2014 Circular Logic Marathon Race Report

Six word recap: A PR, but not my goal.

Editing pictures

Before I get into the nitty gritty of the Circular Logic Marathon, I want to make sure I thank my sister Katie. Girlfriend let me and three of my sweaty besties crash her apartment, then stood out in the cold for four hours watching us run around in circles. She also took more than 1,000 photos in the process and kept cheering for me even when I crashed and burned. I thanked her profusely and she said she wouldn't have missed it for the world. And I crumbled, because every now and then, I have all the feelings.

Before and after

Backing it up to Friday. I worked from home and had white bread toast with peanut butter and banana, cheese pizza for lunch and then a sweet potato, apple and a handful of pita chips. Mo picked me up and then we regrouped in La Grange to make the two-hour ride to West Lafayette, which was uneventful.

I slept pretty well, then was the first up and woke up the whole apartment burning toast. I had white bread, banana and almond butter (I picked up the wrong packet), then spent an hour fretting over the weather. There was snow on the ground. SNOW! It was really cold, but I decided to wear the La Isla bra, a tank top, booty shorts, running tights, a long-sleeved tech shirt and a windbreaker. I also wore a hat and gloves and wish I had a scarf.

We showed up and set up our own table for gels and such, and dropped our water bottles at the aid station. I was super jealous of some of the set ups other clubs had. A club had a tent and tarps, as well as propane-fueled heaters in dog cages so people didn't get too close. Geniuses.

So the basic set up of the race: Every lap was about 3/4 of wide blacktop path, and the remainder had a narrow sidewalk. You ran on the left and passed on the right. We picked our numbers and had custom bibs on the front and back, which was really convenient for cheering people on. The first lap was 1.2 miles, and every subsequent lap was one mile. There were port-o-potties, flush toilets and the aid tables right around the same spot every lap. You picked up your bottle from the table and there were laundry baskets to deposit them, where volunteers retrieved it, refilled it with water or Gatorade, then placed it back on the table in numerical order. I picked 312 for Chicago.

The race started on time and we got to work. My marathon plan was very defined. It was windy and cold, just like every other run we've done this winter. But something was very wrong. I knew as early as six something wasn't right.

I made two bathroom stops before 10, and I just couldn't get it back to it. I knew 3:50 was out of reach after the second bathroom stop. I don't actually know what was wrong. I was cramping, I puked and I had to resort to run/walk. I caught up to Brent, who said a sub four was still within reach if I didn't walk. But the cramps were too bad and it just slipped through my fingers. I ran with Mo when I could and just focused on finishing.

Seeing Katie for the last few laps really helped. She kept telling me every step I was closer to beer, which kept me focused. That kid is clearly going for sainthood.

I Ran One-Mile Loops In a Park And Finished The
2014 Circular Logic Marathon But Never Got Far From
My Car Since

I crossed the finish line at 4:16 and had a hard time breathing. I took a minute, collected my super awesome medal, cried, broke down the table and headed back to Katie's for a shower. Mo and I toasted the occasion with IP(Red)As before heading back to Chicago.

I need to reflect further on what the hell happened, but I'm trying to focus on the fact that I still PRed and did it without injury. I took off almost 15 minutes from my time at the Fox Valley Marathon in 2012.

I have nothing but great things to say about the race. There was a guy named Mike who was the best cheerleader on the planet. We joked that we wish we had his enthusiasm - he yelled and screamed for us every lap. Every one there was super nice and encouraging to one another, and the race was just very chill. This race was completely green - they even recycled the envelopes from the packets for next year. Plus, it was perhaps the best value of a race ever. For $42, we got gender-specific tech shirts with all the runner's names on it.

I paid $35 for my Racine 70.3 Ironman shirt with my name on it, so that's already a win. The medal is also super awesome. And if you come back to race again, you get a Pi charm on your medal. It was a good race, just not a good day for me.

Time: 4:16:43 (15 minutes off of my previous marathon PR)

Cost: $42-55, depending on when you signed up

Pros: Environmentally friendly race, great shirt, awesome medal, great support, easy to spectate, an easy drive from Chicago, CHEAP

Cons: It's a one mile loop. Twenty six times. This takes a special kind of crazy for this. The timing mats went out at one point, and it would have been great if the volunteers and race staff were designated in some way because we couldn't tell who we needed to talk to.