My Marathon Adventure

In the spring of 1999 I saw an ad for the National AIDS Marathon Training Program but I dismissed it for reasons I don't recall. Maybe it was too close to the sign-up deadline, maybe I didn't think I could run a marathon. But I kept it in the back of my mind and in March 2000 I saw a banner on a lamppost on Ventura Blvd. So I looked up their web site, did some research into the program, and called to RSVP to attend an information session. I went to Shaun, my partner, and told him about my crazy plan. His response was "It looks like we're going to Chicago in October and you've got your first pledge." I couldn't have done it without his support.

At the information meeting we were greeted by a perky short woman with bleached white hair named Linda. She explained the program and then introduced Jeff Galloway, who designed the training program. Between the two of them I decided to sign up then and there. And I saved $25 off the registration fee by doing so! The $2600 minimum fundraising goal seemed rather daunting, though.

Since the beginning of group training was a month away I decided to get to work and start running so I could run 3 miles the first group session. I bought shoes and running gear but developed a case of tendonitis in my ankle because I overpronate, which is when your foot rotates when it hits the ground. So I ended up missing the first group run but I was there for the 4-miler the next week. My group site was in Griffith Park on Saturday mornings and there were about 300 of us in the group, though it was broken down into pace groups based on ability.

Over the next few weeks I got into a good groove, running 3-4 miles on my own on Mondays and Wednesdays and progressively longer during the Saturday morning group runs. My pace on my own was about an 11:30 mile and 12:00 with the group. The Galloway program uses a run:walk ratio where you run a certain number of minutes and walk a certain number. I was doing a 3:1 or 4:1, depending on how I felt.

On June 17, about 8 3/4 miles into a 10-mile group run at Griffith Park, right in front of the Autry Museum, I felt a pain in both of my feet. I tried running for about another half mile but had to stop and walk the rest of the way back. After a week it cleared up so that I could walk normally but I still couldn't run without pain. I got in to see my doctor on July 6 where she diagnosed a stress fracture in the 4th metatarsal of my right foot. Click here for an explanation of a metatarsal stress fracture. I had an MRI on July 14 on the right foot that confirmed the stress fracture. In the meantime I still came out to the group runs and helped out with water breaks which kept my head in the program. Meanwhile I reached the $2600 goal and increased my goal to $4000.

The stress fracture was caused by running in shoes not designed for big people like me (6'4" tall and 200 lbs) and there wasn't enough support in the shoes. I had bought them at a running store, but they still sold me the wrong shoes. So for my comeback I went to the premier running store in Southern California, Phidippides Encino, and got new shoes, Saucony Grid Hammers.

By the time I came back the group was up to 16 miles while my longest run was 10 miles, 6 weeks earlier. I started with 5 miles and then tried to do 12 the next weekend but had to walk the last mile because my knees were bothering me. That's when I found out that I am prone to something called iliotibial (IT) Band Syndrome. The IT Band is a tendon that goes along the outside of your thigh and connects your hip to your tibia just below the knee. With proper stretching I've now been able to keep it at bay for about 10 miles but after that it starts to become uncomfortable, though I can still run with it.

While coming back I also slowed down my pace and went from a 12:00 group to a 14:00 group. Since I certainly wasn't going to win the Chicago Marathon I at least wanted to finish and this was the only way. We had a long training run scheduled 3 weeks before the actual marathon with the option to run 20, 23, or 26 miles. Most people chose 23 while I was one of the few to go 20. Instead of Griffith Park we ran along the beach from Marina del Rey to Hermosa Beach and back. We ran rather slowly, a 15:00 pace, but that was OK because it was only a training run.

Now, on to the Chicago Marathon! We flew from LAX to O'Hare on Friday morning and stayed at the Palmer House Hilton which is walking distance to Grant Park, the start and end ot the marathon.

Sunday morning came and I got ready and headed down to the lobby where there were not only a few hundred AIDS marathoners but people from Team in Training who support leukemia meeting to walk to the start. My group headed down to the starting line area around 6:30 so we would be there in time for the 7:30 start. 29,000 people started the race and all 29,000 people were there waiting. We were in the back of the pack but we were there early enough to take lots of group photos. The weather was absolutely perfect, as if we were still in LA on a cool October morning. The starting gun went off but we could tell only because the mob started walking to the starting line and it took us 14 minutes to get there. As we were crossing the starting line the sound system was playing "Run" by Collective Soul ("I've got a long way to run..."). Boy, was that appropriate!

There was so much energy for the first 3 miles as we went through the Loop (Chicago's downtown) it was amazing. The pack started to stretch out around mile 4 and my group was going a good 14:00 pace, since our goal was to finish in under 6 hours.

All along the course were people cheering us on. A good number of people had signs with the AIDS Marathon logo and the words "You are heroes" and we saw the same people move from location to location on the course. If it wasn't for that energy I don't think I could have made it.

Around mile 7 my friend Josslyn started to have problems so I stayed back with her for a half mile until she made me go catch up with everyone else, which took me about 2 miles. The water stop around mile 7 was run by the Frontrunners, the gay & lesbian running organization. They had an "Age of Aquarius" theme with hippies and 70's music. By then we were on a 6 hour pace so that was one of the last theme areas we saw, since things were being shut down on a 6 hour schedule. This was about the time my knees started to bother me for the first time.

Coming across the Chicago River into the Loop the last time we saw a woman running with a bridal veil and a "just married" sign on her back. Her husband of two days was at the finish line so that was her inspiration to finish!

Coming off that bridge is where I saw Shaun. He took a few pictures and looked like he was having a lot of fun. It was good to see him since it gave me just a little more boost. I hugged him but he made me keep running.

We then left the Loop and headed towards Greektown and the halfway point. Halfway was located in a slum area yet there were still kids and parents out there cheering us. I was usually on the left side of the street and it was fun to give the kids a handslap on the way by. I had my name on the front of my singlet (that's the yellow thing in the pictures) so I got a lot of people cheering me by name.

As we crossed the Eisenhower Expressway, I saw Shaun again. It was completely unexpected since I thought he was just going to go back to the hotel after seeing me the first time. But he was having such a good time that he came back for more :-) He told me that he would see me again in Chinatown, about 4 miles away, since he could take the El there.

Around mile 16 is where I got separated from my group. One other runner, Ray, was sorta keeping pace with me through mile 23 but we would only run or walk together for about 1 minute at a time. Between being separated and my knees starting to really bother me, miles 20 through 23 were the toughest of the run.

However, as I was coming near Chinatown I knew Shaun would be there so I had that added boost around mile 19. I knew that the next time I would see him would be at the end, which was inspiration enough to finish :-) I said to him "I can't believe how much fun I'm having" though that feeling was short-lived.

At mile 20 I took a picture of the mile marker since my previous longest run was 20 miles. They say if you can run 20 in training you can run a marathon. I wasn't so sure about this for the next 3 miles, though. I hit the proverbial wall and my legs just did not want to move. We went by Comiskey Park, home of the White Sox, at mile 21, which is where a runner actually died of a heart attack about an hour before I got there. Fortunately I didn't know that at the time, though I later talked to a runner who saw the paramedics working on him. Mile 21 was alongside an expressway and was endless because there was no scenery to go by and make it seem shorter. Mile 22 wasn't much better. I remember letting out a big moan when my watch beeped telling me to stop walking and start running again and I got some words of encouragement from another runner.

Linda, my perky program rep, was at mile marker 23 and that gave me a huge boost. In fact, mile 23 was the easiest for me mentally of the later miles. Part of that was that we could see the skyscrapers near the finish and Lake Michigan. Mile 24 took us through the service tunnel of McCormick Place convention center. At mile 25 the clock read 5:58 but there was a 14 minute differential between clock time and my official time so I had 16 minutes to go 1.2 miles to get in under 6 hours. I was more concerned with finishing so I didn't try to push it. By then they had reopened Lakeshore Drive to traffic and we had to run around Soldier Field and the Field Museum before getting to the final chute.

I got to the chute, took a picture, and started running the last 200 meters (or so). This was the true Poltergeist Hallway where it kept getting longer and longer. About 100m before the finish line Bob, our 17-years-HIV-positive poster child, was there with a bullhorn cheering me on. He grabbed my hand and ran with me for a few steps. I got so choked up I could barely breathe. I crossed the finish line with an official time of 6:01:44 and Tiffany and her friend Andy were on the other side and we had a group hug and I broke down in tears. I couldn't believe I made it. Shaun was there, too, but on the other side of a chain link fence separated by a barricade so he could only take pictures through the fence. I got some water, bagels, and bananas, got my medal, had official pictures taken, and headed to the exit.

Some of my running buddies finished after me and we waited for them and took lots of pictures. We walked back to the hotel and I took a shower and got some sleep. The next day we flew home in first class which almost made the marathon worth it!

My overall place was 27029th out of 27956 finishers, 16554th out of 16848 males, and 2577th out of 2602 males ages 25 to 29. (That last one is a little unfair since I was 5 weeks away from the 30 to 34 category.) Not a stellar time, but I still finished. The last of the AIDS Marathon group finished in about ten and a half hours and they, too, finished and that's what counts.

Overall it has been an amazing experience from beginning to end. From barely able to run a mile to reaching 26.2 miles in 6 months with all of the injuries and personal challenges along the way. And, of course, the support of all of you, not only with the money, but with the words of support and advice, especially the Runnergirls mailing list for keeping my head in the game when I was ready to give up; my coworker marathon veterans Marilyn, Tina, Wendy, and Bill for giving me advice; and certainly Shaun for sacrificing a social life and putting up with my crap for the last 6 months.

So the big question is whether I'll run another marathon. Around mile 22 the pain in my knees caused me to rethink my idea of training for LA. I need to make sure that my knees will be doing better by then because I don't know if it's worth it otherwise. LA is in March and the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego is in June and that sounds like A LOT of fun.

I think I've gotten myself hooked on this whole running thing...