Notes
2023 Chicago Marathon 2:40:45
The Chicago Marathon! Went over to the start with Jarrett in the morning, had a bagel and peanut butter around 5:30 along with a cup of coffee. Had a late dinner of pasta at 8pm last night. Race started for us at 7:31 AM. We were in wave 1 corral 1, but ended up near the back. Morning logistics weren’t too bad except that I only got in one trip to the bathroom which was maybe a mistake (long lines at the ports potties by the corral).
My expectations for this race were pretty low, since I really didn’t train very hard for it (low mileage, no LR workouts, really nothing at or around MP). However I was feeling weirdly confident in the final few days. I wanted to give myself a reasonable chance at a PB, so my plan was to run 6:00 pace as long as I could, negative split if things went perfect and hopefully not fade too much if they didn’t.
Because we started so far back, had some big crowds to “fight through” the first few miles. Jarrett was gone right away and I knew the GPS would be unreliable, so just tried to run easy and keep moving up without doing anything drastic. First few miles were a very relaxed 6:10, and I was wondering if that’s what I was going to be capable of, but after that I was running 5:50-5:55 at the right effort. Felt really good and even early on was thinking it could be a PR day. I was rolling for the first 10 miles and was at or under the pace I needed. Unfortunately, during those miles I started to get a sinking feeling in my stomach that I really should have gone to the bathroom that second time. Tried to relax and see if the problem would resolve itself, but ultimately made the executive decision to step off the course about halfway through mile 12 and use the porta potty. 58 seconds later I was back on the course and although it didn’t feel like it I guess I went pretty hard to get back into it. 6:52 for that mile which was not ideal. I felt good again afterwards though! Through 18 I was back running 5:50s and no lie, I thought I might still PR. Alas, I hit the wall pretty hard in the final miles. Had a stretch at 6:10, which didn’t seem too bad, but then I got a side cramp which slowed me down quite a bit… my legs felt okay, but probably pretty tired. It was the end of a marathon.
Kind of a bummer finish considering how well I thought it was going part of the time, but still not too disappointed… I didn’t deserve an amazing result given my training, but I think I got the best out of myself today. Without the bathroom break I might have been able to run close to 2:39 for my #2 time. Maybe I could have ran more conservatively and been able to negative split, but I think ultimately I just didn’t have the mileage and base to go the distance. “Blowing up” and running 2:40 definitely gives me more confidence that I can put myself out there though, I think with the right training I should be able to run 5:50 / mi at Boston without fear. The course was really fast, and it was perfect conditions - a world record day! So maybe I should feel worse about this (or just better about my Boston run 😎). Great races for Erik and Jrt!
Nutrition notes: I took 5 GUs (1 before, 1 ~ every 30 mins until 2 hours although I only had half of the last one). Tried to grab either water or Gatorade at every stop. My hands are sticky now.
I think this is my 5th fastest marathon. 2:40:xx seems to be my floor these days, at least in super shoes.