Doubling Up Again

Seven years ago I did what any crazy-runner-person would do: I signed up for two marathons within one month of each other. And this year, I am doing just that again. Except this time, there is only three weeks in between races, and it wasn't planned insanity. But I'll get to that in a bit.

I had done my first marathon in 2004 in Chicago and that changed my life forever. The first one always does. It's addictive and leaves you wanting more. Especially for a competitive goal-oriented person like myself. I signed up for the New York City Marathon in 2005 but my Ulcerative Colitis didn't cooperate with my body and I had to defer my acceptance to the following year. I was devastated but that's life. In 2006 I was ready to take it on again and that I did. New York was amazing. I loved every second of it and had beat my Chicago time. I had now done two of the major marathons and loved them both. So what was a girl to do the next year? Duh, sign up for both! I was registered for the Chicago Marathon which was October 7, 2007 and then the New York City Marathon November 4, 2007. I knew it was an insane challenge to take on, but I was psyched. I had running buddies by my side which made training a lot easier and also the fact that I would be challenging my body in a way I had never done before. And of course, this excited me.

Unfortunately Chicago didn't turn out how I (or anyone) wanted it to. It was one of the hottest and most humid fall marathons ever. Race organizers had warned participants of the heat and to take proper pre-race precautions. Many runners decided not to run, while others like myself and my friends decided we would go for it. We had trained for 18 weeks for this race and wanted it badly. From the get go, it was brutal. I remember seeing spots by eight miles and knew it wasn't going to be "my" race. I just wanted to finish at this point.

Throughout the race, people were dropping left and right. Ambulances and the sound of sirens were everywhere. It was seriously like a war zone. It was surreal. And awful. They ran out of Gatorade and water because people were taking more than expected, and rightfully so. There came a point where race organizers "cancelled" the race. If you hadn't passed the halfway point at that time, you were re-routed to the finish line but couldn't run the entire course. If you had passed that point, which my friends and I had, you had to walk the rest of the way. They literally yelled at you if you ran. We were at mile 18 at that point and the walking was welcome. With little to no hydration available, it just wasn't safe. After seeing my parents earlier at like mile 12 and looking miserable, we were about to see them again at mile 20 where my mom was going to hop in with us. As soon as I saw her, I immediately burst into a hysterical sobbing mess. (Shocking right?!?!)  It was at the point that I realized how hard I had worked for this race to just not happen the way I wanted it too. Luckily my dad had run into a CVS and bought us water and Gatorade to have which was awesome. My mom still hopped in with us and walked with us (as we all cried on and off the whole time) to the finish line. We actually ran the last half mile because even though time wasn't an issue at this point, we still wanted to run across that finish line. And also, we wanted to finish under 6 hours; an entire hour and fifteen minutes off of our goal. Ugh. Devastating. But, we finished! We crossed that finish line with smiles and sobs at the same time. It was a relief to have finished when so many others didn't. One man even lost his life. It was just a horrible situation. On the bright side though, since we didn't get what we wanted out of this race, we still had NYC four weeks later to conquer.

After taking some time to rest and recover from one race of 26.2 miles, I had to shift focus to New York. I had to do well at this race after the debacle of Chicago. I had four weeks to keep myself in peak marathon shape without overdoing it. I had to put Chicago behind me and just run NYC. And that I did. It wasn't a great time, but I completed my goal of finishing in under five hours for that race. My body was tired. My mind was tired. It was tough, but I did it.

The marathons of 2007 (#3 and #4) were not my finest, but 26.2 miles was covered both times and finish lines were crossed. That's still quite an accomplishment if I do say so. And now I am ready to tackle #8 and #9!!

So anyway, once again I am doing two marathons in a short time period again. Like I stated earlier, I hadn't planned it this way. I signed up for Chicago and only Chicago. I want to go back to my hometown race and dominate it. I want to take back this race that crushed me physically and emotionally last time.  I have my eye on the prize for a PR and I want it so bad. So bad. And then an opportunity arose this past week to run New York City as well. From the connections I made at Camp Oasis meeting many doctors and nurses who work at the Mt. Sinai IBD Kids Center, I was made an offer to run on their charity team. I felt like it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up for two reasons. 1) I am continuing to give back to the IBD community (and raise money  (DONATE HERE!) AND awareness) which was a big goal of mine this year 2) Run New York City for FUN. Yes fun! If I can PR in Chicago as planned, then I can run New York with one goal on my mind: Enjoyment. And hopefully zero stress. It's one of best races in the world (along with Chicago) and I always put so much pressure on myself that I don't enjoy it as much as I should. Sure, I love every second of it and the amazing crowds, but now I can really soak it in. This excites me. And if for some awful, terrible, horrendous reason that I don't PR in Chicago (which won't happen!!!), I will have a second chance to redeem myself with New York.

With all this happening, I do have some mixed feelings. I hope my body cooperates up until both races and continues to do what it's been doing. This makes me nervous from time to time with my Colitis and with overuse and aging. I am so grateful for all it's been able to do so far so am just going to assume it keeps doing it's thang. Additionally, I was looking forward to finally relaxing after Oct 12 and giving myself a much needed physical and mental break. And getting back the little social life that I have. I guess that will just have to wait until I cross that finish line Nov 2. Until then, I will continue on my grind and do what I have to do to make my goals a reality. I want a Chicago PR so freaking bad I can taste it and now with the hopes of having New York as a more "fun run for an amazing cause" this just ups the ante. But I'm game and I can taste the success that's coming my way. My hard work WILL pay off. I can feel it. Positive vibes folks, keep 'em coming.