{"id":511,"date":"2013-10-24T03:46:02","date_gmt":"2013-10-24T03:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/?p=511"},"modified":"2013-10-24T03:46:02","modified_gmt":"2013-10-24T03:46:02","slug":"go-forth-and-conquer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/?p=511","title":{"rendered":"Go Forth and Conquer"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been in a funk for about a week.\u00a0 Considering that I ran the Chicago Marathon a little over a week ago, this is not at all surprising.\u00a0 Yet again, I have a case of the post race blues. \u00a0The only surprising part is that this funk has lasted longer than usual. \u00a0Which is why I have been Silent Runner Girl.\u00a0 Now I\u2019m ready to ramble.<\/p>\n

Last weekend was an unforgettable experience.\u00a0 I got to spend the weekend in my favorite city with my best friend in the whole word and run a marathon.\u00a0 Trifecta!<\/p>\n

Friday night, before I left town, Shane and I went to dinner and bowling in the loop to keep me from pacing at home in anticipation of such an epic event.\u00a0 Saturday morning, I was up before my alarm (which I assure you never ever happens!) and stopped to pick up Cole and his girlfriend Susannah before heading up 55 North to the Windy City.<\/p>\n

We went straight to McCormick Place where the Chicago Marathon expo is held every October.\u00a0 Cole and Susannah went on in while I waited at the entrance for Britta.\u00a0 I wanted to experience every moment of her first marathon with her. \u00a0While I waited, I felt my eyes welling up with tears.\u00a0 I was waiting for my best friend, who I hadn\u2019t seen in a year and a half.\u00a0 While many things about my life have changed in that time, she has remained constant.\u00a0 She knows me better than anyone and has wholeheartedly accepted me as I am.\u00a0 Flaws and all.<\/p>\n

Just as the tears were about to spill, I was distracted.\u00a0 Suddenly a different someone was standing in front of me in disbelief. If you\u2019ve been following my posts from the beginning, you may remember my friend Douang who was a customer that I fit for shoes back in the spring.\u00a0 She had lost a child and was about to run her first half marathon.\u00a0 Running was the thing that gave her a reason to get out of bed in the morning during that period of horrific grief that swept over her life.\u00a0 And I was shocked to see her standing in front of me in Chicago, telling me that she was about to run her first marathon, in place of her husband who couldn\u2019t use his bib.\u00a0 What\u2019s even more unreal is that she spotted me in all that chaos.\u00a0 If that isn\u2019t good race mojo, I just don\u2019t know what is.<\/p>\n

Then, the crowd parted.\u00a0 And there was Britta walking towards us.\u00a0 Finally!\u00a0 We made our way into the Expo where we gathered our bibs and race shirts and other goodies.\u00a0 After the expo, we took a little break at our room at the Palmer House Hilton.\u00a0 Yeah, we stayed in style.<\/p>\n

Eventually, we pulled ourselves together and went to dinner.\u00a0 Most people carb load before an event like a marathon.\u00a0 But B and I have a favorite place in Chicago (actually we have a few favorites) so we went to Wildfire for steak and ribs.\u00a0 Hey, we had potatoes too.<\/p>\n

\"Dinner<\/a>

Dinner at Wildfire<\/p><\/div>\n

After dinner we leisurely wandered back to the hotel by way of State Street.\u00a0 We were both just enjoying being in our city.\u00a0 We came across a big Captain Morgan\u2019s sign that simply read, \u201cGo Forth and Conquer\u201d.\u00a0 That\u2019s exactly what we had come to do.<\/p>\n

When we got back to the hotel, we laid out race clothes, gathered necessary items, organized our gear, and talked logistics.\u00a0 All lot of those logistics went out the window, as is usually the case since race morning arrives and you ultimately don\u2019t really care about anything other than making sure you get to the start line on time.<\/p>\n

Hind sight being what it is we probably should have left earlier than we did to get to the corrals, but we made it.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t quite accomplish everything we wanted to that morning, but we had a planned meeting place and took our \u201cselfie\u201d by Buckingham Fountain (the important things) \u00a0seconds before I jumped ship and ran off to Corral C.\u00a0 Britta had insisted that we each had to run our own race.\u00a0 She thought if we ran together we would spend the whole time talking and not doing what we came to do.\u00a0 She had a point, so I stuck with Corral C, while Britta started about 30 minutes later in Corral E.<\/p>\n

\"Our<\/a>

Our Pre-Marathon selfie<\/p><\/div>\n

My plan was just to run hard and enjoy the day.\u00a0 I intentionally held back at the start, trying to reign in the adrenaline coursing through me.\u00a0 Almost immediately I spotted Brian and Katie up ahead of me.\u00a0 I caught up to them to say a quick good luck and then we each went on about our own races.<\/p>\n

I ran near my old office that over-looked Michigan Ave.\u00a0 I ran past the only spot I have ever seen my dad during any of my marathons.\u00a0 I ran by Lincoln Park Zoo, so many memories there.\u00a0 I ran past the hospital where 2 of my kids were born.\u00a0 I ran past Surf St. where I lived in my favorite apartment before I got married.\u00a0 I ran past Britta\u2019s old building that I used to walk to from my apartment on Surf.\u00a0 I ran down Addison, but turned left on Broadway before we got to Wrigley Field.\u00a0 I ran past Wrightwood and Deming, streets that would lead to tiny Lill Ave where there is a little yellow house that I brought both of my boys home from the hospital to.\u00a0 I blew a kiss in that direction.\u00a0 And I ran on.<\/p>\n

I looked for various friends at the locations they mentioned they would be.\u00a0 The only one I saw during the race was Jennifer.\u00a0 On Wells, somewhere near Chicago Ave, I saw her standing on the sidewalk holding her little girl Kalene.\u00a0 I gave her a quick hug and threw my arm warmers at her.\u00a0 Unfortunately, I didn\u2019t have time to do what Jenn and I used to do together in our earlier single days which was sit in coffee shops discussing our favorite books.\u00a0 Jenn is the one who got me started on Pat Conroy.\u00a0 I ran on.<\/p>\n

We headed back through the downtown area and then went west.\u00a0 The middle of the marathon is always a bit of a blur to me.\u00a0 Part of that is being \u201cin the zone\u201d but in Chicago it\u2019s the more unfamiliar neighborhoods.\u00a0 In the distance, recognizable buildings stand tall, reminding me of where I am.\u00a0 And the running continues\u2026<\/p>\n

Then on to the south side, through China town and then a turn just before Comisky (they can change the name to US Cellular Field, and try to give it a cool nickname like \u201cThe Cell\u201d, but it will still always be Comisky to most Chicagoans) Eventually the course goes north, up Michigan Avenue, with the skyline beaconing all the runners back to Grant Park.\u00a0 Somehow the designers of the course found the only hill in Chicago and stuck it in right at 26.1.\u00a0 Right before we coast those last couple hundred meters into the finish.<\/p>\n

And then, marathon #9 was done.\u00a0 Not a PR, but just a couple minutes off.\u00a0 My second fastest, run on a beautiful day in a beautiful city.\u00a0 I got my mylar wrap, my medal, my snacks, and my free beer while I chatted with my friend Stephanie who finished at the same time. Then I laid on the grass and waited for Britta in our designated spot.\u00a0 I waited longer than I had expected so I figured out something had gone wrong.\u00a0 Turns out she was right on pace until she stepped in a pothole at about Mile 14, which twisted her ankle and tweaked her knee.\u00a0 She ended up having to walk a fair amount of the back half.\u00a0 But she still had a great first marathon time.<\/p>\n

Initially upon seeing me, she said how much it sucked and she was never doing that again.\u00a0 It only took a couple hours when we were back in the hotel before she had reconsidered.\u00a0 She can\u2019t let that be her one and only marathon experience, always knowing that she could do better.\u00a0 I KNEW IT!<\/p>\n

After we cleaned up, rested a bit and repacked our stuff, we ventured back out into the streets of the city we love so much.\u00a0 We hit Garrett\u2019s for some popcorn, for the kids, of course.\u00a0 And then some Chicago style pizza.\u00a0 Then, sadly, it was time for B to head to the airport.\u00a0 I drove her to Midway, we hugged goodbye.\u00a0 And then, it was over.\u00a0 Our marathon weekend that we had planned and looked forward to for months was now behind us.<\/p>\n

And that was the Chicago Marathon 2013.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s funny how we build things up in our minds.\u00a0 The marathon, just like life, is really a series of small things that make up something bigger.\u00a0 We move from one thing to the next, thinking that the big thing we are working toward is going to be the pinnacle.\u00a0 But eventually we realize that even after those moments that we have been building up to have passed, life still just keeps on going, one more step at a time.\u00a0 Feeling joy and pain all at the same time.<\/p>\n

The past week and a half since Chicago, my life has seemed somewhat messy.\u00a0 My schedule was chaotic, I had a sick kid, I missed out on some things I wanted to do, I started going down a road leading to a major pity party.\u00a0 On Saturday night after I got the kids to bed, I pulled up a movie from my DVR to help end the funk.\u00a0 Prince of Tides.\u00a0 Good old Pat Conroy, a favorite, all thanks to Jenn.\u00a0 It\u2019s been several years since she gave me a copy of that book for my birthday one year, but it\u2019s still a fave.\u00a0 The thing I love about it is that I can see myself in each of the characters.\u00a0 Each of their messy lives somehow relates to mine.\u00a0 Because that\u2019s life, it\u2019s messy.<\/p>\n

Yesterday my friend Jodi found out that her divorce was final.\u00a0 We were talking about the huge variety of emotions that comes with that news.\u00a0 I reassured her that it\u2019s ok to bounce around all over the place from scared to liberated, from sad to angry to terrified.\u00a0 Individual moments that make up something bigger.\u00a0 The important part is to feel it all.\u00a0 Her response was, \u201cYeah I guess that\u2019s the only way to live, feel it all\u201d.<\/p>\n

At some point over the past week, I was texting a friend and I was trying to say \u201cI\u2019m a tough one\u201d but my phone interjected some other suggested words.\u00a0 It wanted me to say \u201cI am a\u2026complete beautiful prize\u201d.\u00a0 Even in my mess, even when I don\u2019t parent perfectly, even when I\u2019m in a funk, even when I miss a PR by just a couple minutes, my life is still a series of small things, some good, some not so good, but I\u2019m going to feel it all.\u00a0 Ultimately, yeah, it is the series of small things that make up my messy life, and it is my ability to “Go forth and Conquer”\u00a0that makes me a complete beautiful prize.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been in a funk for about a week.\u00a0 Considering that I ran the Chicago Marathon a little over a week ago, this is not at all surprising.\u00a0 Yet again, I have a case of the post race blues. \u00a0The only surprising part is that this funk has lasted longer than usual. \u00a0Which is why […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","hentry","category-randomthoughts","post_format-post-format-aside"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4eO4v-8f","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=511"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":515,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511\/revisions\/515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}