2008 Chicago Marathon Race Report

I signed up for the marathon this year with the thought, “I might as well do it this year since the chances are so slim that it could possibly be as hot as it was during last year’s race”. With Chicago being a candidate city for the Olympics in 2016, I knew they really needed to fix the mistakes that they made during last years race. I am very happy to report that yes, there was plenty of water, Gatorade, wet sponges and cooling water misters. I wish I could report that it wasn’t as hot but I’ve read various reports that it soared to 86 and 84. Luckily, we were blessed with low humidity.

I have been nursing a right hip flexor injury for about 4 weeks. Unfortunately, the only way to let this injury heal is with rest, which is impossible to do with the amount of running we had to do in order to train. I knew going into the race that it was going to be a painful one for me, but I didn’t train for 18 weeks to hang up my shoes without stepping up to the start line.

When we stepped off at the start at 8am, it was already 65 but with lower humidity. I wasn’t so much worried about the weather as I was about my hip flexor. There was a bridge at Mile 2 and as soon as we ran up the bridge, I could feel my hip flexor starting to say Hello. By Mile 4 or 5 it went away and I felt great. The crowds were amazing during the entire race, but they were especially amazing on the near north side of the Gold Coast, Lincoln Park and in Boystown. Man I love those dancing queens!!! I ran with a friend until about Mile 9. At that time she needed to slow her pace as she was nursing a back injury that was bothering her. I found one of my best friends, Chanthana, running a little ahead of me and I sped up to meet her. Around Mile 9, I noticed that now both of my hip flexors were hurting. I sort of laughed at the fact that here I was worried about the right one and the left one came out of no where to surprise me. Go figure. Chanthana and I continued to run together until about Mile 17. Somewhere between Mile 10 and 15 my left knee was now killing me. I had a sharp pain that went down the outside of my hip to my knee. At this point, I took some Ibuprofen at an Aid station. I noticed that when I stopped to get water and Gatorade, it was very difficult to start running again. My body was now hurting in all sorts of places and running was clearly the last thing it wanted to do! It literally took a good half mile to find a good groove; a nice painful groove, at that. Around Mile 18 I ran past a bank that had a digital sign and the temperature read 86 degrees. It was certainly warmer out at that point, but it didn’t feel like it was 86 degrees. I had to make one pit stop at a porta potty around this mark but kept going afterwards.

Around Mile 22 I was amazed at the crowd support. I tried to focus on the people around me and their smiles and cheers and not think about the pain in my body. They had already raised the running conditions to “Red Alert” and they had announcers telling us to slow down and drink more water. At one point I started saying “I feel good, I feel good, I feel good” out loud. I knew if I could just stay positive, I’d get through these last few miles. I laughed when a guy who was running by me turned to me and said, “You look good, too!” I didn’t know my mantra was loud enough that my neighbors could hear me. Ha! He and I made some small talk until the next aid station. At that point, I popped a few more Ibuprofen and I also took an Imodium AD to prevent the gastrointestinal issues I always have post-race.

I was really hoping to run my race in under 4 hours. I looked at my watch at mile 24 and I was already at a time of 3:45. Even though I felt like I was running 8:30 minute miles, my watch told me I was over 9’s. That’s how I knew it was even hotter as I couldn’t seem to run any faster than 9’s. I quickly did the math and realized that there was no way I would be able to finish in under 4 hours. So what was my next goal? It was to beat my last marathon time. This was still possible so I just kept my head down and kept moving one foot after another. I envisioned myself crossing at 4:03. The sun was blazing on my back and I could have moved over to the right side of the street that was somewhat shaded but I couldn’t even think about making the effort to do that. I just had to keep moving my feet and finish. I thought about my husband who was waiting at the finish line, and the fact that my training was over now and I could relax post-season and eat a lot of chocolate and drink a lot of wine. I just pictured all sorts of things that made me happy. J

I crossed the finish line in 4:07, beating my last time of 4:09 by a mere two minutes. At first I was very disappointed with this time, but seeing all of the people in wheelchairs and in the medical tent, I realized that I should be happy to have a PR (Personal Record) in these conditions.

My “marathon moment” was at the finish line. I was making my way to get my medal and I passed a woman who was soaking wet, crying and looked a little lost as she was walking against “traffic”. I reached out and said, “You did it! You finished!!” and she just took my hand, squeezed it and quietly sobbed. We walked to get our medals hand in hand without saying a word. I think she just needed a little support at that very emotional moment and I was happy I was there for her. We went our separate ways without saying anything but just smiled at each other. I knew the 18 weeks of training and a grueling race was worth it at that very moment.

I was very happy to reunite with my husband and my in-laws at the finish for a nice cold beer. Even though my mother-in-law is still recovering from knee surgery, she and I limped together a mile or so to their car.

Then the real fun began!

I took a few more Ibuprofen at the finish line. I didn’t realize that I basically took over 2000 mg’s of Ibuprofen between 6am and 12:30pm. Oops. That’s a bit too much. So I spent the entire afternoon and evening in my bed with severe cramping, dizziness, shivers and a fever. The only time I was able to move around was when I raced to the bathroom every 15 minutes not knowing which end was going to surprise me this time (sorry for drawing that picture). It was a horrible, horrible night. Brian noticed the bottle of Ibuprofen expired in 2003. Damn you, Costco, for making bottles impossible to finish!! Lucky for me, Brian’s best friend, Andy (who also ran the race that day) is an ER Nurse. He instructed me to drink lots of fluids and try to eat something. At 9am Monday, I finally ate some cereal and kept it down. Any runner can tell you the only way to help your muscles recover is to eat protein. Going the entire day after the marathon not eating a single thing is not going to help my recovery.

I’m still very sore, but I know the worst is over. I'll definitely lose another 2 toenails, bringing the grand total to 3 this season. Ahh, toenails are overrated!

Kudos to all of my friends who pushed through the hot and horrible conditions and finished the race!!! Thanks to everyone for your emails, calls and texts!! You are all amazing!

Happy Labor Day

Here's wishing everyone a Happy Labor Day weekend!

We're headed up to Michigan to celebrate with my husband's entire family....can't wait to make some memories!

Be safe and have fun!

It's been a while

Hello there, internets!! I know I've been horrible with posting lately, but what can I say? Summer is in full swing! We've been back and forth from our new place in Michigan every weekend since we closed and when we're not there, we're cramming everything we need to do into a 4 day week. On top of that, I'm in Week 8 of my 18 week training program for the Chicago Marathon....so any spare time is spent pounding the pavement. As I sit here now, my back is sticking to my leather chair as I just got in from a 7 miler. Have I mentioned how much I hate the humidity!?!

We're LOVING our place in Michigan. The lake is fantastic (very low boat traffic and it's super warm but still refreshing), the neighbors are fantastic and friendly and every Sunday we find ourselves bummed to head back to the concrete jungle of Chicago. To give you an idea of what life is like at the lake, I thought I'd map out what seems to be a typical weekend for us.

Friday:

We arrive around 5pm (which is really 6pm Michigan time). The first thing that happens when we pull is up is let Cooper go for a swim. It's so funny to see his face when he knows we're at the place with all of the water....he LOVES it and will swim for hours. After that, we open the windows, vacuum and do a quick dusting of the first floor. We take the covers off the boat and the jet ski's and crack a few beers. We say hello to other neighbors who have also just arrived.

We walk up to Melvilles, which is a restaurant about 75 yards away and enjoy some dinner. After dinner, it's a ride on the boat with the dog. Fridays I normally go to bed early as I have a long run the next morning and Brian walks over to the neighbors where everyone hangs out together in a nice screened in porch all night catching up after the work week.

Saturday:

I get up before everyone else to enjoy my long run. Last week it was 14 miles ~ this week it's 15 miles. I've found a few gorgeous back roads that are hilly and great for training. My neighbor has offered to show me 2 paved trails around the lakes - one is 12 miles and one is 17 miles. She saw me running on a main highway and I got a nice ass chewing for it. "Deanna! It's dangerous up there! I don't want to see you running on M40 anymore, you hear??" haha....everyone is so caring!! So different from Chicago!

I get back to the house 2 hours later to find Brian and our friends returning from a morning ride on the jet ski's and then we all enjoy a nice home cooked breakfast together. We all pitch in and clean up, do dishes and do some "chores" around the house. There is seaweed to be raked up around the dock, the gutters need to be cleaned, the gazebo needs sweeping, cobwebs need to be knocked down and almost everything needed to be power washed. After an hour or so of that, it's play time on the boat. We gather the toy of the day ~ either a tube, the water ski's, the knee board or the wake board ~ and head out to the water for a few hours. After some fun in the sun, it's back to the house for another home cooked meal of burgers or brats or hot dogs. We clean up again and then all chill out in the front of the house for a game of bocce, corn hole or volleyball. Last weekend we watched the dogs play with each other for a good hour...ha.

Dinner rolls around and we either grill out again or drive into town for a meal. The food was delicious at "Anchors Away", a restaurant we tried for the first time this weekend. We couldn't believe how good it was!!

After dinner, it's back on the boat for a night time boat cruise and to hopefully see the sun set. This past weekend we enjoyed fireworks for Venetian night. After the boat ride, we came back in to build a camp fire and make s'mores. Yum ~ I love s'mores.

Everyone crashes for a night of much needed shut eye and come Sunday morning, we do it all over again. Jet ski's, breakfast, work, boat, lunch, work, play, dinner, boat. You can see the theme here...a little work, a little play and repeat.

I'm telling you ~ it's the life. It's a life that Brian and I didn't think we'd enjoy SO much. Even our dog is bummed when pack up the house and shut it down to head back home.

So that's what I've been doing this summer. How about you??

The Douchiest Phone Message In History

I just HAD to share this video/voicemail with the readers out there. This is one of the funniest things I've heard in a long time.

And if Dmitri ever comes across this blog, dude, get a grip!!!!

Summer is in Full Swing!

Hello.

It's been a while, I know. But as I sit here with a head cold and a sore throat and procrastinate working, I'd thought I'd give ya an update.

To finish my last post, an old friend from Ohio reached out and found me online! She and I were bff's up until 3rd grade when she moved away to Arizona. It wasn't until she said via email that she lived in Casa Grande that it hit me. I vividly remember writing her letters (remember when we did that? We should to talk to someone about bringing that back!) addressed to "Casa Grande, AZ" and my imagination was filled with scenes out of an old western movie complete with horses drinking out of a water trough on a dusty road as I put those letters in the mailbox. She used to ~ and still does ~ do barrel racing. So Stacey has 2 kids and has been married for 10 years. We exchanged pictures and got caught up and are throwing around the idea of a reunion. Hey, I now have 2 newly reunited old pals that live in Arizona...why not go out for a visit?

What else? Brian and I have made an offer on a lake house in Michigan. There were 2 that we liked but of course we both liked different houses. I opted for the turn-key immaculate smaller house with a two story gorgeous deck and a brand new dock that comes with no toys.....Brian opted for the the bigger house that needs a lot of work, all walls are covered in dark wood paneling with a small deck and crappy dock, choppy layout but comes with LOTS of toys. I call it the "Polygamist House" because it currently sleeps 18 or 19 ~ the place is filled with twin beds and baby bassinets. We made an offer on the Polygamist House. I agreed because I have personally witnessed magic moving from Brian's brain to his hands when it comes to home renovation. The man is a visionary in that sense so if he tells me he can make it not only nicer than the other house, but better, then I'm on board.

We went out to Michigan a few weeks ago and Mike and Carolyn, the owners of the clean house, took us out on their boat and gave us a tour of the lake and the adjoining lakes. They are GREAT people and now I know why it's never a good idea for buyers to meet the sellers ~ because emotions are involved. They bought a bigger house on the same lake and they are waiting to move in until they sell their 1st house. Mike actually called Brian and said 'What's up, buddy? I gotta get my wife out of here! Let's make a deal!" He really needs to sell. Then the realtor called Brian the next day and said "I've got something to tell you. Mike wants to make YOU and offer. He dropped his price and is throwing in the brand new dock and the bar." Ain't that some shit?? Have you EVER heard of a seller making an offer to a buyer??? Crazy. Gosh we'd LOVE to help them out but we need to do what's best for us and our situation. Mike and Carolyn will still be on the same lake so I do look forward to hanging with them more. I hope they just want to hang with us if we don't buy their house!

In other news, I'm training for the Chicago Marathon again this year. Haven't run it since 2004 as I got into the sport of Triathlon for the summers of 2005 and 2006. Last year I took a break and used wedding planning as my excuse, but that's all it was. I just needed a break. Training is going well and we're already into Week 3. Brian's best friend and Best Man is also running it this year so he'll be making the trip here from Virginia so that'll be fun. Too bad he runs a lot fast than me. He'll finish in about 3:30. I'm hoping to beat my last time of 4:09 and run the race in under 4 hours.

Well I need to stop procrastinating and get to work. I'll try not be such a stranger here this summer!

Google Alerts are the best!

Do you all have Google alerts out there on yourselves? I do. I get Google alerts on some friends from High School, the Marines and many of my clients. How great do I look when my clients launch a new product and I call them up the same day and say "Hey, I heard about that new natural chicken sausage in Kroger!" Basically, it saves you the time of having to Google them. Google does it for you and if a new entry pops up across the net, you get the email informing you.

I received an email today with my name as the alert. I thought maybe my company removed my name from their website (I resigned a week ago), but this is what I found:

Google alert for http://www.zabasearch.com/.

Original Message:
Message Sent Monday, June 2, 2008 11:05 pm (Pacific Time)From: , , USArea Code: UnknownZip Code: Unknown
To: DEANNA S***R Deanna, I am looking for Deanna S***r that lived close toon Johnny Cake in Mayfield Ohio or around that area. I moved to AZ when I was in 3rd grade. Just wondering how you are. Please contact me.
Email the person who wrote this Respond to this message Leave a new message Email this message

So of course I replied back but the person doesn't say who they are. The only friend I can remember that moved away was Casey Hubbach, but she moved to Tennessee.

Who is the sender!?!?!

Stay tuned!

Why, yes, yes I do!!!

Love black people, that is. And brown people and yellow people and shit, if there are green people out there that I have yet to encounter, I'm sure I'll love them, too.

Who don't I like? It's a short list, but it includes:

1. Lowlife racist pigs who treat other people with no respect and spew hatred from their mouths.
2. Americans who make other Americans look bad when traveling abroad (seriously, their passports should be revoked!).
3. People who don't know how to have 1 conversation without cussing or raising their voices.
4. People who don't take responsibility for their actions and continually play the blame game.
5. People who aren't supportive of their loved ones through hard times.

So next time you want to call me an "N***** Lover", don't look so suprised when you are wearing my drink.



It all comes back to Karma. I've definitely seen that what goes around comes right back around two-fold. All I can do is hope that you learn how to become a miracle worker...because there are so many wounds on every single person you have ever crossed paths with. It's time to start the healing and put an end to the hurt you've caused every day of your life.

No Extra time for me!

So I saw a sneak preview of the Promotion last night ~ you know ~ the movie I was supposed to be in with Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly.

Our running scene was in the first 3 minutes of the movie and they showed a total of 2.2 seconds of it. I wasn't in it. I did see my friend, Angelle, and another friend, Kelly, was standing next to Seann in a scene that took place on the El.

My review of the movie? I give it 1 thumbs up....it's a definite renter. But since no one has seen one single preview of the movie that is supposed to be out this Friday, I'm sure it'll go straight to video.

Hey, at least I got paid 100 bucks to be an extra!