Thanks to all of you for your support and encouraging words. I love you guys.

Things don’t always turn out as planned.  It was hot in Chicago. So what. I have more marathons to reach my goal and I’m sure there will be other obstacles with those marathons as well. And I’m sure I’ll be a whiny baby again when I don’t meet those goals, but it’s okay, I’ll cry again and I’ll recover. That’s why we blog. Well, that’s why I blog.

But guess what? Training works. Go figure? I trained harder for this marathon than any other. I did the running, I lifted weights, I did plyometric exercises, I strengthened my core and my arms, I did speed work, I stretched, and I hydrated. No excuses, I did it. And those damn plate runners, too. (I’m sending off autographed Runner Susan plates to anyone interested, just shoot me an email)

I’m sure there are many things I could have done better or differently – but for the first time, I can honestly say, I tried my hardest. And while I didn’t reach my marathon goal time, I can see and feel the results of my labor. Okay, so I didn’t lose any weight (boo), but for once I can SEE results and I feel I am in the best shape of my life. Which is more than I’ve ever been able to say in the past. (Anyone who has not seen the buffiness of my arms, click here and call me a loser)

So my body isn’t built to run super-fast marathons, and I may never reach my goal of qualifying for Boston. But I will run a 4:30 marathon some day, that I’m sure of.  (With a lot more speed-work and a few 5k and half-mara PRs along the way.)

I started my training back up today with a nice, easy bike ride. Oh, and lookey here . . . my second crash. Well, actually, it was more of a fall-over than a crash, but hey, doesn’t that make me a professional now? I think I might need stitches, or a tourniquet or maybe a leech. But for now, I’ll have to settle for a band-aid.

Note to self: don’t answer cell phone while driving bike.

And I think it’s just an honest fact that until we clean up our planet, I’m going run crappy 5-hour marathons. Can someone pinpoint a date for me on when that’s going to happen? Because it would be nice if it were during my lifetime. Anyhow, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Seriously, how could it be this hot in Chicago two years in a row?

The short version: It was hot. That pissed me off. I died at mile 15. Then I cried.

Now I’m okay with things. You can stop here if you like because an extremely long and unnecessarily detailed version is up next. And basically, it says the same thing. (Click on pictures to make them bigger)

This was such a long trip. Michael and I left Tuesday before the marathon. Our plan was to stop and visit and many family members and friends as we could along the way there and on the way home to rack up as many brownie points as possible.

Tuesday we arrived in Little Rock and met up with Michael’s college buddy and his wife to have dinner and watch my friend Obama kick some serious ass during the debate. That was fun. Michael rode in Arkansas and the next morning and I got my final 3-mile run in and then we drove to Memphis and had dinner with our cycling friend/financial adviser. The next morning Michael rode and I took it easy before we drove to Champagne, IL. Michael rode the Friday morning and we headed into Chicago. We had a great hotel on Printer’s Row downtown only a few blocks from the start and finish line. Really, it was the perfect hotel location for the race.

Immediately after checking into the hotel we met up with Michael’s sister-in-law and some cousins and had lunch. Then we headed for the expo. I wish I had pictures, but I don’t. It was well organized but the school bus ride there was hot, and by the time we arrived at the expo I was having anxiety hot flashes. I picked up the essentials and headed back to the bus. (FYI – Those hot flashes didn’t end until we checked out of our hotel on Monday morning)

Friday night was fun. We went to a great steak restaurant and then to a fabulous jazz bar. It was so relaxing. A few glasses of wine and a few martinis was just what we needed after FOUR DAYS of driving and visiting.

Michael got up early on Saturday and headed over to Lake Shore to ride. (thanks psimet) I was a little freaked out when I saw him ride his bike through traffic down Michigan Avenue – luckily is was a Saturday and traffic wasn’t that bad, but I halfway expected him to die along the way – call me paranoid, but Chicago drivers are crazy. By the time he got home and cleaned up it was time for lunch. I was starving. We walked over to a nice bar and grill and had a wonderful lunch.

Our plan was to meet up with David and Mrs. T. at the Art Institute, but I was still so tired from the drive and Michael enticed me back to the hotel for a nap and a massage. I ended up sleeping for two hours. And it was wonderful. After the nap we got ready for our pre-race dinner with David, Mrs. T. and the Schneiders. It was a fabulous restaurant with wonderful company. We planned out race morning meet-up and everyone was excited. I was so prepared for a 4:30 – 4:40 marathon I could taste it. David even brought a detailed marathon chart of all his marathons pinpointing all his strengths and weaknesses by mile. I was impressed. The only thing I could think of was “Why haven’t I done this before?” – Note to self: get new Garmin before next race.

Race morning David met Michael and I at our hotel and we walked down to the start line checked our bags and took a few photos and a video. There is a whole big long phone story here that I could go into details about, but basically I carried a different phone and let Michael keep my iPhone instead of checking it with my bag. My mistake.

Chicago Marathon 2008 Start from Runner Susan on Vimeo.

It was hot at the start line – already high 60s or low 70s. I checked the weather before I left the hotel and it said the high for the day was going to be in the low 80s. I figured it would wait until later in the day to get hot. We got to the start line and chatted with a few folks before the start. I hopped a fence to pee and cure my nervous bladder. It wasn’t 20 minutes or so before we crossed the start line – much better than New York, but elbow-to-elbow runners, which it stayed that way until the finish.

David and I ran a respectable first half – right on target around 10:30s – 10:40s, but I could feel the heat getting to me. I was dying slowly. We saw Michael and my sister’s family a little after the half. It was nice to see them and I passed off the phone I was carrying because it was getting soaked. Chicago was well prepared for the heat this year and volunteers were spraying runners with hoses left and right. Whether you wanted it or not.

David was kind enough to carry my baggie of race supplies and at mile 14 I knew I needed to get it back because I didn’t want to hold him up – he was running a great race and I was slowing up. That made me sad, because I really didn’t want to run alone. We stayed together for another few miles and then it all started to fall apart – the same heat related fatigue that I’m so familiar with here in Texas. You would think training in Texas would prepare me for the heat. But obviously, NOT. My back was achy, but surprisingly was never a problem.

I started walking a lot around mile 18. My ipod died because it was filled with water. Around mile 20 volunteers with megaphones were blasting “we are now in a CODE RED” “CODE RED”. Which meant it was officially over 80 degrees. I saw sign somewhere that flashed 89 degrees, but I doubt it was that hot, although the megaphone people kept saying it was 92 degrees on the pavement. Yeah, I’m still not sure what that means. Was the pavement 92 degrees or were the runners 92 degrees because we were on the pavement? Either way there was no breeze and my clothes were so wet and steamy hot it felt like someone had microwaved them while I was wearing them.

I finished, official time 5:10:58. This was the first marathon I ever considered DNFing. I’m glad I didn’t but I was sad, I trained so hard. As I walked through the shoot a volunteer handed me a mylar blanket to warm me up. Um, okay. Why? I didn’t want one. I didn’t need one. I found my way to the bag pick up and looked for David. I really wanted a post race picture. I looked some more, but since I didn’t have a phone I couldn’t call him. I figured he left to meet Mrs. T since he finished so far ahead me. I headed back to the hotel and I was just sad. I trained so hard. It wasn’t my fault it was hot, it wasn’t Chicago’s fault it was hot. It was just hot which is why I’m blaming too much global warming.

When I got back to the hotel I cried on Michael’s shoulder a while. Told him I was never ever going to run another marathon again. He rolled his eyes, and said okay. He knows me. Then I decided that I was not going to let this get me down because I had an anniversary to celebrate. And boy, did we celebrate. I figured if Katie could wear heels after her marathon, so could I. And you don’t get calves like that from sitting on your booty all day long.

We checked out of the hotel the next morning and headed to Lafayette, IN where we had lunch with my sister and he kids (AKA: my cheering section). We then drove to Indianapolis where Michael rode and we visited with my parents and then to dinner with them and my brother and one of his kids, little Lucy. (Don’t mess with me or my brother will beat you up!)

I didn’t feel so good during dinner. I thought it was just travel fatigue. After dinner we took dessert over to visit my nearly 90-year-old Grandma and I ended up spending the next 30 minutes lying on her bathroom floor vomiting. Yeah, I don’t know what the deal was there. My Grandma blamed that “foreign food” spaghetti.  We were supposed to make one more stop in Arkansas on the way home, but I was so tired and I just wanted to sleep in my bed. We drove 15 hours straight through till we made it home. It was a busy eight days.

Now I’m home, I don’t feel so horrible about my time. I’ve been reading other people’s blogs and it seems the heat was a factor for everyone (except David who ran really fast anyhow), even though it was not as hot as Chicago’s marathon last year. It was well organized, and the volunteers were spectacular.

I lot of things happened while training and running this marathon. I worked hard and I’m in the best shape of my life. (thanks Cindy) I’ve learned cross-training and weight-lifting are good. I also learned that I’m a pretty good sprinter (thanks Ewen) and it might suit me well to actually train for some shorter races. I may never qualify for Boston, my body just isn’t meant to do so, but I also know that somewhere in me, if I still work hard, is a 4:30 marathon. I just need the right conditions for it to pop up.  I can guarantee you this, my next marathon will be low key and not with 40,000 other runners.

I’m just not sure what to do now. I’m running a half marathon in a few weeks, which I totally plan on rocking. But I just don’t know about another marathon. Whiterock is around the corner and Austin is whispering to me, but I’ve yet to make any decisions. How about you David?

You can see all the pictures of the race and pre/post-race in my flickr accounts.

*Grammar, spelling, sentence structure, cohesiveness or punctuation doesn’t count on race reports – at all and ever and you can’t use it against me.

We’re heading home now, but I’ll have a race report later this week.

I’m a little sad. I trained so, so hard. I did everything right. I don’t have any excuses, I’m just not built to run marathons. It just got so hot and I didn’t have it in me.

But now I got to change my attitude – because six years ago today – Michael and I were married, and since we’re in Chicago we’re gonna celebrate our anniversary in style!

If anyone wants to follow, you can track me here. Last name Knoll, first Susan.

I don’t have a whole lot of time to update right now. We’re on the road, driving to Chicago since we have to take the bike. Michael doesn’t go anywhere without his bike and it’s just easier to drive it instead of fly it. The Devil is house-sitting. Boy, do I feel safe.

Let’s get to the point. On Thursday while Michael was doing some yard work he broke his toe. And he’s been a big whiny baby about it. Yadda, yadda yadda, it can’t be that bad if he is still riding his bike everyday. I gave him one rule – if you can ride the bike, then NO COMPLAINING about spectating the marathon course. Of course, I can complain all I want since I will be running 26.2 miles.

It gets better. Last Sunday, I bent over to pick up a glove. A glove. And I got stuck. Just like this:

Stuck. And in intense pain. I couldn’t stand up. My back was spasming because I tried to pick up glove! WTF. I kinda panicked a little. A Lot. I’ve trained like an animal for this marathon, and there was no way I was going to let a whimpy back spasm get in my way.

On Monday morning I went to visit Dr. Joey. He gave me a shot of cortisone and almost immediately I felt better. Better, but not 100%. Monday only my left side was spasming, but I could stand up, mostly. By Tuesday, I felt really great. And by the time the hydrocodone kicked in I felt REALLY great. Drugs and wine make for a great presidential debate night. Did my man Obama rock that debate, or what? Gotta love that man.

Wednesday morning I went for an easy three mile run and felt fine. Better than fine. Fabulous. I’m so ready, Internet Friends.

The only problem I have is sitting. And driving involves a lot of sitting. Driving from Dallas to Chicago involves A LOT of sitting. And since Michael is doing most of the driving, I’m just complaining and playing on my iPhone emailing everyone about how GREAT I feel because I’m reassuring myself that by running, I’m not sitting, therefore I’ll be just fine during the marathon. I am a genius.

Michael and I are making some interesting traveling companions with our ailments.

I am feeling great, though. I really, really do. This is going to be the best marathon ever. I can hardly wait for it to start. Oh, and in case there is any doubt of my healing, here’s proof that I’m feeling better – running in my hotel room – I couldn’t do this if I was still in pain:

practicerunning – PROOF I’m better from Runner Susan on Vimeo.

FYI – I don’t have time to proof this since I need to shower and hit the road again, so don’t judge my lack of grammar skills. But, my next post I’ll have my race number and a place for tracking for anyone interested. Thank you so much for the well wishes. Oh, and I’m too chicken to wear the shirt in public. Maybe I’ll sleep in it the night before the race.

Michael kept asking me why it was taking me so long to pack. Well, because everyone takes pictures of their shoes before putting them in a suitcase. He thinks I’m a nutcase. And, honestly, I have so many better things to be doing right now. It’s been a weird few days and I’ll explain more on that later. But here I am, packed and ready to run.

Yay, it’s over! No more long runs until the marathon. Well, I guess after six weeks of running 18 plus every Sunday, ten really isn’t a long run.  But who cares, no more, no more until next Sunday. Any last minute marathon advice would be appropriate at this time. You would think this was my first marathon.

I do have one very important question about my shoes. To wash or not to wash? I’ve never had gel shoes before and I’m not sure if I should wash them or not. I really, really want to wash them because they are a very dingy gray and I’d prefer them to be a lovely white. Will it hurt the shoes to wash them now?

I’m a little worried. Not about the marathon, but about my lack of preparation for my upcoming trip. I have nothing to wear and the lack of interest in going to Nordstroms to remedy this situation is starting to be a little concerning.

My lack of personal hygiene is also concerning. I sit at my desk on the computer after running and lifting weights and pretty much stink like a heathen who ate a rotten corpse for breakfast. It’s bad when I have to barter with myself about showering. One day the UPS delivery guy even took a step away when I signed for a package.  I’m not sure what is going on inside my demented little head.

I need to fix this. I’ll buy some hair products. I’ll give myself a pep talk. Shopper Susan = True Love. Rowdy doesn’t seem to mind though, he loves me stinky or not. Of course, he does have rotting teeth breath, so he can’t be biased.

I can’t decide if today should be a total recovery day or if I should do something really light, like a short bike ride, easy 3 mile run or maybe just some yoga. What do you guys do the day after a long run? Because right now a shot of tequila seems like the right thing to do.

Done. 3 hours 39 minutes and 55 seconds. Perfect weather, lots of hills, and I felt really great. I’ve never been so prepared for a marathon, I’m not sure what to expect.

Things are going to be good this time.

I have a sore throat – I’m guessing it’s because of all the allergy drainage.  I can’t run more than a half-mile without spitting. Gross, I know, but better than swallowing. (Rich I’m sorry I spit so much during the 20k and David I’ll probably spit in Chicago.)

My left ankle hurts. It’s not swollen but it is achy – not a lot, but enough. I’m blaming downhill running and sprinting on concrete.  How is it possible to still have remnants of this injury from February? Ice, ice, baby.

I haven’t done anything today but type Kenza’s science project, have a short meeting with a customer, and eat lunch with Michael. I’ll think I’ll watch the presidential debate tonight and let Michael cook me dinner.

I have a 20-mile run planned with Massoman on Sunday. It’s gonna be an easy, easy run.

I still don’t know what I’m going to wear in Chicago. Or during the marathon. That’s totally not like me. I need to get planning because I’m starting to panic.

I’m pissed because I’ve gained five pounds over the last two weeks. Yeah, that’s what training like an animal gets ya. I guess that fork-to-mouth disease is bad too.

This will be the final leg torture that we video before the marathon. I can’t believe I’ve been doing these awful workouts for almost three months now. My fitness level has improved drastically because of these specific workouts – in addition to the running.

I’ve always had strong legs, I could out-squat many of the football players in high school weighing only 98 pounds – but never, that I can remember, have I ever had abdominal or upper body strength. Now I do, it’s just hidden under a muffin of midriffical whale blubber. But strength is there, believe me. And I like feeling strong. Yes, I do.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that we’ve gone down in weight these past few weeks, and the next few leg torture weeks will be very light as I taper for Chicago – Only twenty days away. Yikes.

I’d like to dedicate this final video to my friend/trainer and Master Videographer Extraordinaire, Cindy. I couldn’t have got here without you. I can’t believe I’m getting sentimental about these horrible hour-long torture sessions. I’m a very sick person. Cindy even gave me the over-used and abused paper plates to keep as a reminder of all the hard work I’ve done. Thanks Cindy, I’ll treasure them forever.

It’s a long video, but if you stick it out to the end, it will be worth your while.

Leg Torture #16 from Runner Susan on Vimeo.

I kinda sorta need to do something for 3 or 4 hours tomorrow. I have a feeling that that something should be running at least 18-20 miles, but I’m thinking maybe a bike ride would do? Same benefits or no?

I really didn’t want to race today. Really. Did. Not. Want. To. This monster month of marathon training is adding up to a whole bunch of tired. I know, it’s supposed to be that way and because of it I’m going to run a really fast marathon. Or at least that’s the plan.

Michael and I took Kenza to the local homecoming football game last night; Kenza had a blast, but we didn’t get home until late and I took a Tylenol PM to help me sleep – that was my first mistake. I just could not wake up this morning.

My second mistake was not having my race gear ready the night before. I used up all my race bib safety pins on Kenza’s spirit wear for the game. You give the girl something to cheer for and she goes all out, face-paint, colored hair, cow bell and 40 safety pins worth of spirit-attached attire in all. I admire her spunk, but it left me rummaging around on her bedroom floor at 4:30 in the morning, in the dark, trying to find her clothes from last night to recover at least 2 safety pins.

My third mistake was being constipated. I’m not sure how that is a mistake, but I was and I’m sure on some level it affected my race time. Or is that effected? FYI – spelling and grammar are way over-rated.

Richie and I met in the parking lot and headed over to the start line where I got to meet Kevin from 5ks and Cabernets. I love that blog title, and what a super nice wine-drinking guy he was. Richie said Kevin was really fast, so we move back in the pack a little.

Okay, so despite every step of this race being a struggle, I ran halfway decent. Probably slow for Richie, but respectable for me. I could go into a lot of details about how we had great weather, and how the second half was really hilly, and how I didn’t walk at all except for a few seconds during water breaks, and how Richie saved me from emanate death when I was nearly run over by a car around mile nine. (Note to self: turn volume on ipod down in traffic) And I could tell you that we ran negative splits almost the entire way. But what I mostly want to tell you is that the last mile we ran in 8 minutes and 18 seconds. For real. Seriously.

It was a PR 20k day. 2 hours, 3 minutes and 22 seconds.

My doubtful self asked Richie about 20 times how he thought I’d do in Chicago based on the last two races we’ve run together. He seemed pretty confidant that I’ll do well. After today’s race with the negative splits and 8:18 last mile, I’m thinking it might be possible to run faster than a 5-hour marathon. God, I hope so.

Yeah, I know, it looks like Cherry Berry styled my hair.

I’m running close to 40 miles a week. I’m sprinting. I’m lifting weights. I’m riding . . . and yet I can’t get rid of that effing muffin top! If I had trained like I am now when I was in my 20s I would have been kicking some serious ass.

Now I just have ass.

You’ll notice that there isn’t any leg torture in the leg torture workout today – because yesterday’s stellar 18-miler was torture enough. Instead, we opted for Cindy’s Upper Body/Abdominal Filthy Fifty Torture.

We do 50 reps of each exercise – which I sliced down to just a few reps for your 3 minutes and 45 seconds of viewing hilarity. However, I left all 50 reps of the last exercise because my arms are so whipped you would think that 25-pound bar weighed 250 pounds. It was pretty pathetic but I really wanted my free FF T-shirt.

I’m inserting a terrible editing and too much jumping disclaimer here – I’m keeping it real Internet folks – view at your own risk.

Leg Torture #15 from Runner Susan on Vimeo.

I know I’m supposed to be tired at this point of the marathon training, Internet People, but yesterday and today I’ve felt more like death wrapped in a tortilla than just tired. I know I’m not over-training; everything is going just as planned and I’m doing so well (even considering I’m currently running at snail speed, which is only temporary and I’m going to run like a demon on race day, I’m sure.) I feel stronger than I’ve ever felt and I’ve trained harder for this marathon than any other, and if things go as planned I’m fairly certain I’ll do well.

I’m not sure if the hurricane winds have brought something through or not, but my sinuses feel like they might explode if I tilt my head the wrong way. I’m going to try and do my 18-mile run on Tuesday, back to sprint work on Thursday and then I’m running a 20k on Sunday.

I did try and run my 18-miles today, but about 15 minutes into the run Massoman turned to me and told me I should go home because I wasn’t doing myself any good. He was right. I turned around walked back to my car, sorted my recycling and drove home and went back to bed.  (I was parked by the recycling station and my stupid town does not recycle)

Three more long runs before I taper – and I do love the taper.

Update: Even though I’m tired, this made me laugh. From my sister’s blog, and it’s hysterical:

I know you all are going to be heartbroken because we don’t have any alien video footage this week. Instead, we opted for the good old-fashioned camera. Although, I really need to have a talk with the sun gods to see if we can get a little light at 5 AM. Once again, there’s plenty of junk in my trunk – get over it and move on.

This morning I ran 15 200s with 100m walk recovery. My goal was to not go too fast and keep them all around 50 seconds or less, per Ewen’s guidance. I did pretty good keeping with that, but I really feel like I could put a little more umph into it and go faster. The shorter recovery did make it a little harder towards the end. I am loving this workout! Click on a picture to enlarge it.

#1 – 44      #8 – 47
#2 – 45      #9 – 52
#3 – 49      #10 – 49
#4 – 48      #11 – 49
#5 – 48      #12 – 55 ?
#6 – 47      #13 – 50
#7 – 50      #14 – 49
#15 – 49

These past few days I’ve gotten tons of workouts in; mostly thanks to my friend Marta. We ran 20, ran 5, and did a leg torture! So today, I give you Leg Torture #14 in honor of my friend Marta, who is heading back to Ohio! Safe travels Marta.

Leg Torture #14 from Runner Susan on Vimeo.