The Chicago Marathon (and learning stuff from it)
As I type this, my iliotibial bands and quadriceps are still burning with pain from what I put them through on Sunday. Here's a nice recap:
As soon as the gun went off I found myself with the elite females (top females in the world). They had a Hanson's guy (Maybe Ryan Sheehan?) for a pacer. They were hitting miles in 5:20, so I figured I'd stay out of the way of the cameras and let them do the thinking. I ran with their pack (getting lots of TV time in the background) until right after the half, which I came through feeling great in 1:09:40. After that, the course wound around through the least interesting parts of downtown, and most of ladies died off. I was largely alone for the next 6 miles, but held my pace pretty well. at about 20, Lidya Shobukhova (eventual winner) blew past me like I was standing still. Shaken, I continued plugging away, realizing I'd slowed slightly, but could still run under 2:20 if I was able to hammer the last 4-5 miles. Unfortunately with about 6k to go, I hit the wall hard. My legs gave up on me and I slowed to around 6min/mile. I was able to keep that pace to the line, coming through in 2:23:58 to get 37th place.
I realize a finishing stretch involving a total corporeal meltdown is probably not something that offers a bright side, but -
-At Boston I fell apart at 18 miles and started running 8 min/mile
at Chicago, I fell apart at 22 miles and started running 6 min/mile
-I raced very smartly from the gun and didn't get excited early. Many runners did. I was picking off those who had died, instead of being passed by 50 people in the last few miles like at Boston.
So, I'm learning how to run a marathon correctly. The improvements I must make are:
-muscular strength and flexibility - much better than at Boston, but still my achilles heel.
-my feet were killing me, so I'll wear more cushioned shoes next time
-I might bust out the compression socks to ease the pain in my calves next time, but really, strengthening them is of highest priority.
Until next time-
