Done.

Jeff and I got back this afternoon from a great weekend in Chicago. We ate at great restaurants, had some quality sightseeing, hung out with good friends, and, I'm forgetting something here, oh yeah, ran 26.2 miles with 31,580 new friends (and 2 old ones).

I'll let Jeff tell his own story, but my 3 friends and I all finished the race safely with personal records (PR's). I beat mine by a mere 2 minutes, finishing at 3:53:00. The weather was just about perfect, sunny and cool (39 at start, low 40's throughout most of the race), but windy. With runners all around me, most of them taller than me, however, the wind wasn't much of an issue. It really was a fantastic race to run. The course wound its way throughout downtown Chicago, with views of skyscrapers, stadiums, and parks. I loved the flamenco dancers in the hispanic district, the dragon in Chinatown, and the drag queens dancing at "the Broadway on Broadway." The supporters were fantastic. They cheered, gave high 5's, and held up inspiring and funny signs. It's an extremely fast course (record setting again this year), and the miles came fast and furious for the first 15 or so (that's mile 9 already? I just passed 8...). My knee did start hurting at mile 8, and I was worried about the rest of the race, but it eased up a bit and I didn't start really hurting until the last hour or so when my pace slowed significantly.

Today I'm hobbling a bit (you don't want to be walking behind me going downstairs), but not too bad off. I think (to my mother's dismay; she thinks I won't be able to walk in ten years) I'm up for another one of these in another 2 years.

Thanks again for all of your support!