“Big brothers – the only guys who will pick on you, yet beat up anyone else who tries”
Earlier this week, as I was working on an idea for a new blog, it occurred to me I run Chicago Marathon in just two weeks and I’ve barely blogged about it. I’m usually good for at least a few pre-marathon blogs.
Why do I have seemingly no love for Chicago? Maybe because it has been really difficult for me to train in the summer? Perhaps because I’ve been fighting more aches, pains, and soreness than ever before? Probably because training for this marathon has been a less-than-enjoyable experience and I like to keep it positive in this space.
Speaking of positive, I do have one super-awesome story I haven’t shared yet about Chicago Marathon – it’s going to be quite the family affair.
From fancy pants then to running gear in a couple weeks
This will be the first marathon for my oldest bro who lives in Chicago. He got into running and triathlons just a couple years ago and is hooked (must ‘run’ in the family – see what I did there?!). What’s even cooler is he has a family and big-time important job where he travels the world frequently, yet still makes time to train and race in other events.
When he and his family were back for early Christmas last year, we somehow started talking about Chicago Marathon and how cool it would be to run it together. In spite of the horrified looks from his wife and two daughters, we giddily signed up for the lottery and hoped for the best.
Fast-forward to today, we may both be struggling a little bit with injuries and issues, but we’re still excited to line up and finish together. How cool, right?!
Not only will my sister-in-law and two rad nieces be there to cheer us on, my dad and stepmom are making the trip to Chi-town too. If you follow my blog, you know my mom has only missed one full marathon in my life and has been there with my stepdad for several other races. But my dad and stepmom have never been to a race so they’ll be there to see Terry and me – and all our marathon phases: excited and smiling at the beginning, still happy through most of the miles, pained and angry in the 20s, then exhausted yet elated at the finish. Oh, how fun for them!
So there it is, a great story about Chicago Marathon that’s long overdue on the blog. Big shoutout to my big bro and I’m kind of nerdily honored to be there with him for his first marathon. Definitely something that has helped me gut through some of those extra-tough training miles.
Who else is running Chicago Marathon? Those of you who have run in the past, what was your favorite part or something on the course we should look forward to? Comment or tweet me, @LindsayIRL. Share your run brags on Twitter and Instagram too using hashtag #wellirl.