Chicago Marathon - Virtual YOW

BACKGROUND 

As many of you know by now, I was NOT supposed to be running a marathon this year, or next year, or for "a few" years.  I had intended to make my focus sprint and eventually standard distance Xterra triathlons and focus on trail running and mountain biking, with the occasional 10k road race thrown in for good measure.

Then COVID struck and Imerman Angels (like many non-profits) found themselves in a bit of a bind.  A significant amount of Imerman Angels' funding comes from events, specifically, the Chicago marathon is a MAJOR fundraiser for Imerman Angels and allow us to continue our mission of helping to ensure that no one has to face cancer alone.

By May, it had become clear that many races were going to look very different, IF they were even able to be held.  Imerman Angels launched a campaign called #We'reAllImerman and as the Ottawa Ambassador, of course I was a part of it.

That got me thinking, how else could I help, and I already KNEW the answer, I was going to sign up to fundraise and run the Chicago marathon as part of Team Imerman Angels, even though we had no idea if the race would take place. Most of you know that part of that fundraising involved me running (and cycling a portion) from Ottawa to Chicago, joined by my buddy Erik who cycled from Chicago to Ottawa and back from Ottawa to Chicago, joined a week later by our friend Julie, who walke, hiked and ran from Ottawa to Chicago.

By the time October came around, we knew that the Chicago marathon had been cancelled and that it would be impossible for me to get to Chicago in person to run with any of the Team Imerman Angels athletes as part of their virtual races and/or runs. BUT, we did know that as Team Imerman Angels athletes #WeStillRun, #SoThatNoOneFacescancerAlone

What we didn't realize, was that Ottawa would be experiencing an increase in COVID cases and public health officials would be recommending that we avoid contact with individuals outside those we live with or our immediate family.  Which meant, this would be a SOLO marathon attempt.

I had been preparing for this mentally for a couple of months, just in case, but hoping that the dozen or so folks who had offered to run all or part of the marathon with me WOULD be able to join me, so it was disappointing, but not totally unexpected.

RACE DAY:

By the numbers:

The highlighted rows are where I stopped by the house for a bio break, refueling and change of clothes.

The alarm went off at 5:00 am normal race prep checklist kicked in, oatmeal, banana, bagel w/PB and some water as pre-race nutrition.

"Flat Brent" had been prepped the night before so that I didn't forget any critical pieces of clothing

and I took the time to prep a table with my race hydration/nutrition and several pieces of clothing as optional layer changes in case the day warmed up.

At 7:00 a.m. with a local temp of 1C (33.8F), I walked over to the start line and "got things started"!

The advice from my coach was that the first 1/2 should feel SLOW and controlled, I was chomping at the bit, but I kept my eye on the watch and made sure I hovered around the goal pace.  I was feeling pretty good on that first loop ~12.4k.

Made it back to the house for the first refuel and bio break and changed out of a run cap to an ear warmer and swapped to lighter gloves.

Loop two was almost identical to loop 1, minus a small detour to make it ~10k, the best part of this loop was my buddy Tracy who drove in from Carp (the other end of town) to cheer me on, right before I had to climb the biggest hill of this loop, he even brought along his new puppy for extra motivation.  I definitely had a little more pep in my step up that hill (check km 20 in the chart above, uphill at the same pace = pep).

I got to see Tracy (from a distance) again at my house as I stopped for my second refuel, clothing swap and bio break and had a quick chat before heading out on loop 3.  Our two visits were short, but they provided just enough energy to keep my brain focused on the whole point of the day and I joked with Tracy, that I might never be able to return to a "normal marathon" after getting these great breaks between loops, flush toilets are a luxury not available on your typical marathon course :-)

I was onto 5k loops at this point, planned this was as I knew the second half would likely be more challenging mentally and stopping by the house for a word of encouragement from Sonia or a quick visit from my dog Molly, might just be what I needed to keep me moving, I got both when I came back from my first 5k loop and the timing was perfect as Sonia was heading out to pick up my daughter so that she could finish the marathon with me.

Another 5k loop and my first walk break, up a short steepish hill, normally this would have been a dark spot, not being able to run the whole marathon, but it was a perfect day in terms of weather and I had no goal time in mind, so I just started running again as soon as I got up the hill and kept thinking about sharing the finish line with my daughter.

When I got back after this loop, my daughter greeted me at the door and asked if I wanted her to keep me company for the last 2 loops, I decided to stick to the plan and run this one solo (prolly should have taken her up on the offer, the legs were getting cranky and I could have used the distraction), fortunately, as soon as I turned the corner off my street, my friend Sandy and her husband Grant, pulled up honking their car horn, ringing a cowbell and shouting out some words of encouragement.  I felt a surge of energy and you can see that translated to at least 1 km at a bit faster pace (lap 35).

Coming home for the last refuel stop, felt pretty awesome for a few reasons, I knew I would be running the last loop with my daughter, I knew we were only ~4k from the finish and I knew we would be having Deep Dish pizza after the race :-)

My daughter was FANTASTIC at keeping me distracted and very understanding of all the walk breaks I needed, I loved every step, even if my legs and hip flexors did not.

My wife Sonia surprised us with some fantastic road chalk signs on the final stretch

And she did a much better job with the FINISH line than I did with the START line

She also managed to capture a great picture of my daughter and bringing it in

Molly decided SHE needed to cross the finish line with me

and join my IA finish pose too

and then decided that I needed to strike up some yoga poses to stretch things out

Which made for a colourful afternoon for her

A word of thanks to my friend Julie for printing out the official Chicago Marathon break tape for me

This was my 13th marathon and Garmin FINALLY decided that I had EARNED the marathon badge, must be because they hear #WeStillRun

It was a fantastic day for running, it was probably the BEST marathon day I have ever had mentally, it was also one of my toughest days physically, there were times when the legs just didn't want to or couldn't move any faster, or needed to walk, but I walked when I needed and got back running as soon as I could without letting that impact how great a day it was and THAT is a VICTORY for me!

I LOVE that the Chicago Marathon always falls on Thanksgiving weekend, it helps to amplify my gratitude to friends and family for their continued support, words of encouragement and understanding.

I am extremely grateful to everyone who was able to make a donation to help us ensure that no one has to face cancer alone, running would not have the same meaning for me without this mission and you make it possible!

A word of thanks to Sunday Run Club for all the training runs, coffee chats and banter that helps make the hours and kms of training pass so quickly, I truly value your friendship!

A special shout out to Erik and Julie for always being willing to follow me into whatever wacky adventure/challenge I come up with and doing so with passion and smiles!

And of course to Sonia for her never ending support and Riana for getting me across that finish line BIG LOVE to you both!!

And as one of my run club friends noted, this LIKELY is NOT my last marathon, i'll save that for when the legs refuse to go, or we find a cure for cancer, until then, #WeStillRun #SoNoOneFacescancerAlone.