Chicago Marathon, A Tale of Two Halves!

Weather at the start could not have been better.  Corral B is a great starting point, only took me to about 1.5 minutes to get to the start line and while crowded, everyone in this corral was where they should have been.  I got near the 3:20 pacer, found a few people to chat with, and off we went.

First 10K: 46:51 (7:25 average pace, HR 158-160)  I felt great for this entire portion.  I noticed that the 3:20 pacers were closer to a 3:16 finish pace at this point, but also figured I would need some extra because it’s such a wide course I would probably run an extra .25 miles, which I did.  Mistake #1 not backing off to my planned pace and let the pacer group go, but I was feeding off the excitement and spectators and other runners and just felt so darn good.  Nutrition right on target.  Shot Bloks @ mile 3, salt tab @ mile 6.

10K-HM: 1:40:04 – (7:35 pace for this section) Average pace had dropped to 7:30, but I had made a conscious decision to back off to the HM point as I had gone out too fast.  Nutrition was still on target, Clif Gel @ 8,  Salt Tab @ 10, Shot Bloks @ HM.  As we turned west heading out of the loop, I had the first feelings that I may be in trouble.  Legs were feeling more fatigued then they should have at this point.

HM-30K: 2:23:39 (Avg pace for this section 7:43, but steadily slower each mile) Average pace dropped to 7:35, and the HR was moving to lower 160s, bad combination to be going slower with a higher HR!).  I began to realize my 3:20 goal was probably out of the picture which was psychologically difficult to handle.  I still had my 3:25 BQ in sight, but my legs were very heavy, and there was the early signs of cramping in my right arch and both calfs.  Nutrition was fine, took a Gel @ 16.  Looking back I think I discovered mistake number 2.  For some reason I convinced myself that I was going to use Gatorade at every aide station and skip the Salt Tabs for the rest of the race, it seemed to make sense to me at the time.   Note to self, next time stick with the plan you made when you have not been running for two hours, not the one you make up on the fly!  I’m thinking this may have contributed to the later cramping.

30K-Finish – 3:31:42 (Avg pace for this section 9:19  HR 163-5 until the cramps kicked in, then it dropped) My legs continued to be very heavy, but I was able to keep around a pace in the lower 8:00s.  Got a nice boost from a large group from the Grayslake Running Club friends at the mile 19 marker which was awesome!  I was mentally struggling seeing all these splits in the 8:00s, but my legs would just not go.  Just after the mile 22 marker, my left calf fully cramped, ouch! I slowed the pace, and walked the aid station, had a couple Gatorades and picked it back up.  By now I knew even my BQ was out the window so I figured I should make sure to soak in the atmosphere and try to enjoy the rest of the run. I made sure to high five as many kids as I could, and thank everyone along the way.  Miles 24-25 were awful.  Full cramps in left both calfs, and my right foot.  Became a crawl for these two miles (10:31 - 10:03): run, cramp, stretch, walk, and repeat.  At the 25 mile mark I decided come hell or high water I was going to run the rest of this darn race.  I was able to go 8:51 for mile 26, and 8:20 pace for the final “kick.”  I took Shot Bloks @ 20, but skipped the last planned gel @ 24 (too busy just trying to stay upright!).  The finish of Chicago is awesome, little hill during the last 400m, then a turn and the line is in sight, lots of spectators, loud, very exciting.  I hope there is video of my finish as I tried Leap across the finish line, and as I jumped both calfs and my right Hamstring fully cramped and I almost face planted, I literally laughed out loud at my stupidity as I was trying to maintain my balance. 

Summary:  Chicago is a great venue for a Marathon, though I’m not sure I’ll do it again next year (too many other marathons I want to do).  I need to stick with my plan and not get caught up in the excitement of the race both on pace and nutrition.  My HR data tells me that my fitness level was more than adequate (158 Avg HR), so I think it was more of a failure to manage electrolytes and early pacing.  From a training standpoint I think I will do more marathon pace tempos during the last 5-6 miles of my Long runs to train my body to push through that heavy leg point. Lesson Learned (Probably not, more like lesson taught, LOL).  Overall a great experience even without meeting my goal time!