Impromptu 2014 Chicago Marathon

On Friday evening about 36 hours before the Chicago Marathon, a friend of mine came into a bib for the Race.  I had an already busy weekend scheduled, but could not allow myself to miss the opportunity to run Chicago for free, so I was in.

My 36 hour Marathon training plan was simple, don't run until the race, then enjoy a fully supported long run early Sunday morning.  No time to figure out a race plan, or nutrition plan, just go out and run.  My plan was to pack a couple of Gatorade chews I already had, and rely on the course for gatorade and other nutritional support.  This would be my fourth marathon, about a month since completing my first 50K at Wisconsin North Face.  I've maintained my running, but have not really been following any training plan. Just under 4 hours seemed like a reasonable goal.

Hitched a ride to the race with a couple running friends, tried to stay warm and then hopped into Coral G.  Having run it last year from Coral B, I figured I would have some crowding issues at the beginning, hoping to start out around 9:00, and see what happens.

Mile 1-3:  Average pace 8:42.  I was right about the crowd, very thick with some slow people, I tried to settle into a pace, but spent much of this time bobbing and weaving around runners.  I had to pee pretty bad at the start, so when we got to the first aid station on State Street I figured why be uncomfortable, and snuck off to the porta potty for a quick leak, then back to the course. I love this part of the race, so fun to be running the streets of the loop with thousands of others.

Mile 4-8:  Average Pace 8:24 - So much for averaging 9:00s.  I was keeping my HR in check, right around 150-55  (Low Zone 3 for me) and was feeling great.  Hitting each aid station for a drink of Gatorade and a sip of water, and just soaking in the sights and sounds of the event.

Miles 9-HM 8:40 Average Pace (8:35 average pace for the HM, 1:53:12).  The first half of Chicago is so much fun.  Boys Town, Lincoln Park, Old Town, River North and back to the loop.  The excitement and crowds are just the best.  I was in a very nice place, and just enjoying the ride.

Miles HM-19: Average Pace 9:12.   I knew my least favorite part of the course was coming up.  The section west out of the loop, then a quick turn back before heading towards Taylor Street is just not the fun.   Since I knew I had to make a 6 hour drive in the evening for a college visit in Iowa with my son, I did not want to be overly uncomfortable while sitting in the car after the race.   I was feeling pretty good, but my legs were starting to feel the wear and tear of the pace, so I decided to back off a little bit.  Just broke up the race into Aid station to Aid Station chunks.  I would run to the end of the Gatorade tables, grab one and walk with it as I drank it, then do the same with the water.  Seemed to be working pretty good.

Miles 20-25:  Average pace 9:27.   Legs continued to feel a bit fatigued, so just kept trudging along at a "comfortable" pace, not pushing it too hard, and walking the aid stations.  Started doing the math, and realized I would be pretty close to the sub 4:00 goal.

Finish:  3:54:29.  Last Mile.2 Average pace 8:44.  With a mile to go, the energy from the crowd begins to build again.  I looked at my watch and figured I could get in under 3:55 if I pushed it just a bit, so I did.  Made the last turn toward the finish with a big smile and another Marathon under my belt?

So, I was able to break 4:00 without any real training plan, which is great.  I ended up finishing with an 8:48 average pace for the race, a really solid long run.  My HR average was 153 (Mid Zone 3).  I have absolutely no complaints about this run/race.  Really fun way to spend a Sunday morning!

Summary:  Driving 6 hours after a Marathon not so fun, LOL.  On the positive side, I really had little to no soreness walking around the campus of Iowa State the day after the race which leads me to believe I ran it like I wanted to, comfortable long run.  Felt pretty good to push through the fatigued points between 17-24.  I could have easily just walked  more, but decided to keep going to hit the sub 4:00 goal.   My fitness level  must be pretty darn good!

North Face 50K

This was my first venture beyond the marathon distance, and a completely different training plan.  For each of my three Marathons I had logged plenty of miles, but also focused on speed work and tempo runs during the training.  For this 50K attempt, my plan was to focus more on finishing as comfortably as possible.  I logged between 40-50 miles/week with all at an easy pace.  My only speed work was the Grayslake Running Club track interval workouts once/week.  I knew the course would be a challenge, around 1500 feet of gain (that's a lot for us Flatlanders) and all trail, so I set my goal a conservative 10:30/mile pace or 5:30 finish.

 Conditions at the start could not have been better.  It was a in the upper 50s for the 7AM start with low humidity.  The running gods seem to have smiled me for my first Ultra attempt.  Much of the last three weeks has been hot and humid, which would have made this a very uncomfortable race.

Start to Aid Station 1 (Mile 6.9) - The race starts in a recreation area, and we have about a mile run on a road to get to the Scuppernog area, which is the first section we loop.  We started a bit faster than planned (8:40 for mile 1) but I was able to back off and settle into a bit slower pace.  My plan was to run with my friend, but shortly after the fist aid station (2 miles in, we pass this same station 3 times) I had pulled away from him, not on purpose, I was just feeling good.  My average pace during this section was 9:00-9:15, but my HR was just fine and I felt very comfortable, so I figured just stay with it.  My plan was to keep the HR near 150 on the flats, and under 160 on the hills, which ended up being running 1/4 to 1/2 of most of the hills, then walking out the rest.

Scuppernog - Wilton (Mile 16.8)  After the  Scuppernog loop, and began our long loop down the Ice Age Trail and back.  I felt very strong through this section.  I had settled into a comfortable pace, was enjoying the scenery and the occasional runner I would pass or would pass me.  One runner was on a run/walk schedule that had him passing me during his running, and me catching a passing him while he walked.  We struck up a conversation and it turned out he is dating a woman from my running club, small world!  I was still well  ahead of my planned 10:30 pace maintaining the average pace in the lower 9:00's but knew I would be giving it back toward the end.

 Wilton - Hwy 67 (Mile 22.4)  This section included the "Meadows" section of the course.  In my plan I was going to push the pace through here.  It is about a 5 mile section through a grassy bog/meadow, with several wooden bridge crossings.  It is very flat, and should be fast, but just about mile I began to feel the race, and my legs were getting quite heavy.  I was finding it difficult to push the pace the way that I wanted too, and my average pace began to creep up, and my legs were starting to fatigue.

Hwy 67-Piper Rd. (Mile 27.7) - I knew I  had friends volunteering the Piper Rd station, and boy did I need to see some friendly faces.  While I got a great sense of accomplishment when my watch clicked past the 26.2 distance, my pace was struggling, I had a hot spot on a toe on my left foot (pretty good blister by the time I finished) and I was struggling to keep "running" (paces in this section 11's and 12's with plenty of walking).  Another thing that added to the slower paces of this section was the fact that it is run on Horse Trails that are made of very loose sand.  I tried to run on the edge of the trail when I could, and in the truck tire marks when they were there, but the slipping and sliding for several miles was not very fun.  I was quite relieved to reach the Piper Rd. aid station.  I Fueled up with some bananas, oranges, Coke and Mountain Dew, got some encouraging words from my friends (when the asked me what they could get me the only answer I had was, "the finish line") and headed off for the final march home.

Piper Road to Finish (31.4 Miles although my garmin read 30.87)  There was one more tough climb, a steeper hill  that is just over 1/2 mile long. Walked the whole thing, took a deep breath, and started my descent for Ottawa Lake.  By this point in the race, even the down hills were not fun, quads were burned out, feet and ankles aching and sore, and just wanted to be done.  This is an interesting part of the race as we pass the first aid station for the third time.  It was nice to hear them say it's only 1.8 mile home, since my Garmin had me needing significantly more than that.  It was a little demoralizing to see the Marathon relay runners on their way out and back at this point too.  They looked so good, are only running 10Ks, and were flying by me like I was standing still, though almost every one of them had encouraging me.  The good news is that were are too many spectators around to let myself walk, so I sucked it up and finished as strong as I could.

Crossed the finish 15 minutes faster than planned at 5:15, and enjoyed the glow of a really cool accomplishment.  My two friends I was at the start with both hit their goals too, one finished 4:50s with a course PR, the other just 5 minutes behind me and 10 minutes ahead of his 5:30 goal and a course PR for him.

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/591992725

Summary:  I needed a break from marathon training and pushing for my BQ, and this was exactly what the Doctor ordered.  While I still want to hit my BQ again, and race Boston, the allure of longer distances, especially on trails, is quite strong.  I don't really have another race on my calendar, so I'll take a few weeks to recover, enjoy running without a plan, and determine what I'm going to conquer next!

Wauconda Olympic Triathlon

I decided to try something new with my training cycle for the Wauconda Triathlon this summer.  I consider myself more of a runner, and my training has always been run focused, with swim and bikining as secondary workouts.  My plan for the summer was to work more on the swim and bike, and let the run take care of itself.  Turned out, the swim and bike went well, unfortunately I crashed and burned on the bike!

Conditions: From all reports, we were suppose to have great conditions for race day, cool and low humidity.  Apparently Mother Nature did not read the reports, it was cool at the 6:36 swim start (68) but the humidity was in the 90% range, not good!  By the time I got to the run it was nearing 80, and still humid.

Swim: 1 Mile, 29:22 https://www.endomondo.com/workouts/380210686/3567515

My goal was 29:00, so pretty close to plan so far.  I had trained harder for the swim than I ever had in the past.  Being a swimmer in High School I've never worried too much about the swim, but his time I worked at improving.  I also wore a wet suit, and they really do help!  Felt strong for the whole swim, nice steady pace, and came out of the water ready to hit the bike.

T1: 2:54 

My goal was 2:30, and to improve from the LITH Sprint earlier this summer (2:58), and I did by 4 seconds, LOL.  I am actually that pretty happy with this time  considering it is a quite a long jog from the water to the transition area.  Unfortunately my first mistake occurred here.  I did not load up my shirt with my nutrition, which may contributed to the failed run.

Bike:  28.6 Miles, 1:30:09, 19.1MPH.  https://www.endomondo.com/workouts/380210708/3567515

My goal was 1:28/19.5 MPH.  The course was a 14.3 mile loop that we did twice.  The first loop went fairly well, and I was at a 19.6MPH average when I passed the Transition area, right on pace.  I planned on trying to keep my HR right around 150, and try to maintain 85-90 RPM on the bike.  Realizing I had not grabbed my GU Blox and Power Bar, I tried to ration the Powerade throughout the ride.  It was only 240 calories, but it was all I had, along with water.  About the 20th mile I really began to feel my energy level dropping.  When comparing the paces from the first loop to the second, I am slower on each mile.  I ended up giving back about 1/2MPH average by the time I got to T2.  My time was a couple minutes slower than goal, but still on track to get under 3:00 for an overall finish.

T2: 2:11

My goal was 1:30, but with my lower energy I knew I needed to get some nutrition in me so I took the time to eat 5 shot blox (170 calories) and a shot of Gatorade at the hydration station just outside transition.  

Run: 10K, 58:36,  9:27/mile average pace:  https://www.endomondo.com/workouts/380210725/3567515

Goal: 49:00, 7:53/mile average

This is the segment of the Triathlon where the wheels came off!  I knew this course was going to be challenging.  The sprint has a much easier course.  It's a shared course for the first mile, then the Olympic distance does an out and back that is a series of challenging hills.  This coupled with the heat and  humidity and my lack of energy put me in a bad place mentally.  For the first time in my racing career, I had to pee during a race.  Luckily there was a portapotty right outside transition, and I was able to get in and out of it in about 30 seconds, and still knock off an 8:30 first mile.  My the 1.5 mile mark I was already beginning to hurt, and could see the first of the many hills to come.  Once I made the decision to walk for 30 seconds, I knew my shot at my goal was over.  While I was a bit frustrated, It made the rest of the run a bit more tolerable.  I would run the flats and downhills, walk the uphills, and get water and gatorade at each station.  If I could have pushed myself a little harder, I could have probably still achieved my secondary goal of breaking 3:00, but it was just not to be.  The last mile I was able to push a bit.  There was a runner that had about 200 yards on me, trudging along.  I would gain on him when I ran, and give it back when I walked.  With about 800 yards to go I could see the finish line and had to pass him. I was able to dig down and finished the last 1/4 mile at about a 7:30 pace, and beat him easily.  

3:03:12, 52nd/141overall, 11th/26 in my Age Group.  I am a little disappointed in the results, but did enjoy the experience.  Some day I would like to try a 70.3 as well as a full Iron Man distance, but not right now.  I realize that I need to focus more on my in race nutrition (and training with nutrition) as well as incorporate more brick workouts so I'm more mentally prepared for the pain that is the run.  Great experience, and I will be doing more Triathlons in the future.  But for now, I'm glad to be going back home (running) and start my training plan for my first 50K on the Trails of Wisconsin in mid September.

Antioch Run for Freedom 5K Report

Got to sign up myself, all three of my kids, and my Son's Girlfriend for $75, pretty good deal.  Beautiful morning, a bit warm and humid, but not terrible.

Start-1 mile: 6:25 pace.  My son (and pacer) were near the front.  We had run a mile warm up so I knew there was a slight uphill grade for some of the first mile.  I am usually quite fired up at the starting line, but for some reason I did not "feel" it.  My son kept trying to get me up for it, but my head was just not into it, not sure why.  Our plan was to try to hit 6:20 pace for the first mile, and see where we were from there. 6:25 was not bad, but no room to spare.

Mile 1-2: 6:33  After the slight hill about .75 miles in, most of the second mile is a slow downhill.  I should have listened to my son who told me to push the pace here.  I felt like I was picking it up, but the clock did not lie.  In my mind I had to be comfortably under 13:00 at the 2 mile clock to have a shot at sub 20:00, and I was right at 13:00 when we passed the course clock.  Mentally this was tough for me.

Mile 2-3: 6:44  This part of the course is in a neighborhood with several hills, and that broke me.  My legs were hurting, and even with Brannan telling me we had to pick it up, I just did not have it.  I actually told him "I'm Done" just past the 2 mile mark.  We had picked up another kid just before the 2 mile marker that was also shooting for sub 20:00.  I told Brannan to try to help him to get there, and they pulled away.

Mile 3-Finish:  6:16 average pace. I did find a bit in there for a kick.  Passed a few runners down the stretch.  It was cool to see Brannan waiting for me at the finish.  I was disappointed I did not break 20:00, but very happy to get to do this with my son.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/534974834

Brannan's Girlfriend is a sprinter, so had not run a 5K without walking.  She finished about 28:00, really proud of her.  My youngest came in at just under 34:00 and my Daughter (who has not run in months) finished, she started cramping up after running the first 2 miles, so she just walk/ran her way to the end.

I may not have hit my goal, but it was a great way to kick off the Holiday Weekend!

Patrick

LITH 20 Triathlon

This is the first of two Triathlons I signed up to do the summer of 2014.  LITH 20 is a 0.5 mile swim, 15.5 mile bike and 4 mile run.  A little different from the normal Sprint distance, but the same idea.  My buddy from High School and I are signed up for both of these, so it should be a fun journey to take together.

1/2 mile Swim:  14:21 (28.42/mile): This is the first time I've tried the swim with a wet suit and I've put in a bit more work in the water including more open water practice, the results were great. I really liked the way they started this race.  It was like Noah's arc, two by two we entered the water.  It was easier to find some open water quickly and get right into the stroke.  I now understand the biggest benefit of the wet suit for me, buoyancy.  Swimming was not a weakness for me, but the additional work in the pool and open water coupled with the wet suit let me settle into a very good zone and sail right through the swim.  Never had an issue sighting the buoys and did not feel over fatigued coming out of the water.  I ended up 53rd overall, 4th in my age group in the swim.

Transition 1 (2:58): I really need to practice the transitions.  Getting out of the wet suit was not very smooth, to say the least.  My set up was not great for getting into the socks and shoes, and we had to pack our bag at this transition (they transported our stuff from T1 to the finish for us).  Most of the top 10 in my age group were under 1:30-1:50.

15.5 Mile Bike (49:26/18.8MPH):  I'm a bit disappointed in this time.  I was hoping to be closer to a 20MPH average.  The course is an out and back.  I started out pretty strong, was passing several riders and feeling good.  Rolling hills, nothing too terrible for the first few miles.  I realized about mile four there was a pretty good wind at our back.  I picked up a rider at mile 5 and kept pace with him for a couple miles, but had to let him go just after the turn around.  I was right at a 20MPH average at the 7 mile mark, but as soon as I turned back into the wind, I knew that would be difficult to maintain.  Very strong wind in our face or cross wind all the way home, ugghhh!  At mile 9 there is a small out and back with a good downhill going the bottom of which is the 10 mile mark on the way back.  This hill took a bit out of me, and my average pace was steadily dropping.  As tempting as it was to push a bit harder, I knew I would need some legs left for the run, and just stayed in a comfortable HR Zone for the reminder of the ride.  One good thing on the bike, that I failed to do last summer, was my nutrition.  I consumed 24oz of Powerade and a Gu (about 380 calories) which left me pretty strong for the run.   My rank in the bike was pretty bad.  132 overall 15th in my Age group.  Clearly I need to improve my biking.

Transition 2 (1:40):  Again, slower than  it should be.  Most of the top 10 in my age group where under 1:00 for this transition.  I need to practice this as well.  Rack the bike quicker, swap the shoes, and get the heck out of the transition area.

4 mile run (29:34/7:23 average pace):  As expected (being more of a runner) run was very good.  I stuck right by my plan and settled into a 7:30 pace right from the start.  HR was in the comfortable zone and I started picking off other runners.   The turn around for this out and back was at about 2.5 miles.  I was feeling good, so decided it was time and picked up the pace.  Finished feeling pretty strong, and even had a little kick at the end.  I may have been able to push a bit  harder on the run early, but during my Olympic Tri last year I really crashed during the run and did not want to repeat that. Ended up 66th overall 5th in my Age Group.

Overall Finishing Time: 1:38, 92/339 overall 8/35 Age Group.  Considering I developed a head cold two days before this race, can not be disappointed with the results one bit!  It was great seeing some friends at the finish, and even got to cheer on a friend doing his first Triathlon as he was exiting T2.

Six weeks until the Wauconda Olympic Distance Triathlon.  Going to really focus on my Bike training, and work in some Transition practices as part of my brick workouts.  The race course is on my way home from work, so my plan is to do as many run and riding workouts as possible on the course so I'm ready for each and every one of the hills this course will throw at me!

Illinois Marathon

I choose the Illinois Marathon for my spring 2014 race.  I did the I-Challange which is a 5K on Friday night, Full Marathon on Saturday AM.

Miles 1-6: Pacing was good, right around 7:40 which was my goal. HR was in check, below 160 and things felt great.

Miles 6-11 - Looking back over my data my HR jumped on a small hill at about 6.5 to the mid 160s, and never recovered.  Still not a danger zone, but much closer to bad news.  I still felt pretty good for this portion of the race, though there was a 2 mile section through a park that I did not enjoy very much.  My nutrition and fluid intake was good, but I did notice that the sun and quickly warming temps were starting to drain me a bit.

At mile 11.5 another small hill, and another small jump in HR that did not recover.  I was now upper 160's which would become lower 170s just after the half.  I had not checked my HR at this point in the race, maybe if I had I would have backed off a bit.

HM: 1:39:54, 7:37 average pace at this point, right where my race band wanted me to be for a 3:20.  Looking back, perhaps I should have started a bit slower, closer to 7:40 for the first half.  I began to feel the race at this point.

Miles 13-17: Probably the worst part of the race.  I did not realize where my HR was, but I really began to struggle.  Just past the 15 mile marker, I bonked, decided to try to walk for 30 seconds.  When I checked my HR I realized what had happened.  I ran/walked the next couple miles, but was unable to get myself back to a comfortable running zone.  The wall had come and kicked my ass!  Just past 17 the 3:25 pace group (my BQ) went by me and when I was unable to pick it back up and run with them, my race was over.

Miles 18-22 - After pouting for a bit, I grabbed an ice cold beer from a guy supporting the race in his front yard, enjoyed the libation, and figured I would just run/walk my way to the finish and just try to keep it under 4:00.  I was enjoying myself.  Found fellow "bonker" and we chatted our way between water stations, ran when we could, walked when we had to and talked about what we would eat to replace all the calories we were burning.

Mile 22-Finish:  The Illinois Marathon has first time marathon participants wear a "my first marathon" bib on their backs.  About mile 22 there was a young woman walking with her head drooping and looking dejected.  I tapped her on her back as I ran by and said, "let's get this done!"  She took out her ear buds, and started running with me.  She told me she just wanted to finish under four hours, but was really struggling.  I knew we had a sub-4 if we just kept a steady run/walk pace for the last 4 miles.  There is a hill at mile 24 and when we crested it we looked at eachother, and I said, let's run this thing in.  It was wonderful to see her excitement  as we crossed at 3:52.

Top 24% overall and top 28% in 45-50 Age Group is not so shabby for a "bad" race!. I think it was the clear and sunny skies and warmer temperatures were much warmer than what I trained in and caused me to bonk.  Even without hitting my goal time, I had a great marathon and running weekend. I was able to re-connect with a college friend, run a really fun 5K with a friend and neighbor, with a fun under the lights finish at the 50 yard line of Memorial Stadium. I also got to run with my Ragnar teammate from last year, for the first 7 miles of the marathon (her half marathon) where we paced it perfectly.  The tears running down her cheeks and a big hug for me at the finish made my missing out on a BQ much easier to stomach. I am disappointed I did not hit my Boston Qualifying time, but realize how blessed I am to get the opportunity to run with such great people, finished the race healthy, and will get a chance to hit that BQ in my next marathon!

River Roots & Ruts Trail Half Marathon

This was my first Trail race, and it was much more challenging than I expected!  I figured when I signed up for a Trail HM in Florida it would at least be flat, I was wrong, LOL.   I ran the Half Marathon with my 16yo  Brannan and my 13yo Mary Kate and 11yo Dylan ran the 5K. 

Miles 1-3, 7:40 average pace: The start of the race is on a groomed bike/hiking trail that winds to the North edge of the Caloosahatchee River.   I was running this with my 16yo son, and we settled into a nice pace, slowly passing the rabbits that had started out too fast.  I was planning for 7:45 average, so we were right on our goal.  passed through a beautiful section that looked like a scene out of Jurassic Park, Brannnan actually said, when do the dinosaurs come out of the jungle.  I was starting to think we could pick up our pace a bit as this was, so far, pretty easy.

Miles 4-7, 7:56 Average:  About mile 4 things began to get interesting.  We crossed the road to the northern section of the park, and entered a motocross track.  It was oddly fun to run on with the bumps, banked turns, and whoops sections.  It was also the first time I began to realize that the rain the night before was going to make the footing an issue.  The mud was very thick and "sticky as snot" as the race director so perfectly described it.  It was really cool to be in an open field, following the track.  After a mile of this, we got back on the track, and the hills started.  They were not big hills, but steep and treacherous with the mud.  Had to brace myself more than once on a tree at the end of a downhill to stop from tumbling into the adjacent swamp.  Our pace was dropping, but the effort was there so I was not too worried.  At the aid station at mile 7, my son said his hip was bothering him (he has been fighting off IT Band issues) and he made the smart decision to drop (though he ended up running about 10 miles just to get back to the car).  

Miles 8-11, 9:50 Average (though it was probably a bit faster).  I call this the Holy S#%t section!  The Northeastern section of the park is all single track, very muddy, covered by a canopy that I had to duck under much of the time, and loaded with 15-20 foot steep up and down "hils" that required speed, agility, and some luck to get up, as well as constant switchback turns. (Check out the map).  My Garmin recorded the final distance as 12.6, but the Race Director and some other runners who have run this before assured me it's a 13.1 length route, but this section cuts back on itself so often, the GPS watches can't give you a very accurate reading at race pace.  The mud also slowed me down substantially in this section.  With the lower pace, my HR also dropped.  Now I know why the front of the pack took off so fast.  If I were to do this race again, I would push the pace much harder the first 7 miles, as the trail dictates a much slower pace in this section technically, climbing/descending and the mud.  The best part of this section was picking off about 10 runners.  It seemed that they were all struggling, and it was fun to move past them and keep right on pulling away.

Miles  12-Finish, 7:55 Average: I emerged from the Holy S#%t section, and it felt good to have nice level ground where I could at least choose to run on the grassy edge of the trail rather than in the muddy track.  I saw a runner about 200 yards in front of me and decided, it's go time.  I picked up the pace and was steadily closing on him.  As I got close, with the river on my right shoulder, I began to worry I used up too much if he had a surge left.  I passed him with about 1/4 mile to go, and when he said, "Good Job," I knew I was home free.  He quickly dropped back from me as I maintained my pace, turned the corner and jumped over the finish line!

Results: 1:47:34, 27 overall 7/21 Age Division, 8:13 average pace  (some fast old men in this race!). http://connect.garmin.com/activity/427120292

Really fun, happy with my time, and look forward to more trail running in the near future!