Race Day Recap

I got up at 5:30 and ate a Clif Bar. I was dressed and ready to hit the road by 6am. My sister went with me to the starting area to see me off, but had decided not to run the race herself.
We caught a bus to Grant park with a bunch of other runners, and most of the chatter was about the weather. It was going to be pretty warm. I was just eager to get started, as I figured my nerves would settle down once I got across the starting line.
When I got through to the start corrals, they weren't open yet. So I stood around with everyone else, used the port-o-potty, and then was one of the first into the last start corral. Took us quite a while to actually get up to the starting line, but eventually we made it and finally started running.
I ran the first mile and a half. That wasn't part of my plan, but we were all just moving as a pack and I never spotted a one mile marker. When it finally thinned out enough that I knew I wouldn't get run over if I slowed down, I started walking. And suddenly we were at the 2 mile mark. And that 1.5 mile run felt remarkably easy.
Things went really smooth for the first 10 miles. I was feeling strong, my legs weren't unduly tight, and I was making good time. But then the temperature started to rise, and heat is the biggest problem when I run.
Kourt and Brenda were waiting at mile 12, and I got hugs. I needed them. I was starting to wonder why I'd decided to do this.
Still, I was doing okay through about mile 14. My hamstrings were tightening up and I was watching my mile times get slower, and there just isn't as much shade on the south side. By mile 15 I was starting to doubt I'd finish in time and thought about dropping out. But I turned around a couple of times and could see a lot of runners still behind me, so I pushed through. Runners were being taken off in ambulances at aid stations, so I kind of felt like it would be wussy to quit just because I was hot and my hamstrings were sore. I decided that as long as I was able to keep going, if there were runners behind me and refreshments at the aid stations, I'd push on even if it meant walking the whole way. I'd keep going until the sweep vehicles came along to shut down the race.
I dragged through miles 15-18, all the while entertaining thoughts of quitting and never doing this again. But once I hit mile 19 I started to realize that I was really almost there. I started a little countdown at 20 -- six miles is just four laps on my training trail, and that made it sound like no big deal.
I could tell we were pretty much the end of the pack. Even though there were still plenty of volunteers at the aid stations with gatorade and water, they were starting to bag up the piles of cups and break down the tables. Still, there were runners behind me and no sign of the sweep vehicles.
Until mile 24. Somebody said something about flashing lights and, sure enough, there we're police cars about four or five blocks behind us. By mile 25 they were close enough I could hear short siren bursts.
I was not about to be pushed to the sidewalk or be the last to finish.
With one mile left to go, I pushed with all I had left. I passed a little group of triathletes with 800m to go, and heard one of them go "hey, don't we swim the last 800?"
We turned into the final stretch and I turned to see about 30 runners still between me and the cop cars. So I ran. Okay, I jogged. All the way to the finish line.
Kourt and Brenda weren't allowed to be at the finish line to meet me, as they kept the guests fenced off from the finish area. I got my medal and shuffled though the mile-long stretch between finish line and the 27th Mile party area. They were waiting for me with balloons and some Starbucks. I finished slow enough that they'd run out of beer at the post-race party, but I didn't really care.
I finished in 35,517th place, with a finish time of 7:01:51. Apparently they kept the finish line open longer due to the heat, and another 100 or so runners still finished after me.
But I did it. I crossed the finish line and got my medal and, best of all, made it through training and the race with no real injuries and with all my toenails intact.
Will I do it again? Right after I finished I felt like swearing off running for good. But once I caught my breath and walked out some of the aches, I knew I was probably hooked on this. So yeah, I can see myself doing this again. But I've promised Kourt I won't start training for another marathon until after our honeymoon.