How I ran the marathon - Part 2
Let's continue with the story of how my Chicago marathon unfolded. Instead of the actual time, I'll use the mileage as my reference.
100 metres: The only thought on my mind was "Man, this is friggin' cold!". Looked up to see the display board flashing 38F. I'm sure the wind chill by the lake would have brought it down by atleast another 10 degrees. But it was fun! I knew there's gonna be a lot of supporters, but I hadn't signed up for this. I couldn't believe the enthusiasm. What would make you get out of bed on a cold cold day and walk down to michigan ave to support some strange marathoners? I wouldn't do it even if my brother or wife were running it! Saw 2 guys running together. The caption on the back of one guy's t-shirt read "I'm nailing his sister" with an arror below pointing to the other guy. Guess they must've been brothers-in-law, but it was just one example of all the hilarious t-shirts I saw that day.
1 mile: Still very cold. Overtaking me was a group of runners all dressed as superheroes, complete with masks and capes.
3 miles: The crowd and the noise was carrying me along, but I knew I had to slow down to prevent, or atleast delay, my injury from acting up. So I turned to SpiceTooth and asked him to go ahead. I didn't want to slow him down. So it was with a heavy heart (?!) that we both parted. We won't be completing the marathon together like we did for the half-marathon last year. I prepared myself for the next few hours of running on my own with noone to talk to. Ofcourse, there were a lot of strangers that I met and struck up conversations along the way.
5 miles: People constantly came up to me and commented that my t-shirt was very funny. It was an ASHa t-shirt with a few reasons for "Why do I run?" printed on the back. Things like "I run because the beer tastes so much better afterwards" must have really struck a chord with all those people.
7 miles: I could feel the twinge on my left thigh and knew the IT band injury was acting up. So I decided to mix my running with occasional walking. Downtown was beautiful. Lots of gatorade stands along the way and no dearth of supporters. Around this time, we were near the Lincoln park museum I think. I'd been holding in my pee for a bit and saw a few port-a-potties. Unfortunately, there was a long queue. Next to it was a lawn and there were guys sneaking up behind bushes and trees. So being the true desi I am, I couldn't let this opportunity to pee publicly in Chicago downtown go abegging. I walked on the lawn and was shocked to find a guy far away actually taking a dump by a bush. I turned away. But I was quite curious as to how he planned to clean up, if you know what I mean. to my complete shock, he just got up, zipped up his pants and went back to running. Just when I recovered from the shock, I realized something else. It was actually a woman. And she was just peeing. Like the rest of us. I guess everyone has their absolute pee holding limit.
10 miles: By now, the pain was quite evident. Ran with a few pacing groups. Different pacing groups target different speeds/timing for the marathon. This is usually, displayed on a placard carried by one of them. We had taken a U and were heading back into downtown on a parallel road. Turned a corner to hear some great jazz music blaring out of a house. Pepped up the good old soggy spirit!
12 miles: I was beginning to wonder if I were ever gonna meet W, Funkaboy, Kaboor and the rest of the cheer squad. Just passed Boys town, the official gay neighborhood of Chicago. There was a great dance troupe executing a routine that would have been unacceptable anywhere but a male strip joint. Hilarious! Saw a cross-dressing band as well.
13 miles: Almost exactly near the half-way point, I saw them. Kaboor was shouting and jumping and W was holding up her camera and waving to me. Funkaboy was right behind. Man, was I glad to see them. Walked up to them, gave W a hug. Learnt that SpiceTooth was just a 10-15 minutes ahead of me. Funkaboy commented that my eyes were red and bleary. It was the cold. I left them and continued on. This was the morale booster I needed.
15 miles: Passed through Greektown, right by Pegasus. Memories of previous night's sumptuous dinner and great wine came to mind. My stomach was positively rumbling now and I needed to eat something. Fast.
17 miles: I was outside UIC (University of Illinois at Chicago), my alma mater. Noticed that a few things had changed in the building and there was a new state-of-the-art gym across the road. Ran by my lab and crossed Thai Bowl, and onto Little Italy. There were the old UIC days' hang outs. Just when I was getting nostalgic, I noticed people handing out caffeinated energy bars. Grabbed a couple and started chewing on them. Felt a lot better. Just then, I saw the cheer squad again, this time with KKM, who lived in the neighborhood. Kaboor was positively out of control screamig and cheering me on. He was full of advice on how I need to slow down near the finish line with my arms raised, so I will be captured on a few cameras.
19 miles: Passed the Latino neighborhood. Realized I'd never been in this part of town. By now, I was very tired, and the pain in the left knee was growing at an alarming rate. When I ran, I realized I was limping, running with one good foot while dragging the other. I saw a lot of people with exactly the same kind of injury. I knew because they were doing stretches designed specifcally for this. A dad had brought his 3-yr old daughter to meet his wife who was running. The cute little girl started running with her mother for a few metres. Quite touching!
21 miles: Was looking forward to the ASHA stall. Was disappointed to realize that there was no stall and it was only a few ASHA guys and girls cheering us on. In any case, it was nice to see a few familiar faces and wave at them.
23 miles: Crossed China town and a few dancing dragons. I was having a hard time even walking now. Infact, running seemed to be easier than walking. I was also taking too long for each mile. Somewhere along the way, we passed the IIT (Illinois Institute of Technology) as well. There was an African band drumming away a very peppy beat.
24 miles: All around me, I saw people limping. A few were being supported by friends and relatives for the last leg of the journey.
25 miles: Finally, hit Michigan avenue again. Each of the last few miles seemed to take an eternity. I just wanted to get this over with. Everywhere, people held up boards that said things like "you're almost there!" and "Don't give up now" and "Pain is just weakness leaving the body". Very sweet of them, but I was all ready to give up.
26 miles: Yoohoo! saw the last mile marker. Just 0.2 miles to go now. I decided I wanted to run the last part atleast without stopping. I was rejuvenated and was looking forward to seeing the old gang at the finish line. Started seeing boards for 800 mts, 400 mts and 100 mts to go.
26.2 miles: THE END. I saw the gang sitting on the benches right next to the finish line. SpiceTooth had finished by then and had joined them. I started waving at them and crossed the line. Heeded kaboor's advice and took my time when I crossed the line with my hands raised. Sure enough, got some good snaps! Grabbed some biscuits and bananas to eat. Received my medal gleefully, took a few photos and then joined the my friends outside the runners' area.
All in all, quite an unforgettable experience. The support and encouragement from everyone along the 26.2 mile stretch was just unbelievable. I thought to myself that this couldn't happen anywhere else but Chicago. And ofcourse, what can I say about my friends' gang! Its hard to find such a supportive, loyal and enthusiastic bunch of friends. This includes my girl W, always right by me encouraging and reassuring when there appear to me so silver linings. Finally, all those friends and strangers who contributed generously towards my ASHA cause. No amount is small for a good cause. I couldn't have done this without each one of them.
I'm not usually the kind to be proud of myself, irrespective of what I do or achieve in life. But on Oct 22nd 2006, I was a proud man. A marathon has always appeared to be the ultimate test of character and spirit. A test of putting mind over matter. Now, I feel like I can do anything.
100 metres: The only thought on my mind was "Man, this is friggin' cold!". Looked up to see the display board flashing 38F. I'm sure the wind chill by the lake would have brought it down by atleast another 10 degrees. But it was fun! I knew there's gonna be a lot of supporters, but I hadn't signed up for this. I couldn't believe the enthusiasm. What would make you get out of bed on a cold cold day and walk down to michigan ave to support some strange marathoners? I wouldn't do it even if my brother or wife were running it! Saw 2 guys running together. The caption on the back of one guy's t-shirt read "I'm nailing his sister" with an arror below pointing to the other guy. Guess they must've been brothers-in-law, but it was just one example of all the hilarious t-shirts I saw that day.
1 mile: Still very cold. Overtaking me was a group of runners all dressed as superheroes, complete with masks and capes.
3 miles: The crowd and the noise was carrying me along, but I knew I had to slow down to prevent, or atleast delay, my injury from acting up. So I turned to SpiceTooth and asked him to go ahead. I didn't want to slow him down. So it was with a heavy heart (?!) that we both parted. We won't be completing the marathon together like we did for the half-marathon last year. I prepared myself for the next few hours of running on my own with noone to talk to. Ofcourse, there were a lot of strangers that I met and struck up conversations along the way.
5 miles: People constantly came up to me and commented that my t-shirt was very funny. It was an ASHa t-shirt with a few reasons for "Why do I run?" printed on the back. Things like "I run because the beer tastes so much better afterwards" must have really struck a chord with all those people.
7 miles: I could feel the twinge on my left thigh and knew the IT band injury was acting up. So I decided to mix my running with occasional walking. Downtown was beautiful. Lots of gatorade stands along the way and no dearth of supporters. Around this time, we were near the Lincoln park museum I think. I'd been holding in my pee for a bit and saw a few port-a-potties. Unfortunately, there was a long queue. Next to it was a lawn and there were guys sneaking up behind bushes and trees. So being the true desi I am, I couldn't let this opportunity to pee publicly in Chicago downtown go abegging. I walked on the lawn and was shocked to find a guy far away actually taking a dump by a bush. I turned away. But I was quite curious as to how he planned to clean up, if you know what I mean. to my complete shock, he just got up, zipped up his pants and went back to running. Just when I recovered from the shock, I realized something else. It was actually a woman. And she was just peeing. Like the rest of us. I guess everyone has their absolute pee holding limit.
10 miles: By now, the pain was quite evident. Ran with a few pacing groups. Different pacing groups target different speeds/timing for the marathon. This is usually, displayed on a placard carried by one of them. We had taken a U and were heading back into downtown on a parallel road. Turned a corner to hear some great jazz music blaring out of a house. Pepped up the good old soggy spirit!
12 miles: I was beginning to wonder if I were ever gonna meet W, Funkaboy, Kaboor and the rest of the cheer squad. Just passed Boys town, the official gay neighborhood of Chicago. There was a great dance troupe executing a routine that would have been unacceptable anywhere but a male strip joint. Hilarious! Saw a cross-dressing band as well.
13 miles: Almost exactly near the half-way point, I saw them. Kaboor was shouting and jumping and W was holding up her camera and waving to me. Funkaboy was right behind. Man, was I glad to see them. Walked up to them, gave W a hug. Learnt that SpiceTooth was just a 10-15 minutes ahead of me. Funkaboy commented that my eyes were red and bleary. It was the cold. I left them and continued on. This was the morale booster I needed.
15 miles: Passed through Greektown, right by Pegasus. Memories of previous night's sumptuous dinner and great wine came to mind. My stomach was positively rumbling now and I needed to eat something. Fast.
17 miles: I was outside UIC (University of Illinois at Chicago), my alma mater. Noticed that a few things had changed in the building and there was a new state-of-the-art gym across the road. Ran by my lab and crossed Thai Bowl, and onto Little Italy. There were the old UIC days' hang outs. Just when I was getting nostalgic, I noticed people handing out caffeinated energy bars. Grabbed a couple and started chewing on them. Felt a lot better. Just then, I saw the cheer squad again, this time with KKM, who lived in the neighborhood. Kaboor was positively out of control screamig and cheering me on. He was full of advice on how I need to slow down near the finish line with my arms raised, so I will be captured on a few cameras.
19 miles: Passed the Latino neighborhood. Realized I'd never been in this part of town. By now, I was very tired, and the pain in the left knee was growing at an alarming rate. When I ran, I realized I was limping, running with one good foot while dragging the other. I saw a lot of people with exactly the same kind of injury. I knew because they were doing stretches designed specifcally for this. A dad had brought his 3-yr old daughter to meet his wife who was running. The cute little girl started running with her mother for a few metres. Quite touching!
21 miles: Was looking forward to the ASHA stall. Was disappointed to realize that there was no stall and it was only a few ASHA guys and girls cheering us on. In any case, it was nice to see a few familiar faces and wave at them.
23 miles: Crossed China town and a few dancing dragons. I was having a hard time even walking now. Infact, running seemed to be easier than walking. I was also taking too long for each mile. Somewhere along the way, we passed the IIT (Illinois Institute of Technology) as well. There was an African band drumming away a very peppy beat.
24 miles: All around me, I saw people limping. A few were being supported by friends and relatives for the last leg of the journey.
25 miles: Finally, hit Michigan avenue again. Each of the last few miles seemed to take an eternity. I just wanted to get this over with. Everywhere, people held up boards that said things like "you're almost there!" and "Don't give up now" and "Pain is just weakness leaving the body". Very sweet of them, but I was all ready to give up.
26 miles: Yoohoo! saw the last mile marker. Just 0.2 miles to go now. I decided I wanted to run the last part atleast without stopping. I was rejuvenated and was looking forward to seeing the old gang at the finish line. Started seeing boards for 800 mts, 400 mts and 100 mts to go.
26.2 miles: THE END. I saw the gang sitting on the benches right next to the finish line. SpiceTooth had finished by then and had joined them. I started waving at them and crossed the line. Heeded kaboor's advice and took my time when I crossed the line with my hands raised. Sure enough, got some good snaps! Grabbed some biscuits and bananas to eat. Received my medal gleefully, took a few photos and then joined the my friends outside the runners' area.
All in all, quite an unforgettable experience. The support and encouragement from everyone along the 26.2 mile stretch was just unbelievable. I thought to myself that this couldn't happen anywhere else but Chicago. And ofcourse, what can I say about my friends' gang! Its hard to find such a supportive, loyal and enthusiastic bunch of friends. This includes my girl W, always right by me encouraging and reassuring when there appear to me so silver linings. Finally, all those friends and strangers who contributed generously towards my ASHA cause. No amount is small for a good cause. I couldn't have done this without each one of them.
I'm not usually the kind to be proud of myself, irrespective of what I do or achieve in life. But on Oct 22nd 2006, I was a proud man. A marathon has always appeared to be the ultimate test of character and spirit. A test of putting mind over matter. Now, I feel like I can do anything.
posted by c2c at Thursday, November 02, 2006
3 Comments:
Nice writeup. I was amazed to see 1.5 million people turn up to cheer. Though it was frickin cold, it was fun shuttling around from one CTA station to another trying to reach the meeting point in time to see you guys.
I still can't believe that you ran the full distance....way to go!!!
u go, boy. I shall preserve your autograph, for eternity :)
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