Getting into Boston is fairly straight forward - you either qualify or you raise money for Charity. Chicago and New York are a little bit quirky. For New York the time standards are more difficult but there are half marathon standards that are good for their marathon qualifier. For perspective the 40-44 male Boston qualifying time is 3:15 and for New York it's 2:58 for a full and 1:25 for a half. The first time qualifier spots go to runners that qualified in a NYRR sanctioned race then a limited number of automatic qualifiers are first come first serve to runners qualifying on other certified courses. Yeah, whatever that means. Members of the NYRR club that run and/or volunteer a certain number of NYRR races are automatic qualifiers and the rest of the spots are awarded via lottery. I hate lottery entries so I usually steer clear of them.
Chicago's guaranteed entry requirements almost made it too good to turn down. Men and women, regardless of age, that have run 3:15 or 3:45 respectively meet the guaranteed time requirement. Also the time window for running the qualifier is longer than Boston and New York so times run on, or after 1/1/2014 were good for the 2016 race and since my 2015 was a disaster that sealed the deal. I applied, was accepted, and the only thing left to do was make it through the summer in one piece. Easier said than done considering I severely underestimated how difficult a summer marathon cycle was going to be.
I was struggling through midday runs as early as May then slogged my way through the Charity Chase Half Marathon in June. Physically I felt as good as I had in a long time but I was already thinking this might be a bad idea. The effort that it took to maintain paces that I was easily running through the winter months was just ridiculous. Of course looking back at my running logs from 40 degree weather didn't help either. The runs grew longer, and hotter, and my pace runs were hot garbage. I hadn't booked a room yet or invested in plane tickets and I distinctly remember setting out for a tempo in August thinking that if the run went south I was going eat my entry fees and run the Richmond marathon in mid November. If nothing else that would give me another 5 weeks to push out my peak mileage weeks. Fortunately I had good run that day and was able to dislodge my head from my rear and from that point on I was all-in.
We loaded up for Chicago the Thursday before the marathon with plans of flying out Sunday after the race. On Friday morning I took all 3 boys to the expo with hopes of beating the crowd. That didn't happen but everything about Chicago is built for crowds so it wasn't all that bad. I'm not a huge expo guy but I do like to spend a few minutes to make sure I've got the essentials, like my bib, and then a little something to remember the event. You know, on the off chance I forget 26.2 miles of traipsing all over Chicago. Otherwise being under the same roof with 1,000's of obnoxious and anxious runners tends to wear me out. The minute my youngest realized that none of the vendors were carrying kids sizes the trip turned into a complete disaster. He was bored, tired of walking, and hungry not to mentioned furious that the other two were leaving the expo with something to show for their morning excursion. Eventually he and I made our way to a Chicago sports store and once he was decked out in Cubs gear the Earth continued it's rotation.
We did the touristy thing Thursday and Friday but Saturday I started getting a little restless. I met Donald at Fleet Feet for a shakeout run that morning sponsored by Runners World and hosted by Bart Yasso. After that I spent a relaxing morning at the aquarium and had a late lunch about 3:00pm which wasn't exactly how I drew it up. The rest of the day I just hung out at the hotel while the family spent the afternoon at the parks which actually was, exactly how I drew it up. I finally ventured out after dark to find a bagel and some peanut butter which is not as easy as it sounds the night before 40,000 people are set to run a marathon. Then I decided it was in my best interest to find some throwaways for race morning because I wasn't prepared for a 40 something degree morning. Seventeen dollars later I had some ugly sweatpants, an even uglier oversized sweatshirt from about 1992, and a knit cap that I totally didn't need.
Sunday morning was perfect - not quite as chilly as Saturday but 50 degrees and not a cloud in the sky with the typical Chicago breeze was blowing. I walked out the hotel door and just followed the crowd to the start. The bag check went smoothly and I managed to follow signs to find my gear check, wave, and corral. I really didn't have much time to spare but needed to get in a final bathroom stop. There were porta-pots everywhere but the lines were long and they weren't moving so I kept thinking the closer I got to the start the shorter the lines would be. Wishful thinking. Do yourself a favor and go early. At Boston there is enough vegetation that if you're really pressed for time you can find a tree in a pinch. In Chicago, not so much. I had about 15 minutes to the start and the line was 30 deep and there was no way I was going to make it. I finally noticed in a far corner there were a few brave men and women congregating near a single tree so I joined that less than modest group, did my thing, and I was all set!
Like every race there's a lot of excitement and adrenaline at the start but the national anthem is always a bit emotional for me. In that moment I'm able to truly appreciate the day and reflect on everything that makes it special. My faith, family, freedom, and health all come together in a way that's overwhelming and unforgettable. I realized how insignificant my personal goals are in the grand scheme of this amazing opportunity that is my life. That perspective allows me to relax and just enjoy the experience for exactly what it is. Then it gets loud, and in unison 1,000's of runners start undressing and moving towards the start so back to the reality of spending the next few hours running...
By Sunday morning we had already had an amazing trip and I just didn't want to screw it by bombing my run. I was hoping for a time that would get me into Boston 2018 just in case I have friends that decide to run. My BQ time is 3:15 but BQ-2:30 is probably the safe bet to get in. I felt like my training was good enough to run 3:10 and my PR is 3:09 high so obviously I would have loved to improve on that time. I went to my A-team for running advice and insight (Bill Johncock and Robert Murray) so I was healthy, reasonably fit, and had excellent advice on my side - not to mention great weather. All I had to do was not run a dumb race which I have been known to do. Really my issue is more with planning and logistics than the actually running but it all goes into the Lemonade that I prefer to be sweet.
I wanted to ease into the first 5K at marathon pace plus about 20 seconds then eventually get to marathon pace but my signal was garbage. Clearly I didn't get the memo to disregard GPS data in the first few miles because of the signal loss going under bridges and through the city. There's your PSA for running Chicago - expect a lot of signal loss. After the first 5K my watch was reading an extra 0.3 miles so the mental math was in full swing.
I was actually behind the 3:15 pace group of about 9,000 (maybe I'm exaggerating just a tad) but I just tried to stay patient and remember how much running was ahead of me. The course starts in the middle of the city, runs 6 miles north before circling back then runs 6 months south away from the finish before looping back. The first 4 miles are really loud and the streets are lined with people so it's easy to get sucked into the race hype and run too fast but for whatever reason I felt sluggish and slow to start. I actually was looking everywhere to use the bathroom, again, to no avail and after 10 miles of figuring out when and where to relieve myself it just went away. My 5K split was 7:32 and really not where I wanted to be but whatever.
By the time I passed the 10K mat I had finally navigated my way through the 3:15 group but still wasn't thrilled with how I had run thus far. Then I did what any impatient and relatively inexperienced marathoner would do and tried to make up for time lost. I was finally finding a good rhythm and we were making our way back downtown so my 15K and half marathon splits were among my fastest of the day. Halfway through the race I was at 1:35:14 which is about where I wanted to be but maybe not exactly how I planned to get there.
Running away from the finish line half way through the marathon was a lot like running past my house in the middle of a long run. It kinda sucks. The only saving grace was that I was finally counting backwards and able to break up the race into small chunks. I was in a rhythm and had my sights on trying to stay relaxed through mile 16. After a very comfortable race pace split I had 10 miles left and was ready to grid. Ten mile tempo runs had been a staple of my training so in my mind that was exactly my approach going forward. The crowds thin out a bit and these miles are much less eventful than the early miles but as you head away from downtown at least you have the benefit of some longer straights and the wind at your back.
My fastest split was between miles 16-19 where I was marathon pace minus about 15 seconds. It didn't feel fast but my legs had become well aware of what was going on and were letting me know about it. I made it through mile 20 without even realizing it and knew I was at least headed back in the direction of the finish. Around mile 21 I started to get uncomfortable - could have been that last split but there was no undoing anything now. The mileage difference between my watch and the course mile markers were really getting on my nerves too - my watch would read 21 miles, then half a mile later I would see the 21 mile marker. Every. Single. Mile...
Coming through Chinatown was a nice pick-me-up and once again the streets were packed. A big yellow dragon was there to provide about a 20 second reprieve, or at least distraction from the train wreck that had become my two legs. I knew if I could just hang on until mile 24 that it was a straight shot to the finish and that the crowds would provide a much needed shot of adrenaline. I grabbed some Gu, no idea what flavor, caffeinated or not, and I didn't care. I just sucked it down like it was my job. I fueled that morning with half a bagel and some peanut butter and tucked away 4 or 5 Swedish fish in my shorts. I ate one of them early on and forgot about the other four. At least until I reached back and found a gooey mess in my back pocket later on. It's possible my fueling habits need some work. Anyway, I hadn't quite made the turn into the city, the wind wasn't helping at all on the way in, and I was about spent so miles 23 and 24 were a real struggle. Once I finally passed the 24th mile I could hear the rumbling in the distance at the finish line.
One more grinding mile into the wind to 25 and I was finally in the home stretch. I was pace +.10 for a couple miles prior to 24 but got back on track to run mile 25 right at MP. At the time I had no idea how I was tracking and had finally given up trying to figure it out. I was running by feel and just trying to get through it without paying much attention to my watch. Honestly I was afraid to even look because I was laboring and it felt like I was crawling.
The final mile includes a bit of a climb up to a bridge right before the finish but being so close to the end adrenaline makes that bearable. Not enjoyable, but bearable. I finally glanced at my watch because even I can subtract my elapsed time from my goal(s) to figure out the damage. I was tracking close to 3:10 but I needed a gear that I just didn't have to get in under it. The finish line was in sight as my watched turned to 3:10 and 28 seconds later I crossed the finish line. I was too tired to do the math on the splits to see if the negative split was still in play. Strava and New Balance have thrown out this back half challenge where they offer free shoes for running a negative split between October 9 and early December so I was hoping to take advantage of that. However moments after finishing the race the last thing on my mind was another pair of running shoes to log more miles. I was very satisfied but not thrilled and I'm not sure there's anything I could have, or would have done any differently. Maybe been more patient early, maybe run more consistently late, maybe taken in more calories on the run - but I did a lot more right than I did wrong on the day. I ran identical splits for the front and back half with 5K splits of 7.34 / 7.20 / 7.04 / 7.10 / 7.16 / 7.18 / 7.01 / 7.22 / 7.24 / 7.11 so it's hard to be disappointed with that.
I'm far from being an experienced marathoner but I've learned enough to respect the distance and know that so many things have to go right just to have a good race, much less a great one. The weather, fueling and hydrating properly, shoes, and obviously making it through the full training cycle healthy. Speaking of shoes I put myself in the unenviable position of running in a pair with 400 miles or a pair with 16 miles. I went with the new(er) pair and it worked out but I don't recommend it. Afterwards I reconnected with the family, scraped the gooey fish out of my back pocket, and it was time to say good bye to Chicago. An amazing host city and an incredible experience that I would do all over again in a hot minute. Congratulations to everyone that ran and thank you to all that offered support and encouragement before and after the race. Also to my running friends that helped me through my runs long and short, fast and slow, from the 5am Saturday runs to the 95 degree afternoons, having you guys to run with made a world of difference! Let's do it all over again soon :)
