The 2008 Chicago Marathon

Well, I finished my first marathon and it was everything I imagined it to be… pure hell. I started training in February and was making great progress until 5 weeks before the marathon I injured my knee. I couldn’t run more than 2 miles for the next 4 weeks. I was so discouraged and thought I was going to have to wait until next year. However, last weekend I bought a knee brace, just to see if it would help at all, and miraculously I felt no pain whatsoever and ran 9 miles. I was so excited, but also was pissed that I missed 4 weeks of long runs when all I needed was a $10 knee brace.

So yesterday was the race and a big group of us were doing it… my dad, brother, 2 uncles, 3 aunts, and a few friends. My brother Ryan (www.rybread.com) of course killed us all, but still didn’t have the race he was hoping for. As for me, I felt great the first half and was running with the 3:15 group. However, once I hit mile 15, my legs started cramping up like I have never felt before. The next 11 miles were pure agony and I limped my way to the finish. The second half took me twice as long as the first. All in all, I am glad I finished, but I know I’ll definitely be hungry to do another one next year. I’ll post pictures soon…