I am in sight of crossing off a life bucket list item; completing all the Marathon Majors. The Marathon Majors are Boston, Chicago, New York, Berlin, and London. I am your typical goal oriented girl and feel pretty excited to being very close to accomplishing this. Berlin is the last major I have not done and I will be on the start line on September 30. I head out to Berlin and can’t wait to get there! Here is my journey over the years through the majors.
Chicago 2003 & 2004
I feel lucky that one of the largest marathons in the world is literally in my backyard. Before I became a “serious” endurance athlete (I say serious in quotes because I am not a professional runner or anywhere close to it but it is a serious passion of mine) I decided to try the marathon. In 2003 I was a senior at DePaul University and re-discovered my love for running a year prior. I did my first half marathon in 2002 and even though I almost vomited at the finish line I couldn’t wait to attempt a marathon. I signed up for Chicago and was pumped to attempt my first marathon. Unfortunately I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know there was such a thing called a training group or how to research a marathon training plan. So I would just do long runs whenever I felt like it. A couple of weeks before the marathon I started feeling a pinch in my hip and saw a doctor. They thought it was just a hip-flexor issue, did some PT, and gave me the green light to run Chicago. Race day came and I went out WAY too fast (I was naïve back then). By mile 15 my hip was throbbing and I was barely able to run. I crossed the finish line and could barely walk. Next day I called my doctor and I told him something was very wrong with my hip. A MRI was ordered and the doctor informed me I had a stress facture in my hip. Boy was this a huge wake up call. I couldn’t do anything for 4 months and had to get a doctor note for my internship at the time stating I was unable to wear heals to work. The doctors also told me I would never be able to run long distance again. Well typically when someone tells me I can’t do something I like to prove them wrong. I did what the doctor ordered, no physical activity for 4 months and slowly started swimming and biking. I learned after this experience if I ever were going to run a marathon again I would have to train properly. I signed up for Chicago again in 2004 (this was back in the day when registration didn’t fill up after 1 week). This time I found a training schedule but found the training very grueling since I was working up the strength in my hip. I also incorporated cross training multiple days a week and still follow this model today. 2004 I crossed the finish line once again and enjoyed the experience much more than my first attempt in 2003.
NYC Marathon 2005
After Chicago in 2004 I decided to enter the lottery for NYC. I thought it would be awesome to run this marathon since I have always loved NYC. Well luck was on my side and I received an entry on the first try. I immediately booked my flight and hotel and started training. This time I found my training grove and found the training much more enjoyable. When I arrived in NYC I was so overwhelmed by the energy. My mom came with me and we had a wonderful trip. What I remember about this marathon was how I excited I was to run across the bridges. This was my first time really running across bridges (there is only 1 in Chicago off the lakefront path). I also remember the last 6 miles in Central Park making me swear that I will always train on hills going forward. I finished but since this was my first destination marathon I was stupid to book a flight leaving Sunday evening not thinking about the fact I needed to shower and get to the airport. I remember racing (well speed walking) to the hotel, which I did book by the finish line and taking the fastest shower of my life. Then jumping in a cab with my mom and speeding to LaGuardia. When we arrived at LaGuardia I was starving for food and only found Au Bon Pain in my terminal. I then boarded the plane without a water bottle and in typical LaGuardia fashion we were stuck on the runway for about 2 hours. I was not the only one on the flight that ran the marathon but I was the only one that got sick. Another huge wake up call…I now always fly out the day after a marathon.
Boston Marathon 2010
If someone told me in 2003, 2004, and 2005 when I ran Chicago and NYC that I would qualify for Boston I would have laughed in their face. My times were 4:44, 5:00, and 4:26 (respectively). But after I did my first Ironman and yet another marathon I decided I really wanted to work on getting faster. So I did a lot of speed training, a lot of weights, and a lot of research to see what I needed to do to get faster. Again the idea of qualifying was still a reach but first I wanted to break 4:00 which I did in Seattle in 2007. My first attempt of seriously trying to qualify was at the Marine Corps marathon in 2008 and I missed it by 0:00:58. I was devastated but then immediately decided to try again that next spring. Flying Pig Marathon 2009 I qualified and my official journey to Boston began. For the training I decided to join the Fleet Feet Boston Bound training group in Chicago, which was a specific program for runners training for the Boston marathon. This was my first time ever joining a training group and I was nervous. But it blew my expectations away and I was more prepared then ever to tackle Boston. My goal for Boston was to have a strong finish and enjoy the race. And that is what I did and even set a PR. My whole Boston experience was amazing and I have no desire to do the race again since I know I could never match the experience I had in 2010.
Influencer Apologizes for E-Bikes on NYC Course
During my training for the Boston Marathon I made some really great running friends. It is hard to find girls who would want to run in the dead of Chicago winter and enjoy it. One of my friends, whom we ended up running the entire Boston Marathon together, threw out the idea of running London. I was completely on board and the spring of 2010 we contact Marathon Tours to see how to get an entry for the race. We did both enter the London lottery but wanted to be secured a spot. We both received an entry through Marathon Tours and our trip was set. I trained with the same Boston Bound group I did the year prior since it is the best winter training group in Chicago (in my opinion). Prior to this trip I had never been to London and was very excited to experience this vibrant city. We arrived the Friday before the marathon and I was so thrilled to be there to run the London Marathon. If there is one thing I learned from this trip it was to arrive at least by Thursday before an international marathon. Arriving on Friday was OK but my sleep schedule was not fully adjusted by race morning. This race was definitely different than any US marathon. First they give you small bottle water/sport drinks at the aid stations. That was strange but great at the same time since I was able to carry it with me. Downfall of these bottles was people left them on the road and they were easy to trip on. Another main difference was how narrow the roads were. Unfortunately I was placed in the mass starting corral and realized after the first 5 miles a PR was out of reach since I couldn’t get around anyone. The herd of runners didn’t start breaking up until mile 15, which was kind of frustrating. But probably the most enjoyable experience of London was the crowd. The crowd was 5-6 rows deep and people yelling “You are bloody awesome” was the highlight of the entire race. Plus it is pretty amazing running across the Tower Bridge and toward Big Ben. I had a great race and loved every minute of it!
Could You Teach Your Cat to Run
Well I can’t wait to share this story once I cross the finish line. My mom and I are going together on this trip and it is our first official Mother/Daughter international trip. We leave tomorrow (Wednesday) out of Chicago and arrive in Berlin early Thursday morning. The plan is to go straight to the expo as soon as it opens on Thursday. After Berlin we are heading to Poland for 5 days since neither of have seen our ancestry country, which will be a wonderful thing to experience with her. I am really looking forward to this flat fast marathon. Out of the last 7 marathons I have run 5 of them have been hilly so I am ready for pancake flat! Plus I can’t wait to hear what the Germans will be yelling to cheer on the runners. My goal is to have a strong finish and since I am coming off Ironman Louisville 5 weeks prior to this race I have no expectations for finish time, which is nice.
This picture is all my marathon majors medals which I can’t wait to add Berlin to my collection. If you complete all the Marathon Majors you will receive a certificate and even have your name on the website…IF you completed all them starting in 2006. 2006 is when the Marathon Majors established and I unfortunately don’t qualify since I completed Chicago in 2003, 2004 and NYC in 2005. This is a total bogus rule but it really doesn’t matter. In my mind I still completed them and will make my own certificate!
