2017 Sub 3 Marathons...and beyond! (Read 403 times)

JTREEVES: thanks for checking in.

Hey guys..new guy here.  Just moved over from RunnersWorlds forums, as they shut them down.  Usually post on the Chicago group, but wanted to share my RR from Chicago.

This was my 15th marathon overall, 10th Chicago and 3rd attempt at sub 3 (Boston 2013 and Boston 2014 were the previous ones).

My previous PR was 3:04:ss and  Chicago CR was 3:06:ss in 2012.  I partially tore my hamstring in May of 2014 and finally got it under control last year, after it totally gave up on me around mile 20 of Chicago 2015.  Last year I ran 3:09.xxx.

I had a really good spring, when in training I was hitting some of my fastest paces ever, but a goal race HM in June didn't work out, as the weather didn't co-operate.  I decided to go with Pfitz 18/70 program with some modifications, as it had worked well for me in the past.  I did a tempo run and intervals (1 to 2 mile repeats at 5k pace) once a week (Pfitz only does one or the other in the same week).  I also moved days around to make sure I was recovering after those hard sessions…so my typical week would like this: tempo/recovery/MLR/intervals/recovery/LR/day off.  All my MLR and LR were also progressive runs, where I would do the first half at easy pace and then come home pushing it (anywhere from 6:50 to 7:20).  Training went fairly well, although I felt that it was a couple of weeks too long.  Wheels almost fell off in late August, when DS had a sleep regression, but DW sent me to sleep in the basement for a couple of weeks, so I could finish up the training and she dealt with meltdowns.  Couldn't have done it without her!

I wasn't able to do any races to see where I was fitness wise, but I did a 10k time trial on my own @37:45 with no taper and during my peak mileage week (76), so I thought I had a shot at 2:58-2:59.  I did a 3-week taper (less was more during that time) and just hoped for the weather to be nice to us.  As it turned out it was another warm day, but it wasn't too horrible (for the 1st wave).

We arrived in the burbs on Friday night, had a relaxing dinner there and were able to sleep in Sat morning.  Went to the expo on Saturday around noon and that took a long time.  Traffic getting there was a nightmare and the parking was actually on the opposite side of the expo, so you had to walk a mile.  Met up with Badger and his GF and then we headed out to the city.  Had a nice relaxing afternoon in a coffee shop in Lincoln Park and then Thai food for supper (I don't like pasta/pizza the evening before the race).  Was back in the hotel by 7:30 and hoped for a good nights sleep.  The lights were off at 10:15 and the alarm was set for 5:30.  Unfortunately, from 1am to 3am there were many people coming back from the bars and they were pretty loud, so woke us up (I tried to argue with one of them, but couldn't get my point across that we were trying to sleep).  I was able to fall back asleep around 3:30 or so.  I didn't panic much, as I slept good the week leading up to a race.  Alarm went off at 5:30 and I was out the door at 5:45.  Took the train to the loop and was in the Grant park by 6:10, dropped off my bag, used the restroom and checked in to the corral by 6:50.  The weather was still cool at that point, so I was hoping that it will stay that way for the first half and then I'll just deal with it on the way to the finish line.

7:30  the gun went off.  I waived at the cameras and crossed the line around 7:31:30.  Stayed on the right hand of the Columbus (most people go to the left) and the road opened up right away.  I was able to hit my paces right away. The first couple of miles were all about trying to figure out how hard my body is working and get into the groove.  I started dumping water on my head at every aid station.

6:53 - loved going in the underpass, where it gets really quiet and you just hear the feet hitting the concrete.

6:59  - it got a bit crowded in this stretch with few turns.

6:49  - we headed north and the road opened up again.

6:42 - saw my wife at mile 4 and she looked worried and shouted: "what's going on?"  I guess 3:10 pace group out of corral A already went by, and she thought I was already way behind my goal pace…nope,they just had a head start on me.  

6:53 - I noticed 3:10 group in front of me and started slowly to pick them up.

6:47 - as we were entering Lincon Park the band played Eye of the Tiger, which pumped me up. Also took my first energy gel.  Almost choked on it, so decided not to bother again, as I also didn't want to upset my stomach.

6:45 - I passed the 3:10 pace group

6:51 - as we were running next to the Lake Shore drive the wind picked up and I tried to draft off a taller guy…but the smell was horrible…I couldn't figure out what it was until I looked down and saw that he crapped his shorts. Gross!!!

6:43 - started heading south again, we had the wind in the back.

6:46 - ran next to the coffee shop where I was relaxing a day before.

6:38- saw DW and she handed me an energy drink. I told her, that so far things were looking up, but still long ways to go.

6:48 - just working our way south.

6:55.  I hit the half at 1:29:15 and still wasn't working too hard, so still became cautiously optimistic.    The temps in the first half were decent and running in the shade most of the time help tremendously.

6:43 - heading west, no more shade…party is over.

6:53  - ok…the full sun sucks.

6:37  - I sped up to impress RA, but he blew me off.

6:44  - crossed the highway and heading south again.

6:49 - turned west.  Everything is still fine.

6:44 - 8 miles to go.  You've done it plenty of times..you can gut it out from now on.

6:46 - Too warm.  Thank God for the sponges.

6:48 - Chinatown…2 years ago, you were defeated here..this time you are in charge.

7:04 - this is the stretch along the Freeway…hate it...the sun/heat is getting to me.

6:50 - left turn, under the bridge and there is some shade. Another episode of horrible smell...yup..different guy this time.  Gross!!!

7:07 - oh no…come on…you trained for it!!! You are so close.  Hang on.

7:04 - better. Saw my wife here again and pointed at the watch saying that I wasn't sure If I had it in me. She just yelled: GO! GO! GO! Also saw a runner go down and yelled for a medical support, which arrived in few seconds as they were nearby.

6:52 - much better, saw another guy just come to a halting stop as his legs locked up and he couldn't move.

1:39 - all out. 400 meters…one lap around the track…this is why we do intervals during marathon training.

Turned into Columbus Drive and saw my watch showing 2:58 and at that moment I knew sub 3 was going to happen.

2:59:15…crossed the line and seemed like all the energy came back.  At the same spot where in 2012 I yelled "I'm going to Boston", I yelled: "Sub 3…hell yeah!!!". I was so pumped the entire way back to the gear check…people probably thought I was a bit crazy.

Thanks for reading.

Don't give up. When I was dealing with my hamstring issues for 2 years, I had moments when I though my running days were over.

Nice report mini - definitely agree on the yuck, fortunately never encountered that myself.

Hello all,

I'm DaveBraunlich from RW... I decided to change my username for more anonymity.

I started running shortly after I graduated college in 2013 to lose weight and get in shape.  The most I ever remember weighing in at was 245 lbs.  I made the decision that I did not want to spend my prime years fat and out shape, so running was my first solution.  Those first runs were brutal.  I eventually made my way up from a mile to 4 mile loop a few times a week.  The weight started to come off.

I spent about two years just running this same 4 mile loop a few times a week.  I was getting more and more fit, but knew nothing about running:  I tried to run each loop faster than the last, haha.

In the beginning of 2016 I signed up for my first half marathon and first ever race.  I sort of trained for it by adding in some longer runs and a little bit of speedwork, but I hardly knew what I was doing.  I ran the race in early March in about 1:41 which I found out after was a pretty respectable time for a first time half marathoner.

Inspired, I signed up for another half two and half months later.  I trained more seriously, following a Higdon plan, and ran a 1:26 on a 12.7 mile course.  During this time I read the Daniels Running Formula and wrote a training plan for a my next half in July 2016 where I ran a 1:27 low on a hilly course on a hot day in Pennsylvania.

During the training I heard about this Boston Marathon thing and how people can only run if they run a certain time.  I was determined to qualify.  I signed up for the Maine Marathon in October 2016.  I trained hard through the summer.  Even though it was my first marathon my goal was to run a sub 3.  I was able to maintain sub 3 pace for about 22 miles before fading badly and finishing in 3:12, but hey, not bad for a first marathon.

Looking back I did not give the marathon the respect it deserves.  I decided that I would train harder and smarter all through the winter for a strong shot at running a sub 3.  I followed the 4 week cycle Daniels plan peaking at 90mpw for 26 weeks.  People either get injured or super fit with Daniels.  Fortunately for me, the latter was my experience.  I ran a 2:57 low at Sugarloaf in May 2017 -- just four years almost to the day from when I graduated college 70 lbs overweight.

Currently, I'm training for the Philadelphia Marathon where I hope to run a New York Qualifier of 2:52:59.  Regardless of how Philly goes, my plan is to focus on ultras in 2018.  Black Canyon 100k in Arizona is on the calendar, and I'll be entering the lottery for Leadville in December.

Personally, I'm 27 years old; I've lived in New Jersey, Maine, and now Colorado over the last couple of years.  I teach 8th grade math at a local middle school.

Watson - if I didn't previously state it. congrats on your race!

JTReeves - thanks for checking in, skipping the race was a good choice if you're not in it mentally. It will come back at some point.

Cinnamon - There is much more in your race than comparing to your PR, a mental win of course, congrats on the cash prize! You can almost get a pair of Nike Vaporfly 4% with that money. Are you staying in Cali?

Swim - great stories on the Chicago trip! I'm jealous of your Flagstaff life, I see all the runs on Strava from a friend living out there.

Joann - Congrats on an awesome job at Chicago! I don't know many people that ran a negative split on Sun, just you, Rupp, and ....

Mikkey - 2 min from the ocean? Hmm... I thought you were a city-slicker.

DaveB - your secret anonymity is safe with us. 

My 15k was a sufferfest in the heat and humidity. I was heading down I-95 in the pouring rain and dark early in the morning, and the rain stop before the race. I was happy with my performance, my strategy was to run with a female friend for the first 5K, then start to advance position in the second 5k, and race the last 5K. My 5K splits were 19:57, 20:23, 19:53. Finished in 60:14 for 10th OA, 2nd in AG. I fell asleep that 2nd 5K, I would have liked to break 60 with all sub-20 splits, but it was a hard race in those conditions, and I'm happy to have advanced from 12th to 10th place in the last 5K. I caught and gapped one guy from NJ in that last mile, but he came back to race and we sprinted the last 200, and I managed to edge him out in the last 20m. I puked 3 times after crossing the finish line, and I never do that. I age graded to 75.429%.

I skipped my post-race cool down, was supposed to run 20, but ended up with meager 12 on the day. I'm okay with that.

My friend and teammate Gene Dykes had a mediocre day, only age-graded to 90.093% -- he's usually closer to 95%. He finished in 60:40. He's 69 y.o., and will be going for the age 70 marathon WR in Rotterdam in the Spring, I think he needs a 2:59 for the WR.

Thank you all for your compliments guys. 

miniSx2: great report, I exactly know that feeling of accomplishment.

andres: great race anyway, also those parks are not flat, so you may have lost some because of the undulated course, I do not do much hills, but Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens are my weekend training ground

Joann and Mini - congrats on Chicago!

DaveB (I'll switch eventually) - Welcome back, glad to see you made the switch

Fly - Great effort in awful conditions. I used to get nauseous at the end of every race. Started taking Nauzene tables in the last few miles of every race and has stopped the near vomiting all the time. I know it's not a normal issue for you, but just throwing it out as advice for others if they deal with it.

Iam - I think on a flat course with perfect conditions, I would go for sub 2:55. But, I'm looking to pace to 2:58-2:59 for a few reasons:

1) NYC can be challenging with the bridges

2) I'm only going to average around 52 MPW for this cycle

3) This is only my 2nd marathon

4) The disappointment of going for 2:54 and blowing up to run 3:00+ scares me more than just going for 2:59 knowing I may have had more in me. Obviously going for 2:59 doesn't mean I will actually get that.

 

I'm no longer anti-NOP. 

Why is that?