I ran a good run!

Start Line

Ten Things I Liked About Marathon Weekend
1.  Time on the train reading.
2.  Time spent quietly with my own thoughts.
3.  Time enjoying the city of Chicago.
4.  Cruising through the Chicago Marathon Expo and eating all the goodies that they give away at the expo!
5.  Perfect weather for running.
6.  Staying in the Family Hostel and meeting other runners.
7.  Eating dinner with World Vision runners and getting to hear their stories.
8.  Meeting with World Vision runners the morning of the race and praying together.
9.  No mishaps: dressed right, ate right, got to start on time!
10. Enjoying the run and finishing (on my feet running)

Five Things I Wished I Could Have Changed (Because I don't have 10! Positives outweight the negatives)
1.  Less nervous.
2.  Ability to adjust pace accordingly.  I always have a tendency to go out to fast.
3.  Nike + app on phone would work correctly.  It had me finishing the run 1.5 miles before I actually got to finish.
4.  That I had a better finish time.
5.  That I would think less about the time it took to finish and more about what an awesome experience running a marathon can be.

So, I really did have a great experience running the Chicago Marathon.  The weather was chilly starting out but it was a gorgeous sunny 50 degree day by the end.  I finished 5 minutes faster than last year.

The last 3 miles were my toughest but that is where you really have to dig deep down inside to talk yourself in to getting to the finish line.  When you see the last turn into the home stretch you know that it will soon be over!

I can't imagine running a marathon any where else but Chicago. So this makes my second Marathon, both run in Chicago.  I think that I might take some time off from the marathon scene and stick to the half marathon.  I am comfortable with the 1/2 and can spend less time on long runs.  I think I have the marathon bug all out of my system for now.

This is my last race for the season so now I have to switch modes from training to running for fitness.  I always feel a little out of sorts when I don't have a race goal to focus on.