Known to the world as simply the BF, I have been invited to write
a guest blog. I had to run a marathon to
earn that privilege. And they said
running a marathon changes your life...clearly.
Why run a marathon? Why Chicago?
I have run several half marathons interspersed with rest periods
that typically lasted four years. The
challenge of the marathon was something I thought about for a long time but
never got around to doing one. I got
back off the couch in fall of 2011 and ran two half Mary’s in fall of 2012.
Running Skirts n Swag wanted to run the Half Mary of our local race this fall.
Since I have run it three times, it made sense to support her. Look at how great of a BF I was: (http://runningskirtsandswag.blogspot.com/2013/09/2013-fox-cities-half-marathon.html)
Hence, I looked for another race to run.
Hence, I looked for another race to run.
We both love to visit Chicago, from the different neighborhoods,
to the food, to the museums, to the shopping, it’s a fun place to visit. We visit annually as it is about a three and
a half hour drive for us. Reading other bloggers who said millions of
spectators come out, this seemed like the right place to run a marathon. That way, it would be more of an event than
simply running a race.
Ambivalent if I could really run that far, I made the decision to
register a few days before registration
opened. With Active.com completely
failing at the task they were hired to do, it became a competition of us vs.
the website. Both of us were using a
laptop and all the idevices we owned to get through. We got through before the website closed for
the day. YES! VICTORY! I WILL NOT BE
DENIED!.... Um, what did I just win?
 |
| What did I win for trying to register with multiple devices? Three payments to the Chicago Marathon? How about this three times: Active.com you suck, Active.com you suck, Active.com you suck |
My fall Half Mary times got me into the back corral of the first
wave. I booked the hotel. I was ready. Now I just had to train.
Why Hanson?
I chose the Hanson Marathon Method, which I downloaded from the
Kindle Store. They had three main points that drew my attention:
1. Run
high weekly miles six days a week and your long run is only a small percent of
weekly miles, which tops out at 16 miles.
2. If
you want to be a better runner, then run and not focus on cross training3. Although there is some cutting back at the end, this taper does not cut back as aggressively as others. They will have a speed run 10 days before the race.
Okay, this doesn’t quite do them justice. You can get the book here: http://www.amazon.com/Hansons-Marathon-Method-Renegade-Fastest/dp/1934030856
For me, 1) I liked the idea of running regularly and not
destroying myself in long runs. A 20
miler in August sounds miserable. 2) Frankly, I have always hated cross
training. I have a recumbent bike in my
basement. It feels like sitting in a
lawn chair as I can easily pedal and read.
I just enjoy running more 3) the more I can run in the taper, the less
crazy I’d be.
I don’t do well with taking things on faith so I googled reviews
on this method. Surprisingly, anyone I read from reviewer to blogger who ran
using Hanson all described feeling adequately trained. Even my friendly
neighborhood shoe store guy endorsed this method, but none were first time
marathoners.
When I told others who have trained in the 20 mile long run camp,
I got a lot of smiles, nods, and “well, good luck.”
I elected not to tell my mother that I
was doing Hanson vs. a 20 mile long run plan
Did I really follow the training schedule?
In the past, I typically have a very scripted training schedule
that starts to fall apart after the third day because I want to sleep in. Given my fear and awe of a marathon, I
followed this one as close as I could.
With my fall Halfs at a 9:09 pace, Hanson told me to train for a full in
9:30 min/miles. I had the base mileage in Spring and was able to jump to the
full plan with speed runs in July.
I only took three days off due to a bronchial cold which was
three weeks before the marathon and I ended up cutting some of the strength
interval training short due to time constraints. Through it, I felt myself getting
stronger. The easy runs were really
feeling pedestrian and I did not destroy myself in the tempo and long runs. My last 16 miler was after the cold and I
struggled through that one. I will have
to say near the end, I was reaching my saturation point of running six days a
week and looking forward to getting this over.
The taper
Now I can see why people run a 20 miler. In the midst of the taper, I realized, I
STILL HAVE TO RUN ANOTHER 10 MILES MORE THAN I EVER HAVE? I read a Runner’s World article advising me
to not go crazy in the taper by picking up a new hobby, so I resorted to
watching weather reports for race day several times a day. Wondering if there would be a lightning storm
on race morning didn’t seem to help.
Fortunately, the weather cleared.
I really needed a better taper hobby
Terrified I was not ready, I was scaling back my ambitions, now I
decided to try running a 9:40 with a negative split would be more
realistic. A 9:30 would only happen if
all the stars aligned. My biggest fear was a bonk. I’ve bonked a couple half Marys and the idea
of training for nine months to end up staggering down the street all stiff like
Frankenstein for the final six miles was unappealing.
The Expo
Briefly, my experience was like most expos I attend: I pick up my
bib, spend a lot of money, and sample food I would never consume in any other
circumstance. This expo was a little
more special since you could take your picture next to a Nike poster with your
name on it and we could legally graffiti too.
Getting ready to write 100 times, “At my
next expo, I will not eat 18 free protein bars.”
Running Skirts and Swag will argue the expo is important. She can tell you about it here http://runningskirtsandswag.blogspot.com/2013/10/2013-chicago-marathon-spectators.html.
The Race
I had the alarm set for 5:15 and it went off to Darth Vader’s
“Imperial March.” It was time to
run. In the elevator down, only two
other runners joined us, we left the hotel and started the walk from Michigan
Avenue to Grant Park. We slowly joined
other small crowds of people which swelled into a mass of hundreds by the time
we crossed the river. Kind of a neat
feeling to be walking.
Unknowing what security would be like, I entered the security
check point more than an hour early. Without a gear bag, it was easy to get
through.
Perfect race conditions, start in the upper 40s. I drank my one
cup of coffee and one water, as I always do.
Unfortunately, I had to pee a couple minutes after getting in the corral.
Maybe I was cold. Maybe I was nervous,
but my bladder was sore when I started.
The walk to Grant Park. I’m feeling
relaxed, feeling confident. Thanks for ruining it, bladder.
Once the horn sounded, it was a 10 minute walk to the start line
in my corral. It was neat to see the
many volunteers along side right before the start line. Nice to be sent off like that and be able to wave them a “thank
you” before running.
We were off. No spectators
at the beginning. We went under an
overpass, where I saw a line of people men
relieving themselves against a wall. Not
to incriminate myself on violating city ordinances, but being under the
overpass with a slight delay, the GPS on my Garmin crapped out on me. I hoped it would recover once out, but unless
I was really running 7:00 min/miles, it was struggling to figure out where I
was. Great, I’m gonna have to run this
on how I feel and I have 41 km to go.
I’m gonna bonk. I’m screwed.
Once outside of the overpass, the crowds started and never really
ended. I’d say the second half doesn’t
have as many spectators, particularly between miles 23 and 25, but for the most
part the streets were lined with people.
In downtown, four rows deep. The
crowd was loud, they gave high fives, they played music. There is no way to explain it. This city really supports this race.
To have so many people involved, I was surprised how smooth
this event was. The course was full, but
it never felt crowded. I anticipated bottlenecks at the water stations, but
this did not happen until closer to mile 22 when there was more walking through
the water stops. The initial water stops were several blocks long. All were very well run and it was nice they
followed a consistent pattern: toilets, medical, vaseline, gatorade,
water. Most of the volunteers would
offer me encouraging words as they handed me a cup. Most of the time, the fluids were filled at
the right level so I didn’t have to run, drink, and spill a full cup of warm
lime gatorade all over me like in most races.
As a runner it is so stimulating.
There is no way one can read all the signs along the course. The miles flew by fast. I hate trying to calculating splits in my
head, but I did at six miles and estimated I was running 9:40. If I slowed down a little and stayed
consistent, I could reach my goal.
Back through downtown, I crossed the first half in 2:04:44. This was much faster than planned: 9:31. I was worried of the bonk now and slowed to
try to postpone it. I couldn’t do the math in my head anymore and the miles
still felt easy.
Crossing 16, I was now in new territory, but I was feeling good and
in a groove. Running Skirts n Swag was
able to see me at five points along the race including at 16.5 where I saw her
taking a picture of me on her phone. I
stopped to ask how my pace was. Unaware
I wasn’t using my Garmin, she said all in one word, “You’re-doing-awesome,-
you’re-running-a-negative-split-and-you’re-beating-Samwise-Gamgee!” in
reference to the actor Sean Astin running the race. So not only could I bonk, but now I
could have a hobbit pass me as well.
Hopefully that happens when Marathon Foto takes my picture so I can have a picture of me next to a celebrity.
She gave me a kiss and I was back to the race. I was still
feeling good and the time seemed to be going by fast.
After about 21 miles, I could start to feel some fatigue and
started counting down the miles now.
Onto the long straight way on 23, I took it up a gear, and eventually
caught up to the 4:10 pace group. I was
really going to run a 9:30 pace marathon.
I think that excitement pushed me through the last mile.
Look at how strong I look at the finish.
Thumb up and all. Oh Marathon Foto, don’t worry, I’ll purchase this photo from
one of your weekly emails you’ll send me in the next five years.
My second half was 2:03:11 including a smooch break with a pretty
lady. A negative split! I finished
with a 9:28 pace in 4:07:55, but next time I talk about this, I will
just round my time down and tell others in a real casual tone “I
think I ran it in 4:07 something.”
The finisher’s chute was also well organized. Walking now showed me just how trashed my
quads were. I liked how they gave a box
of recovery food. Nice not to have to
pick through a buffet. It took 30 to 45
minutes to get food, medal, photos taken, and out. I shuffled into the post
race party to find Running Skirts and Swag, but we did not stay.
Of course, visiting Chicago would not be complete without
pictures in front of the cloud gate.
I took this selfy. I didn’t realize an iphone could feel so
heavy
Drinking the Hanson kool aid
Gatorade
Everyone has a plan that works for them. Clearly this plan worked for me. They promised not only to get me to the
finish line but to get me to the finish line feeling strong. I really felt strong throughout the race and
at the end. Taking into account this
course is known to be fast and flat and I ran under ideal weather, I exceeded
their prediction of a 9:30 pace. During training, I generally felt good. As a first time marathoner, I confess I
started to lose my mind during the taper wondering if I could make the last 10
miles.
Would I ever run another the
Chicago Marathon again?
Absolutely. I was
impressed with how organized it was and this city really supports it. There were many volunteers to help run it
smoothly and the ongoing crowd support was incredible. It’s hard to plan another race now after a
race like this. Guessing that
registration will be tougher in 2014, I am very grateful I had a chance to
experience the Chicago Marathon as my first marathon.
The next day at the Art Institute. You think your quads are sore? Quit mocking
me and find me an elevator that goes down.
