Chicago Marathon

Finally it's rest and healing time! I've been waiting to get this over with for a couple months now. I registered for Chicago months and months ago with the hope it would be my big goal race (and big PR) for the year. Unfortunately I had a tough late summer and fall but resolved to run the race anyway as I'd paid the entry, the hotel, and the airfare. Also my wife was hoping to BQ in Chicago, and I felt she had a great chance at it.

The Chicago Marathon was a nice experience. The parts of the city the race goes through were diverse and interesting. The buildings are fun to look at, and the people were very nice. The race organization was the best of any megathon I've been to (which I confess only includes Boston, New York, and now Chicago). The start corrals were very effectively managed and easy to get in to, and there was plenty to drink on course.

My goal for this race expired back in late July with a back injury I couldn't shake for nearly a month, followed by a medication reaction that dramatically affected my blood pressure and pulse rate, followed by a foot/ankle tendon injury in August I'm still suffering from. I reduced my weekly mileage from a goal of running in the 80s miles per week to running around 50 miles per week with all runs being recovery and easy pace but for a very few slower progression runs. I was able to get in several runs of at least 20 miles, so even though I wasn't going to be fast I felt I could easily handle the distance - and I made it to the race AMA (against medical advice).

I decided to just run the race by effort monitored by my HR and take what I got. I expected to be able to run in the 7:00 to 7:20 mpm pace based on a 10k time I ran several weeks ago. Running slow for so long definitely doesn't make me faster!

It turned out my waning fitness was the least of my worries however. Chicago once again had an atypically hot day in store for the race. The temperature at the start was already in the 70*s, and it was in the 80*s at the finish. I resolved to drink more on course than I ever had before and run with a smart, conservative effort and finish with no further injuries.

My time at CIM last December put me in the A corral, and after dodging the pee puddles at the start I quickly established a pace and thereafter just monitored my HR to keep it in the 171~173 range. I ran a race at a 170 HR (on a much cooler day) way in April and still got a 3:01, and my PR came at an average HR of 175 last December. I drank one cup of Gatorade and one cup of water at each of the 18 or so aid stations, and followed that up over the last several miles with a third cup over my head. At around the half way point it seemed like lots of people really slowed down. I probably passed several hundred runners over the last half - and I had lots of energy left for a fast last 2 miles. I finished in 3:08:49 too easily.

I think I was too concerned over my lack of fitness and my foot injury to see what I could really do even on a hot day with sub-par training. I believe I ran far too conservatively based on how I felt at the end. I could have kept running at that pace for several more miles. On the one hand it was great to be passing people for half the race, but I almost feel guilty I didn't leave everything out there like many of the people I passed. The heat I'm sure made my HR higher than it would have been for the effort, and my plan to run based on HR probably cost me several minutes - but in the end what matters is I'm still bipedal and will be ready to go again soon I guess.

I couldn't find much in the news, but I can tell you the ambulance sirens were pretty much going non-stop for several hours. A great many runners left the course in the back of a rig with needles in their arms - and I didn't!

ps. My wife, Cherie, had a tough day with the heat and some late hamstring cramps and missed her BQ with a 4:04 (needing a 4:00). She did get a 2+ minute PR though. I've been telling her she did great on a less than ideal day, that a PR is something to be proud of no matter what, and that she'll get to Boston and there's no hurry.

Snoqualmie Ridge 5 mile Trail Race

Wow, what a nice weather day last Saturday! Shawn and I went to this event for some speed work on soft trails. About 90 people showed up for this first time low key event. After my poor outing a couple weeks ago at a 10k I wanted to try and get another handle on my fitness. A hilly trail race on very soft footing however is not the best way to get such an evaluation :)

A couple faster guys showed up, but I figured I should still be able to get a top 5 finish. We warmed up on the course with a 3.5 mile run, then lined up at the start line in a grassy field. At the gun I took off way too fast - in fact I was in the lead for a couple hundred meters. All that did is put me in oxygen debt for the hills, and I gave up several positions and felt whupped. I eventually steadied up and got going again, and by the two mile point was in 3rd place. There was someone right on my shoulder for a half mile or so, but he finally fell off after a hilly section. From there on I was running by myself for the rest of the race.

I finished strong and fast the last 3/4 mile or so, but I was disappointed with my slow time once again. I averaged only 7:00 mpm, and the course had less than 300' of elevation gain/loss. I should have been able to average at least 30 seconds per mile faster than that I feel. I somehow have lost a tremendous amount of fitness over the last couple months. I'm really looking forward to getting past the Chicago marathon in a couple weeks and hitting the 'Reset' button. I think I'll try and take the rest of October off from running then begin with a much reduced weekly mileage with a day per week on the track and start building back up again.