2014 Chicago Marathon Race Recap

2014 Bank of America Chicago Marathon - 2:21:12, 35th Place.

After an excellent summer of training, the week or two leading up to Chicago was not great. With my hamstring feeling very compromised, it wasn't easy to maintain a high level of confidence. A week before the race, I wasn't even sure if I could race. I decided that if I could run, I needed to be conservative and go out in 1:10 - 1:10:30. That all changed on race morning when I went outside for a short jog at 5:30am. I not only felt somewhat normal for the first time in nine days, but there was an energy along Michigan Avenue at that early hour that convinced me it might be worth taking a shot at the Olympic Trials standard. Chris Sloane (who shared a hotel room with us) and I made our way over to the American Development tent around 6:30am. We did an easy 10 minute jog to warmup, then stood around with some of my Saucony teammates in the corral until it was time to go.

When the race finally started, I immediately set myself up behind Florence Kiplagat's male pacer (who was about 6'3" tall... and maybe 120 lbs) but I could tell within a minute or two that the women weren't going out quick, so I moved past them as we came out of the tunnel and saw my Saucony teammate Jesse Davis up ahead. It took me about 2 miles to bridge the gap to him, and once I did I found myself in a nice pack with 6 other guys. I mentally committed to running with that group and the idea of a 1:10 first half was thrown out the window. I was simply going to race these guys as long as I could. After opening up with 5:17 and 5:19 miles, I missed a few splits, so I was surprised to see 15:38 for miles 3-5. We were moving, and rolled through the first half, hitting 13.1 in 1:08:47. This was my fastest first half ever in a marathon (by far!) which was a little crazy because I did less marathon pace specific work than I have in my last few marathon buildups. I never touched 5:15 pace tempos in training during this cycle but I wasn't afraid to mix it up and see what might happen.

This is a good time to point out that because of the aggressive start, there was no "this feels easy" / "build into it" portion of this marathon. I felt like I was running at a high intensity level right from the gun. Andrea said afterwards that I looked "very determined" and that it was "the hardest I've ever seen you run, especially in the last ten miles" I guess that is both good and bad. On one hand, you sort of want to be relaxed for a good portion of a marathon. On the other hand, I know I gave it  everything I had, even if I knew I was in a little over my head.

Expressing my stubborn Polish determination in Polishtown

Chinatown

I think the pack started to break apart around mile 14 or 15 and I was on my own the rest of the way. My calves were starting to hurt. Andrea told me that my gait was noticeably compromised by the halfway point, which isn't surprising - I made some sort of alteration to protect my hamstring, and the gastrocs had to pick up the slack. I held up pretty well through 30K, but the 20th mile was the first over 5:30, and I wouldn't be able to bring the pace back down. I was hanging on and just trying to keep the bleeding to a minimum.

Michigan Avenue death march

The last 5K was a death march. I still had a chance to PR when I hit 40K, but the wheels were coming off quick. With 600m to go, you turn and ascend the Roosevelt "hill" (which is a measly 15 foot overpass). I could not believe how it absolutely. broke. me. My legs started to wobble, I felt like I had no control over them, and simply tried to stay upright over the last quarter mile... an effort that was barely successful. With about 15-20 meters left, everything seized up... I had to windwill both of my arms to keep my balance as I stumbled across the timing mats. After I got across the second mat, I let a volunteer just hold me upright for 10 seconds while I regained my sense of balance. It was a comical finish and despite being a little embarrassing, I had to smile - I knew I went for broke and didn't leave anything in the tank.

I hope there is a video of this somewhere

Overall I'm very happy. Yeah, I didn't run the smartest race, and likely would have run a bit faster and PR'd had I gone out a little slower. But on a big stage like Chicago, it was worth chasing the OTQ dream. I'll continue chasing it, because I have zero doubt that faster marathons are in my future. Regardless of whether I run 2:17 or not, I simply love this journey. I love that it's hard - that it requires so much dedication with no guarantees of success. I love the training, working towards a lofty goal step by step... sometimes taking steps backwards and figuring out how to deal with the setbacks. I love that I keep learning more and more about the sport and myself in the process - race to race, year to year. And I love that I get to travel all over the place and compete against the best runners in the country (and the world). When you run 2:21 and come in 35th place, you picked the right race. No matter what, when all of this is said and done (which is a long way off), I'll know exactly where I stand (the stopwatch and tape measure never lie) in the running universe. I'll know exactly how good I can be... and that's something I want to know, even if it's a bit scary to find out.

When I look back at my goals at the beginning of the Chicago buildup, getting back to PR shape was at the top of the list. I definitely accomplished that objective over the past 14 weeks, and gave myself a solid platform to build on again. Depending on how quickly I recover, I'm planning to take a short break, rally for a series of late Fall races, take a longer break, then dedicate 2015 to a pair of long, focused marathon buildups (spring and fall).

Odds and ends...

Nutrition: Breakfast - 2 Powerbars. Race - 1 Powergel 15 mins before start, 3 more during race (5-10-16). Really like the Powergels and tolerate them well, mainly because of the liquid consistency. Didn't drink much - I need to run faster so I can get my own bottles at major marathons! Post-race lunch - Venison.

Weather: Sunny (although the tall buildings blocked it in a lot of spots) and ~50 degrees for most of the race. A little windy in spots, but this is Chicago so what can you expect?

Course: Flat. Awesome. [Map / Elevation] Other than the overpass at 26, none of the small inclines broke rhythm. The route has a decent amount of turns. Crowd support was excellent. Maybe not quite as good as Boston, but close.

Shoes: Saucony Type A6. Best racing flat out there. Saucony had a great presence at the expo and hooked us up with some cool Chicago-branded gear. The team was well-represented in both the men's and women's races.

Intangibles: Andrea was unbelievable this weekend. She managed to get my hamstring back into working condition on Saturday, then got a bike the morning of  the race and navigated the streets to be at seven different spots (1.5, 3, 13, 17, 20, 22, and 25) to cheer for me and all of the Saucony runners (and take photos). Her airport nap was well-earned. I had other friends at 5, 6.5, 8.5, 10, 17.5, 23, and 26. I've said this before, but I know I'm very lucky to have such a great support system. I had a lot of family, friends, and puppies supporting from afar.

Mile splits - 5:17, 5:19, 15:38 (3-5), 5:11, 5:11, 5:17, 5:16, 5:17, 5:13, 5:12, 5:17, 5:09, 5:20, 5:14, 5:28, 5:17, 5:27, 5:32, 5:38, 5:32, 5:39, 5:38, 5:38, 5:57, 1:22.

5K splits - 16:23, 16:13, 16:22, 16:21, 16:11, 16:46, 17:17, 17:34, and 8:05 for the last 2.2K.

Comparison to a couple other marathons...

                   Half          20M        Finish
PHL 2011  1:09:33 - 1:46:05 - 2:25:57
CIM 2013   1:09:29 - 1:46:17 - 2:20:41
CHI 2014    1:08:47 - 1:45:45 - 2:21:12

Final thought: next time I go out under 1:09, I'll bring it back under 1:09 too.

Chicago Training #6 - Wrapping it all up

The 2014 Bank of American Chicago Marathon is this Sunday, October 12th, and the gun goes off at 7:30am Central Time. 

Here's the link for Runner Tracking. I'll be wearing bib #344.

Here's the link for the Webcast

Men's Preview from Letsrun. Bekele vs. Kipchoge is going to be awesome.

OK, time for my longish recap of the training cycle along with some charts and tables. Some of this is duplicate, as I already did five posts over the summer leading up to this one...

Chicago Training #1 (July 27)

Chicago Training #2 (August 20)

Chicago Training #3 (September 7)

Chicago Training #4 (September 14)

Chicago Training #5 (October 6)

Background...

The 2013 season ended on an upswing - 1:05:54 at the IMM 1/2 on Nov 2, then 2:20:41 at CIM on Dec 8th. The 2014 season started on a good note as well - I tried some different things in training (lower mileage, bigger emphasis on faster track and threshold-type workouts) and was building fitness from January through April with visions of running a big half-marathon PR on the streets of Duluth in June. For a variety of reasons, I completely fell apart in May. I encountered a perfect storm of physical and mental stress (the body interprets both the same way) and didn't handle it well. By the beginning of June I finally came to terms with the fact that I was on a major downslide, over-trained, and decided not to race or do workouts for a while. At the end of June I got really sick (likely salmonella poisoning, which rocked me hard since I didn't take any antibiotics), and officially hit my fitness nadir. That's where the Chicago buildup began...

14 Weeks to Chicago...

Over July 4th weekend Andrea and I debated whether it was even possible to get in reasonable marathon shape by October. We decided that if I used my time wisely, focused on my strengths (not my weaknesses), didn't race much, and kept the expectations low, it was worth taking a shot. While timelines are arbitrary, I considered the week starting July 7th to be the beginning of my Chicago Marathon buildup, as that was when I laid out the first draft of the training schedule and mentally committed to the race.

The first cycle of training was simple - a track workout once per week, building in repetition distance and decreasing in pace. Long runs got a little longer each week. I alternated 200s and 30s hill reps once a week as well. The TOU 1/2 was the first checkpoint: I won in 1:07:37. Winning is always nice, but after running 1:05:40, 1:06:03, and 1:05:39 the previous three years at the same race, it was obvious I still had a lot of work to do.

After that race I was essentially done with interval-style workouts. I moved on to progression runs and eventually wave tempos. I kept the total volume high, and tried to run on grass/dirt as much as possible. A few of the long runs got faster (a 26.2K "simulator" and the TOU Marathon). My workouts throughout this entire cycle were consistently quite a bit slower than I've run in past marathon buildups, and I didn't do a lot of race-specific workouts, yet I wasn't really too concerned. Aerobically I was building a very strong foundation, and I felt that would be enough to run well in Chicago, and then propel me forward to whatever comes next. 

Then about a week ago I did get concerned. My right hamstring, which has been bothersome (off and on) since the 2012 TOU Marathon, decided it was time to be annoying again. I had to take a few days off (rare for me) and basically throw my plan for tune-up workouts during the taper out the window. For a couple days I was a total basket-case and questioned whether it was even worth making the trip to Chicago. At this point I don't really know how it's going to hold up for 2+ hours of fast running, but I feel decent enough to toe the line and find out.

Early in the summer, I said I'd be thrilled to get to a point where I felt like my PR was within reach by October. So that's what I'm aiming for on Sunday - under 2:20:41.

Some things I think I did well...

-Averaged 130 miles per week over 13 weeks (from 14 weeks out until 1 week out)

-All the workouts were done in sets that progressed and made sense

-I stayed committed to the 200s/hills (until it was time to phase them out during the last month)

-Created a template that I'll replicate (with adjustments, of course) next spring and fall. The training was smart.

-14 weeks was a nice chunk of time to stay focused on one race. I see the value in dedicating 16-20 weeks to a marathon buildup, and maybe I'll be more likely to do that in the future (assuming this one goes well!)

-I really enjoyed the training this summer. Running was fun, every day.

There are a few things I will adjust in the next big buildup, but for now, I'm focusing on all positives.

Now, the exciting stuff - all my charts and tables...

Summary of the Chicago buildup
(I had to make a few adjustments in the final two weeks)

Weekly Mileage

The entire summer training in calendar fashion (Big View)

Blood values don't correlate to performance, but this tells me I was building myself UP

this summer, not breaking myself down. Eight-minute miles on grass/dirt are valuable!

Some more specifics of the workouts during the first half of the cycle

AT runs after TOU 1/2

Wave runs over the last three weeks. The hamstring prevented me from doing these exactly as intended.

And finally, after evaluating all of my choices, this was the decision...

Chicago Training #5 - Hold on for one more week

The 2014 Chicago Marathon is only a week away now! In the upcoming week, I'll post a full summary of all the training leading up to this race, as well as my goals for October 12th.

Previous Chicago training posts:

Chicago Training #1 (July 27)

Chicago Training #2 (August 20)

Chicago Training #3 (September 7)

Chicago Training #4 (September 14)

I felt pretty good coming off my biggest volume week of the buildup, then ran the TOU Marathon in a controlled 2:28:14. I was able to keep my mileage up during that stretch, and despite the first two wave workouts not being extremely fast (4x1K/2K, 5x1K/2K), I was feeling confident it would all come together once I finally backed off the mileage.

However, during this same time, my right hamstring started to get a little cranky. This has been an on and off issue for me since the 2012 TOU Marathon. This time around, it seemed manageable as long as I didn't push the pace too close the 5:00 threshold.

The day after my 5x1K/1K session on October 2nd, something felt "off" in that leg - weakness, aching - so I ended up having to take two days off and started to wonder whether I'd even be able to race in Chicago. On Sunday I felt better (not 100% though) and got in an easy 20 miler. That run boosted my confidence that I'd be able to run in Chicago next weekend.

So after a solid summer of training, the last couple weeks haven't gone exactly as planned. It's not ideal, but it's not the end of the world either. The marathon is more about your body of work over 3 months, not the last 3 workouts.

I'm hoping I'll feel OK over the next few days and will head to Chicago with a healthy body and mind next weekend!

Here's the calendar for the last weeks leading up to race week...

Chicago Training #4 - Biggest Week, One Month Out

I posted this on Twitter earlier in the week. Can I make the jump over the next month?

Previous training posts from this cycle:

Chicago Training #1 (July 27)

Chicago Training #2 (August 20)

Chicago Training #3 (September 7)

Running at the Classic 10K last weekend

The Chicago Marathon is now exactly 4 weeks away, and I'm starting to really feel like my training and fitness are clicking. Today I capped off my biggest week of the buildup (160 miles, after back to back 145 mile weeks) with my staple 26.2K tempo run. Essentially this is the Hanson's "simulator" - but I make a few adjustments: 1) I don't run it at marathon goal pace... I aim for 10-15 seconds slower per mile. 2) I don't take any fuel or fluids. Today I averaged 5:31/mile, which is actually a touch faster than I ran this workout before CIM last year, and today was a very controlled effort. I made an effort to dial back the pace and make sure I wasn't dipping under 5:30 pace. I've found that if I run this workout closer to goal MP it takes a little too much out of you - especially mentally, when you are running it alone. You only have so much mental focus to use, and I think it's better to save the bulk of it for marathon day.

The rest of the week was standard - 14/8 doubles (with as much grass / dirt running as possible), 17 miles with a 10 mile progression on Thursday, and 10 x 30 second hill efforts (I can't call them sprints) on Saturday.

Workouts for the week of September 8th

I'm not as fast as I've been in the past (in terms of shorter workouts and 10K/HM races), but my aerobic strength is as good as it's ever been. I think that bodes well for the marathon. I've had an excellent stretch of long runs this summer (graphic below)... most of them at higher altitude and with a decent amount of hills. Today's run was almost completely flat, by design.

Over the next couple weeks I'll start to reign in my total volume, focus on a few quality longer efforts without trying to squeeze in too much now that I'm starting to feel "in shape." I'll save the magic for the streets of Chicago in four weeks. Ice bucket, protein bars, and massage will also be key elements of the next month!

First 8 long runs of the cycle

Fresh pair of Fastwitch for the next stretch of workouts

Chicago Training #3 - Vacation, High Mileage, Races, Altitude... yeah, keeping busy!

#ChurchofSundayLongRun (video link)

The last couple weeks have been busy. But it's been good busy, not the bad kind. We spent close to a week in Southern Utah around Labor Day, and I'll be posting lots of photos from that trip over the next couple days. Since my last training update everything has continued to go really well. I won the Top of Utah Half Marathon, then got right back into my marathon buildup with a couple higher mileage weeks that included solid workouts and long runs. I'm just building fitness, day by day, and feeling pretty good.

Summary of last 3 weeks

Key sessions: 17 miles w/ 6M AT + 10x30s hills; 26 mile LR in Torrey; 17 miles w/ 8M AT; Layton Classic 10K (race); 23 mile LR in Park City.

Chicago is only 5 weeks away - but I can still do a lot to transform my general fitness (which is good right now) into marathon-specific fitness over the next month. I'll probably do one more week with mileage in the 140s, then start dropping it down a little.

Elite fields were announced this week. It's gonna be stacked.

John Coyle outkicked me at the Classic 10K. I can live with that during a marathon buildup.

A few more that Andrea (providing excellent bike support) took on this weekend's long run

Chicago Marathon Training #2 - Blue Collar Approach

"The schedule is pretty simple. We don’t have complicated workouts. We just do the basic 3-4 types of reps, the tempo run, and the long run with relatively high mileage. There are no drills; there is no core or lifting—any of that. I do put a little of that in myself, but from my standpoint you just need to be fit from running to be good at running." - Molly Huddle

A good quote that jives well with the approach I've been taking this summer. Here's a bunch of random but connected thoughts about my training for the past couple weeks.

My first Chicago Marathon training recap left off on July 27th (link). Since then, I've continued to make some nice progress:

After weeks of 115, 125, and 135 miles, I bumped it up just a bit over these past three weeks and did 135, 140, and 145 miles. I added one mile to the long run each week, and kept alternating between 200s on the track and 30 second hill reps once per week. Simple stuff. I've continued to extend the length of the track intervals while progressively ratcheting up the pace a little bit each week. Workout details: 5 x 2000m; 3 x 3000m; 2 x 4000m; 1 x 5000m.

This weekend I'll run the Top of Utah Half Marathon - my favorite race in Utah and one where I've performed consistently well in the past (2011 - 1:05:40, 2nd; 2012 - 1:06:03, 1st; 2013 - 1:05:39, 2nd). I'm not in shape to challenge my course PR - my goal is to compete for the win, and continue to build momentum.

Another way to look at the first half of the buildup towards Chicago is this handy little chart...

Not impressively fast workouts by any means, but I'm staying very patient and looking for gradual, consistent improvements.

Bloodwork done a few weeks ago shows my levels moving back in the right direction after hitting a lowpoint in June:

This loop in Park City's South Snyderville Basin has become my new favorite long run:

Chicago Marathon Training #1 - Laying Some Base

Knocking out a long run in Park City on July 26th

In my last training update, I was slowly starting to get back into the swing of things. The night I made that post, I got really sick, which put me in survival mode for a full week. I missed a few days because I could barely get out of bed, then really struggled to even complete easy runs for five more. On the way home from our trip to Steamboat Springs, I wondered whether it was even worth thinking about Chicago anymore. But then we counted the weeks and I realized I had a touch more time than I originally thought.

As I wrote on my log for July 8th...

For some reason I had an idea stuck in my head that Chicago was 12 weeks from July 4th weekend, and on the drive home from Steamboat we were discussing potentially shifting the timeline to a Nov/Dec target because my fitness is poor at the moment (May/June were definitely a regression) and it's going to take some time to rebuild. Then we actually counted and it turns out I have 14 weeks, which is a world of difference for me right now. I'm very motivated to get going, but I'm also essentially starting this buildup from scratch and need some more time before I start the workout cycle. Luckily I have two things going for me - I don't mind training in the heat, and I can handle jumping straight to 100 mile weeks as I start putting down a mileage base. With consistency and patience (lots of patience!), I think there is enough time to get ready for a marathon by October. I'm not going to repeat 2013's summer racing frenzy (it would be ugly, anyways). Gradual, incremental fitness progression is the primary objective for the rest of the summer... the more boring this looks, the better. 

First 7 weeks of summer training

The hair is coming back!

In the 3 weeks since I wrote that entry, things have started to come around. I've increased my mileage, knocked out some 20+ mile long runs, and started incorporating some track sessions such as 8 x 1000m and 6 x 1500m. As I move forward, I'll extend the length of the weekly track reps while hopefully dropping the pace. The long runs will stay easy (whatever easy means when you are running 20+ at 6-7K feet) for a few more weeks before I start adding some quality component to them, and I'll keep doing either some hill reps or short track reps once a week. It's a simple schedule, and my hope is that by the beginning of September, I'm fit enough to crank it up another notch.

It feels good to be knocking out 20 mile days again in the heat of the summer. This is my favorite time of the year to train. Some people hate the 100 degree afternoons, but I think they really provide a huge boost... when you toe the line on a crisp 45 degree morning in fall.