlanta were going to pay off?).

At the Expo and in emails preceding the race all people involved were reminded that the temperatures were going to be 20+ degrees above average and that we needed to make sure we monitored our physical activity levels and how our bodies were responding - which basically means to slow down and stay as cool as you can (get two cups of water at the aid stations - one to drink and one to dump on your head; get your electrolyte replacement (gatorade or powerade) from the aid stations or bring your own from home; and to make sure you have gels or sport beans as well).