Chicago Marathon Race Report

I tapped my running watch as I quickly crossed the half-way marker of the 2010 Chicago Marathon, happily noticing my half-marathon split of 1:35:14. This was right where I'd hoped it would be, and I was impressed that had the race just ended I would have easily set a new half-marathon personal record. However, my confidence was fading with the sweat pouring down my back and I was beginning to question my judgement in joining the team.

The day had started well. After my wonderful wife dropped me off at Grant Park I had ample time to prepare. Standing next to the beautiful Buckingham Fountain I contemplated the great city and reflected favorably on my prior four Chicago Marathons. I was happy that I'd avoided last year's nearly calamitous late arrival to my assigned starting corral, so had ample time to meet the 3:10 pacing team leaders and the other runners who shared my goal. I felt comfortable with the team since the leaders were extremely experienced and as its members were generally runners like myself - Boston qualified marathoners with comparable prior finishing times.

With growing excitement and the sound of the starting gun ringing in our ears we excitedly began our race. After two miles of the expected weaving around erratic and suddenly slowing runners I felt comfortable with the team as it assumed its 7:15 pace. My breathing was in control in the morning air, and I successfully repeated my mantra to relax. However, beginning at the second fluid aid station I noticed the pacing leaders dramatically speeding-up afterward for a mile which was both annoying and somewhat worrisome. Ultimately I accepted their approach comforted that if I remained with them through the half that I could then drop away and self-manage a 7:35 pace through my hopeful P.R. finish.

Despite my doubts upon crossing the half I successfully followed exactly that strategy until just after the twentieth mile. At that point the strong sun and climbing temperatures - ultimately reaching a brutal 80°F - exacted their harsh toll. I was astounded to see just how quickly my apparently inadequate consumption of fluids and electrolytes caused me muscle cramps, a headache, lightheadedness and general weakness - which in combination forced me to a walk.

In retrospect it was fortunate that I yielded to these symptoms. During the subsequent miles walking through the remaining aid stations and slowly jogging between them I drank amply and took some extra Succeed Electrolyte Caps to restore my fluids and electrolyte deficit, and began feeling much better. Upon seeing the 3:30 pacing team pass I sped up in the final mile and ran through the finish line to the loud shouts from the crowd of tens of thousands. Though disappointed with my 3:38 time I was happy to finish healthy and to learn many lessons:

1. When the predicted temperature plus dew-point is more than 120°F (Chicago's became 80°F+50°F=130°F) to back-off my target pace by at least 20 seconds per mile per 5°F above that point;
2. A recent study found that marathoners slow by 19 seconds per degree over 55°F. As the average temperature was predicted to be 74°F, which translates to a six minute slow down, I should have reset my goal finishing time accordingly; 
3. Not to allow worries of losing the pacing team to inhibit my:
• Obligation to fully satiate my thirst (in retrospect I should have drunk three versus two cups though most of the aid stations); 
• Consuming electrolytes per my prior hydration and fueling plan.

Nevertheless, despite the weather induced mis-judgement I had an absolutely great experience, and highly recommend the Chicago Marathon!

My Chicago Marathon Plan

Well, the big day is almost here! It has been a long six-month marathon dry spell since Boston.

Six weeks ago I announced my goal Chicago finishing time of 3:10, predicated upon ideal weather. However, as the date draws near it's clear that the conditions will be decidedly sub-optimal. The temperature will be warm, from 64 to 79°F, sunny, and somewhat humid with a dew point of ~50°F.

Nevertheless, my plan remains to run with the 3:10 pacing team. I've trained for this race in comparable, and even warmer conditions. I'm ready to follow my hydration, fueling and electrolyte plan while taking into account the advice provided by the Chicago Marathon staff.

At every 10K marker I will gauge my exertion level at the pacing team's 7:15 pace. If I feel that I'm excessively pushing or straining I will bid adieu to the group and gradually ease-up a bit on my pace. It'd be great to knock down a 3:10. However, if it isn't the day then I'm OK. Wish me luck!

Got Pace?

Finally, the weather has begun to cool! This morning's pre-dawn Houston temperature was a comparatively moderate 72°F with a dew point of 70°F. While 90% relative humidity is clearly not optimal, I'm thankful for the improved conditions since as recently as two weeks ago we routinely started our long-runs with temperatures in the low-80's. I'm looking forward to doing more of my forthcoming weekday tempo, progressive and interval training runs outdoors, since over the past three scorching months I've only been able to run fast indoors on the treadmill.

With the Chicago Marathon now only five-weeks away I've been contemplating my goal finishing time. Things used to be simple, as in my initial marathon my sole focus was to finish. Upon completing my first glorious marathon this goal transitioned to setting a new personal record. Once I got within 20-minutes of achieving a Boston Marathon qualifying time that became my new target. Now that I've run Boston twice I'm back to targeting new personal records again - while beginning to dream of someday crossing the three hour threshold.

Chicago Lakefront 50K Race Report

This morning I had the pleasure of running the Chicago Lakefront 50K. It was a great experience, as the organizers did a fantastic job, the race participants were uniformly friendly, and the course truly unique and beautiful!

The race started at the historic 63rd Street Beach House, then continued north ~5-3/8 miles along Chicago's beautiful running/biking trail that is on park land between Lake Michigan and South Lake Shore Drive. At that point we turned-around, and upon then returning to the Beach House this completed one "loop" - of which there were three to assure the complete 50K distance. Since we switched back on numerous occasions we had plenty of opportunity to see and briefly interact with other competitors, both on the 50K and the 50-mile course. I found all of the runners to be uniformly friendly, which lent itself towards a very pleasant experience.

As regards my performance I'm very happy to report that I ran in 4:38:35 (a 8:58 pace), putting me in 20th place out of 209 finishers (top 10%), and 3rd place in my division. It was also a huge personal record - an improvement of 78-minutes versus my prior best 50K!  While I was obviously very happy with this result, I had run only two prior races of this distance, and both in Huntsville State Park (which presented a far greater technical challenge owing to their narrow dirt trails, hazards and elevation changes.)

As regards my race execution I must note that I'd once again fallen prey to poor performance -  specifically by running the first 10-mile loop far too fast which cost me in the final 21-miles of the course.

Reflecting on the key difference versus my much better executed Chicago Marathon performance (held three weeks prior), I attribute the Chicago Marathon's availability of numerous pacing groups - which take the burden off the runner in holding a consistent pace.

Nevertheless, a great day! I'm certainly glad that I ran the Chicago Lakefront 50K, and recommend the event highly.

Misc.:

• Another P.R. in my Newton shoes!

Chicago Marathon - 7-minute personal record!

This morning I had the fantastic experience of running the 2009 Chicago Marathon. The results were beyond my wildest expectations since I completed the marathon in 3:25:32, which improves by over seven-minutes my personal record and re-qualifies me for the Boston Marathon! I was especially delighted since up until only six-weeks ago I was unable to run for a month while recovering from a minor stress-fracture.

I was very familiar with the Chicago course, as it was my 4th (and 14th overall marathon distance or beyond). The race temperature was absolutely perfect: 34 to 41°F, minimal humidity with a moderate 5-8 MPH wind from the north. While it was admittedly very cold during the pre-race waiting period, through wearing a disposable sweatshirt, hat and gloves (which I tossed at the start) I was able to remain comfortable.

I was very happy with my pacing consistency, as is shown on this chart. My first half-marathon time was 1:43:08 (7:52 pace), and I managed a rare negative-split in the second half with 1:42:24 (7:49 pace). Proving especially helpful was running the first 5K with the 3:30 pacing group as this mitigated my unfortunate tendency to jack-rabbit the start. Though I gradually ran ahead of the pacing group after that point, it played a continuing psychological benefit since I knew that if the group were to catch me I would then be able to hang-on with the 3:30's until the finish line. On reflection, during both my recent marathon successes (Houston and Chicago) I benefitted by pacing groups, where-as my recent April Boston Marathon was a partial disappointment (in terms of my completion time - not the fantastic overall experience) due in-part to their absence.

With regards my recent successful stress fracture recovery I credit my coach's excellent recommendation that I pool-run and bicycle during my five-week recovery period. Additionally, I credit myself for having the wisdom to follow my doctor's sage advice to interrupt my marathon training while giving my minor stress fracture time to fully heal. The bottom line lesson-learned was was not to give-up following an injury! Instead, keep-up the hard work and your positive attitude via finding healthful alternative activities to maintain your physical and mental health!

Additional elements which helped my Chicago performance:

• Other than my stress-fracture recovery period I closely followed the excellent Kenyan Way marathon training program. I highly recommend this program for any Houston based advanced marathoner.
• Rather than consuming my normal Crank eGel I tried out a new product - Gu's Rocktane (Vanilla/Orange flavor). Though eGel has more sodium and potassium per packet (220 vs. 125, and 80 vs. 55 mg respectively), adjusting for its 50% larger volume, both are comparable in electrolytes (though the smaller Rocktane size allows more frequent consumption and therefore provides a more consistent electrolyte and blood sugar levels). Two additional ingredients found only in Rocktane are 1200 mg of amino acids (the building-blocks of protein needed for muscle repair) and 35 mg of caffeine (which I've been convinced since my April 4-mile run helps my performance). I took my first Rocktane 10-minutes prior to the race start, then took an additional packet every 5-miles.
• My Newton stability training shoes (which I also had excellent results with during my recent Chicago Half Marathon) proved to be well worth their higher cost. Somewhat similar to a natural barefoot landing the Newtons help promote a more healthy and efficient mid-foot landing - which is especially important when running on typical concrete race surfaces.
• Upon approaching the half-way point of the marathon I realized that despite temperatures then in the upper 30's I was sweating heavily. Consequently, I removed my thin Boston Marathon shirt that I had been wearing and ran shirtless the final half. Though attracting odd-looks from the jacket and hat-laden spectators, I'm convinced that doing so helped tremendously. Since I had clipped my race number to my running belt/gel-holder (instead of pinning it onto my shirt) I was easily able to remove the shirt without worries of being interrupted as a suspected bandit!
• Finally, as I was seeded in one of the leading corrals that are restricted to qualifying runners I avoided the typical frustration of weaving in-and-out of slower marathoners in the initial miles. This is definitely something for advanced marathoners to check-into whenever registering for a large urban marathon!

Miscellany:

• My preliminary results were: Division Place, M50-54, #129/1471 (top 9%); Gender Place, #2,828/18,983 (top 15%); Overall Place, #3,258/33,608 (top 10%)
• My Forerunner 405's Connect.Garmin.com log.
• On October 14th I participated in a Runner's Roundtable podcast featuring a number of runners who participated in various distance running events worldwide over the weekend.  To listen to the banter click here.

Chicago Half-Marathon - 5-minute P.R.!

This morning I ran the 2009 Chicago Half-Marathon. It was a beautiful course, running largely on Lake Shore Drive, and overlooking Chicago's scenic skyline. The course started and finished in Jackson Park and showcased the south lakefront, the Jackson Park Golf Course and the Midway Plaisance on the University of Chicago campus.

I was somewhat apprehensive going into this morning's race, since I've only returned to running in the past three-weeks following nearly five-weeks rest to allow my left tibial stress-fracture to heal. Though the injury is 99% healed, as I'd noticed more worrisome twinges of discomfort while running on hard-surfaces (versus my vastly preferred dirt or gravel trails) I was concerned that the Half-Marathon's course run entirely on concrete might do me in.

Instead, I found no problems at all! I ran the course in 1:35:54, which was a huge 5-minute half-marathon personal record!  I credit, in part, my Newton training shoes, as I feel that they encourage me towards a more natural fore-foot and mid-foot landing that the heel landing style encouraged by my former favorite running shoe - the Brooks Adrenaline.

Results:
Thanks to the Sean Wade's Kenyan Way Training Program and my increased dedication to running, biking, or swimming daily I believe that I'm my best shape! I gauge this based on the nearly five minute P.R. achieved on today's run.

Lessons Learned:

1. Once again, pacing was a real issue for me - and my biggest area to show improvement in the future. While my result was fantastic, I risked a derailment with an initially far-too-aggressive start, and a resulting positive split in the back-half of the run. I believe that I let my fellow-runners drive me to a pace that was unsustainable, as I started very close to the front in Corral "B" surrounded by incredible runners (it was a bit reminiscent of my April Boston Marathon). I started miles 1-3 at a blazing 6:57 pace. Miles 4-6 were run at a more appropriate 7:18 pace, however the final six-miles were at a comparatively lethargic 7:26 pace. While I was happy to see that I had enough 'gas in the tank' to kick-in the final mile at a 7:15 pace I clearly lacked sufficient discipline to control myself appropriately in the initial three miles. I attribute my substantial P.R. nevertheless as due to my overabundance of training for a half-marathon course.
2. I believe that my Newton Stability Training Shoes kept my out of trouble despite my not completely having recovered from my prior stress-fracture. Despite the course's concrete surface I believe the Newton's inherent stress and impact reduction via landing on the mid and fore-foot versus the traditional heel-landing achieved this improved running stride.
3. I appropriately carbo-loaded the evening prior to the race, and the morning of. I stayed-away from anything unusual (lesson-learned from my earlier Palos Heights Half-Marathon).
4. I got to the race over an hour and a half in advance of the event, which allowed me plenty of time to attend to my needs, find the bag drop-off area, and actually warm-up for the race (something I unfortunately very rarely do).
5. I listened to an excellent mix of New Age music on my iPod Nano, which allowed me to stay somewhat relaxed throughout the entire event (I shudder to think what my initial three-miles would have been had I been listening to a hard-driving rock mix!)
6. I made much better use of the water stops than any prior run. Instead of slowing to a near walk (a bad habit I've gotten into, particularly in marathons) I instead managed to snag a Gatorade cup, followed by a water cup without any slow down. Since the temperature was in 60's I didn't need to imbibe deeply of the Gatorade - just a swig or two was sufficient. With the water I tossed it over my head providing much-needed cool-down, and allowing me to maintain my strong pace despite the powerful sunshine (the sky was clear throughout the race).

Finally, I happily noted afterwards that Dr. Jack Daniels' highly respected running formula for race predictions, this half-marathon result translates equivalently to a potential full marathon of ~3:19:40! Extrapolating this half-marathon performance and my recent 4-mile run suggests that with proper conditioning I should be able to achieve a further 13-minute improvement in my full marathon time! This is great motivation for the Chicago 2009 then Houston 2010 marathon training.

Results:
Age: 20/373 (top 5%), Males: 444/5794 (top 8%), Overall: 512/13519 (top 4%) 7:19 1:35:54.

Misc:

• Another P.R. on my Newton's.
• Per Daniels' Running Formula this result shows my VDOT to be 47.3, predicting a potential Marathon time of 3:19!

Chicago Marathon Race Report!

Chicago Marathon! 4-minute P.R.!  The improvement was especially noteworthy since I'd last P.R.'d four years previously (on a then downhill course in Austin, TX), and as my interim marathons showed NO signs of improving - until this one!

Chicago Marathon Race Report

On this, my second Chicago Marathon I was only passably prepared, and my overall time reflected same. While not an absolutely horrible time it was a true learning experience! Being excessively optimistic as to my pace I had my eyes set on running a 3:30, so ran with the 3:30 pacing group approximately through the half-marathon mark. However, shortly after passing my family at mile 13.5 I suddenly began losing my leg strength, and had to slow-down. My slow-down continued until by mile 21 or so I was doing the run-walk shuffle! True learning experience.... Better know your potential pace (easily gauged via the famous "Yasso 800" methodology (see link)

Official Race Results: Time: 04:12:30; Age 45-49: 1071/2115; Male: 9515/18389; Overall: 13538/32706

Chicago Marathon Race Report!

My first Chicago Marathon! I loved it - for MANY reasons. First, Chicago is my original home. Born and grew up here. Second, Chicago has a BEAUTIFUL marathon. Unbelievably beautiful course, staring at Grant Park, running north through hoards of screaming Chicagoens. Dozens of different ethnic neighborhoods, each of which turn-out to show support. Of course, the city is flat as a proverbial pancake, so it's well suited for P.R.'s, which this one was - allowing me to knock over an hour and ten minutes off my first marathon (the primary reasons for the improvement is my having trained much better and longer, and with the benefit of running partners - primarily from the Houston Fit group).

Official Race Results: Time: 03:50:50; Age 45-49: 648/2089; Male: 6142/19005; Overall: 7867/32989