Pre-race days

(major problems logging onto blogger in the past 24 hours .. apologies for the delay in posting)

THURSDAY
I got into Chicago in the afternoon after an annoying half-day of work. The limo driver asked me if I was aiming to qualify for Boston. Barely missing a beat, I said with the time that I expected to finish the race, I would need to age really quickly in a few days and be between 70-79 years old on Sunday. That produced a good chuckle. I went to Chicago a day earlier with CMan before Yumke and Frankie because we wanted to enjoy the city a little before I had to hunker down and meditate about the race. The flight was pretty uneventful, except for the hacking noises I was making the whole 1-1/2 hours there. When that settled down, I decided to keep things interesting and get a nosebleed that didn't seem to want to stop. If it's not one thing, it's another.

Decided to get to the hotel via the inexpensive and not quite direct route on the train. Before hopping on the train, noticed a group of whom I assume where the Kenyans (I'm not sure why I'm saying they were The Kenyans, but they just looked the part, okay? Sue me.) and while I wanted to ask if in fact they were the Kenyans, I decided it'd be best -- just as I would 24 hours later with Mr. Higdon -- to not breathe anywhere near their airspace, infect them, and cause them to race poorly. I still don't think I was contagious at this point, but I'm a stereotypically polite Canuck and thought it the most courteous course of action.

Checked into the Fairmont after a long train ride. Put up my feet. Called Yumke and Frankie and proclaimed how cold it was in the Windy City. Rested. Then CMan and I walked up to the MagMile, and headed to ESPN Zone where we thought we'd be able to get a table and watch some baseball. No luck. The wait was 90 minutes. We walked to a few more places, each with waits of more then 30 minutes. This appeared to be a precursor to what foraging for food may be like in a city hosting 40,000 runners, staff, and fans. Good thing Frankie planned ahead and got us reservations for the pre-race carboload, and the post-race gorgefest. Anyways, got a table at microbrewery Rock Bottom, which in hindsight kind of sucked since I wasn't going to be sampling the beer that night. Back at the hotel, watched "The Break Up" with Chicago starring alongside Jennifer and Vince. Slept fitfully because of stupid cough. Go away cough. Do you realize the marathon is on Sunday?

FRIDAY
Woke up early because cough made me. Just as well since Frankie and Yumke were both due in by 10am. Got their text messages, met them for breakfast. Told Frankie that CMan and I were opting to stay at the Fairmont, out of Frankie's airspace, because my cough was keeping me up at night. Why ruin Frankie's race with my hacking? Best to quarantine myself, a prospect I brought up before leaving for Chicago. Besides, he'd been avoiding me at work all week, communicating only through phone and instant messaging, even though we practically sit next to each other. And when we did talk, we couldn't face each other. I think it was little overdramatic on his part, but I know he worked too hard this far to be felled now. He was protecting himself. And the whole office was just a sick entity and picking a new victim every few days.
Then we went to the Expo. Saw the big countdown clock showing we were 43 hours from The Start. Collected our goodies and we each bought official New Balance merchandise. We all vowed to not wear our purchases until we earned the right -- after finishing. I bought this zippy pullover in a light and dark turquoise. And CMan bought me shoes.
We took a walk to Navy Pier, and had some surprisingly decent pasta. What to wear dominated dinner conversation. We were in good spirits. The antsiness about the weather was mounting. We just wanted to run. The weather had been perfect all day and we lamented how it probably wasn't going to come back for an encore performace on Sunday.

SATURDAY
The three of us met in the morning for a test run. Met at Buckingham Fountain. We ran a couple of miles together, though Yumke went and did his own thing when we neared the Hancock Tower. Meanwhile Frankie and I dodged pedestrians on the MagMile. We ducked into Niketown, only because I'd read about their customized pace bands. These were nifty things, though on race day I was less excited about them. More about that in the race report.
Had a nap immediately upon return from this short run. Exhausted. I didn't know if that was a bad sign of my fitness level or if it was just because I hadn't had a decent night's sleep in 10 days. I coughed only a little bit during the run. But it was nice to get the legs moving. I had worn my racing clothes, as well as a windbreaker. Too warm with the windbreaker. Good that I figured that out. I would definitely be leaving that in the hotel room for race day. Spent the afternoon with CMan and walked way too much. But he bought me a sleek watch, a Nike Imara Run.
Big delicious pre-race dinner with Frankie and his brother and father, Yumke and R, and me and CMan at Rosebud in the theater district. Frankie's family, who also told great stories, generously picked up the tab. They shouldn't have but we all very much appreciate the gesture.

Returned to hotel. Pinned my bib to my shirt. Attached the chip. Drank some water. Then time for sleep. But that stubborn cough wouldn't let me. I didn't fall asleep til around midnight. Way too late. Would this hurt me?


(more to come....)