Autumn 2007

Marathon 16:  Fun Run in the Blazing Sun

And I thought I’d have nothing to write about my latest marathon experience. Before I could even put mouse to computer, friends were emailing, calling or texting me to ask me about the Debacle that was the 30th Annual Chicago Marathon. Most were calling under the guise of making sure I was still alive but I think they really wanted to make sure that I was taking it well. When it comes to being a Whiney Runner who is never happy with his performance, I’m right up there.

I was just thinking a week or two before the race how my PWs have gotten stale. A 4:24 through the rainy hills of Cincinnati in 2004? Please. So what if the marathon organizers abandoned my gear in the rain and ran out of food and refreshment at the finish line. A 4:17 in New York that wasn’t enough to beat PDiddy back in 2003, hardly a blip on the radar anymore. And until Sunday, my reining PW was the 2003 Chicago marathon which started out with decent weather then got unseasonable hot and killed many a runner’s hopes, including my premature attempt at a BQ that morning. 

Little did I realize that the experiences of 2003 would prepare me for the 2007 Chicago Marathon unlike any training program under the sun ever could.

Before the Race

My training season this summer wasn’t stellar. I struggled on some LRs and had trouble getting in weekday runs because of schedule conflicts. Something, usually work related, competed for my availability.  The summer heat did not help. Not being able to squeeze a run in before work meant doing it in the evening when the summer sun had spent a dozen hours heating up the atmosphere. At the midway point of training I ran a half marathon and that day the heat zapped me of any attempt of meeting or beating my Half Marathon PR.

Fortunately this was a wake up call and being the running veteran I am, I did reign it in and got better results for my training. With September being cooler, I had good LRs especially the very last 20 miler. I was starting to believe that on October 7th, I would either just make or just miss my target time (3:15) for a BQ.  But I was also believing the Chicago Cubs might go deeper into the playoffs -- see how training in the heat can affect your mind.

Race Day

As recently as a week before the marathon, it looked like we would be running in a thunderstorm. Then the weather reports changed. The T-storm icon changed to simply rain and the temperature climbed up. Chicagoans know that the only consistent weather season is called Construction so we took it with a grain of salt. But Marathoners also know that weather can be the difference between a good day and a lousy day. Whether it is global warming, a butterfly in Shanghai or the Running Gods just being cruel, the weather reports did not change for the better.

My friend Lisa Bemus was kind enough to give me a ride on Race Day.  We met at an ungodly hour in order to navigate whatever the parking situation downtown might be.  We parked her car and made our way to the CARA tent.  I loitered around the tent for a little bit, saying hi to running friends and listening to all the declarations of revised goals for the day.  Eventually it was time to get into the starting corral. 

In the start corral, I found Ted Stevens, a guy who ran with my group two or three summers ago. Ted was leading the 3:20 pace group and invited me to run with them. I decided that I would run with them only if it felt comfortable and the moment I felt like I was pushing to keep pace, I would back off.

The gun went off and we ran north on Columbus. Within a few hundred meters we go under Randolph and my GPS goes flat on the pace. I have to wait until we pass the building of the company I worked for 7 years before I get the signal again. I managed to keep Ted in sight for the first two miles then lost him after the first water station. I did see my friend Vince Nall on the sideline. He was taken by surprise at how quickly I got to his spot so he didn’t have a chance to snap any pictures…I guess I won’t make the Nall Marathon DVD this year.

It didn’t seem terrible at this point because there was a little breeze that brought some relief. When we turned the corner on LaSalle I saw a bank clock that said the temperature was 74 degrees (it was about 8:20 or so). Coming up LaSalle I wanted to keep a low profile as I ran past my friend Maria’s place since I was starting to slow down. Since moving there she has had a marathon watching party complete with bloody marys, beer and lawn chairs. But Joe Raschke spotted me and started cheering and soon everyone joined in. The excitement of seeing friends cheer me on made me pick up my pace just a tiny bit which is good because I was already starting to fade.

At the water station at Mile 5 in Lincoln Park I took my first gel pack and walked through the station. It felt so good to stop. Whatever breeze we had downtown, it was gone now. I saw another clock that says the temperature is 81 F. I started running again and made it to about Mile 8 before I determined that I wasn’t going to PR today and probably was going to be lucky to have anything I consider a decent time for myself. My running buddy Hugh caught up to me and we started talking about how much this heat sucks. He plans to run the LakeFront 50/50 Ultra Marathon in a couple of weeks so he decided he was going to drop out at Mile 12 where his family is waiting for him. I’m tempted to do the same thing but Rob Ruba, another running friend who caught up to us, pointed out that once you start giving yourself permission to quit when things get hard, you might have trouble breaking the pattern. I decide to finish the race, although I did suggest we stop for a beer at some nearby pub.

CONTINUE

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