Weekend in Chicago

Last Friday, Tim, Owen and I left for Chicago. Our main reason for going was for Tim to run the Chicago Marathon. We went with two other couples and good friends, Mark & Mary Mike and Andy & Glisa. We had been talking/planning this trip since January, so I was so excited when it finally arrived.

Our flight left Birmingham at 6:30 am, which meant leaving our house at 4:30 am, and getting up at 3:15 am. That definitely made for a long day! Owen was awesome on the plane...nursed during take-off and slept during landing....I couldn't have asked for a happier baby. When we arrived in Chicago, we checked into our hotel in Oak Brook (suburb of Chicago, but very nice) and headed across the street to McDonald's for some breakfast. This wasn't just any McDonald's, either. It had a McCafe, which we had never heard of, but was very similar to Starbucks. It was the nicest, cleanest, brightest Mickey D's any of us had ever seen. We quickly learned the reason it was so nice was because McDonald's headquarters was across the parking lot. We went downtown to the Chicago Marathon Expo for the guys to register, buy some goodies, pick up free stuff, etc. Then for lunch we ate deep dish pizza at Uno Pizzaria...yum! We went back to the hotel and rested for a few hours before going to Cheesecake Factory for dinner...double yum!

On Saturday, Glisa, Mary Mike and I left the guys (including Owen) at the hotel to rest and hydrate (basically drink water or Gatorade all day long in preparation for the race). We shopped along Michigan Avenue (a.k.a. The Magnificent Mile), went to the American Girl Place, ate at Ralph Lauren Cafe, and went to the Navy Pier. After buying some souvenirs and doing some sightseeing, the guys picked us up around 4:30 pm. We ate dinner at the Weber Grill. We had a big day ahead of us, so we were all in our rooms by 8:30 pm.

Sunday was the big day. We left the hotel around 5:30 am and headed straight for Grant Park. This is where the marathon was starting and finishing. The guys checked in, went to the restroom, and then headed to the start line. Glisa, Mary Mike and I walked 5 or 6 blocks north of Michigan Avenue (with a pitstop at Starbucks) and waited between mile 12 and 13 to see the guys and have a dry shirt for them. On a side note: I had never been a spectator at a major marathon before. Tim ran in the Rocket City Marathon (in Huntsville) last year, and it had a mere 1,000 runners in it. I did not know what to expect really with the Chicago Marathon...45,000 runners and 2 million spectators! When we arrived at our spot on the curb, there was no one on that street. But by the time the first group of runners came by, we were having to fight for our spots and keep people from putting their grubby hands all over my stroller!

Tim had signed up to receive emails on his blackberry that would allow me to track where he was. I knew that at 9:21 am, I should receive an email saying he had reached mile 9. I waited and waited and waited. About 15 minutes later, I got an email saying he had reached mile 9 and was projected to finish at 4 hours 44 minutes. I was sick. You see, my dear sweet husband, had been training for this day since June. He had put his blood, sweat and tears (literally) into the training for this marathon. Every Saturday he ran for between 10 and 21 miles. On Mondays he ran for 5 or 6 miles, on Wednesdays he did track workouts, and on Thursdays he ran about 6 miles. This was a big deal. His goal was to finish in 4 hours and I knew that would not happen. When he finally ran by to swap shirts, he told me had almost vomitted 3 times, but he was feeling better. He ran on and we waited on Andy. When Andy came by, he informed us that the water stops were out of water. He was obviously very frustrated. What??!! Out of water??? It was 90 degrees and they were out of water??? I thought he was talking about 1 or 2 water stops. No, every water stop was out of water. We found out later that there is a water stop at every 2nd mile, and the second water stop he went to, was out.

After seeing Andy, Glisa, Mary Mike and I headed back towards the finish line. By this time, it was really hot. Here I was pushing Owen in the stroller 6 blocks, in the blazing heat and my husband is running a little over 26 miles in the same heat. What were we doing? Tim had gotten us tickets for priority seating at the finish line. I knew Owen was getting hungry and I was ready to sit down and watch the runners cross the finish line. Ohhhh no! Everyone in this little section of bleachers WAS STANDING!!! Glisa, Mary Mike and I fought our way through the crowd, with Owen in tow. We finally found a seat, stood for a little while, I nursed Owen in the middle of the craziness, and watched for the guys. We had already missed Mark at mile 12, so Mary Mike really wanted to see him finish. Thank goodness I brought an umbrella along...it provided just enough shade for Owen, but I was still worried about him getting dehydrated. About that time, the announcer said that they had turned the race into a fun run. They didn't say this at the time, but we later learned that a 35 year old, father of 3, from Michigan collapsed and died, around mile 20. Andy called Glisa (by borrowing a random person's cell phone) and said they had rerouted him at mile 16. He was made to cross the finish line but didn't officially "finish". Tim finished the race, but was told by police to start walking at mile 16. He probably just missed being rerouted. Mark finished the race in 4 hours 45 minutes. After finally seeing Tim finish, in 5 hours 14 minutes, Owen and I headed to Buckingham Fountain where runners could reunite with family/friends. I was expecting an orderly line, maybe 20-25 people in the C-D group (by last name). No, mass chaos! I finally had to stop and park the stroller and hold up the sign I had made for Tim that said "Go Tim!" and just hope he would look up. Several people were doing this in hopes of finding their runner. He found us, but was severely dehydrated. Looking back, we should have realized something was wrong when his shirt was completely dry. Because we had to meet the rest of our group, he was not able to stretch or sip a cold drink. I found out later that he did get sick 4 more times. Today, he is finally feeling like himself, but we both feel like he was indeed dehydrated and probably suffering from heat exhaustion, as well.

Here are some things that we witnessed during the record breaking heat of the Chicago Marathon:

• Before the race: 50-60 ambulances in case of emergencies; After the race: none
• Sirens being heard all day, all throughout the city.
• Chicago Fire Department helicopter flying overhead shouting from bullhorn, "Race over. Start walking!"
• Policemen forcing people to walk, saying, "Runner down!Runner down!" (referring to the man that collapsed) and "The hospitals can't take anymore people!" (312 people were taken to area hospitals, and thousands were cared for at aid tents at the park).
• Andy saw people going into convenience stores to buy their own water.
• Many residents brought out their garden hoses and allowed runners to get drinks or to be sprayed.
• One restaurant owner filled a large white garbage can with water. He filled large styrofoam cups and handed them out to the runners (and they didn't care what he had used the garbage can for!)
• On two separate occasions, Andy saw people pick up cups of water that were half empty and drink the contents...without thinking twice about it.
• Many spectators purchasing water and handing it out.
• Spectators allowing runners to get the ice out of their coolers.
• When water was found, runners practically fighting over it. Tim likened it to animals devouring their prey.
• Tables being folded up at water stops because there was no more water.

Here are some funny/interesting things that we witnessed along the marathon route:

• 2 women runners wearing tutus
• a runner running barefoot
• a runner running and juggling at the same time
• Spiderman and Superman running the marathon
• a bride with a veil attached to her cap...We couldn't figure out if she had gotten married during the marathon or was about to get married.
• one runner proposing to another
• a man coming out of the port-o-potty, holding his cap up that had obviously fallen in, and carrying it off like he was going to wear it.

Race organizers are still declaring that they never ran out of water (yeah, right). They obviously were not prepared enough for the heat and going from 35,000 runners in last year's race to 45,000 runners in this year's, was too big of a jump. However, they did do the right thing by cancelling the race, before many more people died. Who knew the temperatures would reach such an unseasonably high level. You can read more about this crazy, near catastrophic day at the Chicago Tribune website.

Here are some reasons why I will take Riley and Walker back to Chicago:

• Lincoln Park Zoo (and it's free!)


• 532 parks


• public beach on the shore of Lake Michigan


• Navy Pier...has ferris wheel and other amusement park rides, and a children's museum


• Chicago Cubs game


• American Girl Place...Riley is infatuated with American Girls (Molly in particular); Here they can watch a play with the characters, eat lunch in the cafe, and have their hair (and their doll's) done the same way.


• Field Museum (all things science related)
  
• Shedd Aquarium and Oceanarium


• Planetarium

We absolutely loved Chicago. It's like the best of Los Angeles and New York put together and very family friendly...

And so ends the saga that was our weekend in Chicago...