Chicago Marathon Training and Race Summary - Derek (Read 775 times)

This isn't strictly just a race report, but really, a summary of my experience leading up to and including the marathon: ---------------------------------- This past Sunday I ran my very first marathon, the Chicago Marathon. As most people would know by now, it was quite a scorcher with the temperature being the highest on record for the day and for the Chicago Marathon, but more on that in a bit. Over the last 3 months, I had been struggling with my training and wasn't running anywhere near what I wanted to be running. While I should have been running 40-50 miles per week, I was actually running 20-30 miles, and the little running I did was tough as I was getting fatigued very quickly. I don't have any explanation as to why I was struggling. I had a blood test done to ensure I wasn't iron deficient, but the tests came back normal. I thought I was overtrained, but even after cutting way back to just 10 miles for a couple weeks and running a highly reduced mileage, things never improved. The only other factor I can think of is the TX summer that I had to train through. When I look back at my logs, my best running was when the temperature was in the 50's. At the end of August and early September I had to make a decision as to whether or not I even wanted to try and run the marathon. I had until Sep 11th to cancel my hotel reservation and at least recoup some of the money I was spending to go to Chicago. After thinking about it for several days, and getting feedback from various people, I decided to go ahead with the marathon and to try and do the best that I could based on the level of training I was able to do. My goal at the start of my training almost 6 months ago was a sub 4-hr marathon, but I knew going in Chicago that this would not be achievable. It was only about 3 weeks before the marathon that I started to get in some training runs that I was happy with, but it was probably a case of too little too late. I was going to be running the Chicago marathon under prepared. Another problem I had recently was cramping on my 19 and 20-mile runs. I had gotten some Succeed S!Caps electrolyte tablets which I tried on a short run to ensure there were no abnormal stomach problems, but I got it too late to try on an actual long run to see if it would help with the cramping. I planned to take the max dosage during the marathon which was 1 capsule every 30 mins, but I had no idea whether it would help with the cramping or not. Up until the day before the expo, I didn't know what pace I wanted to go for. I knew I wanted to join a pace group as I'm terrible when it comes to pacing during a race. At the expo, I signed up with the 4:15 pace group. I figured if the conditions were perfect and the stars were all aligned, that I could run a 4:15 marathon. I also figured that worse case, I'll try and stick with the pace group through the half and then take it from there, maybe coming in at around 4:45. I had been monitoring the weather and I know it was going to be a lot warmer than I would have liked, but I didn't know what exactly to expect. On Sunday, I lined up with the 4:15 pace group and headed out with them. I stuck with them for the first 3-4 miles, but gradually started to fall off the pace. I knew from then that there was no way I was going to make the 4:15 time. I took my electrolyte tables every 30 mins, but when I went to get one at the 90-min mark, all I saw in the pocket of my pouch was a pile ofo white powder. With all the water I was pouring on myself to stay cool, the casings of the capsules all dissolved. I managed to get the last capsule, but there would be no more electrolyte tablets for the remainder of the marathon. For my next marathon, I need to find a better way to carry the capsules other than simply putting them loose into the pouch of my water belt. At the 6 mile mark, I saw a building with a temperature LED sign. It was 83F. I continued to push on and there were many occasions that I considered calling it a day. At about the 9-10 mile mark, my legs started to cramp. My worst fear was starting to occur. It wasn't as bad as on my training runs, but it did mean that I had to constantly stop running and had to walk so my legs wouldn't actually cramp-up. I continued on as best as I could. When I got to mile 19, the race officials were telling us that the race was canceled. I had no idea what that meant, but all the other runners around me and I just kept going. At the 20-mile mark, I saw another building with a temperature LED sign. It was 91F. At this point, everyone around me was pretty much walking. From this point forward and for the remainder of the race, every few blocks there were race officials telling us that no one should be running and everyone should be walking to the finish. I found an official and asked him if we crossed the finish line, if we would get an official time and a medal, but he didn't know what was going to happen. At around mile 23, another official did confirm that if we cross the finish line, we would get a medal and official time. The remainder of the race was spent alternating running and walking. At one point I tried to run a bit faster, but I got about 50 yards before I almost fell as I felt my right calf almost cramped completely. There were a lot of runners complaining about the lack of fluids, but at least in my case, when I got to each aid station, there was always fluids available, although not always both water and Gatorade. In most cases, they were out of one type of fluid. At the 18-mile mark I had to take my Gu gel with Gatorade as that was all they had. There were quite a few residents spraying water with hoses and for this I was very grateful. It was HOT out there and any water I got sprayed or poured on me was very welcome. In the last 4-5 miles, there were fire hydrants and a couple fire engines spraying water. During the race, I passed 4 different pace team leaders, all of them were walking! I don't know which pace groups they were leading as they no longer had their little signs, but it's rather sobering seeing experienced marathoners who I would expect would be leading pace groups much slower than their PRs not being able to keep the pace. Even though I had to train during the hot TX summer, I think I did a SINGLE 3-mile run in these kinds of temperatures. All my training runs were done at 5am in the morning when the temperature was usually in the mid-70s and without any sun beating down on me. I went out of way to avoid running in the heat and sun! When next I'm training for a fall marathon, I will need to ensure I do at least 1, if not 2 runs each week in the middle of the day. Overall, I am disappointed in my first marathon performance, but I can't put the whole blame on the weather. The way I figure it, the weather was probably responsible for 1/2 of my poor performance. The other half is simply due to the fact that I was not properly prepared. Running just 20-30 miles a week isn't going to cut it if I'm going to run a marathon as fast as I want to. I do know, that given the circumstances, I did the best I could have on Sunday. There was nothing more I could have done. Even at the end when we were being told to stop running, I continued run in spurts as far as I could before I would have to walk to avoid cramping. There is nothing that I can think of on Sunday that I would do differently given the same circumstances. All I can do at this point is learn as much as I can from this experience. I'm no longer a first time marathoner and at the very least, I got to experience what a full marathon is like . In the days leading up to the marathon, I was a bit nervous as I didn't know what to expect. After all, I've only ever gone 20 miles once and at my pace, that last 6 miles is at least an extra hour of running. I have now started to think about what comes next. I need to check the exact number of weeks I would have to train, but I'm seriously considering running the Cowtown Marathon in Ft. Worth. It is at the end of February so the weather should be cooler (but after Chicago, you never know) and being local, I wouldn't have to spend any money to travel there. The average for Feb is 39-60F so if I get the average temperature for the day, it would be my ideal running temperature. I do know that my first marathon would be a very memorable one, even if it's not the exact memory I was hoping for :-)

Great job fighting through the heat and grinding it out! That is how you HTFU!! Loved the report.

Congrats Derek on completing your first marathon! I think that it's great that you kept going and made it to the finish line, and are well.

Derek, congratulations on your first marathon! Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Best on your prep work for the Cowtown (Ultra ) Marathon! modal (who sees himself doing another 10k or HM for Cowtown, but perhaps he'll get motivated to do a marathon)

congratulations on getting to the end of a brutal race. heat is a serious factor and you should try not to be disappointed. yes - 20-30 miles a week is a bit light mileage wise but you know you'd have been a lot faster in better conditions

During the race, I passed 4 different pace team leaders, all of them were walking! I don't know which pace groups they were leading as they no longer had their little signs, but it's rather sobering seeing experienced marathoners who I would expect would be leading pace groups much slower than their PRs not being able to keep the pace.

a slightly different take on this from me. if pace group leaders had carried on running when everyone was being told to walk i'd have considered them to be utterly irresponsible. the best thing they could do (given they are basically running for the good of their pace groups and not for their own times) would be walk and encourage anyone with them to do the same.

Derek! Congrats on your finish and like berner said - your effort gets a 10! After watching your trials and tribulations this summer it is nice to see you finish Chicago. You can worry about your sub-4 race at Cowtown or wherever. MTA - Regarding your S! Cap meltdown and you looking for a solution. I carry a zip-lock bag with Tums and S! Caps and have not yet had a water-logging problem. I can crumple it up and it fits in the pocket of my hand-held water bottle or wherever else I have room. I also do this when I carry cash for water/gatorade restocking. That way I don't have to pay the clerk in sweat soaked bills.

I had actually thought about using some kind of ziplock bag, but I was worried about having to fiddle with it to get the capsules out and thus the reason I just put them loose in the pouch of my water belt. I figured it would have been easier to simply reach into my pouch and grab a capsule. Do you have any issues with your sweaty or wet hands getting the other capsules wet when you reach in to get one? I was thinking of trying to find some kind of small pill dispenser that I can just tip or shake one capsule out from.

I carry 4 or 5 Succeed capsules with me during all my marathons because I lose a lot of salt during my runs. To keep them dry, I wrap and knot each capsule individually in plastic that I cut from sandwich bags (the non-ziplock kind). It is water proof (I washed my water belt in my washing machine with the capsules still in it), and convenient to use. Eric

Way to stick with it, Derek! The Chicago Marathon experience is unfortunate on so many levels, but you can say you finished the task! Great job! As for training in the Summer in TX...I have noticed year after year how my mpm times increase in Aug and Sept training runs. It never fails that I begin to think I am doing something wrong and then when the first cool snap hits...the same training run finds me on a 2mpm faster pace! You just didn't get a break in the weather at Chicago! You'll rock Cowtown, just keep putting one foot in front of the other! Lynn B