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<span style="font-family:Arial;">Here it is. Enough time has passed now that I’m not so pissy about missing out on the marathon I had intended to be my goal race this year. I ramped up my training this summer to 60-70 MPW, did lots of speed work, got some good tune-up races done and looked forward to a big family meet-up, kick-ass PR and another great marathon experience. Like everyone in Chicago this year, my goals were thrown out the window when presented with the weather conditions.</span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;">It was an experience – good or bad and not one I’ll soon forget</span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;">Little sis #2 and I have run both of our previous marathons together (well we ran the same races, we don’t run together – she’s a lightening bolt). She was on track to BQ in Chicago and I wasn’t that far behind. On a perfect day it could happen, it would happen. Sunday was not perfect. I could tell from about mile 2 that things would be interesting. Saw our support team just before mile 3 and was still feeling optimistic.</span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><img alt="" src="http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g254/mpfeiffer/CIMG2925.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;">However, by miles 5-6 things had deteriorated. I was breathing much too hard, my heart was racing, my legs hated me and the most detrimental - my mind was crumbling. I had to pull off and hit a porta-potty and when joining the crowd again, hooked up with another runner in the same condition as me. Tami and I would run/walk together for the remainder of my time in the race. She was awesome! We pushed on as best we could but it was ugly. When hitting the Gatorade/water station around mile 8, we saw they were out of water/cups …that can’t be a good sign. We moved on. Nothing was feeling better. When we started through Old Town all I could think about was how much further I wanted to continue the hurt. Approaching the Loop again, I pretty much decided that today was not my day AT ALL. I had a decision to make. Stick with a very bad scene and continue to deteriorate or suck it up and scrap the day, hoping that my next race would go better. I chose the latter.</span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;">Just before the HM mark, I pulled out. I was heart broken.</span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;">Luckily I had to most amazing, most supportive group of people surrounding me when I came back to find them. Team Pfeiffer ROCKS MY WORLD!</span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><img alt="" src="http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g254/mpfeiffer/CIMG2913.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><img alt="" src="http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g254/mpfeiffer/CIMG2914.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;">I pulled on my matching <i>team shirt</i> and we hustled over to the finish line area, knowing that little sis #2 was still in the game. We waited and waited. We heard the race being cancelled, we saw the diverted runners coming in, we did not see little sis. We moved to the family meet-up area; we still did not see nor hear from little sis. Shortly thereafter we got the first of several cell phone messages come through. Sis was pulled off the course at 26.1 …<b>YES, she was that close to finishing!</b> She was taken to the hospital with dehydration and later released with us.</span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;">Luckily it was just bruised egos and dehydrated bodies. We made it out alive. It wasn’t our day but we will be back to Chicago and we will rock that bitch.</span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><img alt="" src="http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g254/mpfeiffer/Flosiespics350.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;">Side notes:</span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;">A most unfortunate discovery. Our shirts could have been called Porta-Potty blue.</span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><img alt="" src="http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g254/mpfeiffer/Flosiespics346.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;">Not everyone from Team Pfeiffer had a t-shirt but that doesn't make them any less enthusiastic.</span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><img alt="" src="http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g254/mpfeiffer/Flosiespics340.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"></span><br><br><span style="font-family:Arial;">Next up: NYC Marathon on 11/4</span><br><span style="font-family:Arial;"><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/hello2.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="hello1"></span>
