Training Before the Chicago Marathon; but first, Covid-19

The Chicago Marathon was scheduled for today- Sunday, October 11, 2020. So here’s my journey leading up to it.

18 weeks before 26.2 miles

Before turning a quarter of a century old, I decided to make a list of goals; which I’ll get into later in the year. One of them, was running a half (13.1 miles) and full (26.2 miles) marathon. But because of the Covid-19 pandemic, my half marathon was cancelled, then postponed, then made virtual… by then, I gave up on writing about the journey. So here’s my journey towards my full marathon. 

I was (or will be) running the Chicago Marathon with Autism Speaks. 

Some resources that helped me prior to doing something completely out of anything I ever thought I would do, would probably help you too! I decided to make this year my year of adventure. 

And boy have I done it. Thanks to the pandemic, I’ve learned some new talents I never knew could be as interesting and fun, like cooking. It’s made my eating habits better and I eat everything I want; in moderation of course. Diets don’t work for me. The most I’ve done is my modified diet and even then, it was only a few days of real detox because I feel guilty. I just have the biggest sweet tooth ever.

I started writing and contacting people in my social media asking who had run a marathon. If they had any tips, goals, guides… I was at an information overload but I needed it to calm myself a little. No one in my immediate family had ever done anything like this, so I was going in blind. I’m grateful for all the meetings, calls, texts, resources and everything everyone provided me.

I decided to run with a charity. Mostly because I didn’t know all of my options. I chose to even make the marathon a goal because one of my friends at North Central College wanted to run a full marathon before she turned 30. So of course, I jumped on the band wagon and aimed for it too, but before 25 years old. Little did I know what I was getting myself into. Thanks Linh!

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There are multiple outlets in which you can run a marathon, but I chose to run with a charity and support Autism Speaks. With it comes perks. You meet people in the same running journey, maybe even in your same pace. You feel more motivated to run for the cause rather than for yourself. I joined the facebook group and it has been a life savor because if you know me at all, I like to ask a bagillion questions to be well prepared. 

A side note though: you have to fundraise a certain amount for whichever charity you choose to run for. Because I signed myself up nearly a year in advance, I started to focus on fundraising before my training. I like to give my all to one aspect before the next goal. I want to educate myself as much as possible and really dedicate the time it deserves. 

“It’s been a wild ride and all worth it!” said no one ever.

The start of training

We were sent an email each week for what training that week should look like. It looked something like: 

• Monday: REST
• Tuesday: # miles
• Wednesday: # miles
• Thursday: # miles
• Friday: REST
• Saturday: long run
• Sunday: cross training

Disclaimer: I’m not going to give you a run down of every day because you probably won’t read it. So I’ll just write about the days that provided more impact on me. 

My FIRST DAY of training was June 8, 2020. Ask me if I ate any type of healthy food? Absolutely not. Just to give you an idea of what I ate: 

• Breakfast: oatmeal
• Lunch: lettuce, tomato, chicken, cheese, black beans with apricots as “dessert”
• Snack: carrots, brie cheese with that good orange-y sauce, a chocolate cookie, handful of white cheeto puffs, two m&m cookies
• Dinner: rice, meatballs, avocado, sweet plantain chips

But at least I drank water for half my body weight. Which is what you’re supposed to drink daily. 

The fact that I knew the next day I had to start my real training, gave me good riddance… if that makes sense?

DAY 2: June 9 @ 4:29PM

• Distance: 2.64 miles
• Time: 29.53 min
• Avg pace: 11’19”
• Weather: 91 degrees
• Location: Miami, FL

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It was SO HOT! Major regrets. My biggest goal was to keep a solid pace but also not get into the red zone. I DID IT! It wasn’t easy because I felt like I was dying but it opened my eyes to the type of motivation I want to provide myself. 

I feel very intimated about Saturday’s 8 miles. Where am I going to run? I’m not going to do 3.5 laps around my neighborhood. I’m going to feel dizzy. Where’s the new scenery?!

At least I have some fun socks to keep me going.

DAY 3: June 10 @ 7:13PM

• Distance: 5.01 miles
• Time: 01:02:13 min
• Avg pace: 12’24”
• Weather: 86 degrees
• Location: Miami, FL

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I KEPT IT YELLOW THE WHOLE TIME! It felt like I’ve really been practicing, even though the pandemic took two months of unmotivated running from me. It was ROUGH. But I truly feel accomplished that I was able to stay strong the whole way through.

I feel a little excited about Saturday’s run because it’s all a MENTAL thing. My mind plays tricks on me and I have to keep myself motivated the whole time. 

ALSO, I need a running playlist. ASAP.

DAY 7: June 13 @ 6:13AM

• Distance: 8.01 miles
• Time: 1:36:18 min
• Avg pace: 12’01”
• Weather: 82 degrees
• Location: Miami, FL

Coming into this run, I felt SO intimidated. The last time I ran a long run was mid-Feb. But it’s all a mental thing, remember that! 

BUT I DID A RECORD FOR MYSELF!!

I ran with a friend I hadn’t seen IN YEARS! I think we were both nervous but didn’t really talk about it. It just felt natural, I guess? I’m also a huge advocate for running buddies- which is hard to find. Grateful for you, Ashley!

New scenery was also nice. We ran around the 4-mile golf course twice, completing my 8-mile run. She definitely helped keep a solid pace range, which I never thought I could do. I’m not going to lie, my left leg cramped for almost two miles but I stuck with it. Did you know that wearing thick socks for long runs help tremendously. It offers more support for your feet.

My biggest goal in both marathons? Do not walk. 

So a random little fact that also helps me- since I have long, thick hair, I have to use tight ponytails. Which in turn, I usually get headaches from wearing ponytails for too long because my hair weighs a lot. I bet you some relate. I know I’m not alone on this one! So I bought new ponytails to use on my runs. You can also run with braids, but my lil dumb excuse is that ponytails look better in pictures. In a sense, I’m still practicing with my day-of-run look!

Overall, thank you Ashley, for pushing me and my pace range. I iced my left calf when I got home. Had my mom massage my legs and really just relax all day. The pool helps with aerobics too!

I beat my 8-mile goal by like 15-20 minutes. Mission Accomplished!

DAY 27: July 4th

• Distance: 11.00 miles
• Time: 2:29:19 min
• Avg pace: 13’34”
• Weather: MUGGY degrees
• Location: Miami, FL

I have to run 11 miles and have been less motivated to do anything. I’m running on 3 hours on/off sleep and I sike myself out. Which brings in how much I haven’t eaten properly. Sounds like excuses right?

Oh and I would be running by myself. 

I also signed myself up for the 5k for Autism Speaks today. I definitely went a little above and beyond for it, if you know what I mean! Gatorade should sponsor me from all the bottles I drank.

Update: I ran it in the PM! I’m so proud of myself and how I turned my mood upside down. 

And I came up with a running playlist. It’s still a work in progress, but check me out!!

DAY 36: Monday, July 13, 2020 at 2:35PM

We were informed that the Chicago Marathon is going to be cancelled. I’m still waiting on more news and statements from Autism Speaks. I have too many questions, but I’ll remain patient.

I’m still aiming to run the half marathon this Saturday, July 18th. It would have been a double whammy with my marathon training, so I don’t want the run to go to waste.

DAY 41: July 18th

You don’t understand how long I’ve been waiting to finally run my half marathon. It was originally supposed to be in April, but covid-19 got a little more intense than we expected. I was a little intimidated as the date got closer but I knew I really wanted to run this.

It started pouring the night before since 10pm and pouring rain all weekend.

My condition

On Sunday, July 19th, I went to the Emergency Room. Now I definitely couldn’t run the half marathon, because my health comes first. If you’re interested in that story, I spoke a little about it. But if you’re interested in the whole story, feel free to reach out.

Covid-19 hasn’t made this journey easier but I definitely do not regret signing up for the marathons. My 25 goals before 25 years old may be a little ruined, but I’m still looking forward to everything else that lies ahead.

Who’s with me?!