T-250: Boston or Bust: From Chicago to Boston in 250 days

Boston or Bust: From Chicago to Boston in 250 days

Today marks the 250-day countdown until the Chicago Marathon.  Actually, in an attempt to be completely accurate and honest, in 15-minutes, registration for the 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will officially open, thus marking the 250-day countdown.  You could say that I’ve been waiting for this moment all day, all week, or all month. Or, if we’re being entirely honest, you could probably say that I’ve actually been waiting for this moment since I crossed the finish line at the 2010 race on 10-10-10.  (Note to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon organizers: Thank you for making my 1^st marathon date so easy to remember.)

On 10-10-10, months of hard work culminated into just under 4 hours, and I made the crossover to the world of marathon running.  Choosing to run the marathon was not something I had every envisioned doing in my life, even up until a few weeks before I signed up.  After recommitting to a healthy lifestyle, my efforts to lose weight grew into a desire to get fit, which led to a general goal of getting healthy, which eventually developed into a full-blown obsession with running and exercise.  In the best way, possible, of course. 

I began racking up a considerable amount of miles in the summer of 2009.   At the recommendation of several good friends and fellow runners who found out I was running 8-10 miles a day, I decided to sign up for the marathon.  I did so on April 10^th, exactly 6 months before the Chicago Marathon.  The 6 months standing between the 26.2-mile goal and myself seemed like just the cushioning I needed to mentally prepare for this feat.

I also knew that by running, I could honor the memory of my father and grandfather, both of whom I have lost to cancer in the last ten years.  But that story is for another day.  Especially since I hope to have 250 of them.

After registering to run the marathon for the American Cancer Society and agreeing to raise money while raising my mileage count, I knew I was in it…. for better or worse.

In the months that followed, I trained, ran, cross-trained, cycled, stayed on top of my diet, and talked to everyone I had ever known who had done a marathon, including one of my exes who I always thought was crazy for actually WANTING to run for more than 3 hours.  I read books on marathons and watched sped up videos of the course for inspiration.  In the weeks and days leading up to the marathon, I bonded with runners who motivated me, awestruck strangers who thought I was crazy, and people affected by cancer whose stories inspired me.

I could write more about the day of the race, the feelings I felt, and the moments of triumph and heartbreak I saw as I muscled out my last few miles.  I could probably write for another 20 minutes about what my first marathon felt like.

In short, and since I only have a few moments until the site is shut down by the thousands wanting to register at 12:01AM because we are that crazy, I will say that ultimately, running the marathon was the best experience of my life. 

And now, as I wait for these last few moments to pass (now 2 minutes to be exact), I can’t wait to do it all over again.

5….4…3….2…1.

Happy Running,

Andrea