26.2

Yesterday was one of my favorite days of the whole year...Chicago Marathon day!! I decided to take a year off from running it this year, so instead I became my boyfriend's (a non-runner) coach. This made me nervous in completely new ways. Though I would never discount all of the hard work he put in (he impressed me beyond what I could have expected), I felt as if I had created this thing, this runner, and if the marathon didn't go well, it would be my failure. It was like watching a baby grow. The day was fantastic though, and I am so proud of him. Despite it being a balmy 33 degrees at start time and now having a massively injured knee, I would do it all over again in a second.

Some of the highlights of the day:

*Catching a 6:20 El train and having it be full of other runners.

*Watching the sun rise over the lake.

*Kissing my boy good luck, then sprinting blocks to get a perfect position to see the start line, and then the swell of 45,000 runners beginning their journey.

*Running all over the course (and city) cheering on all my friends and former teammates who were running.

*My boyfriend and I had agreed that I would do the final 6 miles with him, but he was struggling around the 17.5 mile mark, so I jumped in with him for good. It was an incredible feeling right then- "okay, this is it, this is the end and we're going to do this together."

*Hearing the crowds cheer in all languages and playing music for the runners- almost overwhelming at times.

*Around mile 23, having my boyfriend start repeating "I love you, you know that, I love you." I asked him if he was feeling okay, then if he was dying and felt like these were his last words.

*Even later in the day having him ask in his delirium if I would "be his running partner in the marathon that is life." No, that was not a real proposal.

The next few days will be spent on the couch with some ice, trying to overcome the post-marathon blues.