MARATHON THOUGHTS

It's been 5 days since the Chicago Marathon. Alot of people going back over the events of the day and second guessing. One question or thought that I haven't heard is --- Are these races getting too many runner's? What would have happened on Sunday if the other 10,000 would have shown up?

Sunday's marathon had the best elite finish that I have ever seen. That includes men and women. The times were not world record breaking but the guts and strength were world class. After they finished, TV coverage ended. The next big story of the race was about to begin.

Runner after runner took more than the normal amount of water and Gatorade. There was no way for the volunteers to keep up. Heat exhaustion began setting in. Some out there ran as a whim. Others because they had no respect for the distance and anyone can do it. Others who were truely trained and ready to take on the course.

At about 3.5 hours after the start, heat exhaustion set in for many. There was not much room for the air to move around with all the tall buildings. Many stopped and sat on the curbs. Some sought medical help. Other staggered along, while some runners were running their race the best the could to get to the finish line. Ambulances were called in from all the suburbs that could spare them. One medical tent with 8 nurses saw over 1,000 runners. One nurse alone started 50 IV's. The city was heading for a crisis if many more went down. The race was shutdown. To my friend out there, it became like a war zone. The helicopters were flying overhead. The ambulances were trying to get in from every direction. Runners were laying in the gutters. How much more could the medical community handle?

My friend was turned around at mile 18. There was no reason given and the first thought the way that things looked was that there was a terrorist attack. Eventually they found out what was going on. The Red Cross set up a help line for families to find missing runners- there were over 300 in different hospitals.I could continue with other stories that have nothing to do with the lack of water.

When I volunteered at IM Louisville, the temperature was higher. I think the difference was that the athletes were better trained for the event and there were fewer athletes (2000).

My question still is are these races too big?? What is a safe limit of runners out there if something begins to go wrong.?

Waddling and pondering.......................

NUTRITION NIGHT

TEAM WEIGHT LOSS
Tonight we met with a nutrition coach(Coach B). We received log books and a workout binder for 12 weeks. Because of the time spent with coach B , we had no time for a workout. I did get alot of information and a goal.

Chicago Marathon Update- My friend received an email which list several upcoming marathons who will give Chicago runners a discount because of the race shutdown. They also promise have water and gatorade.

Waddling to jot in some caolries..............

Monday...

Team Weight Loss -2A
Tonight was a weigh in, flexibility test and caliper measurements. That took the first 30 min. Then we went to a treadmill workout with incline intervals up to an 8 with 5 lb barbells. We must constantly watch our HR not to go out of zone 3. I am not sure currently where my zones are at so I am scheduled for a MAP test at the gym on Friday. On Weds., we are meeting with the sports nutritionist to get logs. I have lost 2.5 lbs. so far!

Marathon Update-
What a chaotic mess. My friend DeeDee did not get to finsh just like 10,000 others. She did not have any heat related problems. Luckily she had money to buy something to drink at a Shell gas station otherwise she sould have had problems due to the lack of water and gatorade. Officals deny this existed but there was nothing there for the back runners. It will be interesting to see if this has any bearing on Chicago's bid for the Olympics.

Waddling.........

GLANCING BACK

This morning when I got up, I immediately flipped on the TV. Today is the Chicago Marathon. It's 7am and the temperature is already 70 degrees. I remember back to 2003 when I watched this and made my mind up to run it in 2004. I wanted to be part of the thousands of runners at the start and feel the excitement for myself. There was no doubt in my mind that I could be one of those out there.

I got up and headed out the door for a 4 mile run. One mile for every year since then. One mile to glance back to where I have come from.

Mile 1 (2003) After 15 years of not running, I began to run again. I was up to 3 miles. I completed my first 5 K race and was thrilled with 34:50. I made up my mind to run the Chicago Marathon in 2004. In 1988 while training for the Columbus marathon, I injured my knee on my last 20 mile run. It was important to me to finally take a shot at the marathon distance.

Mile 2 ( 2004) My sights for focused on the marathon. I began the season with a 10k in May. That day when I finished the race, I officially signed up for Chicago. I started increasing my mileage. I used Marathoning for Mortals by John Bingham as my guide. In August, I ran the Chicago Distance Classic Half Marathon. Then in October completed my first marathon. I was on top of the world.

Mile 3 (2005) I made the decision to sign up for Chicago again. I did my half earlier in May at Indy. My friend DeeDee also had signed up for Chicago. My training was right on track. This year I leaned toward Jeff Galloway training. In September , I ran a PR at the USAF half marathon. When October came, I lined up for my 2nd time in Chicago. Unfortunately at mile 22 my knee began hurting so bad that I walked the last 4.2 miles.

Mile 4 (2006) After recovering for my ITB injury in my right knee, I began spin class. There I met Mary who introduced me to the world of biking. I loved it and bought my first road bike. I decided no marathon this year. Because I can't swim, I decided to do some duathlons and half marathins this year. I really enjoyed doing the 2 sports.

Cooling off (2007) A quick glance at this year started with siging up for the Flying Pig Marathon. I had no desire to run Chicago again. After the marathon, my focus was truely the duathlon. I enjoyed every race that I did. A highlight also was going to Louisville and volunteering at Ironman. How inspiring. That's when my goals for 2008 began popping in my head. I needed to learn how to swim as soon as possible. Because I knew that 2008's big goal would be a half Ironman.

In all of this, I realized how lucky I am to be able to dream something and do it. I hope I can continue and always have the faith to go on.

Waddling to the future..............