Here is a link to some marathon pictures from my Flickr account.

And no I never ended up getting that tattoo, I was dead tired after the race.

Thanks for all the support!

I guess I may be the only one grinning, but you’ve gotta understand how silly of a situation it is!

Here’s what they’ve gotta be handling:

44,000 participants registered

Lets say only half of them check the pictures.

22,000

Let’s also say that each participant shares the pictures with 4 other friends/family

88,000 total unique visitors

And with the way their website is made (to prevent copying pictures), every time a picture is selected, there is a lot of extra (useless) information sent between the user and the server.

Let’s just wait until they clear things up,

Cheers!

I did it, and now I’m fully recuperated!

First of all, thanks to everyone that helped me achieve this. The purpose of this blog was to provide a quick medium for my friends and family to keep track of how I was doing and this blog did just that. Every last one of your emails, questions, comments and phone calls made all the difference in the world to me. Thanks!

(Chicago Marathon 2008 Course)

Here’s a short summary of things that I saw or my experienced on the track (estimates)

• [Mile (-.01-0) ] : Getting through the starting line! It took about 20 minutes before my friend Jef and I crossed the starting line. Before we reached the starting line, though, we had to avoid random shirts, bottles and food being tossed by runners towards the sidelines.
• [Mile (0-1) ] : There were dozens runners (guys & girls) peeing at the first underpass! All buddy-buddy close and all… Definitely icky.
• [Mile (1-7) ] : Jef and I passed many runners, keeping a fast marathon pace.
• [Mile (6-7) ] : Jef pointed at the sideline and focused my attention to a stage where 10 guys in very short shorts were dancing. I then glance forward and noticed a rainbow flag and a banner “Welcome to Boy’s Town”. I picked up my pace here for a quick mile,
• [Mile (7-10) ] : I started ‘Hi-Fiving’ every little kid that had their hand sticking out. It made me happy to see how excited they would get about having their hands slapped.
• [Mile (11-12) ] : I lose my friend Jef and then I see a dancing Elvis.
• [Mile (12-13.2) ] : I started cursing our limited technology and the lack of a teleportation device.
• [Mile (13 - 15) ] : Fewer people lined the sidelines, making me less encouraged to run.
• [Mile (15 - 17) ] : My pace slowed down by about 1 minute.
• [Mile (17) ] : I hit my running wall. I have no idea what to do, so I started walking.
• [Mile (18) ] : And walking.
• [Mile (19) ] : And walking.
• [Mile (19-20) ] : Towards the ends of little Mexico I started running again.
• [Mile (20-21) ] : At about this time, the course officials notified the runners through loud PA’s that the safety level has gone up to critical. I remained oblivious to my surroundings and continue running.
• [Mile (21) ] : I ran past Connie’s pizza, the place that I went to eat dinner the day before the marathon.
• [Mile (21 - 22) ] : China town gave me a boast of energy! Once again, the streets were filled to the brim with people cheering us on! And of course, being so close to IIT, I ran faster just in case anyone I know was watching me
• [Mile (22 - 23) ] : IIT started approaching so I picked up my pace! Everything looked so familiar so I kept it strong.
• [Mile (23) ] : I made it to IIT and I saw my mother, brother, fiance and friends!!
• [Mile (23-24) ] : The final stretch was left! I could see the flags towards the end! I picked up my pace again!
• [Mile (24-25) ] : I took my final water break and started to rejoice that I was almost finished.
• [Mile (25-26) ] : What! I needed to go up a freaking bridge! Pfft! (the only elevation in the course btw)
• [Mile (26-26.2) ] : Finished at last!
• [Mile (26.2-27) ] : Walked a great distance to pick up my gear and beer.

After the race I got two 312 beers, went to the middle of the ‘Runner Reuniting Center’ and laid on my back while I waited for my family to show up.

And that was it, 4 hours and 14 minutes. That’s what all this fuss was about. Half a year of preparation and it’s all done with in 4 hours.

I’ll write up the marathon aftermath soon. I actually think it’s a better story than the marathon itself because of how awfully sore I was on the flight home (the same day as the marathon).

Pictures will also be up soon too

…I thought I should post this:

If you have no clue who you want to vote for and want a failry web2.0 site that’ll give you the scope about all most of the presidential candidates check this site out:

http://glassbooth.org/explore/

Hope it helps you as much as it helped me!

By Thursday afternoon, I’ll promise to update my marathon story!

I ran it and finished it and now… I’m sore!

I’ll fill you all in later today, seeing that I’m more than likely not going to be moving much from my computer!

So, I’m getting a tattoo on Sunday after my run…

It’ll probably hurt, and I’m going to be already miserable from running, but I’m getting it done. Period.

Here are the options that I think I have narrowed it down to. I’m going to end up having it on the inside of my arm, in between my tricep and bicep.

Help me decide!

Which one?!

Why a turtle?

Jokingly, I’d say: “Because my fiance once had a turtle that drove her mad, so she ate it. Seriously!”

But seriously, this tattoo will mean persistence to me. I’m going to get this tattoo right after my marathon, so it’ll mean that, with dedication, anything is possible.

Either e-mail me or post a comment with the one you like most.

3 days left!!!

(playlist updated)

Ok, so less than a week left!

I’m still good about my runs. I’ve cut back from 8 miles to 5 miles. Today I’ll do another 5 mile and tomorrow I’ll do a quick 3 mile. Friday and Saturday I’m going to rest and Sunday I’m going to kick ass.

I updated my playlist with around 10 songs. I’m going to try to get 10 more on there after my run toda.

Writing here has been a great way to motivate my running. I’ve made new aquiantances with some and reconnected with others through this training blog. Thanks!

Ran a quick 5 mile run last night. Listened to some Rage Against the Machine and The Spoons.

Updated my playlist with 3 songs. Tonight I’ll pick up another 5 miles, add some more music and start watching the exteneded forecast weather for Chicago.

Yay for the 1st of October!

13 days left!

My foot hurt Monday morning so I decide to take it easy. This week I’ll be driving to work to stay off my feet as well. The countdown start today! Less than 2 weeks left!

Today I’m going to treadmill an hour of running. I’ll organize some more music during the less vigerous run. Remember, it’s not too late to make any recommendations. Later this week I’ll post pictures of the tattoo that I’ve been considering getting.

Which reminds me, there may be another change in plans. I might extend my stay in Chicago because after how I felt after my 17 mile run last weekend, I don’t think I would be up for a tattoo immediately after. I doubt I will be wanting a tattoo a couple hours after my flight. So more word on that as it happens.