Chicago Marathon Race Report: Getting After It!

About a week ago now, I raced at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.  This was my fall goal race and I honestly did not know what to expect when I was standing on the starting line before the race.  I had had several ups and downs in my training since Boston.  I completed this race in 2:56:55.  Sub-3 hours!  Good, right?  Not quite.  I set my marathon PR in Philadelphia the previous November and ran 2:54:02, slightly fading after opening in 1:25 even.  My training block had gone very well, running the best marathon workouts of my life.  I was faster and stronger than ever before.  My tune-up race, the New Bedford Half Marathon, had not gone well.  I ran 1:21, slower than I had run at this distance the pri

or fall.  My coach told me not to worry because I did not taper for the race, keeping the mileage high.  The goal was to run fast at Boston, not before then.  This affected me mentally going into Boston.  I lacked confidence even though the training was there.  After running a disappointing marathon, I did not allow my body to recover from the race.  I was angry and I wanted to train.  This, however, was a mistake.  I quickly developed a hamstring injury, as I came back to running too much, too fast, too soon.  I was plagued with this injury throughout the summer, finding it difficult to run most days and get through workouts.  I was stubborn.  I did not take any days off or seek help from a physical therapist.  My summer races varied due to this injury and running in the heat.  I set a 5k PR (16:37 on a downhill course) and also ran a 17:52 (did a 3 x 5k workout in 18:00 before Boston so this was pretty bad).  I started to feel better and training picked up in September as the weather cooled off.  I used the Salem Half Marathon as a tune-up race and ran, you guessed it, 1:21.  I was on 1:17 pace through 5 miles but the legs were not there.  This time, I reasoned that it was because I had run 100+ miles the week before and 90 during race week.  I looked at this race as a good simulator for marathon pace, not as what I am capable of running a half marathon in.  I continued to train hard before Chicago and went through a solid taper week where I really backed off for me (40 miles plus the race, and 75 the week before).  I was rested and ready to give it a shot at Chicago.  I follow a lot of the elite American marathoners and watched the US Championships at Twin Cities the week before Chicago.  I saw Tyler McCandless and Pat Rizzo lead this race for the longest time.  They led even though there were runners in the race with faster PRs.  I admire that they did not run scared and went for it.  It sort of gave me confidence to take a shot myself.  I arrived in Chicago on Thursday night before Sunday's race.  I stayed with one of my two best friend's from home and he took great care of me.  When we discussed Sunday's race, I had decided that I was going to get after it.  I was going to run with confidence and target a 1:21 opening half.  The goal was to run a low 2:40 (2:39 possible on the best day) marathon time.  I targeted 2:43, with a sub-2:45 being a solid place to be.  When the gun went off, I was ready to give it everything I had.

I had a great starting position, placed right behind the elite runners at the front of Corral A.  I took it out in a 6:08 mile.  The goal was to be around 6:10 pace.  I executed my race plan perfect for the first 13.1 miles.  I followed up the 6:08 first mile with a 6:09, 6:09, 6:07, 6:13, 6:04.  I reached 10k in 38:14.  I was consistent through the half, reaching this point in 1:20:48.  I was on pace for a 2:41:36 marathon and was averaging 6:10 a mile.  I ran the opening half in a tight pack of 5-6 runners, each of us trading off leading and setting the pace.  I was racing!  Things could not have been going better.  I was hydrating and fueling well.  This was turning into a very good day.  The Chicago Marathon is a fun, big city race.  The only downside is that the crowd is heaviest during the opening half of the race.  You are on your own for a large portion of the second half of the race until you get close to Grant Park and the finish line.  I went out aggressively and began to fall off pace at about 25k.  I was still on 2:42 pace at this point and 2:43 pace at 30k.  The last 10k was rough.  I was at 2:05:20 at 20 miles and needed a 40:39 to keep it in the 2:45 range.  I ran 41:58 (6:45 pace) over the last 10k.  35k to 40k was my worst stretch.  I split 21:18 during this portion and had a couple of 6:50 miles.  At mile 25, I saw my friend and he gave me some encouragement to push hard for the finish.  My final mile, from 25.2 to the finish, was 6:36.  I managed to drop it down a little and worked very hard to get to the finish line.  I crossed in 2:47:18 (6:23 overall pace).  This now stands as my marathon PR.  I am happy with this but know that I can do better in the marathon.  I do not regret my early pacing.  I gave myself an opportunity to run 2:41 and am satisfied with my finish time because I went for it.  With better pacing, it is possible that I could have run 2:43-2:45.  This is why I know there is potential for me to keep improving at the marathon distance.  I did finish 281st overall of almost 40,000 runners and was 22nd in my age group.  I had a great race experience in Chicago and learned how to be a confident runner.  After finishing the race, I found my friend and we hopped on the 'L' (do not call it a 'T' Boston people!) to work our way back home.  I was still wrapped in my solar blanket and my medal was proudly hanging from my neck.  When we walked underground and were standing to wait for the 'L', people around me started clapping.  Everyone else around me joined in and this went on for a solid amount of time.  I was a little embarrassed and shyly waved my thanks to everyone.  Many asked me my time and were very impressed with my 2:47.  This was such a special moment.  It is moments like this that make the training 100% worth it.  I was humbled.

What's next?  Recovery.  Recovery.  Recovery.  Then speed.  Then marathon build-up.  Taper.  Boston Marathon.  Smash my 2:47 marathon PR and BREAKTHROUGH.  This is going to be the theme as I train for the Boston Marathon.  Chicago was a mini-breakthrough, but Boston is where I take things to the next level.

Run hard, train smart, have fun.

David

1:21 and that's okay

My last tune-up race before Chicago was at the Salem 'Wicked' Half Marathon two weeks ago.  My goal for this race was to simulate how I will feel at Chicago.  I originally picked out the time goal of 1:17 and as you can see from this title I was four minutes off.  That's quite a bit of a difference.  When the race began, the eventual winner (in 1:06) took off and one person followed close behind.  I quickly found myself in a third place pack.  I was running alongside two other runners from the start and we were battling for 3rd, 4th and 5th place.  We took turns leading and pushing the pace.  Our first mile was reached in 5:45.  We slowed a little, as the course featured some rolling hills early on, but reached 5 miles right on 1:17 pace.  After 5 miles, however, my day was beginning to end.  One of the guys I was running with made a little break and gapped me by out 10 seconds by mile 6.  This was discouraging.  I did not slow down; he picked up the pace.  I simply could not go with the move.  I then began to fall off pace and found myself running alone.  I reached 10 miles in 1:01 and was not where I wanted to be.  I worked through a stomach cramp at around 10.5 and actually stopped at a water station to take in fluids and stretch.  This probably cost me around 45 seconds or so.  I ended up 8th (dropped a little due to the stop) in 1:21:10.  I did take home 1st place in my age group and took home a pint glass!  Without the stop, I would have been in the mid-1:20 range.  My technical PR (I say technical because the course was long) is 1:19:56.  I would not have been too far off of that.  I still feel like my half marathon PR is pretty weak because I feel I can continue at this pace for 26.2 miles.  All of my recent races have been run on 'tired' legs, meaning there was no serious taper.  I am not giving myself a chance to run fast at this distance.  The week before Salem, I peaked with a 100 mile week.  My long run the week before was 22 miles with the last 5 at 5:54 pace.  During the week of the race, I totaled 90 miles.  I ran 16, 14, and 10 miles, respectively, the three days before the race.  This is not how one taper's.  I am not dissatisfied with this effort because I am aware that I trained through the race.  It is not a matter of not being to hold the pace I wanted to run, but to do it on depleted legs.  I think that I did a good job of simulating how Chicago will feel.  On fresh legs, I should be able to duplicate this effort and run in the low-2:40s.  This is my goal for Chicago.  I am putting my target on a sub-2:43 marathon and will be happy under 2:45.  If I have the right day and run closer to 2:39 that will just be an added bonus.  It is also important to note that I very recently (yesterday) started physical therapy at Foundation Performance to treat my hamstring.  It was diagnosed as a strain and appears more serious than I thought.  The doctor is not crazy about me running Chicago, but when have runner's ever listened to medical professionals?  We always know best (please note the sarcasm- but this is actually how we tend to think).  I am planning on a sizable break after the marathon.  I have never taken more than a day off before jumping back into training and this needs to stop regardless of the outcome of the race.  Many elite runner's take two weeks completely off from running after a marathon.  I will be satisfied with one and then one week of light running (read as no workouts).  I am starting to get more excited for Chicago.  I am confident that my PR is about to drop in a very big way.  After this, I will rest and recover so that I can have a small indoor season where I can focus on distances from the mile through 5k.  I also want to road race before this in November and December and concentrate on the 5k and 10k.  It will be fun to do some faster running!  For now, the focus is making it through Chicago and taking care of my health.  I am ready for a BIG result in the Windy City.

David