In words of Lance Armstrong: ?Oh. My. God. Ouch. Terrible.?
I left the house at 6:55 am, was just enough time to get into a good spot in Corral C. Gotta walk all way down to Jackson then back up. Major traffic jams of people. Sat around for 30 minutes. Not bad. Could have been chilly. Definitely want to be in the elite Corral A, but B otherwise. C is still too crowded.
Guns goes off. I cross the start line in 2:12.
1 0:07:52 pace, HR 166. Even in Corral C, elbow to elbow. Actually tough to run faster than 7:45, a mass of people not running any faster or slower. Made for an easy warmup. It took maybe half a mile to feel ?normal?.
2 0:08:10 pace, HR 169. Noticing my HR a lot higher than normal. Like 10-20 bpm higher. Alarming. Doesn?t feel like nerves either. The canyon walls of the city are stifling. I figure it?s 5-8 degrees hotter in the mass of people, a microclimate. Also none of that wind from your own 7 mph speed. So it?s just brutal.
3 0:07:42 pace, HR 172. Feeling fine, trying to get closer to my 7:25 pace. But I can?t. Everyone is slow. Corral C??? Crowded and slow. I?m frustrated. And it?s hot and humid. My HR is climbing, I?m feeling thirsty already.
4 0:07:43 pace, HR 174. Crossing the 5K line I realize it?s going to be a bad, bad day. My left hip is starting to go weak, and both of my legs are starting to feel rubbery. I?m starting to run like Gumby.
5 0:07:55 pace, HR 177. Gumby time. Feels like my gluteus medius muscles have turned off. My hips are wobbling. How I manage to maintain this pace is beyond me. My HR is redlining at 177, which is usually what I?d see holding a 6:15 pace in cool weather. Sub-5K pace, in other words. At a 8:00 pace in cool weather my HR would be 150-160. This is ridiculous. I figure I?ll hold it just to see, but I?m starting to realize it ain?t gonna work. And I?m not anywhere close to BQ pace.
6 0:08:08 pace, HR 177. Still Gumby, HR holding high. A 2-mile stretch between aid stations, I thought I was going to die of thirst. This has turned brutal and it?s just been 6 miles. Oh my god, this is not good. Why the bleep can?t I control my legs?
7 0:07:55 pace, HR 173. Stopped to walk some at the aid station, reflected in lower pace and HR. The BQ goal is officially tossed out the window. Based on how I?m feeling, my new goal is to finish. A 3:30 time is looking like a real challenge. I don?t know how I?ll finish. Actually felt a little light-headed at the aid station.
8 0:08:15 pace, HR 170. Slowing down some. Gumby legs going away as I go slower and hip not as much a factor at the slower speeds. Heat aside, my hip and legs could have prevented a BQ anyway. At mile 8 I meet my friends, stop to try to tell them it?s going to be slow, they wave me on. I contemplate dropping out. Is it really worth finishing? The way my body feels after 8 miles it?s like I?ve run 20. Not good, not good at all.
9 0:08:40 pace, HR 164. Slowing down a little, but also taking more time at the aid stations, walking and drinking. At this point I zone out. I pay no attention to the race clock, the mileage, the course. I?m in survival mode. From here on, I only have a vague awareness of where I am on the course. Enjoy the marathon. No. Not possible. Too painful. I?m actually starting to get lactic acid in my legs. I?m wondering if it?s because of Gatorade Endurance? My Succeed Amino sports drink has stuff in it to ?buffer? lactic acid, and maybe that?s why I?ve never felt this when I?ve used it. Oh, this hurts. One image that struck me: A dog sitting on the course sideline scratching its ear.
10 0:08:01 pace, HR 165. Less walking, about the same pace. Going slower, the Gumby legs and hip flexor seem to be fading. So at least this marathon won?t be vexed by injury, sort of. Near Fleet Feet at Piper?s Alley Elvis was singing; I gave him the peace sign; he waved back.
11 0:08:13 pace, HR 164. Feels like it?s getting hotter. I?m now running alongside a 3:30 pacer who is on pace. I?m focusing on finishing in 3:30 with a safety net of 3:35 to get into Corral B. I?m cursing Corral C for its slowness, but later I figure everyone was just slow from the heat.
12 0:07:54 pace, HR 166. Still alongside the 3:30 pacer. He?s bald and easy to see. He looks strong. I admit it?s actually kind of hard keeping this pace and I know I won?t be able to last. Not for 14 miles. I plan to just hold on as long as I can and then slow down. All I can do.
13 0:08:00 pace, HR 167. The 3:30 pacer is now 30 yards ahead. I just can?t hold it. I do the math in my head about making the Corral B time. Not sure if I can. But wow! This torture race is half over already. How did that happen? I?m right at a 3:30 pace. Holy bleep, the Energizer Zone Bunnies. They didn?t mention the Bunnies would be teenage hotties in pink halter tops and shorts. Despite my suffering, I entertain a few lascivious thoughts.
14 0:08:21, HR 168. About the same running pace but more walking at the aid stations for hydration. I?m downing maybe 15 oz per aid station, usually Gatorade, occasionally some water. Constantly thinking about dehydration. It?s gotten hotter. No shade. The sun is beating down hard. Lots of people are walking. Everyone looks thrashed. And these are all fit 3:30 marathoners around me.
15 0:07:51 pace, HR 169. No walking this mile, still chasing the vanishing 3:35 goal. I?m about done. This sucks.
16 0:08:16 pace, HR 170. The heat running back on Jackson is brutal. My legs are hammered. How will I finish? Are we at mile 16? Where am I?
17 0:08:52 pace, HR 166. I?m now walking in between aid stations. I haven?t given up on 3:35, still entertaining the idea of a fast finish, but... it?s just hard giving up. I?m doing so much walking now there?s no point in going for a time. I realize I?m in Greek Town. The course, even through these bleak western miles, is lined with people. Good weather for watching. Awful weather for running. I feel like there?s no privacy when I want to stop and walk.
18 0:08:32 pace, HR 168. Not much walking this mile. Yes, I?m that slow and my HR is that high. It?s pathetic. It?s hot, it?s humid. I ditch my red Nike pace bands which have caused red dye to stain my new $20 racing singlet. Bleeping Nike piece of bleep gear. Hey, only 8 more miles. I can?t believe I?m managed to run 18 miles in this ****. I just want this nightmare to end.
19 0:09:32 pace, HR 160. A lot more walking. I enjoyed the bands around Pilsen. It?s much better to not wear headphones. I pass Nuevo Leone and think about dinner afterwards. I eat a banana. I notice my fingers feel a little puffy, which I interpret as too much salt from the Gatorade Endurance. I switch to water.
20 0:09:29 pace, HR 161. More walking. I think about making it from aid station to aid station. Down Halsted was a very lonely stretch. I don?t see how I can make 3:35. I don?t think I can safely run a 7:00 pace for more than 400 yards without risking injury or worse. Yes, it?s that bad. The sun is relentless. Just 6 more miles.
21 0:08:04 pace, HR 168. In a last ditch attempt to make 3:35, I figure if I can hold 8:00 average include aid stations that I can make 3:35 and Corral B. Chinatown is tough. I stop to walk and listen to the music.
22 0:08:56 pace, HR 164. I have officially conceded 3:35. I have no idea what my finish time will be. I?m vaguely aware of where I am. I notice the mile signs say ?Final 5?. That?s gotta be good. I?m doing more walking now than ever. As soon as I can see an aid station, I start walking. More bananas. No Gatorade.
23 0:09:59 pace, HR 159. More walking, as seen in my HR and pace. My stomach is starting to feel upset. I figure it?s the bananas. I thought that might happen but I don?t care. At this point my stomach is a mere triviality to the torture festival in my legs. It hurts even to walk. At least, though, all my joints and bones are OK. No shin splits etc.
24 0:11:00 pace, HR 152. Even more walking. Probably the most this mile than any other. People around me are absolutely hammered. Sometimes half the field of runners is walking. And this, I think, is the 3:30-capable crowd. I cannot comprehend the carnage of the slower runners.
25 0:10:10 pace, HR 152. Still a lot of walking. Even though it?s just a mile to the finish, I know I cannot pick up the pace and sprint it in. I know my body, and I?m cooked. I look at my watch and realize a sub-3:45 time is possible, and getting that time seems less humiliating. So I pick it up. Oh the humanity. My stomach feels bloated.
26 0:09:23 pace, HR 158. In between walking I?m running faster. Still trying to make the sub-3:45. It?ll be close. Is that the final stretch? No. Wrong high rise... finally the Roosevelt turn. Thank god.
26.2 0:08:17 pace, HR 169. Gradually increasing pace up the ?hill?. HR is high. Around the curve. The finish line in sight. I try to accelerate. My left hip starts to go weak on me. Wobbling running. I check my pace. It?s 6:52. Not bad. But this is as fast as I can run. 300 meters. The crowd is silent. Not many runners around me. Then at 200 meters I hear a surge of crowd noise (later I learn these are my friends!). I think I have the 3:45 time. 50m to go, I start to slow down. I can?t maintain the pace. I try to maintain form to look good for pictures. I cross the finish line, check my time. Got it. Big bleeping whoop-de-doo. People around me are laying on the ground.
Final Thoughts
Looking back, I shouldn't have run. Given the weather, a "race" was impossible. So go slow and enjoy it? Not possible either, with the shortage of supplies and crowds. I love running, but yesterday had nothing of what I love about running. That I got a 3:45 time in those conditions, and that I finished basically hydrated (or at least not dehydrated too much), able to walk home, with no injuries or aches and pains, is attributable to my conditioning and training over the last 15 months (averaging 60 mpw in the last 8 weeks with peaks of 80). The hip issue is probably a muscle imbalance somewhere, and means weight training this off-season.
I think the biggest problem the Chicago Marathon faces is that it is OVERCROWDED. Even my Preferred Corral C was crowded and elbow to elbow the first 10 miles or so. In normal race conditions, 45,000 participants might be manageable but barely, and any extreme weather can easily tip the balance, as we saw yesterday. But more participants means more $ponsorship money. I love Chicago, I live downtown, and the marathon is a tradition. But I'm doubting weather I want to use Chicago to try to BQ. I think smaller less crowded marathons might be more enjoyable too.
As long as they have those half-dressed teenage Energizer Bunnies.
I left the house at 6:55 am, was just enough time to get into a good spot in Corral C. Gotta walk all way down to Jackson then back up. Major traffic jams of people. Sat around for 30 minutes. Not bad. Could have been chilly. Definitely want to be in the elite Corral A, but B otherwise. C is still too crowded.
Guns goes off. I cross the start line in 2:12.
1 0:07:52 pace, HR 166. Even in Corral C, elbow to elbow. Actually tough to run faster than 7:45, a mass of people not running any faster or slower. Made for an easy warmup. It took maybe half a mile to feel ?normal?.
2 0:08:10 pace, HR 169. Noticing my HR a lot higher than normal. Like 10-20 bpm higher. Alarming. Doesn?t feel like nerves either. The canyon walls of the city are stifling. I figure it?s 5-8 degrees hotter in the mass of people, a microclimate. Also none of that wind from your own 7 mph speed. So it?s just brutal.
3 0:07:42 pace, HR 172. Feeling fine, trying to get closer to my 7:25 pace. But I can?t. Everyone is slow. Corral C??? Crowded and slow. I?m frustrated. And it?s hot and humid. My HR is climbing, I?m feeling thirsty already.
4 0:07:43 pace, HR 174. Crossing the 5K line I realize it?s going to be a bad, bad day. My left hip is starting to go weak, and both of my legs are starting to feel rubbery. I?m starting to run like Gumby.
5 0:07:55 pace, HR 177. Gumby time. Feels like my gluteus medius muscles have turned off. My hips are wobbling. How I manage to maintain this pace is beyond me. My HR is redlining at 177, which is usually what I?d see holding a 6:15 pace in cool weather. Sub-5K pace, in other words. At a 8:00 pace in cool weather my HR would be 150-160. This is ridiculous. I figure I?ll hold it just to see, but I?m starting to realize it ain?t gonna work. And I?m not anywhere close to BQ pace.
6 0:08:08 pace, HR 177. Still Gumby, HR holding high. A 2-mile stretch between aid stations, I thought I was going to die of thirst. This has turned brutal and it?s just been 6 miles. Oh my god, this is not good. Why the bleep can?t I control my legs?
7 0:07:55 pace, HR 173. Stopped to walk some at the aid station, reflected in lower pace and HR. The BQ goal is officially tossed out the window. Based on how I?m feeling, my new goal is to finish. A 3:30 time is looking like a real challenge. I don?t know how I?ll finish. Actually felt a little light-headed at the aid station.
8 0:08:15 pace, HR 170. Slowing down some. Gumby legs going away as I go slower and hip not as much a factor at the slower speeds. Heat aside, my hip and legs could have prevented a BQ anyway. At mile 8 I meet my friends, stop to try to tell them it?s going to be slow, they wave me on. I contemplate dropping out. Is it really worth finishing? The way my body feels after 8 miles it?s like I?ve run 20. Not good, not good at all.
9 0:08:40 pace, HR 164. Slowing down a little, but also taking more time at the aid stations, walking and drinking. At this point I zone out. I pay no attention to the race clock, the mileage, the course. I?m in survival mode. From here on, I only have a vague awareness of where I am on the course. Enjoy the marathon. No. Not possible. Too painful. I?m actually starting to get lactic acid in my legs. I?m wondering if it?s because of Gatorade Endurance? My Succeed Amino sports drink has stuff in it to ?buffer? lactic acid, and maybe that?s why I?ve never felt this when I?ve used it. Oh, this hurts. One image that struck me: A dog sitting on the course sideline scratching its ear.
10 0:08:01 pace, HR 165. Less walking, about the same pace. Going slower, the Gumby legs and hip flexor seem to be fading. So at least this marathon won?t be vexed by injury, sort of. Near Fleet Feet at Piper?s Alley Elvis was singing; I gave him the peace sign; he waved back.
11 0:08:13 pace, HR 164. Feels like it?s getting hotter. I?m now running alongside a 3:30 pacer who is on pace. I?m focusing on finishing in 3:30 with a safety net of 3:35 to get into Corral B. I?m cursing Corral C for its slowness, but later I figure everyone was just slow from the heat.
12 0:07:54 pace, HR 166. Still alongside the 3:30 pacer. He?s bald and easy to see. He looks strong. I admit it?s actually kind of hard keeping this pace and I know I won?t be able to last. Not for 14 miles. I plan to just hold on as long as I can and then slow down. All I can do.
13 0:08:00 pace, HR 167. The 3:30 pacer is now 30 yards ahead. I just can?t hold it. I do the math in my head about making the Corral B time. Not sure if I can. But wow! This torture race is half over already. How did that happen? I?m right at a 3:30 pace. Holy bleep, the Energizer Zone Bunnies. They didn?t mention the Bunnies would be teenage hotties in pink halter tops and shorts. Despite my suffering, I entertain a few lascivious thoughts.
14 0:08:21, HR 168. About the same running pace but more walking at the aid stations for hydration. I?m downing maybe 15 oz per aid station, usually Gatorade, occasionally some water. Constantly thinking about dehydration. It?s gotten hotter. No shade. The sun is beating down hard. Lots of people are walking. Everyone looks thrashed. And these are all fit 3:30 marathoners around me.
15 0:07:51 pace, HR 169. No walking this mile, still chasing the vanishing 3:35 goal. I?m about done. This sucks.
16 0:08:16 pace, HR 170. The heat running back on Jackson is brutal. My legs are hammered. How will I finish? Are we at mile 16? Where am I?
17 0:08:52 pace, HR 166. I?m now walking in between aid stations. I haven?t given up on 3:35, still entertaining the idea of a fast finish, but... it?s just hard giving up. I?m doing so much walking now there?s no point in going for a time. I realize I?m in Greek Town. The course, even through these bleak western miles, is lined with people. Good weather for watching. Awful weather for running. I feel like there?s no privacy when I want to stop and walk.
18 0:08:32 pace, HR 168. Not much walking this mile. Yes, I?m that slow and my HR is that high. It?s pathetic. It?s hot, it?s humid. I ditch my red Nike pace bands which have caused red dye to stain my new $20 racing singlet. Bleeping Nike piece of bleep gear. Hey, only 8 more miles. I can?t believe I?m managed to run 18 miles in this ****. I just want this nightmare to end.
19 0:09:32 pace, HR 160. A lot more walking. I enjoyed the bands around Pilsen. It?s much better to not wear headphones. I pass Nuevo Leone and think about dinner afterwards. I eat a banana. I notice my fingers feel a little puffy, which I interpret as too much salt from the Gatorade Endurance. I switch to water.
20 0:09:29 pace, HR 161. More walking. I think about making it from aid station to aid station. Down Halsted was a very lonely stretch. I don?t see how I can make 3:35. I don?t think I can safely run a 7:00 pace for more than 400 yards without risking injury or worse. Yes, it?s that bad. The sun is relentless. Just 6 more miles.
21 0:08:04 pace, HR 168. In a last ditch attempt to make 3:35, I figure if I can hold 8:00 average include aid stations that I can make 3:35 and Corral B. Chinatown is tough. I stop to walk and listen to the music.
22 0:08:56 pace, HR 164. I have officially conceded 3:35. I have no idea what my finish time will be. I?m vaguely aware of where I am. I notice the mile signs say ?Final 5?. That?s gotta be good. I?m doing more walking now than ever. As soon as I can see an aid station, I start walking. More bananas. No Gatorade.
23 0:09:59 pace, HR 159. More walking, as seen in my HR and pace. My stomach is starting to feel upset. I figure it?s the bananas. I thought that might happen but I don?t care. At this point my stomach is a mere triviality to the torture festival in my legs. It hurts even to walk. At least, though, all my joints and bones are OK. No shin splits etc.
24 0:11:00 pace, HR 152. Even more walking. Probably the most this mile than any other. People around me are absolutely hammered. Sometimes half the field of runners is walking. And this, I think, is the 3:30-capable crowd. I cannot comprehend the carnage of the slower runners.
25 0:10:10 pace, HR 152. Still a lot of walking. Even though it?s just a mile to the finish, I know I cannot pick up the pace and sprint it in. I know my body, and I?m cooked. I look at my watch and realize a sub-3:45 time is possible, and getting that time seems less humiliating. So I pick it up. Oh the humanity. My stomach feels bloated.
26 0:09:23 pace, HR 158. In between walking I?m running faster. Still trying to make the sub-3:45. It?ll be close. Is that the final stretch? No. Wrong high rise... finally the Roosevelt turn. Thank god.
26.2 0:08:17 pace, HR 169. Gradually increasing pace up the ?hill?. HR is high. Around the curve. The finish line in sight. I try to accelerate. My left hip starts to go weak on me. Wobbling running. I check my pace. It?s 6:52. Not bad. But this is as fast as I can run. 300 meters. The crowd is silent. Not many runners around me. Then at 200 meters I hear a surge of crowd noise (later I learn these are my friends!). I think I have the 3:45 time. 50m to go, I start to slow down. I can?t maintain the pace. I try to maintain form to look good for pictures. I cross the finish line, check my time. Got it. Big bleeping whoop-de-doo. People around me are laying on the ground.
Final Thoughts
Looking back, I shouldn't have run. Given the weather, a "race" was impossible. So go slow and enjoy it? Not possible either, with the shortage of supplies and crowds. I love running, but yesterday had nothing of what I love about running. That I got a 3:45 time in those conditions, and that I finished basically hydrated (or at least not dehydrated too much), able to walk home, with no injuries or aches and pains, is attributable to my conditioning and training over the last 15 months (averaging 60 mpw in the last 8 weeks with peaks of 80). The hip issue is probably a muscle imbalance somewhere, and means weight training this off-season.
I think the biggest problem the Chicago Marathon faces is that it is OVERCROWDED. Even my Preferred Corral C was crowded and elbow to elbow the first 10 miles or so. In normal race conditions, 45,000 participants might be manageable but barely, and any extreme weather can easily tip the balance, as we saw yesterday. But more participants means more $ponsorship money. I love Chicago, I live downtown, and the marathon is a tradition. But I'm doubting weather I want to use Chicago to try to BQ. I think smaller less crowded marathons might be more enjoyable too.
As long as they have those half-dressed teenage Energizer Bunnies.
