Notes
Chicago 2021. I uploaded this quickly to Strava but I needed some time to process everything before logging it here. This will probably be sort of long as this race was crazy. First year in the ADP corral which was super nice (except for the woman who kept trying to get us to go to the start line super early). Temps didn't feel that bad warming up but could tell the wind was going to be a factor today. Got out well, hit the first mile a little quick but I figured with the conditions I was going to be more focused on effort than race. My goal was get to 20 miles feeling steady and see if I can close the final 10k. Opening miles were fine, got in a good rhythm. Going north was all with the wind and I just rode the tailwind. Fueling strategy was a GU every 5 miles and alternate taking water/gatorade at each station. First 8 miles were good but then we had to come back south and really hit the wind for the first time. And wow! Was it tough. Some gusts were just standing me straight up. Looking back now, I think I pushed this section too much but I was in a good rhythm and just tried to keep the effort the same. Got to the half point feeling fine. Then mile 16 was starting to go back into the wind and by mile 17 I was starting to feel the wind & temps a bit. By mile 20, I was crashing and burning badly. By 21, for the first time ever, I had to stop and walk. My body just couldn't go, it was honestly shutting down. Now my goal was no longer a time but actually finishing. After recovering a bit, I started to run for a certain amount of time then walk a minute or so. Wasn't until the last mile was I able to finish a mile without walking again (and that almost didn't happen as I cramped going up the bridge).
I guess overall I have mixed feelings about this race. Did I go out too hard given the conditions? Yes. Do I think it was the heat that killed me? Yes and no. Honestly, the temps never felt that bad and because it was cloudy, it stayed in the low-70s. The wind was just killer though. Every stretch into the wind was just tough and I felt like it zapped me more than the heat. Do I think I could have held 2:31:00 pace in better conditions? Yes! I was super happy I finished today and proud I got there but disappointed with the time (although I actually finished more than 50 places higher (234) than 2019 running 7:30 slower). Times were just super slow across the board today. The conditions took there toll. Almost everyone in the ADP corral talked about how badly they blew up on the back half. Easily the toughest conditions I've ever experienced for a marathon. One positive was that I didn't have stomach issues like previous years. Just kind of a mixed bag. I completely destroyed my body out there today going for it but ultimately crashed and burned in spectacular fashion.
Splits from website:
Split Time Of Day Time Diff min/mile miles/h
05K 07:47:51AM 00:17:51 17:51 05:45 10.45
10K 08:05:47AM 00:35:47 17:56 05:47 10.39
15K 08:23:39AM 00:53:39 17:52 05:45 10.44
20K 08:41:35AM 01:11:35 17:56 05:47 10.39
HALF 08:45:27AM 01:15:27 03:52 05:41 10.58
25K 08:59:13AM 01:29:13 13:46 05:41 10.58
30K 09:17:23AM 01:47:23 18:10 05:51 10.26
35K 09:39:58AM 02:09:58 22:35 07:17 8.26
40K 10:06:56AM 02:36:56 26:58 08:41 6.91
Finish 10:16:17AM 02:46:17 09:21 06:51 8.76
Splits from my watch: 5:38-5:47-5:44-5:43-5:47-5:45-5:42-5:46-5:49-5:49-11:34 (2 miles)-5:43-5:40-5:37-5:45-5:42-5:55-6:03-6:24-8:25-7:19-9:27-8:09-8:37-6:51-1:32 (0.2)
Obviously the later miles were more walk/jog miles (except for the final one)