Race Day
I was in and out until about 4:30AM when I woke up to drop the first deuce of the day. I ate a Clif bar when I was up and also drank some gatorade. I laid in bed until 5:30 and then got up for good. I ate another Clif Bar, took a shower and drank some more Gatorade. The goal was to drink a 34oz. Gatorade Endurance before 6AM to top off and also be able to pee it out before the race started. I met Jan, Patrick, Sean and Anne in the lobby at 6:15 and we began our walk to the starting line. It was a long walk, but kind of cool to see all of these runners coming up onto Michigan Avenue heading in the same direction.
We found the Team Challenge tent and I headed straight to the bathroom line. When I was done I took off my sweat pants and changed into my running singlet. I kept on an old Bun Run t-shirt for the walk to the Preferred start. We grabbed a group photo, wished each other well and then Anne, Patrick, and me headed to the start at about 7:15. The crowds were terrible and we it took us a long time to get over there. G found us on the way and wished us well. He appeared out of nowhere like he does during our workouts some times. I had to pee again so I had to jump over a fence and stand in line to pee on a wall...crazy! I jumped back into the corral and we walked up as far as we could go to wait for the last 20 minutes. My heart rate was really high standing there...in the high 70s. I tried to calm down a bit and relax so it wouldn't be so high at the start. Tom Wopat butchered the National Anthem and then we had the pre-race surge. Kristin Armstrong, Lance's ex, lined up right behind us so we had a little group of Austinites at the start. The wheel chair folks went off at 7:55.
Van Halen's "Right Now" began to play and the race began. My heart rate soared into the low 100s instantaneously. The first few miles were very crowded. I stuck with Patrick and Anne up Columbus to Grandand then we headed west to State street right by our hotel. I was looking for Carla and couldn't find her as we headed south on State. The urge to pee was back...not good! We made a right on Jackson street and then a right on LaSalle for the long straight into Grant Park. I wanted to get into a good rhythm in this section. Anne dropped off for a potty stop somewhere in here and it was just Patrick and I. We went through the park and onto Sheridan where the wind really picked up since we were near the water. I was happy to hit Addison for the turn around to get away from the wind.
Miles 1-8 Splits - 8:01, 8:02, 7:46, 7:26, 7:43, 7:42, 7:40, 7:37
Average through 8 miles - 7:45 - definitely within striking distance
5k Split - 24:30
10k split - 48:20
We headed south on Broadway onto Clark and then onto Sedgwick. This was a very pretty area through Old Town. The crowds were awesome. Anne caught up with us by now and we were all in the same general vicinity and would run together at times. We made a left onto Division and towards downtown again. We made a right on Wells and I finally saw Carla and a small group yelling my name between miles 11 and 12. I turns out it was the 3rd place she came to see me, but had missed me the two previous times. That gave me a little lift although I was still feeling great. We made a quick right on Hubbard, a left on Orleans and across the river onto Franklin. This was a really neat area with awesome views of downtown. We then made a right on Adams for the out and back portion. The sun finally came out and it started to warm up. The wind also kicked up although it was at our backs through this section of the race.
Miles 9-13 Splits - 7:43, 7:30, 7:34, 7:48, 7:40
Average through 13 miles - 7:43 - picked up a few seconds!
10 Mile split - 1:17:11 (previous 10 mile race PR - 1:21:36) Pervasive 2004
20k split - 1:35:53 (previous 20k PR - 1:36:54) Decker 2004
Half Split - 1:41:04
Going out on Adams I really had to pee. I kept watch for a spot to go and finally broke the seal during mile 14. I saw a potty that was wide open. The stop cost me 40 seconds which wasn't good. It was at that point that Patrick kept going. I hoped I wouldn't see him again meaning he had a strong race. This part of the course wasn't too interesting. The crowds were a little sparse and you could see the people ahead coming back on the other side. Something about an out and back really messes with my mind. At mile 15 we made a left for a block and another quick left to put us on Jackson and directly into the wind. I decided I needed to draft so I started running pack to pack instead of running by myself. I made it through the windy section, but I knew I was slowing down a bit. I told myself to battle through the hard parts like I had done prevoiusly in the race. We got to Halstead and made a right turn to cross mile 17 and made a right onto Taylor sending us west again for another mile. We made a left onto Ashland to get us to pass the 30k mark and almost to mile 19. We made a left onto 18th and I was really battling. My splits were hovering in the barely sub 8 range, but I still believed I was in striking distance given our training to run the last part of our long runs really hard. We passed through the Pilsen neighborhood and my "peeps" really pumped me up with some Mariachi music, and some cool latin grooves. I was clapping, waving, and giving thumbs up to the bands and bystanders. We made a right onto Morgan to get us to mile 20. I still thought I had an outside chance to pull it off until I read my mile 20 split. I passed Patrick on Taylor or Ashland and he told me to go for it. He was hurting and told me to go on.
Miles 14-20 Splits - 8:25, 7:34, 7:53, 8:00, 7:56, 7:55, 8:35
Average through 20 miles - 7:50 - Lost a few seconds but still thinking positive
25k split - 2:00:19 (previous 25k race PR - 2:09:41) Strasburger 2003
30k Split - 2:25:02 (previous 30k race PR - 2:29:28) RunTex 2005
So now we are to the last 10k...the real race. My right hip/glute area really started to bother me during mile 20 and I kept trying to fight it. We headed left on Cermak and then made a quick left on Halstead across the river again. We made a left on Archer to get us to mile 21 and into China Town. The crowds thickened again and we made a right onto Wentworth where you could see Comerica Field in the distance. I really started to slow down here. I was feeling my leg, feeling claustrophobic, and things started to really bother me. I took off my Garmin, unhooked the heart monitor and let it hang in my shirt. I wanted to take the shirt off too, but couldn't. My right leg started to feel numb and not good at all. I stopped to adjust my laces on my left shoe since that foot started to hurt and I think that was my slowest mile. After I passed the baseball stadium we made a left on 35th over the Dan Ryan Expressway, another quick left onto the feeder road, and then a right onto 33rd which would lead us to Michigan avenue and the final long straight. I didn't really make any backup goals since nothing short of a BQ would make me happy, but now I was thinking I can still do a sub 3:30. My leg wouldn't help me out. I passed a Gatorade station where they were playing the Brothers Johnson, "Aint No Stoppin' Us Now." I actually started singing and it was making me feel better. A couple of the course workers saw me singing and gave me the thumbs up. I started to pass cratered people along Michigan avenue and felt good that I was still running relatively strong as was going to definietly PR. Gilbert joined me out of nowhere during mile 25 and gave me some very thoughtful words...something along the lines of "I know what's in your head...I want you to run proud and finish strong...you look great." I welled up under my "terminator" glasses and actually started running faster. I picked up the pace by about a minute for mile 26 and was running strong over the "hill" at the Roosevelt street bridge over the train tracks. I picked up momentum on the downhill and made the left onto Columbus and the stadium crowds. I was running strong toward the finish. I spotted Carla on the right yelling for me and I kept it going until I crossed the line.
I really struggled to get through the chute. My right leg was killing me. I got my medal and a bottle of water and paused any place I could hold onto something. I got some food and then slowly walked back to the Team Challenge Tent. I got my stuff and got into the tent where I could barely mix my Endurox. I talked to some of the other Gazelles who mostly all had great days. At that point I was one of the few that didn't qualify for Boston. It was nice to see that the group as a whole did great. We have a great coach and great comeraderie within the group so I shouldn't be surprised. I also have some great friends within the group that I was able to share this experience with and I want to thank them for their support and friendship. Most of all I want to thank Carla for putting up with all of my running stuff and for sharing this weekend with me.
Miles 21 - 26.2 Splits - 9:07, 9:25, 10:20, 9:31, 9:31 (averaged), 8:27, 1:35
Race average - 8:10 - 30 seconds off goal pace
35k split - 2:52:28
40k Split - 2:52:28
Finish Time - 3:34:27 - New PR by 14:16
NOTES: I drank half a dose of Enervitene every 4 miles with two doses at mile 20. I also drank a cup of Gatorade at every station after the first two. I carried water with me for the first two stations.
Post Race - We started to walk back to the hotel, but said screw it after about a mile. Carla, Jan and Patrick jumped in a cab with me and it was a quick ride back to the hotel. When I got back I jumped in the tub and Carla filled it up with ice. It was very cold. I took a hot shower and then had the shivers really bad. I put some clothes on and warmed up. I drank another endurox, ate some more snacks and rested a bit before we headed off for some pizza. We met Sean and his folks, Jan and Patrick downstairs for the short walk to Lou Malnatti's. We had to wait for a table and were plenty hungry when we sat down. I shared a deep dish pizza with Sean and had a couple of beers. We headed back to the hotel where I just crashed early. It was a long day and first time in any of my marathons, I think I really left what I had out on the course.
We found the Team Challenge tent and I headed straight to the bathroom line. When I was done I took off my sweat pants and changed into my running singlet. I kept on an old Bun Run t-shirt for the walk to the Preferred start. We grabbed a group photo, wished each other well and then Anne, Patrick, and me headed to the start at about 7:15. The crowds were terrible and we it took us a long time to get over there. G found us on the way and wished us well. He appeared out of nowhere like he does during our workouts some times. I had to pee again so I had to jump over a fence and stand in line to pee on a wall...crazy! I jumped back into the corral and we walked up as far as we could go to wait for the last 20 minutes. My heart rate was really high standing there...in the high 70s. I tried to calm down a bit and relax so it wouldn't be so high at the start. Tom Wopat butchered the National Anthem and then we had the pre-race surge. Kristin Armstrong, Lance's ex, lined up right behind us so we had a little group of Austinites at the start. The wheel chair folks went off at 7:55.
Van Halen's "Right Now" began to play and the race began. My heart rate soared into the low 100s instantaneously. The first few miles were very crowded. I stuck with Patrick and Anne up Columbus to Grandand then we headed west to State street right by our hotel. I was looking for Carla and couldn't find her as we headed south on State. The urge to pee was back...not good! We made a right on Jackson street and then a right on LaSalle for the long straight into Grant Park. I wanted to get into a good rhythm in this section. Anne dropped off for a potty stop somewhere in here and it was just Patrick and I. We went through the park and onto Sheridan where the wind really picked up since we were near the water. I was happy to hit Addison for the turn around to get away from the wind.
Miles 1-8 Splits - 8:01, 8:02, 7:46, 7:26, 7:43, 7:42, 7:40, 7:37
Average through 8 miles - 7:45 - definitely within striking distance
5k Split - 24:30
10k split - 48:20
We headed south on Broadway onto Clark and then onto Sedgwick. This was a very pretty area through Old Town. The crowds were awesome. Anne caught up with us by now and we were all in the same general vicinity and would run together at times. We made a left onto Division and towards downtown again. We made a right on Wells and I finally saw Carla and a small group yelling my name between miles 11 and 12. I turns out it was the 3rd place she came to see me, but had missed me the two previous times. That gave me a little lift although I was still feeling great. We made a quick right on Hubbard, a left on Orleans and across the river onto Franklin. This was a really neat area with awesome views of downtown. We then made a right on Adams for the out and back portion. The sun finally came out and it started to warm up. The wind also kicked up although it was at our backs through this section of the race.
Miles 9-13 Splits - 7:43, 7:30, 7:34, 7:48, 7:40
Average through 13 miles - 7:43 - picked up a few seconds!
10 Mile split - 1:17:11 (previous 10 mile race PR - 1:21:36) Pervasive 2004
20k split - 1:35:53 (previous 20k PR - 1:36:54) Decker 2004
Half Split - 1:41:04
Going out on Adams I really had to pee. I kept watch for a spot to go and finally broke the seal during mile 14. I saw a potty that was wide open. The stop cost me 40 seconds which wasn't good. It was at that point that Patrick kept going. I hoped I wouldn't see him again meaning he had a strong race. This part of the course wasn't too interesting. The crowds were a little sparse and you could see the people ahead coming back on the other side. Something about an out and back really messes with my mind. At mile 15 we made a left for a block and another quick left to put us on Jackson and directly into the wind. I decided I needed to draft so I started running pack to pack instead of running by myself. I made it through the windy section, but I knew I was slowing down a bit. I told myself to battle through the hard parts like I had done prevoiusly in the race. We got to Halstead and made a right turn to cross mile 17 and made a right onto Taylor sending us west again for another mile. We made a left onto Ashland to get us to pass the 30k mark and almost to mile 19. We made a left onto 18th and I was really battling. My splits were hovering in the barely sub 8 range, but I still believed I was in striking distance given our training to run the last part of our long runs really hard. We passed through the Pilsen neighborhood and my "peeps" really pumped me up with some Mariachi music, and some cool latin grooves. I was clapping, waving, and giving thumbs up to the bands and bystanders. We made a right onto Morgan to get us to mile 20. I still thought I had an outside chance to pull it off until I read my mile 20 split. I passed Patrick on Taylor or Ashland and he told me to go for it. He was hurting and told me to go on.
Miles 14-20 Splits - 8:25, 7:34, 7:53, 8:00, 7:56, 7:55, 8:35
Average through 20 miles - 7:50 - Lost a few seconds but still thinking positive
25k split - 2:00:19 (previous 25k race PR - 2:09:41) Strasburger 2003
30k Split - 2:25:02 (previous 30k race PR - 2:29:28) RunTex 2005
So now we are to the last 10k...the real race. My right hip/glute area really started to bother me during mile 20 and I kept trying to fight it. We headed left on Cermak and then made a quick left on Halstead across the river again. We made a left on Archer to get us to mile 21 and into China Town. The crowds thickened again and we made a right onto Wentworth where you could see Comerica Field in the distance. I really started to slow down here. I was feeling my leg, feeling claustrophobic, and things started to really bother me. I took off my Garmin, unhooked the heart monitor and let it hang in my shirt. I wanted to take the shirt off too, but couldn't. My right leg started to feel numb and not good at all. I stopped to adjust my laces on my left shoe since that foot started to hurt and I think that was my slowest mile. After I passed the baseball stadium we made a left on 35th over the Dan Ryan Expressway, another quick left onto the feeder road, and then a right onto 33rd which would lead us to Michigan avenue and the final long straight. I didn't really make any backup goals since nothing short of a BQ would make me happy, but now I was thinking I can still do a sub 3:30. My leg wouldn't help me out. I passed a Gatorade station where they were playing the Brothers Johnson, "Aint No Stoppin' Us Now." I actually started singing and it was making me feel better. A couple of the course workers saw me singing and gave me the thumbs up. I started to pass cratered people along Michigan avenue and felt good that I was still running relatively strong as was going to definietly PR. Gilbert joined me out of nowhere during mile 25 and gave me some very thoughtful words...something along the lines of "I know what's in your head...I want you to run proud and finish strong...you look great." I welled up under my "terminator" glasses and actually started running faster. I picked up the pace by about a minute for mile 26 and was running strong over the "hill" at the Roosevelt street bridge over the train tracks. I picked up momentum on the downhill and made the left onto Columbus and the stadium crowds. I was running strong toward the finish. I spotted Carla on the right yelling for me and I kept it going until I crossed the line.
I really struggled to get through the chute. My right leg was killing me. I got my medal and a bottle of water and paused any place I could hold onto something. I got some food and then slowly walked back to the Team Challenge Tent. I got my stuff and got into the tent where I could barely mix my Endurox. I talked to some of the other Gazelles who mostly all had great days. At that point I was one of the few that didn't qualify for Boston. It was nice to see that the group as a whole did great. We have a great coach and great comeraderie within the group so I shouldn't be surprised. I also have some great friends within the group that I was able to share this experience with and I want to thank them for their support and friendship. Most of all I want to thank Carla for putting up with all of my running stuff and for sharing this weekend with me.
Miles 21 - 26.2 Splits - 9:07, 9:25, 10:20, 9:31, 9:31 (averaged), 8:27, 1:35
Race average - 8:10 - 30 seconds off goal pace
35k split - 2:52:28
40k Split - 2:52:28
Finish Time - 3:34:27 - New PR by 14:16
NOTES: I drank half a dose of Enervitene every 4 miles with two doses at mile 20. I also drank a cup of Gatorade at every station after the first two. I carried water with me for the first two stations.
Post Race - We started to walk back to the hotel, but said screw it after about a mile. Carla, Jan and Patrick jumped in a cab with me and it was a quick ride back to the hotel. When I got back I jumped in the tub and Carla filled it up with ice. It was very cold. I took a hot shower and then had the shivers really bad. I put some clothes on and warmed up. I drank another endurox, ate some more snacks and rested a bit before we headed off for some pizza. We met Sean and his folks, Jan and Patrick downstairs for the short walk to Lou Malnatti's. We had to wait for a table and were plenty hungry when we sat down. I shared a deep dish pizza with Sean and had a couple of beers. We headed back to the hotel where I just crashed early. It was a long day and first time in any of my marathons, I think I really left what I had out on the course.
posted by Paco at 2:35 PM
1 Comments:
The suspense is killing me! What happened next, Frank? :-)
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