Worst. Race. Ever. (Read 1402 times)

But yeah, 60s/low 70s -- lacking humidity -- isn't awful.

Seems pretty awful to me. What makes me skeptical of that chart is the delta from 40f to 50f.

Heat tolerance varies. Some folks suffer while others don't, even at equal experience and training levels. 

At Chicago, like other big marathons, if you are not in the front corrals, it takes a while to get past the start line and stays crowded a lot longer, if not all the way for some folks.  Being in a crowd can make quite a difference.  It'll feels a lot warmer than the reported air temp would suggest.   As such, 65F may not feel pretty good.  Also, except for a few stretches, the 2nd half of the Chicago course has minimal shade.  The direct sun out past mile 14 makes it feel significantly warmer than just a mile earlier.   At a result, most folks who are going to have heat issues start to feel them around 25k the mark.   

My experience is that I can't get it right in a marathon with warm conditions. It seems that I'd have to run at least 20-30 secs per mile slower than GMP to avoid having issues (stomach cramps with me).  Then, unless, I'm in a race just to do it, I'd wonder why I'm there.  I don't encounter these issues on faster training runs, summer HMs, or in cool weather marathons.  However; like a moth to a flame, I keep coming back.

I agree that the chart described is extreme but also feel the weather was a factor yesterday.

I'm pretty much a clockwork top 10% runner in my AG. A great day means I'm top 8-9%, and a bad day is 12-13%.

I'd trained for about a 3:12-3:15 and finished yesterday in 3:23. I finished 10.2% in my AG.

One of the things to consider was how MUCH water was out on the course yesterday... They're so scared to have people overheat that you almost had to make sure you didn't take too much and if you were taking in water, that you were getting sufficient electrolytes, too.

If I was Trent I would point to your use of "than", to suggest you did.

 

But I'm not. So I won't.

The heat was the context of the thread. Jesus Christ.

But hey, no one is ever wrong on the internet.

  Being in a crowd can make quite a difference.  It'll feels a lot warmer than the reported air temp would suggest.  

Thanks, I was wondering about this, being one of the people who suffered and performed poorly in Chicago (although my training this fall wasn't what it should have been). Those first few miles with the crowds and in those concrete canyons with no breeze sapped me early - I was miserably hot by 5K! And to me, coming from a dry part of the world, it seemed very humid.

Sounds (reads) like Jeff needs a run.

Yeah, whoops forgot to be friendly.

60s to low 70s and low humdity is wheelhouse weather for me.

Me too.

BTW, what the heck is "wheelhouse weather" ?

Really? Who would play baseball on a boat? Or softball.