So, I left off at the start line. Things were going well so far this time. Oh, I forgot to mention that I went ahead and taped “DAN” on my Team World Vision jersey to assist spectators in cheering me on by name.
I brought my headphones up through my shirt and then tucked them under my bib so they’d be accessible when I needed them later. I soaked in the National Anthem, and the race was started.
As Vic and I waited for the 15,000 or so people ahead of us to get moving I sang along to Springsteen’s Born to Run blasting over the PA system (Well, at the “Tramps like us, Baby we were born to ruuuun” part, anyway). I was psyched and ready to run!
We started to move from a slow walk to a jog as Van Halen’s Right Now began to play. Forgot about that song, I thought, Need to add that to the playlist. Then the line, “One step ahead, one step behind…Now you gotta run to get even” sort of stressed me out. Nevermind.
Within 8 or 9 minutes, we reached the start line and started to run. I set my watch to only display my time and dutifully pressed “Start” as I crossed the line. (I’ve added a photo of the great Nike Pace Team mile split times tattoo. This is what I relied on to track my progress toward my 4 hour goal.)
Last year, I remember crossing the start line and feeling like I was setting out too fast. This year, it was just the opposite. The sheer number of people around me made it pretty impossible to go too fast; in fact, I think the first couple miles went a little slower than my target.
My strategy was to stay ahead of the mile times listed on my tattoo. I wanted to average a 9 minute mile for the first half and then be able to slow it back to a 9:11 or so on the back half.
I remember within the first couple miles, maybe been the first mile, when the course took us under a building downtown, how muggy it felt in that enclosed space. I remember being surprised within the first few miles that my back was already wet with sweat.
I read somewhere a few days before the race that you should hydrate every 15 minutes and add carbs every 45, so I just grabbed a water at every aid station and ate a Gu packet every 5 miles.
Vic and I were slightly off of the 9 minute pace after the first couple miles, so we picked up the pace a little bit as the crowd thinned enough to accommodate a little more moving around. I was having fun, but this was work, and I could feel it.
For the first 6 miles or so, it was so fun having people say , “Go Dan” as I ran by. It was really encouraging. I said “Thank you” to these people because I truly appreciated the support, I was feeling good, and I had the energy. Vic thought I was famous. The running was going well. The Team World Vision Cheer Zone (or whatever they called it) at the Moody Bible Institute campus was awesome. I have to say it felt great to be a part of such a big, well-recognized team.
Then there’s the Moody Church near LaSalle and North. I love that they send their congregation out onto the street to cheer runners on. So cool.The run to the North side was going well. It felt good to speed up a little.
Somewhere around the 6th mile, we passed my friend Tim. I asked how he was doing and he seemed to be feeling good. I sort of felt bad seeing him running on his own while Vic and I ran past him, but I figured he was running a pace with which he was comfortable and I had my eyes set on that 4 hour finish.
After running north to Addison, the course turns west and then south onto Broadway. I noticed at an aid station around here that I was starting to have to work harder to catch back up with Vic after grabbing water. I reminded him that I didn’t want to slow him down and that he should feel free to run ahead if he had it.
After one of the aid stations on the north side, I spilled water on the front of my shirt. I didn’t realize it, but people were no longer saying “Go Dan!” As I was making my way south down Broadway, I looked down at my shirt; now it just said “A.”
We made the eastbound turn onto North Avenue (Pretty sure this is where we saw Elvis on a stage singing a gospel song) and then south again onto Wells. After this turn was an aid station, and this (somewhere between 10 and 11 miles) was when my legs started to feel tired (already). Vic started to get further and further ahead of me, and I didn’t have a burst of speed to catch back up with him after this aid station. This was where it started to get difficult.
While I’d told myself that I’d have to wait until the halfway point before listening to my running playlist, I decided I needed the extra, mental assistance at Mile 11. I untangled my earbuds from my race bib and discovered that one of them somehow tore apart (wires exposed and such). I’d be limited to one earbud, but I turned on the tunes, nonetheless.
I knew my family & friends crew was a couple miles ahead, and I pushed ahead in an attempt to reach them and the halfway point in under 2 hours.