October 12, 2013

Run Katie Run

What a day! I almost didn't write today, because the hotel doesn't have free Wi-Fi. But then I'd have to catch up tomorrow on everything, because today was so awesome that I couldn't just skip over it! So here is a $10 blog post ;)

I went for a three mile run this morning, at an easy pace. My final run before the marathon tomorrow! My legs felt strong, and I hope that they feel that good tomorrow, too.

At 9:30, my sister drove me to the train station, where I got on the Metra to take me into the city. I'd planned on eating lunch on the train, but I completely forgot to bring it with me, so I was starving by the time I got there. I was super nervous about getting from the train station to my hotel, and I had the directions for different trains/buses to take me there; but when I got off the train, I was blown away at how overwhelming it was.

The station was packed with people, all bustling everywhere, and I had no idea what I was doing. My anxiety got the better of me, and I had a full-blown panic attack at the train station. I don't know anything about public transportation, and I just freaked out about it. I stood against a wall for about 40 minutes, just trying to calm down enough to think. I was honestly considering going back on the Metra to my sister's house, and skipping the whole marathon. I know that sounds ridiculous, but my anxiety was that bad.

I was texting Caitlin, my Ragnar SoCal teammate that I would be meeting up with, and she even offered to take a cab to the train station to come get me. Of course I didn't want her to do that, so I finally felt okay enough to go outside and try to get a cab. It ended up working out just fine, and I got to the hotel.

Caitlin came to my room so that we could head to the expo together (I'm surprised she came, considering I acted like a total nut job at the train station! haha). I liked Caitlin right away! She's super nice and I feel like we have a lot in common. I knew she'd lost a lot of weight, but I didn't know just how much she'd lost until she showed me an old picture, and I asked how much she'd lost. She said she's down 238 pounds!! That blows my mind. She doesn't even look like she was ever overweight. (I don't want to share her before/after pics without her permission, but I'm hoping maybe she'll do a guest post or something--I was certainly inspired by her!)

We went to the expo, and made the rounds there. I ended up buying one of those flip belts that so many of you have told me about. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow. We did manage to get one picture before we left:


After the expo, we went to Cat's hotel to meet up with her. Cat is another person on my Ragnar SoCal team, but none of us had met before. She was staying with her friend Carly, so we hung out in their room for a little while before heading to dinner. We went to a little Italian place (I honestly can't remember what it was called) and it was FANTASTIC. I absolutely loved the host and the server, and the food was phenomenal. I got penne with a tomato cream sauce, basil, and mozzarella.


After dinner, I came back to the hotel room, and got a phone call from Rik, John, and Angela--they told me to look on Facebook, because they made me something. I had no idea what that could be, but I about died when I saw it. I truly have the BEST friends ever! I couldn't stop smiling after watching it.


Rik and Angela are in San Diego visiting John, so they spent the day putting this together. I absolutely love it, and it will be on my mind through the whole race tomorrow.

My final thoughts before the race:

  • I feel SO much more prepared for this marathon than I had for the previous two. The Hansons training really makes me feel like I'm going to have a great race.
  • I don't have a time goal (and no, I don't even have a "secret goal"--honest).
  • The only thing I am nervous about for tomorrow is how I'm going to get back to my hotel and then to the train station from there.
  • I thought I was going to feel lonely doing this trip alone, but I feel just the opposite. I have so much support (just look at the video!) from my family and friends.
  •  Caitlin and Cat were so awesome that I'm really excited to meet the rest of my Ragnar SoCal team.
  • A million thank yous to all of you who have sent me well wishes for this race! I really appreciate it.
  • I need to get to bed so I can get up early tomorrow, so I'm not going to reread this to check for grammar or spelling.

25 comments:

  1. Best of luck tomorrow!
    I'm running a 5K, I'll channel you :)

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  2. good luck tomorrow, you will be great

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  3. Run, Katie, Run!!!! You will have a great race and I can't wait to read about it and thanks for your continued inspiration. :-)

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  4. Thank you for the $10 dollar blog post - I look forward to your posts each day. The video your friends made is awesome -- run Katie run! Have a GREAT day tomorrow!

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  5. Good Luck Katie!! You'll do awesome tomorrow!

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  6. Go Be Awesome! And let us know how you like the Flip Belt. I love mine! Can't wait for the race recap. You sound completely in a better place for this one!

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  7. Have a great race! Looking forward to hearing how it goes!

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  8. Have a great race! I can't wait to read about it. :)

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  9. Go Katie! Have a great race. Can't wait to hear how to goes!

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  10. 'Run Katie Run' - I'm yelling that to you from Scotland :) Have a great race Katie, looking forward to reading all about it :)
    I still remember your posts when you really believed you would never be able to run a marathon, look at you now girl! You actually inspire me to believe that maybe one day I could do the same - thank you!

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  11. Go Katie!! You might be interested in knowing they are live streaming the Marathon, and they are going to be playing it again tonight at 8pm here: http://www.letsrun.com/chicagomarathonlive.php

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  12. That video is awesome. Have fun today Katie! I bet this will be your favorite race yet!!!

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  13. Good luck you are going to do awesome and I can't wait to read about it!!!!!

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  14. Thank you for sharing the anxiety incident with us. It makes me feel more normal.

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  15. Run Katie Run! That was adorable :o) do you know all those people or did they just get random folks to hold the sign and participate? Either way...too cute. I said a prayer for you this morning in hopes of you having a great run and an easy path back to your sisters home. It has been a pleasure to follow along on your journey Katie - thank you! I do appreciate the $10 blog too - lol! Ellen Renee

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  16. Hope the race went well, I'm sure you're about done by now. Can't wait to read all about it.

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  17. Thinking of you today!! I can't wait to hear how the race went!

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  18. I know you're already done with the race and you don't need any good lucks. Instead I'm going to say Congratulations and thank you! You are truly an inspiration! I look forward to hearing how your run went today!

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  19. Hope your race goes well :) I can't believe how far you've come. It's inspiring!

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  20. I know how things turned out since I'm reading this after the race! I understand those bad anxiety attacks - so glad you got thru it. The pasta looks amazing and I am in love with the video!!

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  21. Good luck Katie! Your story is so inspiring to me. I'm starting week 2 of couch to 5k today and I'll just think that if you're running another freakin' MARATHON today I'm sure I can handle these 90 second intervals ;). Hope you have a good race and I'm looking forward to the race report! :D

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  22. Sweet friends! ♥
    I just read the race recap and am so glad you had such a good race. The sign you saw...Wow, I bet it did feel like it was written for you. :)
    And I can't believe how quickly you got everything pulled together to head back to your sisters.

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  23. That video made me teary. What absolutely wonderful friends!!

    If it helps, I like to consider myself well-traveled, but I STILL get very nervous about the logistics of getting from point A to point B ANY time I'm away from home, and especially when I have to use public transportation. It scares the bejeebes out of me!! :)

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