I had so many mixed feelings about this race. My training was not a 100% for a variety of reasons, some that were within my control and some that really weren’t. Note to self: No more early fall marathons for awhile. Training through the summer sucks.
The week before Chicago though was the weekend of Tour d’Esprit here in Memphis, a 24 hour relay/race. I love this event and used it to run my 20 miler for NYCM last year, so I decided to get in one last long run there before Chicago. I ended up doing a little over 18 miles in 2:38 - not too shabby for a training run on a Friday night. I knew doing 18 only a little over a week from Chicago wasn’t ideal, but I also knew it would give me the confidence and security I needed going into the race. I might not PR, but I was definitely going to be able to finish the race with some type of respectable time.
Eric also ran Chicago and I’m pretty sure that with the exception of maybe a local 4 miler, this is the first time we’ve run the same race since the Stump Jump 50K in 2013. (Oh BTW, during my absence he WON a half marathon. Like the bad ass he is.) We arrived in Chicago Friday afternoon and headed straight to Shake Shack because priorities, y’all.
After finishing our shroom burgers we made the long trip to the expo. It really wasn’t that far, but traffic was terrible and we stupidly trusted Google’s recommendation that we use the CTA bus. It was worth the trek though. Hands down, BEST expo I have ever been to. It was so well organized (Eric was even able to change his corral) and there were a lot of fun vendors. We got to meet Bart Yasso and drink some free beer. What more could you want?
Pro tip: On the way back from the expo we snagged a ride on the Nike shuttle. Way faster than the CTA bus!
So excited for expo and to knock out two world majors! (Chicago +NYCM) Berlin next? :)
One of the best parts of the weekend (or maybe THE best part of the weekend) is that my good friend Sam lives in Chicago and our other friend Darcy flew up to join us for the weekend, so the trip served as both a girls’ weekend (+ Eric) and a race weekend. We grabbed dinner and drinks together Friday night and then we were off to bed. I don’t know if this is true, but I’ve always been told the most important night of sleep is the one two nights before a race and I wasn’t taking any chances.
Saturday we did some wedding shopping along Michigan Avenue (tuxedo secured!) and one of the architectural boat tours. Even though Eric and I have both been to Chicago multiple times before, somehow we had never done one of the boat tours and relaxing while floating down the river ended up being a pretty good pre-race activity.
We stayed in downtown Chicago and there was a brand new Whole Foods right across the street from our hotel. This could not have worked out more perfectly and we were able to grab a quick runner-friendly dinner Saturday night (chicken, potatoes, and cauliflower for me and a tuna sammy for Eric).
Sunday morning my alarm went off at 5:40. I ate a banana and Clif Bar and drank a bottle of Nuun while I got dressed. The temperature was in the 50′s at that point, but it would climb into the high 70′s/80′s that afternoon, so I didn’t bother putting on any throw away gear. Singlet, shorts, and shoes were pretty much all I had.
Eric and I walked down to Grant Park and said our goodbyes. He was in Corral A and I was in Corral C, so we wouldn’t see each other again until we were back at the hotel after the race. (Also, apparently Dean Karnazes was in Eric’s corral. Jealous!)
I entered my corral 10 minutes before it closed and looked around. Lots of runners speaking lots of different languages, but of course no one I knew. I thought back to NYCM and wished Liz was with me so I would have a buddy. I didn’t have to feel lonely for long though. Two ladies behind me struck up conversation and offered me some gummies. This was just the start of the amazing hospitality and generosity of the day.
As we listened the announcer read off the list of elite runners and then to the National Anthem, it finally hit me. I was going to run the CHICAGO MARATHON. This was real and it was happening.
About 9 minutes after the official start, our corral was hearded along and we were off!
They say Chicago is a flat and fast course and I don’t think I can emphasize that enough. My corral (which was made up of 3:35-3:50 pace groups) was cruising. Between the momentum of the runners, the flat course, and the crowds downtown, I could not slow down. I had planned on going out at a 9 minute pace was hitting 8′s and 8:30′s. Crap. The rational part of me panicked and the crazy runner part of me thought, “Hmmm...maybe we’ll PR today after all.”
Around mile 4 I heard some call my name. It was @karikeepsrunning! I wouldn’t put two and two together until after the race, but it made my day all the same.
Somewhere around mile 6 or so I was able to dial my pace back and around a more sustainable 8:45. I don’t really think it’s worth it to post my Garmin splits because they are so far off. Eric warned me that this would be a problem in Chicago, but my Garmin was fairly accurate in New York, so I kind of shrugged him off. Wrong. By the end of the day, I think my Garmin had me at over 28 miles. Not helpful. I ended up just relying on my cumulative time at each mile marker to gauge pace, which resulted in lots of sketchy running mental math on my end.
We ran north along the lake and I was still enjoying the beautiful, cloudless weather. I reached mile 8 where Sam and Darce were waiting for me and nearly killed the runners behind me when I spotted them and grabbed a hug. It meant so much to me that they got up at the crack of dawn just to see for a few minutes. It would be the last time I saw familiar faces on the race course.
I know Darce and Sam are good friends because they totally embraced this scary sweaty runner hug.
Around mile 10 I dug my iPod out of my bra. This was my first reality check of the day. I had already sweat so much that my iPod was waterlogged. It took several minutes for it to dry out and start functioning. Normally, I wouldn’t have opted for my iPod this early in a race. The crowds in Chicago were wonderful, but I didn’t have anyone else I knew waiting for me. It was getting hot and I needed to just find a way to focus and try to maintain a decent pace.
I crossed the half around 1:54 and instantly started doing mental math. If I maintained this pace what would I finish in? Could I PR? How much time could I lose and still run a sub-4? All the different scenarios were playing out in my head. While it might seem like I had “banked” some time on the front end, I knew that wasn’t true. Chances were I would pay for it in the back half of the race.
Somewhere after the half until mile 19, I wasn’t in a particularly good place. My pace was okay, but I was cranky. The sun was hot, my skin was salty, my knee hurt, my Garmin wasn’t accurate...blah, blah, blah. As we hit mile 19, I pulled myself out of my pathetic self pity mode. A good attitude would be the best thing I could do for myself and I began to perk up. Home stretch. I just had to hang in there.
I began to mumble/sing along with iPod, which I’m sure was just lovely for the runners around me, but whatever. It kept me occupied. We ran through a hispanic neighborhood where someone had cracked open a fire hydrant so we could run through it and cool off. Excellent.
Mile 20 came with no wall in sight. I kept going and started to wonder if Eric was close to the finish line already. We entered Chinatown and the guys in front of me started doing some kind of dance, which was a nice distraction.
The last 10K of the race was hot, hot, hot. I ran in the shade when possible, but there wasn’t much of it. I grabbed lots of water at every aid station and drank what I could and threw the rest over my head and onto my hands to cool off. I was starting to get a little worried because even my hands were dry and salty. The best I could figure was that my pace was between a 9 and a 9:30, not great but not a surprise based on my aggressive start.
Somewhere shortly after mile 23 there was a guy with a sign that said we only had a 5K left. Heck yes! I pointed at him and smiled. A 5K is nothing, right?
I ran onto Michigan Avenue for the last long stretch of the race. This was the hardest part for me. Walking sounded so, so good and plenty of other runners (some with 3:35 pace bibs!) had given in to the heat and were walking and shuffling around me. I checked my watch and snapped out of it. If I wanted to finish in under four hours, I needed to quit daydreaming and get to work. I made all kinds of ridiculous promises to myself - You can lay down for as long as you want after you finish. You can drink as much water and beer as you want if you finish. You can take the world’s longest shower when you get back to the hotel.
The very last section of the course is marked in 100 meter intervals. I don’t know who thought this would be a good idea. It sucked. I know what I can run 100 meters in, but it was taking FOREVER to cover each section. The finish line was in sight, but we had a final small hill to climb. The guy next to me was apparently a Chicago veteran and mumbled something about this section getting worse every year. I had to agree. I had hoped to benefit from some finish line endorphins/adrenaline, but all I could do was maintain my pace.
I crossed the finish line and secured a 3:57:23.
As I did before the race, I have mixed feelings about my finish time. Part of me is very proud and impressed that I was able to run this on a hot day without the amount of training I had planned. But part of me knows I didn’t really earn this race the way I have earned others. Even on a hot day, the fast course is a big benefit and I couldn’t help but wonder what I could have run with better training. I do give myself credit for hanging in there during the last 5K though. That was some tough stuff.
Eric successfully finished with a 3:23 for the day. It was not quite what he wanted, but he still earned a PR on a hot day and I am very proud of him for sticking out a race when he knew a BQ might not be in the cards.
The rest of the day was spent hanging out and enjoying some celebratory shopping and drinking. The saleslady at Nordstrom seemed shocked that I had run the marathon and was trying on clothes. As if I would let 26 miles come between me and a prime shopping opportunity!
Besties and rooftop drinks = solid recovery
So that was Chicago. Not my best race, but who knows? Maybe I’ll be back.
- The Chicago natives are so wonderful. As I trekked from the finish line back to our hotel, lots of people stopped me and congratulated me on the race- never mind that there were 40,000 other people who were also wandering around with a finisher’s medal. It really made a big impression on me.
- Chicago is a lot of bang for the buck. Our total cost for the weekend and race was just a fraction of what NYCM costs and it definitely felt like we got a lot more out of it. Few things (except Boston) can compare to the prestige that NYCM carries, but other than that Chicago was just better. I’m happy to have run both, but would consider repeating Chicago rather than NYCM. In addition to it being more affordable, the logistics were a breeze. Basically, we just rolled out of bed and shuffled down to the start. The expo was great and the swag was pretty good too. After I crossed the finish line, volunteers rushed to hand me water, Gatorade, protein shakes, beer, cool towels, and all kinds of snacks. And let me just reiterate again, the course is FAST. Best of all, I was finished before noon, so we had the rest of the day to hang out and have fun. (I think it was late afternoon when I finished NYCM.)
- This race was so well organized. The heat was unavoidable, but the organizers and volunteers worked really hard to keep runners safe. Water sprayers were hooked up over the course, cold sponges and wipes were handed out, and the water at aid stations was nice and cold.
- Recovery has been a breeze. I don’t know if it’s because the course was easy or if it’s just the result of cumulative marathon experience, but all in all I feel relatively good compared to the other times I’ve raced this distance.
- Maybe I could’ve done a better job with training and pacing, but I’m giving myself a gold star for hydrating and fueling. No wall. No dehydration.
I’m taking a few days off and then it’s back to real training. The St. Jude Half is less than two months away and I’m looking forward to spending some time concentrating on a shorter distance. :)
