Well, it has come and went. 26.2 miles of sure bliss. Now that the soreness is gone and my appetite has returned, it is time for me to do my final reflection of this journey. So here you go!!!

Katie, Jake, and I ventured up to Chi-town on Saturday afternoon. We were in no real hurry. We just had to get up there in time to register for the race. So our first stop once we entered the angry confines of Chicago, was to head straight to the expo to register and look at all the exhibits. I did buy one long sleeve running shirt. It is red with the Chicago skyline in black. It says "**** and back, 26.2 miles." I found it comfortingly humorous. Katie, I must tell, went to town on picking up some new running gear. I think she getting prepared for the mini training in a few months. In that gear, she will most definitely knock the mini out. Here is a picture of the expo....it was huge; with each major brand having huge exhibits and gear for sale.

After the expo we headed to the hotel and then off to dinner for the last supper. I was not in the mood to venture to far out in the city so we actually stayed and ate at Shula's in the hotel. It was quite the tasty meal. I stuck to chicken and bread mostly. Jake ate 1/2 a cow, a broccoli bush, and 3/4's of a hashbrown that was bigger than 3x anything you get at Waffle House or Hinkle's (how about that for a shout out....Hinkle's....and for all you DPU folks out there....Hinkle's was Hanover's lower end Marvin's.....the cooks name was Bubby...really....Bubby....one time I asked to see his licence....and it said Bubby). Katie had a mean (as in good) red snapper. After dinner, I headed up to the room to chill and the Giesting's hit the town. I think I was asleep by 8:30 Chicago time and up 5:45 am.

With a shower, the application of Glide (to all the appropriate spots), and cereal bar with peanut butter; I was soon out the door. I met up with many members of Team McGraw at 6:15 am in the hotel lobby and we walked over to Millennium park to meet all the other members of the team. In total, we raised $49K for brain tumor research and assistance. That is pretty sweet. After a picture, some barking orders of encouragement, and a many smiles, we all departed on our own way; to our unique place in the starting gate.

It was at this moment...about 7:15 am that I thought - "wow..here I am...back in Chicago...alone with 45K folks...all about to run this crazy distance." It was kind of sweet and calming. You know, I never got nervous during the days before the event; not even the night before. I didn't get nervous at all, the entire time. Finally I made it to the place I wanted to start; the 3:55 starting area. The gentlemen next to me was with his wife. Come to find out he was from Texas and sold for Titleist. Well, there you go. We quickly had a great conversation. And amazingly enough he knows a guy that I went to high school with that works for Titleist out in Boston. Crazy small world, right? All of a sudden I no longer felt alone. And soon enough the wheel chair athletes were off, then the elite runners and we were next.

It was 21 minutes after the sound of the gun, that I finally made it to the start line. It was humorous that right before the starting line people were jumping the fence and running to the trees to urinate. It was boys, girls, men, and women of all ages; just dropping trout (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=drop+trout) in front of everyone to relieve themselves. Different breed runners are.....but in a way I understood it....at this point in time and with all the build up and training....who cares.....so I joined the fraternity and jumped the fence with them and relieved myself as well. ("All the cool kids are doing it" anyone name that movie????)

Well the start was kind of slow b/c of all the weaving in and out of people. It kind of reminded me of the traffic on 465 or 65, going into work. I think that the same people that ride the left lane and never get over were also running this marathon. But after mile 2 I was off well and under a 9 minute pace. Soon after though I hit my first obstacle. Literally I hit it....the pavement that is :o). Somehow I stumbled and landed face down on the pavement. Luckily no one ran over me....that would have hurt. No, the only thing hurt was my pride.....a early race/little humility check I guess. By mile 12 I saw Jake and Katie. I remember running over to Katie and giving her a hug (poor girl, I had to stink)....I guess I was feeling lonely.....Jake jumped in and ran a little bit with me there to see how I was hold up....I told him good...and off he went

So, everything is going smoothly. I finish the 1/2 marathon in 1:50 (a 1/2 PR for me) and was feeling really confident that I would break 3:40 (My goals were 1) to finish, 2) to break 4 hours, and 3) as a stretch, break 3:40). I should have known better. Mile 17 or so came and right there some dirty-little-something must have came out of one of those dirty-little sewer holes and sucker punched my achilles....or at least that is what it felt like.....SHARP pain. And here is were the competitive juices dumbed the little bit of rationale left in my brain....my exact thought was "well, just grin, bare it, and if it ruptures, well then so be it...keep going till it pops or you see the finish line." Not smart but I had come to far not to finish this thing. So I slowed down a bit and changed my stride. By mile 19 I was still confident that I would easily break 4 hours as long as I could keep up this pace.

Well, here is where the it all changes. It was like I was running this nice race in Eden and suddenly I was running on Mars. You see the first 15 miles or so....it is a nice, friendly, shady, run. The tall builds are blocking the sun, the friendly folks of Lincoln Park are cheering, jumping up and down (hey, it didn't really take them long to get over the Cubs..did it?) and drinking, and the temperature is still down from the morning start. Well....all that changes in this race. When you run south and west, the builds shrink dramatically. On this day the crowds diminish (still significant and important....but much smaller). And the temperature increases sharply; particularly in a bright, no cloud in the sky, day. Well, by mile 20 the signs of dehydration were evident. It first came with a cramp in my right hamstring. I stopped briefly to stretch it out, then continued on - on the lookout for more water and banana's. Next came the right quad.....oh no! Then came the left quad and the left hamstring. So both legs were cramping and I still had many miles to go. So I had to keep stopping and stretching....my time went really north and my confidence went south. I remember saying a few prayers and thinking about all those folks that supported me along the way. Grin and bare it again. What the heck now. The good thing was that the pain was significant enough to doll out some the achilles pain....yeah buddy. I saw people falling off a lot during the last 6 miles....mostly cramping. I hope they were able to finish.

With a mile to go I was at 3:50. Somehow I found a little 50 cent on the ipod and it became motivating. I don't know how...but I was able to kick it a little bit, block out the pain, and finish in 3:58 and change. I remember passing folks and just looking at the ground a lot. Particularly b/c there was a hill right at the end.....that is bogus. There wasn't a hill really the entire race and somehow there is one at mile 26.....barf.

So, obviously I finished and made the long walk to find Katie and Jake. I was so happy to see them. I am not really sure what I would have done over the weekend without them. They were great support and amazingly encouraging and energetic the entire time. Big Thank guys (btw...they are currently on their honeymoon in Turks and Cacaos) and a monster hug.

So after finding them, we headed back to hotel. After a quick shower and 10 minutes on the bed; we got the rock out of Chicago. Once we crossed the border and returned to the friendly Hoosier Homeland, we stopped for a bite and a celebratory drink. WOW! those beers were tasty. I think Jake and I both had a Shiner and Sam Seasonal (pumpkin:o) It is amazing what 2 beers feels like after a marathon ;o) You all should try it sometime.

So, when I got home, I was a little bumbed. I know....come on Brandon. I really thought I could get 3:40. Under 4 is good for your first time....I know....but darn it. So, I put together a little analysis b/c I had to visualize what happened to me and how close I really was. I guess it gave me piece of mind and some motivation for next time. That yellow line spike is amazing and still irks me!

What is next? Well, I remember thinking at mile 23...."I will never do this again." It took me all of about 1 hours post race to start thinking about doing this again. It was quite an amazing feeling to cross the finish line and to think about all the months of sacrifice that led to that one little moment in time. Many folks have asked if I would do it again. No doubt. But maybe I will do it in Alaska where it is guaranteed to be colder? I do plan on continuing to run. I have signed up for the Nashville and Indy 1/2 in April and May. I am planning on running during the winter....indoors....I don't do exercise outside sub 40. I would like to keep the endurance that I have built up. So what is next....I don't really know (hoops, racquetball, pilates). I think it will be weird in the morning to not "go long." I had convinced myself that is what Saturdays are for. It is also weird that this is my first Friday in which it would be feasible for me not to stay in and go to bed early....yet here I am...writing this final blog post...and chill'n. Oh well, I am sure I will miss it. I will definitely miss the long saturday runs in which so many of you jumped in, passed the baton, and shared many stories with me. Those will be good memories for a long time.

Finally, 1 last thanks to all of you. The family, the friends, the runners, the donators, the readers, the encouragers, the doubters, the comedians (Applegate), the cooks, the knowledge sharers, and many many more. Thank you all.

Brandon