Chicago Marathon!

I did it! My legs are still ridiculously sore, and I look like a gimpy giraffe when I am forced to walk down stairs, but the bottom line is I finished my first marathon. My original goal time was 4 hours. The week leading up to the race, however, I was pretty sick, spent lots of time sleeping, and lost about 5 pounds, so I adjusted my goal to simply finishing. Also, race day was pretty warm, and since the organizers think 8 am is a more reasonable start time than 7 am (hint, it isn't. pleeease start the race earlier!), you end up running in the hot sun for the toughest part of the race. Anyway, I slowed my pace to compensate for how freaking hot I was and ended up finishing in 4 hours, 30 minutes. I am really excited to be finished, and I will definitely train for another marathon soon. I would really love to accomplish my 4 hour goal! Many thanks go out to my friends who came and cheered me on, to my mom who flew out to Chicago just for the race, and to my sister (an Ironman triathlete) who gave me fantastic training tips. If you are thinking about running a marathon, I highly recommend it, and I wish you the best of luck! Thanks out there for all of the support leading up to the race!!!