Gluten Free Xicana: 2017 Bank of America Chicago Marathon Complete!


Training one week before Marathon in Aguascalientes, MX

I am so humbled by the overwhelming support and well wishes from all of my friends, family, and colleagues as I trained for and ran the Chicago Marathon. I felt such a sense of community from all over the world as I trained in Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Chicago. I learned that I had community in so many places; so many people invested in my wellness and success. I was so touched by the love and sincere care I was given. In Mexico, just a week before the race, my colleague, Bernardo, picked me up at 6:30 a.m. to run a 10 k on the linea verde. The first day he ran with me being left with legs like jello! The next day he followed me in the car to make sure I was safe. The training in the mountains of Azerbaijan, Guatemala, and Mexico kicked my butt! After these mountains, the little bump called a hill at the end of the marathon was nothing!

It was a difficult journey. I had some setbacks - a sprained an ankle in Guatemala that never totally healed going into the race, a horrible setback with all the crazy autoimmune issues I have, that lingered well into two weeks before the race, and doing something as daunting as running 26.2 miles, something I had never done before, felt quite scary. I challenged myself in new ways, including the acceptance that I was not going to be running my personal best and recognizing my own limits. I learned that I just needed to relax, have fun, and finish strong. And that is what I did! I always said, if I wasn't smiling when I was running, I didn't want to do it. I certainly didn't smile during a lot of the training. It was hard work and pushed me to my limits. I could feel the training take a toll on my body, convincing me I would never do this again! However, keeping up with the rigorous training and finally finding the best way to manage the fatigue as a result of the impact on my adrenal glands put me in a place where I could definitely smile and feel strong throughout the race. I received some good last minute advice from Dr. Mario Gonzalez and it worked during the race. I did keep thinking at some points on race day: "Why would anyone do something like this? To support a cause you really believe in?" Of course, there was my answer - running for Taller de Jose and the folks they accompany on their journeys was enough motivation to maintain my level of commitment.

In the last week before the race, eating well was key to my success. My colleagues in Mexico were very understanding and supported me in not eating any sugar, wheat, or corn (although I have to admit I did have some shots of Mezcal on one of the days). I didn't want to risk any symptoms emerging before the race now that I had things relatively under control. How we fuel our bodies is so important, and I learned that more than ever as I pushed my body to it's limits with the training.

My absolute favorite part of the race was running through the Pilsen neighborhood. I couldn't help but stop three times to dance to the music, engage in some serious cheering with the spectators and receive many hugs! I ran shouting "¡Que viva Mexico!" "¡Que viva Pilsen" "¡Si Se Puede!" Nothing like this experience to remind me why the struggle to fight gentrification is so important. I don't want the beauty that is this neighborhood to be pushed out! I can't imagine a marathon without Pilsen as it is now..... This is what I looked like at mile 19 in Pilsen! Mi gente in Pilsen gave me the energy and boost I needed to go on to mile 20 and more!

I do have to give a shout out to my partner in life, Rolando Villarreal Sosa, who faithfully followed me at different points on the journey to make sure that I had paleo friendly fuel and my Nunn tablets throughout the race as I don't eat what's available on the course including the Gatorade. I got to see him at various points for a hug, kiss, and some running fuel. He made my bulletproof coffee that I have on race days - the butter and XCT oil in my coffee. Ready to fuel and run on fats! As I have said a million times, no carb-loading for me. At the end, in my last mile, Rolando was there to cheer me on, and a woman said to him, "Is that your wife? She looks great! She's still running!" and he responds, "Yep, that's my wife!"

Honestly, I don't know if I will run another marathon again given the toll the training took on my body, but I am hungry for some PB times on some half marathons! I'm hungry to start running again this week! I learned how important it is to keep up my grain free eating and I'm more committed then ever to eating well.

Thank you, thank you so very much to every single person who donated, cheered me on, tracked me during the race, and sent me some positive energy on race day. Thank you to Cheryl and Kevin - Cheryl who gave me a big hug early in the race, and Kevin who shooed me on, saying "go, go!" LOL! Georgina and my compadre Eleazar who did the same at the Jumping Bean. Also a very special thanks to my son Atzin Villarreal Sosa. If he only knew how much I respect him and love him. He was a huge support this summer during the hardest part of the training. This race felt as "easy" as it did because of the ways he pushed me and challenged me as I trained. I appreciate him and every single one of you!