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Berlin or bust...
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Thanks for all the good wishes!
Gave Pilates a miss today 'cause I was still feeling a bit off. Throat is a tiny bit scratchy, so I'll be minding myself for the rest of the week. I'm sure some of it is just taper madness but it's hard to know whether to ignore it or not... so I'm playing it safe.
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I did the training but was floored with a cold about a week and a half before the big day. Nothing major, but I did the smart thing and looked after it, with very little running. By the time Krusty and I left for the airport on Thursday I was feeling better. I was up for the challenge and was really looking forward to seeing Chicago, which everyone said was one of the best city destinations in the US. We landed and were checked in at the hotel by early afternoon, so went for a wander to orient ourselves. The location was perfect - just off the main strip and a stroll to numerous bars, restaurants, cafes, etc. AND just a mile to Grant park where the marathon started & finished. Great stuff.
Did the expo on the Friday - a free shuttle was running from a block away from the hotel <sweet> - and arrived there nice and early. Collected the number, and I signed up to track the 4 hour pace group. I had heard that the GPS reception for the first few miles is useless (too many tall buildings and underpasses) so I thought that sticking with these guys would be my best bet for keeping the pace. I got a neat little pace band tattoo for my arm, a 4:00 label to pint on my back (so all the 4 hour people could support each other if they lost touch with the pacers), and instructions to be at the start corrals by 7:00 at the latest.
We spent the rest of Friday and Saturday doing as little as possible while still getting in the shopping and the sights (a boat trip on the Lake and River was a great idea) and marvelling (in horror :eek:) at the glorious sunshine in October in Chicago. Did the usual pasta dinner the night before and had sussed out a spot for breaky that did porrige and was open - get this - all night! So up at 4:20am (well that was 10.20 irish time so didn't feel THAT bad) and headed out for porrige and coffee, joining the night time revelers that were tumbling in for an early/late(?) bite on the way home from the nightclubs. It was definitly the most surreal breakfast :P I've ever had!
We joined the throngs walking towards the start area but had to part company early as Krusty was heading to the 'A' Corral and I was joining the unwashed masses in the 'Open' section. I made my way into the correct place in the corral just near the 4 hour pace group and met a nice local girl to chat to while we waited for the start. It was about 18c at this stage and the sun was just coming up so it felt very comfortable. After a rendition of 'Star spangled banner' (those guys are very serious about it - hats off, hands on hearts, heads up, singing out loud), the gun sounded and we were off.
First half
A nice big open start area so there was no messing about and we seemded to hit the pace fairly easily. There were a few right angle bends in the first mile or so, and the masses around me had to slow considerably to get around each, so the pace was a bit on/off, which was not the best. The Aid stations were every 2 or so miles, with gatorade and water, and again the crowds meant that everything slowed down at these points.
Still, the atmosphere was electric, the support was unbelievable, the pace felt easy and I was thoroughly enjoying myself.
As the race went on, the sun came up, the temperatures went higher and the humidity rose too. I was making sure to take water at each Aid point, and had my trusty straw to ensure I was actually able to get most of it into my gob. By mile 6 I was starting to feel the heat and decided to chance some gatorade. I had some salt sticks too (donations from Krusty) and even though I hadn't used them in training much, I knew that I probably needed the extra salt on a day like this. Loosely decided to take one each hour, but just monitor myself with that. I had 5 in my pocket - just in case.
I kept with the pace group easy enough, and even caught them easily when I had to slow at mile 7 to open the gel. The pace did seem to be a bit erratic, as they slowed through each aid station (unavoidably) and pick it up again after. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but that slowing and surging probably did nothing to help my case in the second half of the run. So up to mile 10, I was with the group and it was going OK - not brilliant, I was feeling the heat big time - but OK. By the half way point I had slowed by about 20 seconds per mile and the pacers were no longer in my sights. I went thought the half way point in 2.02, so I knew at that stage that a sub 4 hour time was not possible for me (today), but there were still loads of other people around me with a 4.00 on their back, so I kept plugging, thinking a 4.05 or 4.10 at the outside were still there.
How naive!
The easiest part of the run was over...
Miles 13 - 17
So I knew 4 was gone. It didn't bother me that much really. It was always going to be a stretch goal, and with the days conditions I wasn't going to beat myself up. But mile 14 came and went and the sun rose higher and I was getting SOOO hot. There were hoses and fire hydrants spraying water over the course at different spots and I ran through each of them appreciatively. One of the Aid stations had sponges and that was glorious. I got a cup of water to splash some of the salt off my face and ended up splashing salty water into my eye - aaagh! I'm blind! Nah, rinsed it out, but it was damn painful!
As the temperature went up the pace did too, and mile 14, 15 and 16 averaged at about 9:40/mi.
Mile 17 - 24 ...welcome to hell!
Had to stop for a pee at 17. Not good. Though there were loads of loos (brilliant race for that, it must be said) it felt like an oven in that plastic box and I though I was going to pass out. And when I got back on the road, my hips and thighs were starting to seize up and every step felt like I was wearing someone elses legs (someone slow and fat and unfit!) So I was just plodding to the next mile, to the next water station, to the next... you name it, I was doing anything to cajole these foreign legs into keeping going for just a bit longer. I walked though all the aid stations trying to take on as much water as I could (without cramping or throwing up), tossing water down my neck to try to cool down. I was in my own little hell, and there was no one to rescue me! Around then the 4:15 pacers past me and I yanked the 4:00 off my back in disgust. I tried to keep with the 4:15 guys but the legs were having none of it and they sailed off into the sunshine and out of sight.
By now the only thing keeing me going was the crowds. I really can't say enough about them, but these enthusiastic, cheery, upbeat folks were a big help to me in that pit of heat and salt and pain. Shouts of 'Good Job' and 'Go Runners' and random humorous banners 'Worst Parade Ever' and more poignant (and fitting maybe) 'One day you won't be able to do this. Today is NOT that day' kept me moving, very slowly, but moving, none the less.
Pace for this section averaged about an embarrassingly slow 11 min/mi (because of all the walking)
Mile 25 - Finish
Only 2 miles to go. Dig deep. Don't leave anything out there. HTFU. No more walking. Pain, Pain, Pain.
But again, the support was fantastic and the crushendo started to mount around the 24 mile mark. There was an announcer at 24.2 to let us know we had 2 miles to go. You could see the strain in the runners around me as we all started to dig for the last bit of energy.
I found a little bit of something, the foreigners legs were starting to co-operate somewhat. I actually started to pass people and noticed quite a few 4:00, 4:15 and even the odd 3:55 people in the stretch around me. So I was obviously not the only one having a bad day... Mile 25 took me 9:56 but I was at least moving. The legs were still going. A shout of 'Pump those wings, that's what they're for' almost made me laugh, but it did remind me to use my arms.
1 mile to go, 800mt, a slight hill, 500 mt. I passed 2 runners that were on the ground being attended to by medical personal. Another girl has stopped in the middle of the road and was throwing up what little fluids she had left. There were casualties everywhere, and still the finish line was not in sight. Mile 26 took 9:59.
Another corner, I could see it. Run. Remember the photographers, smile <but I felt like crying>! 8:50 for the last 0.2mi.
Finish
Crossed the line in 4:23:29 (chip time). A long way off the original goal, and way off any of my fallback goals too, but it's still a PB. A very minor PB of just 43 seconds, but I'll take it.
I visited (my) hell and survived.
I have my marathon story to bore people with.
And I have a nice medal and tee-shirt.
I know I can do 4:00 I just have to find a nice flat COOL course. Ideas anyone?:DSummary: 27.02 miles in 4:23:32 garmin time / 4:23:29 chip time
Avg Pace: 9:45 min/mi
Have to just say: Chicago was fantastic, the race (except for the heat) was really good, well organised, fantastically supported and definitely one for the bucket list.
The temperatures peaked in the high 70s (somewhere about 25c / 26c) with humidity at about 55 (I'm told - don't really know what that means) but it was not pleasant for us Oirish people, especially given the mild summer we've just had. Warm weather training should would have featured in this plan, had I known...
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