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RunningKing wrote: »I hope your not expecting another round of 'well done' posts when you finally get off ur a$$ and do a report.
Try get it done before the DCM reports start rolling in.
Haha..just back in Chitown about 300m from the finish. Good memories. Beers haven't stopped since Sunday. Flight home Sunday night will take care of the report!
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RunForestRun wrote: »In fairness, the standard of the runners in the teams that came first and second was off the walls.
Gavlor, I think you'll need to keep your mouth shut til after Dublin... At this moment in time, Blockic is a sub-3 marathoner. Granted he's probably been out of his bloody tree so much over the past week, he probably couldn't run for three minutes.... Just a pity he was such a lightweight immediately after the race, heading off for a bit of shuteye instead of celebrating like a man....
Haha, it's just a little bit of self-motivation 0 -
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RunForestRun wrote: »Any word from the young fella lately? Seems to have disappeared.. Last time he was missing in action this long, he'd been hauled off for a full body cavity search in Dublin Airport...
He's been on the sauce since the marathon.... I think boards and running are the furthest things from his mind!
All going well he'll have grown his third chest hair by now
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Haha, just got back yesterday!
I've started it, does that count!
Should be done tomorrow and probably will break the longest report ever on boards! Get ready for the snooze fest! I might do a cut some scenes before it airs! 
7 hours on a plane counts as starting it. :eek:
I think I will book a day off work for the big reveal. 0 -
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Pacing Mule wrote: »7 hours on a plane counts as starting it. :eek:
Am that really didn't work out!
Too many long islands the night before meant that the laptop made no appearance on the flight, while me and other facilities got to know each other. :eek: Never again!
Cue the lightweight talk! :pac:0 -
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Sunday 13th October
Chicago Marathon
Chip Time: 2:58:07 - New PB!
Average Garmin Pace: 6.40/mile
Result: 731/38873
To quote pconn062:
“Good things come to those who wait”
Ever since April, all training pointed to this very weekend, this very race. While the initial temptation to race Cork in June was there, I felt patience was the order of the day so I eased round it as a training run to in effect just “beat the distance” I say this as I struggled on the last 5 miles in Dublin and didn’t finish Rotterdam so I wanted to finish a marathon feeling comfortable to get the confidence back up and then I could focus on time. That day was the base for the next few months and the 10km plan which followed all pointed towards being right for Chicago. There were ups and downs, including some very nervous taper weeks being sick but everything aligned and it was so satisfying to see it pay off.
Race Weekend
Like a kid on Christmas morning I woke up early Friday to head to the airport, I had just stepped out of the car in the airport car park when I bumped into RunForestRun, who I would see often over the next 3 days!
First drama of the trip was when I got pulled into a backroom at border protection due to some admission technicality!! :eek: While I sat there in the waiting room wondering what the hell I done for my status to be checked, a guy rocked up and sat down next to me who looked familiar, a statss look-a-like without the smashing blonde hair :P, eventually it clicked and it was Irish athlete Ciarán O’Lionáird. The Cork/American accent was a give away! Had a great chat for 20 mins as he talked about his return from injury and I told him about the marathon. In the meantime, my flight was getting closer and closer and I was getting anxious! RunForestRun thought we were already a man down before we even left the airport as his phone calls had to go unanswered! Eventually with minutes to spare I got sorted, wished my fellow Cork man all the best and darted for the door. Eventually made it to the gate as boarding was in progress where I met Peckham, yaboya and was reunited with RFR, close call! The lads were having the banter with it already! That stress was not needed!
Arrived in Chicago with no other issues and hit the sack early at 8pm. The plan all weekend was to stay on Irish time due to the 4:30am alarm on Sunday morning. By doing this waking up at this time would feel like lunch time and a nice lie in with the 6 hour time difference.
Woke up at 5am on the Saturday morning and hung around the hostel (HI Chicago, I would definitely recommend for future racers) for a couple of hours before myself and belcarra jogged about 3 miles down to the Expo, great atmosphere in here and I was really getting the buzz now.
Rest of the day was about keeping the feet up with sightseeing tours with as little walking as possible. Come Saturday evening I was getting a bit worried as I wasn’t feeling great, groggy and a dry throat, the dry air con in the plane and hostel the likely source on top of my recent infection. I hoped it would be gone by morning and after getting fed (free pasta meal in the hostel) and getting the gear ready, it was lights out at 8pm for the big day ahead.
Race Morning
Had a great sleep and woke up like a lark at 4ish on what seemed a great lie in! However, I still didn’t feel 100%, but it was nothing major that would stop me racing so hoped I would be OK once I got going, which thankfully turned out to be the case for the most part. This didn’t one bit help the pre-race nerves though!
I was also a bit worried that my last long run was so long ago but this was not the time to be thinking negative so I stopped, cleared the head and said to myself that I know I have it in me so never mind all the over-thinking nonsense and Just Run. This was my saying this time around, I seem to have a new one every time! :rolleyes:
Had my usual pre-marathon breakfast (bagel, peanut butter, banana, coffee) and at 5:30am I met up with RFR and Peckham at our hostel lobby which was about a 3 min walk to the entrance to Grant Park! Couldn’t get any closer!
The police presence was tight and the most unusual but then smart thing I noticed was the present of cement trucks parked randomly across the entrances to the park, I thought it a bit bizarre at first for them to be there at 5am in the morning but then it clicked with me it was to prevent unwanted vehicles bursting into the crowds, I was well impressed.
After hanging out for a while with some Monaghan lads; Belcarra, DukeofDromada and wildrhubarb arrived. A good atmosphere was building and eventually us boardsies made our way to the corrals, wishing belcarra all the best in Corral B and we ended up about 30metres from the start, Sweet! :cool: Next, a guy to my left which I thought was just crouching down to tie his lace, was in fact relieving himself as I noticed a stream depart from the area! :eek: First time I’ve seen that! Thankfully the camber on the road went away from me!
The Star-Spangled Banner from a dodgy microphone was sung as I gazed across the Chicago skyline as the morning sun reflected against the skyscrapers, followed by an invisible fighter jet fly past. Wow I thought to myself, I was really pumped now and for the first of many times that day, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. This calm before the storm was amazing you could hear a pin drop. I could hardly believe I was going be a part of such a big event!
The moment then arrived, I had been waiting for this since 14th April at 2:27pm in Rotterdam and at race start (7:30am CST) it would be exactly 6 months previous (to the minute!) when I lay on the street in Rotterdam as the 3hr mark passed by. It’s amazing how things align. Time to right a wrong...
0-6miles
For some reason I don’t recall a siren/gun only that people started running and within a few seconds we were all over the line...While we all had different strategies it so happened that for the first couple of miles we would be running together, and so it panned out that RFR, DofD, Peckham and I all set off in close proximity to each other.
Basically my A plan was to run very conservative to 11 miles and then pick it up by a few seconds per mile every 5 miles resulting in a 2:30 min negative split with 2:54:50 on my pace band.
My B plan was a sub 3 pace-band. Anything under 3 really and I would be a happy camper.
We were soon under the tunnel for a couple of hundred metres which screwed up the watch in regard to pace and distance so from then on I was pretty much running off the mile markers and the stopwatch time, not paying too much attention to average and lap pace but could be used as a rough guide.
The first thing that struck me was the noise, almost deafening....and it was class!! The crowds were massive at this hour of the morning to their credit and as we passed the Chicago theatre down State Street I thought this was unreal. As expected RFR and DofD started to creep away from me which I was actually happy about, I shouldn’t be up with these lads! I hadn’t spotted Peckham but I expected him to be up ahead...”See ye later lads!” I said to myself.
Soon we turned and started to begin the north trek up LaSalle Street (a familiar sight to Batman fans!) and we would continue North for 6 miles into a bit of a head wind but nothing major at all, here I spotted a temperature gauge reading 55 Fahrenheit. Perfect!
Peckham and I exchanged our strategies earlier in the week and while very similar, Peckham planned to pick up the pace much earlier than me so we felt best if we done our own thing as it was what we were most comfortable with.
After the 5km mark however, I heard a voice behind me and it was Peckham! I thought he was ahead! This made me realise that while I was feeling very comfortable, I was going off a little speedier than planned. No issues with it as it felt easy so we ran together for a few miles with only a word here or there but aware of each other’s presence. It felt good to run with company even though we didn’t chat, partly due to me saying something about staying focused, I tend to create a bubble around me during races for some reason!
We were accompanied also by Minnie Mouse on our left, the leading costume apparently at the time!
Then we veered off into a park (5 mile) and passed a water station, which I have to say, were excellent throughout the whole course. Loads of stations with plenty volunteers and nearly a block long of water, followed by a block long of Gatorade never having an issue of getting a drink, even though the cups were awkward.
Popped my first gel just before the 6 mile mark and grabbed some water from the next station. I needed the toilet but said I’d hold out for a while and we passed over the 10km mark together (41:41) and I was thinking the boards crowd are going to love this! :P
(6:29. 6:19, 6:19, 6:29, 6:39, 6:36)
7-13 miles
Just before the most northerly point on the route (7.5miles) the love affair would end though and I was happy to be the man to do it I was about 40 seconds up on my target and while I was still quite comfortable I knew this was not my plan so I decided to cool off the gas sending Peckham on his way as I knew he would be upping it anyway.
Me: “See you at the finish line”
Peckham:” You might see me before then!” as he sailed into the distance.
Unfortunately for him, he would turn out to be correct later on in the race! I was cruising away as we turned south back toward the city and soaking up the atmosphere and thoroughly enjoying it. The crowds had hardly stopped for the entire 8 miles, there was a constant wall of support lining the streets. It was time to down a salt tablet.
After 9 miles I was 20 seconds up on my target after easing off a bit so I decided to dip in for the toilet break as holding it would cost me more time later on in the race than what I would lose now. This was the reason for the slower 5km split here that was noticed on the race thread.
Back out and bang on track for my target I caught sight of the great navigational tool for the race, Willis (Sears) Tower which could be seen from the north, west and south throughout so one knew where they were in relation to downtown. Popped another gel before the 10 mile mark as I wanted to get them in early.
Probably my favourite section of the race was mile 12 and 13. Going over the Franklin Street Bridge I forced myself to forget about the race for a few seconds and just take it all in, what views of the city parallel to the river and some backdrop for a race. It was hard to believe where I was. I was so focused on the race but had a reality check at this very moment. Here I was running in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world, cue the goose bumps and hairs standing on the back of my neck once more as I realised how amazing this sport really is. With renewed vigour I motored on and re-focused. An electric crowd at the turn by Willis Tower and up ahead was the halfway point and as I crossed in 1:28:34 I was 6 seconds ahead of target, all good and going to plan!
(6:39, 6:45, 6:39, 7:07, 6:31, 6:38, 6:37)
14-20 miles
I took my third and unplanned last gel at this point and after the half-way mark we headed west for 4 miles passing the United Centre on the way. I felt that I upped the pace here for a couple of miles as I planned but the garmin splits don’t really show them increasing so I’d take them with pinch of salt as they were all over the place. It definitely felt faster. Took my second salt tablet around the 16 mile mark.
Not sure if it was just me but the second half of the race seems slightly quieter than before and there were pockets of quietness here and there but it was a perfect balance I thought. Enough time to focus and re-group in silence before the next onslaught of support.
The signs were amazing as Peckham mentioned with my favourite being “Hit here for Power!” The heckles were great too but I can’t remember them due to leaving this report so long!
It was at about mile 18 that I kind of quit on the 2:55 attempt and went into a bit of conservative mode. The pace had been slipping a bit from my negative split pace band (plan to run 6:37s at this point) and while a faster pace may have been sustainable for a few miles, I was unsure what would happen at mile 23 -24 if I upped it. So I decided to just try and keep the pace consistent and get under the 3 as much as possible. The fact of the matter is, I would never have let myself down If I didn’t break the 3 due to strategy choice so I was happy that I made what I think was the right call. Stomach was no longer co-operating so the last gel was abandoned. 30km in 2:05:54.
Miles 19 and 20 I don’t remember much of as we passed through Pilsen, I think I went back into my bubble!
(6:26, 6:47, 6:40, 6:45, 6:38, 6:40, 6:41)
21 – 26.2 miles
At mile 21 we rounded the corner and entered Chinatown and the crowd appeared with renewed enthusiasm. I recall a guy with a multicoloured tutu on my right and passed him thinking no way is this guy beating me! Turned out he ran 3:00:01! :eek:
In every marathon there is always a point where you realise it’s a marathon, and it’s tough...well at 22.5 miles it was my point and it was time to grind a bit but the pace didn’t deviate too much. We were running probably the boring part of the route along the Expressway and was a bit quiet so this was probably part of the cause too. However, I knew the turn back onto Michigan Ave, pretty much the long home straight was not too far and once I got there I knew the sub 3 would be in the bag, and get there I did. The question now would be by how much...
3 miles to go and all that was left was a long straight followed by a 200m hill to the right and a 200m finish and I was suffering a bit now, the decision to pull the safety cord 5 miles earlier was the right one as I was longing the finishing corner to come, grabbing Gatorade in the process, who cares if I haven’t tested it at this stage! I was still passing people every few seconds while being passed once or twice.
25 mile marker eventually appeared and I actually thought “Just a 9 min mile to sub 3, surely!” Before I even realised to my surprise, I was up on the shoulder of a familiar face in Peckham, I tried to blurt out some motivational words but not sure what came out! I feared that if I slowed down I wouldn’t get going again so I slowly moved on hoping he would hold it together for a PB.
Finally, I saw the corner and it was time to enjoy it, I knew there was an incline coming so I had held back some seconds the previous couple miles to save something for it as you don’t know how it will work out. I mastered it with little issue and soon there she was...oh yes... THE FINISH!!!
I completely eased off on the finishing straight to make the most of this moment, I promised myself that I would do this if the sub 3 was safe as in every other race this year I had accelerated over the line and it was finished before I realised, this time would be different, after all the pain there would be glory. I took in all the surroundings when I knew the job was done, with 50 metres to go, a few punches in the air where let out, a removal of the previous marathon frustrations, replaced with marathon elations. Looking back at some pics the shear emotion was there to see.
Crossed the line in 2:58:07, sub-3 hour marathoner, you beauty. Boy did that feel good. I don’t know what I was doing, but I kneeled and kissed the road...I guess at that point emotion took over. Morto, what was I thinking! I had no out-pouring of emotion after my previous 3 marathons, each under different circumstances. But this time it felt like all four rolled into one!
(6:39, 6:46, 6:45, 6:57, 6:57, 7:01)
Sweet taste of success
Peckham soon followed in and congrats were given all around and when we met RFR and DofD I was astounded by their performances! RFR told me that morning that he felt 2:54 was realistic and he’d be delighted with that!
I left the lads for a bit and headed to the massage tent with Dublin in my thoughts and then collected my bag. As I made my way from the bag drop to the rest of the guys in the 27th mile party, my eyes welled up and tears were shed for only a couple of seconds (I happily admit it!) as I looked across Chicago, goal and dream achieved and what a setting to do it in. All those runs in the lashing rain pay off. The previous failure made this victory all the sweeter.
Met with the PB bus including great runs by belcarra and yaboya and it was nice to meet The_Boy_Wonder who was able to make it after all! But soon I felt a little dodgy as was noticed by belcarra when I went quiet! What followed was the all but given at this stage post marathon throw-up and I still felt iffy for a while so I returned for a few minutes of a lie down back at the hostel to settle the stomach. I can confirm officially that no sleep was had!
As I was walking back there, a mother with her toddler who was about 5 were walking towards me. He stood up from his buggy and handed me a piece of chocolate and said well done, there was almost more tears! Stomach sorted and an hour later I hounded down a Subway accompanied by RunForestRun’s celebratory drink of dirty Name Tag Classic Lager which was in full flow before we sent him on his way and celebrated the rest of the evening in style.
A also received a nice tweet from Ciarán O’Lionáird that evening congratulating me on the time when he saw the tracker result on twitter, thought it was a nice touch!
What next?
Am I content now? Of course not, the sub 3 is most definitely a monkey off my back allowing me to go more aggressive now next time out. No pressure, no big time barrier to push through so slightly a more risky strategy can be used. Before I lined up for my first marathon this time last year in Dublin my long term goal was sub 3, thinking maybe 5 or 6 years time would get me there, did I think it could be done in less than 12 months, not a hope!
So over the next few weeks thoughts will be in on setting new targets both for the medium and long term. It will be no longer about 2-3 weeks down the line, but more 2-3 years down the line and how I’m going to get there. Plenty more to come off this time I have no doubt, The question is how much....such a question is for another day...
Success tends not to come around often and over time PB margins are going to dramatically reduce and maybe even non-existent, so when success does come you have to celebrate it and celebrate is what I have done! Maybe a little too much!
Chicago will always be a special place for me now and there is no doubt and I will return some day to relive the fantastic memories. Being able to share it with so many others on here getting PBs on that very day made it all the better.
Chicago, 13th October 2013 a day that will permanently be marked in my calendar.
I’ll conclude with a quote that sums up my marathon year nicely:
“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson0
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