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John & I arrived at the expo Saturday morning a
little after 9am. Picked up our race packets and headed over to get
our race chips verified. We were really surprised to see John
Bingham himself checking the chips. Chatted with him briefly and
then made our way into the expo where we started meeting up with the
rest of the WISH Racing Team. It was so great seeing everyone again.
After lots of hugs and gathering of everyone together, it was time
to start making our way over to Gino’s for some authentic Deep Dish
Chicago Pizza. John wanted to save his knees as much as possible for
the race, so we jumped into a cab with Anne & Bob, while everyone
else walked. The pizza was different but really good and the company
was even better. After lunch the group split up. We spent a fun
afternoon with Anne, Bob & Lily. We headed to Garrett’s for some
famous Chicago Mix Popcorn (cheese & caramel), then the plan was to
see the city. First up….the FREE Trolley to the Sears Tower. We
ended up with a free tour of the city and almost an hour later
arrived at the Sears Tower. After waiting on various lines we were
finally on our way to the top. What an absolutely amazing birds eye
view of the city. I enjoyed checking out the race course from up
there. Unfortunately this would be the end of our sight seeing tour.
The afternoon had quickly passed. Anne, Bob & Lily hopped in a cab
to meet up with Pat & Jim, and John & I hopped into a cab to head to
Navy Pier. At Navy Pier we met up with Cam, Howard, Krista, & Steve.
We grabbed some dinner together before they headed off for their
Boat Tour & we headed back to our hotel.
Sunday mornings wake up call came at 3:15am and
15 minutes or so later came the thunder, lightning, & rain. Checked
the weather on tv and it looked like the storm would pass before
race start…..we hoped so anyway. We still had some light rain on our
way into the city, but by the time we parked the truck it had
stopped. When we walked into the lobby of the Hilton we felt kind of
lost in a sea of purple (TnT people), so we were very happy to see
Mel & Jen on the other side. It was great walking to the start and
spending pre-race with “The Team”. We lined up at the 3:30 Pace
Group along with Pat, Jim, Anne, Bob, & Maggie. We never heard the
National Anthem or the Start, just everyone starting to move
forward. After crossing the Start Mat the course was really wide
which gave plenty of room for everyone to spread out. We quickly
came up to our first bridge crossing. Walking across it wasn’t
easy….the front of my shoes kept catching. I figured for sure I was
going to face plant it. LOL It was cool seeing the props for the new
Batman movie that was being filmed around mile 2. Notice the cop
cars say GPD (Gotham Police Department). Mile 5 we were out on the
highway with cars whizzing by as we headed towards McCormick Place.
We can see Cam & Lily up ahead. We catch up to them and walk with
them a bit until just past the turn around when my foot cramped. I
had to stop and take my shoe off to try and rub the cramp out. It
remained very sore. It was really nice walking along the lake. The
view was amazing. Since Sean is a Volunteer Firefighter, I
especially enjoyed walking through the Fallen Firefighters Memorial
Park. We then got to walk for a bit with Pat & Maggie, until John
slipped in the mud. Luckily he didn’t fall, but it was enough of a
slip to make his knee hurt more then it already did. He had to slow
his pace, but unfortunately when I slowed my pace my foot started
cramping more, so we continued at our own paces. I kept looking back
trying to make sure he was ok. I ended up catching back up to Pat &
Maggie then the 3 of us caught Cam & Lily. It was so much fun with
the 5 of us walking the last few miles together. As we were making
our way closer to the finish, it was great seeing Carrie & Scott,
then Krista, Steve, Jen, Paul, & there DD’s. Then just before the
last turn was Maggie’s DH with her DS’s. They were adorable holding
their “Go Mommy” sign. Next was Howard telling us not much more to
go. Then out of the curve we can see the finish ahead. I jogged into
the finish, high fiving Coach Jenny as I went by.
Here's the stats: Karen
3:31:10 John 3:35:50
Wisher’s are the best. “The Team” is what made
it a fun race & weekend, in spite of the race issues. (lack of
port-o-potties; no cups at mile 6 water stop; out of towels at race
finish, etc) I did really miss the support along the course though.
The Elijah Running Group Scream Team were life savers cheering
everyone on. I kept thanking them for being out there.
If I lived closer I would probably do the race
again, but since it was a 14 hour drive for us and there are so many
other races I would like to do, I probably won’t get to do it
again….but you never know.
One last thing…..I really loved the Reebok
sayings along the course.
WISH
Racing Team
Cam, Lily,
Krista, Mel, Anne, Pat, Jen, Andrew, Darcey, Maggie, Karen, Bob,
Scott, Carrie, Jim, John, Steve, Howard
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