My time was nothing to write home about. After finishing last year's CIM in 4:52 and change, i really thought i could come in between 4:30 and 4:45. In fact, early in the race, i was convinced that i could do it. As usual, i run-walked with a 3:1 ratio. The plan was to do the first few miles a little slow, then find a decent rhythm 4-6 miles in. After the first half, i would start accelerating and lock in a "fast" pace until mile 20, then just completely run the remaining 6.2 miles at a "tempo" pace. Done properly, this would get me in around 4:30, with 4:45 as a worst case scenario.
Half the race was actually run "according to plan." Unfortunately, around 13-15 miles in (yes, that early), i felt the beginnings of a cramp in both my calves. Not full blown contractions, but enough tension to let me know that they would start seizing up if i asked too much of them. It was enough to make me consciously heel-strike; apparently when my cadence goes up to 160-180, i start midfoot-striking, which my calves object to. At that point, i dared not increase the pace, for fear of demolishing my calves.
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| Slowly picked up the pace until the halfway point, then had to dial it back down. |
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| Running with trepidation. |
A little over 21 miles in, i had a half-second cramp in my right calf during a running interval. It dissipated quickly, but forced me to slow down even more. Eventually, everything fell apart in the final 0.2. There was the tiniest bit of an incline on that last right turn heading into Grant Park. Not much, but enough to make me extend my walking interval by another 30 seconds or so. Since i wanted to finish running, i picked my feet up and RAN once it started flattening out. But then, literally ONE FOOT from the finish line, it happened: both my calves completely seized up, forcing me to ignobly hobble my way to 4:55:42.
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| Everyone else was happy to finish... I was disgusted with myself. |
So - i was not happy. But (as if i had a choice) i'll take it. As far as the Abbott World Marathon Majors are concerned... still five minutes faster than my last one.
As an excuse for my performance, i am invoking undertraining. I don't think i prepared enough for this race. In my training leading up to NYC/CIM and Big Sur, i ran about 560 miles over 15 weeks. In contrast, i only ran 460 miles (a 20% difference) for Chicago. This was done on purpose: after developing plantar fasciitis (diagnosis made by legit podiatrist) around Big Sur, i made a conscious decision to run less this time around. It worked - the heel pain let up after a few weeks, and i didn't feel as bad in the month leading up to the big race as i did previously. In that context, i should be GRATEFUL that i even got to run another marathon this year (or ever!). So: slower, but - literally - at least i made it.
Hopefully, i'll be able to do around 500 miles for the next buildup, run the actual race faster, and still remain healthy. Only one way to find out.
Race notes:
1. The expo was well-organized, but otherwise unremarkable. Packet pickup was a breeze. Note that even though they don't include safety pins with the bib, they're available "Participant Services" close to the entrance. There was no wall of names.
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| Waiting in line to get into the expo. |
2. The weather on race day was a little chillier than i'd prefer, staying in the low 40s for the duration of the race. Coupled with the wind chill factor in the "Windy City," it got pretty nippy. The wind also threatened to blow off my cap a lot of times, which i remedied simply by riding the visor low. I honestly don't mind the cold when running... Undoubtedly better than that year when it almost went up to the 90s. My regular outfit was still sufficient coverage.
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| The mass of humanity waiting at the start. Temperature: 42 Fahrenheit. |
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| I had to keep the brim pointed down to stop my cap from blowing off. |
3. The entrances/gates to the corrals are located on Michigan Street, starting at around the corner of Monroe and extending all the way down to Balbo. The roads are closed on Lakeshore Drive. We found this out the hard way, when our Uber driver opted to drop us off at Balbo and Lakeshore in order to avoid the crowds on Michigan. We had to walk quite a ways just to get to the right spot.
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| Close to the starting line. I had already walked about a mile, at this point. |
4. The Balbo Hospitality Tent is a spacious, heated tent with buffet breakfast and lunch (for after the race), unlimited fluids, a charging station, and post-race massages. They also had their own gear check, separate from the other 45,000 runners. There were more than enough porta-potties. Whether this is worth $125 or not is completely up to you.
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| Pre-race buffet breakfast. They had sandwiches. |
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| Enjoying a cup of coffee before the race. |
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| The post-race spread. |
5. The course is not COMPLETELY flat (it's not on a track, after all), but there's no significant up- or downhills. There was a gentle upslope at the end that i only really noticed because of my cramps.
6. On-course, it seemed to be much less crowded compared to NYC. My heels weren't kicked as much nor did i feel like i had to navigate through a crowd whenever i tried to move to the side of the road to walk. Personally, i felt that NYC was overwhelming in terms of crowds (participants and spectators both). Chicago was STILL thousands of people, but less crowded.
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| There was always a crowd, but not too bad IMHO. |
7. The post-race experience is a lot better than NYC. The family reunion area is relatively close to the finish; no need to climb an overpass to get there. Unfortunately, unlike NYC, there was no sweet poncho at the end. They DID however have that special 312 beer with an additional Goose Island beer that you can redeem with the coupon that comes with the bib. For some reason, they wouldn't let people take the cans of beer (even when demonstrably empty) out of the marathon finisher area, which defeats the purpose of having a "souvenir" beer can.
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| Reunited with my support crew. |
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| "Free" beer. |
8. I think the Abbott World Marathon Majors is nothing more than a genius marketing ploy. I'm not really out to garner "six stars," but i may get them while working through my "marathon bucket list." To be honest, i haven't been highly impressed by the courses for either Chicago or NYC. While the cities they're held in are great and the organization is stellar, i wish the actual courses were more picturesque and actually worth running through. Not every course can be as gorgeous as Highway 1, but if Chicago had run up Lakeshore Drive or at least up Magnificent Mile, it might have been more interesting.
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| Who cares about the medal? The deep dish pizza is the real reward in Chicago! |
9. Even though my calves ultimately betrayed me, i never came close to "hitting the wall." So the problem was not necessarily one of nutrition or hydration. Or perhaps it was? At one point, when i reached back to put my water bottle in my belt, my left shoulder started cramping. I may have been so depleted that ANY muscle ANYWHERE would cramp with exertion. Nutrition-wise, i went through six Gu packets (one every 40 minutes or so). Hydration-wise, i drank at every station (i believe there were twenty in all). However, i barely drank from my own water bottle, and didn't pee for close to 4 hours after the race finished. So maybe it WAS dehydration...? On a slightly related note, my Vaporkrar flexible bottle keeps digging into my back; maybe i need a better way to carry my water when Camelbaks aren't allowed. Regardless, one thing i probably need to focus on is strength training for my calves.
10. While my Garmin tells me that did 26.2 at around 4:45, the official "tale of the tape" says otherwise. With so many runners on the course, it's impossible to run the tangents properly (which is why the elites start way before us regular folk), which resulted in me running a 27.05 mile marathon. Meh.
More lessons learned. Onward to Tokyo!
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