Worlds Longest Turkey Trot - redux

This time, let's run from Chicago to Milwaukee

Prelude

I ran from Milwaukee, WI to Chicago, IL last year, starting black Friday.  The reason for the event can be read in the preface for last year's event, found here.

Last year I had something to prove.  I had DNS (did not start) Hennepin that year due to a relapse.  I had to redeem myself.

This year, I smashed the time goal that I had set for myself at Hennepin.  This year, the WLTT was going to be a fun time with friends.  A leisurely journey from Chicago to Milwaukee, on foot.  I would see some friends that I had made last year.

If you'd like to donate to the Les Turner ALS foundation, the link is here https://goo.gl/qfYiJo.

I had trained my arse off for Hennepin, which took place 7 weeks prior.  I took a week off of running after the finish, and just planned on maintaining until the WLTT.  That would consist of 40-50 mile weeks.
As is illustrated in the following spreadsheet, my ITBS flared up one week, and my kids gave me a terrible cold another week.  This caused me to miss nine days of training.  Not a huge deal, given the laid back nature of the event.

  

The plan was for me to park my car by my friend Siva's condo.  I had met him at Hallucination 100, where I paced him his last 50 miles.
I woke up at 2am, Friday morning, and was on the road to Chicago by 2:45.
It was a 4:40 minute drive, and due to the time change from Eastern to Central, I arrived at 6:10.  Siva was planning on heading to the Bean at 7, so I watched some local Chicago news until we left.

RD Scott Kummer had posted three Google map segments prior to the event.  They totaled 89 miles.  Last year's event, from Milwaukee to Chicago, was 97 (we started more north than we would be ending).
I figured I was down for 89 miles at a leisurely pace.

The Event

Siva and I arrived at the Bean at 7:30.  There was only one other runner there at the time.  We introduced ourselves and waited for the rest of the runners.  They arrived, we posed for some pictures, got our starting instructions from RD Scott Kummer, and were on our way.

Out of Chicago (to Evanston)

The route for the first 15.6 miles

Chicago is a big city.  I mean, a real big city.  I was born and raised in Detroit, and that doesn't hold a candle to Chicago.
I had no idea when Chicago proper ended, and the suburbs began.

We had fantastic volunteers, and at least two dedicated crew cars for the duration of the event.
To be honest, I don't remember specifics of much of the event.  I hung with Rey, the friend I finished the last 20 miles of last year's event with, for most of this year's event.
We walked a lot.
A whole lot.
Rey and I had learned from last year that taking it easy in the beginning was the way to go.

So that's all I really remember about this leg.  Lots of walking.

Somewhere

Did I mention that we walked?

Evanston to Waukegan

We stopped at a restaurant named Homer's for lunch.  Nice place, a bit classier than fast-food, but not quite a sit-down restaurant.
Neither Rey nor I were hungry.  We just took a load off while everyone else ate.

On our way out, I said hello to Kiki, Alfredo's widow.  She was a crew car for the first day.  One of the nicest women I ever met.  She comes into play later in this report.

Of course, shortly after leaving Homer's, I started to get super hungry.

The interior of Homer's

  

About four miles later, one of the runners' clients (she's a running coach) was standing on the corner with a box of pizza.

Now, I've never had Chicago style pizza.  It appeared that it was probably fresh about five hours prior, but it looked DELICIOUS!  I grabbed two.  I ate nothing else for the next 15 miles because I was so full.

I already ate the first piece

Sunset comes earlier in Chicago than it does where I live in Fenton, MI.  I don't recall exactly where we were when it set, but I do remember that it was full dark when we ran through North Chicago.

Scott gave us the directive last year that we were to stick together in North Chicago, and the same held true this time.

Apparently North Chicago is a 'bad neighborhood'.  I didn't find it to be terrible.  I've been in much worse places in the depths of my addiction.

So we stuck together.

More walking.

Waukegan to When I Finished

In Waukegan, we stopped at a McDonald's for dinner.  I was the first to see the golden arches, so I was able to kick it into a semblance of a run.  I was the first to reach Kyle's SUV.  He told me that a bunch of guys had pulled a guy out of the van parked next to him, and carried him into the McDonald's.
When the rest of the crew pulled up, and that story was relayed to them, they became very reticent to enter the McD's.  As I said, I've been in worse places than North Chicago, and worse situations than some dude being dragged into a McD's.
All I wanted was some McChickens, but everyone else was dead set against going in.
Luckily, there was a restaurant across the street, Rosati's.  I hadn't eaten since the pizza I ate 15 miles prior.  I ordered a HUGE order of these bread stick things.

I ate the whole basket.  I was so stuffed.

At some point during the night, we passed the Illinois/Wisconsin border.  

I was getting tired.  Not sleepy, per se, but tired.  I had been up for ~24 hours, and had walked many, many miles.

Rey and I were both looking forward to reaching the Kenosha Running Company, in Kenosha, WI.  Brian, the owner of the store, provided an AS for us.

He had done the same thing for us last year.

I ate a bowl of instant oatmeal, then curled up on the floor for a nap.

Pretty sure Brian let us sleep for 30 minutes.

We woke up, girded ourselves, and carried on.

This was mile 60.

I want to take a minute to mention that Friday's weather was beautiful.  Sunny, with a high in the 60s (F).  The setting sun brought cooler temps, but it was still nice.

Somewhere around midnight, the wind picked up and brought cooler temps, in the 30s (F).

So it was somewhere between 4-5am, Saturday morning, when we exited Kenosha Running Company.  I fell in with Rey, and we walked some more.  It took us maybe a mile to loosen up.

We walked.

I started thinking about walking 25 more miles.  

I had no desire to do that.  We had already walked close to 50 miles already.  I told Rey that I was considering dropping at the next spot we saw the aid vehicles, mile 65.

We reached the cars finally.  I told Kiki that I was going to hop in her car to get warm and take a nap.  I asked her if she would wake me up when the runners arrived at the next stop, in five miles. 

I promptly fell asleep.

I woke up to the sunrise, and the runners already leaving.  I noticed that Rey and Siva had also dropped.

Thus ends the narrative of the event.

Postlude

I have absolutely zero regrets about stopping when I did.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself until I didn't anymore, and then I stopped.

I have nothing to prove to anyone; most importantly myself.

This event would have been much more difficult if it wasn't for the volunteers.
Thank you to:

• Kyle Gillman
• Jim Arnold
• Kiki
• Rich McCaleb
• All others I've forgotten in my sleep deprived state.  It was an honor and a pleasure.