2006 Chicago Marathon - Posted 10/30
Just after I removed my bag and put my gloves back on, the gun went off and Van Halen’s “Right Now” started to play. I love hearing that song at the start of a marathon. We were off and running and it took us less than a minute to get to the line. The crowds were awesome as usual and I really give them props this year since it was so cold and windy outside. I started with Marcy and Alex and we were together through at the least the first 10k then it was just Alex and I through about mile 15. I was enjoying the yells of “Go Frank” and will wear my name on my shirt for all future marathons. I drank at every stop after the first couple and ate my CarbBoom every 4 miles.
The first part of the race went by really quickly. There are 4 turns in the first 3 miles and then the long straight up LaSalle. The course is pretty awesome until you hit the halfway mark and then you do into a dead zone until you hit Little Italy at mile 17. We were really cruising the first 10k and my heart rate was through the roof. It was running in the high 150s from the start. I need to remember to never wear it during a marathon again. The numbers were really freaking me out. The wind seemed to be coming from every direction, but most strong from the NNW. We were pretty protected for the first half of the race. I had my first talk with the demons at the 10k mark, but pushed them aside and kept going strong.
Splits for Miles 1-7 – 7:51, 7:27, 7:25, 7:18, 7:20, 7:49, 7:34
The run through Old Town and Boys Town is the best part of the race. The crowds are thick and the characters are out in force. We saw a Rifle team in Boys Town, Elvis, and a bunch of cowboys handing out water. We cruised back into downtown and enjoyed the smell of chocolate from a nearby factory. All I wanted was a brownie or a cookie at that point. All systems were still functioning great and I was feeling strong.
Splits for miles 8-13 – 7:34, 7:34, 7:34, 7:31, 7:42, 7:36
I hit the halfway point in 1:39:01/7:33 pace. We were on a due west heading and the wind really kicked in. This is the point in the race where you run a backwards “S” and head into the wind twice. The crowds are thin here so you really have to muster it up on your own. The demons visited here as well, but I made it through to the first turnaround at mile 15 still feeling good, but know I used up some energy getting there. The second wave of wind hit me in Little Italy for about a mile to mile 18 where we headed south into the Pilsen area. That is where my “homies” live and I love going through there. There are mariachi bands and good Latin music playing and I get a lot of yells coming through there. I started to slow in this section, but was still on pace through 20 miles at 7:37.
Splits for miles 14-20 – 7:37, 7:45, 7:45, 7:49, 7:41, 7:46, 7:43
At mile 20 I drank a whole package of Enervitene hoping for the mojo to carry me through to the end. I figured I could run just under 8:00s at that point and still get in. It seemed easy, but I was getting tired and I still had to face 3.2 miles straight into the wind going up Michigan Avenue. I passed Comiskey Park where I was walking last year and gave it a mental finger and kept going. I saw Gilbert twice in the last 6 miles and the last time he saw me was with about 4 to go and he yelled that I was going to make it. I was still on pace at 35k with a 7:39 average and 7k to go, but I lost it over the last 7k.
Splits for miles 21-24 – 7:59, 8:18, 8:18, 8:29, 19:34 for the last 2.2 miles
As soon as I turned the corner onto Michigan Avenue, the wind hit me. It was blowing at 15-20MPH and it really beat me. At the 24 mile mark I told myself that I had to pick it up and make it happen, but my body didn’t react. At that point, all I needed was to run two 7:30s and I was in. I got to the 25.2 mark at I had exactly 6:00 minutes to finish in 3:20:59. I was thinking I ran a 5:50 at the CAM, but it was then I conceded and just wanted to finish. I really slowed after that point and remember the “hill” leading to the chute being really hard. I got onto the chute straight and started to cheer for the crowds that were there for us all day. I looked up at the clock and realized I was screwing around too much and was going to miss breaking 3:25. I sprinted to the line and made it by 1 second. Over the last 7k my split from 25-40k was 26:08/8:24 pace and the last 2k was 12:20/9:10 pace. It’s amazing how much you can give back in a short distance.
I crossed the line, got my medal and was really pissed I missed by exactly 4 minutes. It took me awhile to get through the chute where I got a blanket, some food and drink and saw folks really suffering. It was then that I realized I ran one hell of a race. I PR’d by 6:06 over an easier Freescale course, and I improved by 9:28 over Chicago last year…which had great conditions. I honestly feel that if the wind wouldn’t have been there I would have BQ’d this race. There is very little I would change in my preparation for this race and my race strategy. I finished in the top 10% overall, top 16% of all males and top 17% in my age group. I was the 6th Austin finisher out of 137 and the fastest Varela…I really raised the bar for the family name this year!
Statistics
Distance Splits Pace
5k 23:27 7:32
10K 46:49 7:32
Half 1:39:01 7:33
30K 2:21:44 7:36
35K 2:46:31 7:39
40k 3:12:39 7:45
Finish 3:24:59 7:49
The first part of the race went by really quickly. There are 4 turns in the first 3 miles and then the long straight up LaSalle. The course is pretty awesome until you hit the halfway mark and then you do into a dead zone until you hit Little Italy at mile 17. We were really cruising the first 10k and my heart rate was through the roof. It was running in the high 150s from the start. I need to remember to never wear it during a marathon again. The numbers were really freaking me out. The wind seemed to be coming from every direction, but most strong from the NNW. We were pretty protected for the first half of the race. I had my first talk with the demons at the 10k mark, but pushed them aside and kept going strong.
Splits for Miles 1-7 – 7:51, 7:27, 7:25, 7:18, 7:20, 7:49, 7:34
The run through Old Town and Boys Town is the best part of the race. The crowds are thick and the characters are out in force. We saw a Rifle team in Boys Town, Elvis, and a bunch of cowboys handing out water. We cruised back into downtown and enjoyed the smell of chocolate from a nearby factory. All I wanted was a brownie or a cookie at that point. All systems were still functioning great and I was feeling strong.
Splits for miles 8-13 – 7:34, 7:34, 7:34, 7:31, 7:42, 7:36
I hit the halfway point in 1:39:01/7:33 pace. We were on a due west heading and the wind really kicked in. This is the point in the race where you run a backwards “S” and head into the wind twice. The crowds are thin here so you really have to muster it up on your own. The demons visited here as well, but I made it through to the first turnaround at mile 15 still feeling good, but know I used up some energy getting there. The second wave of wind hit me in Little Italy for about a mile to mile 18 where we headed south into the Pilsen area. That is where my “homies” live and I love going through there. There are mariachi bands and good Latin music playing and I get a lot of yells coming through there. I started to slow in this section, but was still on pace through 20 miles at 7:37.
Splits for miles 14-20 – 7:37, 7:45, 7:45, 7:49, 7:41, 7:46, 7:43
At mile 20 I drank a whole package of Enervitene hoping for the mojo to carry me through to the end. I figured I could run just under 8:00s at that point and still get in. It seemed easy, but I was getting tired and I still had to face 3.2 miles straight into the wind going up Michigan Avenue. I passed Comiskey Park where I was walking last year and gave it a mental finger and kept going. I saw Gilbert twice in the last 6 miles and the last time he saw me was with about 4 to go and he yelled that I was going to make it. I was still on pace at 35k with a 7:39 average and 7k to go, but I lost it over the last 7k.
Splits for miles 21-24 – 7:59, 8:18, 8:18, 8:29, 19:34 for the last 2.2 miles
As soon as I turned the corner onto Michigan Avenue, the wind hit me. It was blowing at 15-20MPH and it really beat me. At the 24 mile mark I told myself that I had to pick it up and make it happen, but my body didn’t react. At that point, all I needed was to run two 7:30s and I was in. I got to the 25.2 mark at I had exactly 6:00 minutes to finish in 3:20:59. I was thinking I ran a 5:50 at the CAM, but it was then I conceded and just wanted to finish. I really slowed after that point and remember the “hill” leading to the chute being really hard. I got onto the chute straight and started to cheer for the crowds that were there for us all day. I looked up at the clock and realized I was screwing around too much and was going to miss breaking 3:25. I sprinted to the line and made it by 1 second. Over the last 7k my split from 25-40k was 26:08/8:24 pace and the last 2k was 12:20/9:10 pace. It’s amazing how much you can give back in a short distance.
I crossed the line, got my medal and was really pissed I missed by exactly 4 minutes. It took me awhile to get through the chute where I got a blanket, some food and drink and saw folks really suffering. It was then that I realized I ran one hell of a race. I PR’d by 6:06 over an easier Freescale course, and I improved by 9:28 over Chicago last year…which had great conditions. I honestly feel that if the wind wouldn’t have been there I would have BQ’d this race. There is very little I would change in my preparation for this race and my race strategy. I finished in the top 10% overall, top 16% of all males and top 17% in my age group. I was the 6th Austin finisher out of 137 and the fastest Varela…I really raised the bar for the family name this year!
Statistics
Distance Splits Pace
5k 23:27 7:32
10K 46:49 7:32
Half 1:39:01 7:33
30K 2:21:44 7:36
35K 2:46:31 7:39
40k 3:12:39 7:45
Finish 3:24:59 7:49
posted by Paco at 10:24 PM
3 Comments:
Nice job with the finish, just under the wire! Congratulations
Frank, Congratulations. On good conditions you're there. Having read your blog I knew that you were going to run a great race.
Enjoy it. You're going to get there.
Nice going. You were a machine until very late, so that's something to build on. As we've always said, you can't whine when you PR, no matter what your actual race goal was, and 6 minutes is a bunch! We'll see you back with the herd soon.
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