[Race Report] Chicago Marathon

Race information

• What? Chicago Marathon
• When? October 9, 2016
• How far? 26.2 miles

Goals

Goal	Description
A	3:15
B	3:20
C	3:30:17 (1 second faster than my gf’s PR)

Training

This was my first marathon. Started running seriously in Spring 2015 and after getting a few 5Ks and half marathons I decided to give the full marathon distance a try. I read Jack Daniels’ Running Formula over the winter and trained with his 2Q plan, peaking at 55mpw. Those quality workouts kicked my ass, but really whipped me into shape. Ran my first half in Sept 2015, and dropped over 8 minutes off that time during the same race Sept 2016 with gas left in the tank. Huge confidence boost for Chicago.

Race Strategy

The plan was to stick with the 3:15 group for most of the race. If I could hang with them through mile 20 I’d hopefully have enough in me to finish strong for the last 10k. I did all my MP runs a couple ticks faster than the 7:26 pace required for 3:15 so I was feeling good about my strategy. If anything went wrong, I just wanted to beat my girlfriend’s marathon PR. Bragging rights and all. For nutrition I downed a gel a few minutes before the start. Then gels right before water stations around 5, 12, 17, and 22 miles. Gatorade in between.

Pre-race

This was the fastest I’ve went from my alarm going off to 100% wide awake. Phone went off and I popped right out of bed. Made some toast and oatmeal and coffee. Tried to take care of bathroom business but it’s a no go. Fuck it. Jog to the train and head to the Congress Hotel where my charity had a banquet hall reserved for us. The first wave folks in the charity met for a quick photo op outside the hotel, then we’re off to the corrals. I managed to get myself 20m or so behind the 3:15 pace group

### Mile 1: 7:14, 2: 7:34, 3: 7:41, (5K: 23:15), 4: 7:22, 5: 7:29 Coming out of the tunnel I see my girlfriend and my parents off to the side. I throw them a peace sign, which is apparently my go to race greeting now. The 3:15 pace group is already way in front of me, but I catch up to them by the first mile. I tried to run the tangents, but found myself getting pinched and slowed down in the turns. Aid stations were a zoo with so many people in the pace group, but I managed to stuck with the group through everything. I manually timed my laps since my GPS was wonky from the tunnel and tall buildings.

### Mile 6: 7:24, (10K: 46:20), 7: 7:16, 8: 7:27, 9: 7:23, (15K: 1:09:17), 10: 7:29 Feeling good running through the north side. I blow kisses to the beautiful bearded cabaret dancers in Boystown. I start to worry about the pace group though. I’m getting low and high splits. Do these guys even know what they’re doing?? (hint: Yes they do. Your first marathon is not the time to get cocky, buddy.) I keep chugging along with the pack. All the shout outs from the crowd for my charity helped keep my energy up. Peace signs for everyone. I’m on top of the world. I am the greatest runner in the land.

### Mile 11: 7:31, 12: 7:24, (20K: 1:32:27), 13: 7:25, (Half: 1:37:30), 14: 7:23, 15: 7:25 Another slow split from the pace group! I decide to pull ahead a bit and try to hit the 7:25 paces I ran during training. There’s a lot more space here to run. Aid stations aren’t a warzone anymore.  I see my friend on the sidelines at the halfway point. He joins me for 200m or so and we have a nice chat until a cop yells at him to get off the road. RIP, friend.

### Mile 16: 7:22, 17: 7:23, 18: 7:20, (30K: 2:18:23), 19: 7:24 I see my short-lived bandit friend in the crowd as we turn down Halsted. Good to know he didn’t get in trouble. As we go south on Ashland I see the huge 3RUN2 cheering crew from my neighborhood. Seems like a fun group. The next turn onto 18th street in Pilsen was surreal. A sudden wall of noise, but that stretch of road was over so quick. At this point the pace group has caught up with me. Maybe they do know what they’re doing.

### Mile 20: 7:25, 21: 7:30, (35K: 2:41:33), 22: 7:26, 23: 7:24, 20 miles was the longest I’d ever run previously. I realize that every step I take is the furthest I’ve ever gone. Wow so inspiring. I’m also now terrified of this damn wall I kept hearing about. I keep on pace with the pack, but they’re pulling ever so slightly ahead. I decide to keep my own pace and soldier on. I make the turn onto 35th and see my uncle snapping photos. I hop out of my pack real quick and throw him a quick peace sign.

### Mile 24: 7:31, (40K: 3:05:21), 25: 7:48, 26: 8:06, 0.2: 1:43 We turn onto Michigan Ave. The home stretch. Somewhere around 31st (?) I see a sign that says “Run Like a Moose! ARTC”. I shout “Advanced Running!” and try to wave but I can’t really get my arm up. That’s not good. Shortly thereafter I see the local Flatlander ultrarunning group’s tent. That gave me a bit of a boost until my pace started to dip at mile 24. This must be that wall. Felt more like jello. My legs were still moving but I felt like I was dragging them through syrup. At this point I can barely see the 3:15 pace group up ahead. They look to be on pace for 3:15. I guess they knew what they were doing.

I continue the trek up Michigan Ave. An encouraging sign informs me that there’s only 1 mile left. I’ve ran a mile lots of times. I see my watch discouragingly tick past 3:15. Oh well. I make the turn onto Roosevelt and see people are dropping, tackling that cruel mountain. I dig deep and keep on going, trying to reel in whoever I can. I turn the corner onto Columbus and my left hamstring tightens up. Images of the Argentinian at Rio who sideshuffled to the finish flash across my  eyes. Now is not the time to cramp up. I delicately balance speeding up to finish strong, but not so fast that my left leg explodes. And I did the damn thing. Finished in 3:16:03.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/739652499

Post-race

I shuffled over to the runner reunite area and meet up with my parents and girlfriend. I lay down and stretch my legs then we go get my stuff and get the hell out of dodge. Burgers and fries and beers with everyone to celebrate.

It was a bit discouraging to miss my goal by just over a minute. Maybe I could have gone under 3:15 if I had stuck with the pace group. Or maybe I wouldn’t have! Doesn’t matter. I’m still very happy with my result. When I first thought about signing up for the Chicago Marathon late last year I figured sub-4 would be a good goal. Then I dropped that down to 3:30. Then finally down to 3:15 early in the summer. I didn’t blow up at 13.1 or mile 20 and kept a pretty steady pace up until the very end. Most importantly I had a ton of fun. Can’t wait to start training for #2 next summer.

What's next?

Running a silly 34 mile elimination run in three weeks. I’m trying to keep my mileage in the 45-55 mpw range through the winter and then start training for a mid-May 50 miler. My A-race in 2017 will be Chicago again. I think I have a BQ in me in the next few of years. Maybe I can split the difference in 2017 and run 3:08, then 3:00 in 2018. We’ll see how it goes. Now I’m hooked.

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