Alright, the title is a little hyperbolic, I've been told. But it's still sort of how I feel. Sort of.

Also, background and thoughts are long, I apologize. This cycle taught me a lot about running and myself, so it's important to me.

Race

• 2017 Chicago Marathon
• October 8

• Strava

  ‎Getting sprayed down by a fire hose at the end.

Background and Training

After my 50k I needed a break, physically and mentally, and knew I couldn't handle another 18 week cycle, so took a few weeks of just fun running. I managed to get in some sporadic but decent mileage anyway, and then was ready to fall into a Pfitz 12/70 for Chicago.

It started off... okay. I built up 4 weeks into the 60s, and then something in my foot hurt, deep. After the doctor all but told me it was a stress fracture, my MRI came back clean. Some weird strain. So I took a round of anti-inflammatories, and a week later was back running. That's the problem with a 12 week cycle though - I was now down to 10.5 weeks.

But nothing felt right. Easy days were a struggle. The pain in my foot was slowly coming back. I dreaded running, long runs were miserable, I couldn't hit any paces in workouts. Something was wrong. After a couple weeks of this I started googling OTS, re-read PDs post on it for the 10th time, and finally came out and told Mrs. BB that my season was over. I had lost all joy in running, I planned to DNS my remaining races. It felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders the second I said it out loud.

A few days later we were in Portland, and there's a trail system that literally drops into the city. Mrs BB needed to do a long run, so I went with her to do one too because I wanted to be in the woods. Running amongst the trees up a mountain on a gorgeous day... it was one of the greatest runs of my life. I cranked out an incredibly easy 17 miles, last mile was a 5:45. I was so at peace. I still get emotional thinking about that run.

So, I decided to run Chicago anyway, but not set a goal pace until the last minute. 4 weeks before, I paced a friend to a 3:45 BQ as one of my last long runs. The week after that a different part of my right foot hurt, and I spent the next 3 weeks taking rest days and cutting mileage to keep it at bay. Sigh.

Race Plan

So, this cycle was a bust for a whole bunch of reasons. Plus the weather was looking to get really hot, so I settled for aiming for a 2:57, a conservative PR, even though I didn't feel like I deserved one at this point, but I stopped thinking about it as "a PR", and more just as "a good race". 6:45s through 20, then see how I feel.

Secondary goals were based off of How Bad Do You Want It - specifically, stay out of my own head. Focus on one mile at a time, don't get carried away, don't think about attempting a PR, and enjoy the fact that I'm out here racing at all.

Miles 1-13

I took off at 6:45 pace, and felt really good about it. I felt great about it, actually. I manually split my watch to be more accurate for city running, and just started cruising. (6:49, 6:45, 6:43, 6:43, 6:46, 6:42, 6:39, 6:43)

At 8 I did a mental check - everything still felt fresh. I wasn't breathing hard, wasn't straining, and was still enjoying myself. I started my gel plan here - half a gel every 2 miles through the end. (6:39, 6:42, 6:49, 6:48, 6:42)

At 13 I did another check, still felt awesome. If things are going poorly, I can always tell by mile 13 how the rest of the race will play out. But I still felt terrific.

The crowds were fantastic. It rivals Boston in intensity. Running the bridges was super cool, if not treaterous of rolling an ankle.

Miles 14-20

It gets kind of quiet in this zone in Chicago, so I retreated to my head. Damnit! Focus on the crowd, little Mexico, Korean drummers, Elvis.

But I felt good and subconsciously started speeding up, so consciously fought against that and forced myself to slow down to race pace several times each mile. I've blown up too many times in marathons to throw it away now by abandoning my plan. (6:34, 6:46, 6:36, 6:44)

I was trailing behind Colleen for ~5 miles. Colleen doesn't know who I am, but sure must've known 600 people on the course cuz everyone was cheering for her. Either way, Colleen was very consistent. (6:39, 6:41)

My stomach was sloshing, so I had the fun mental debate of cutting down on water vs preparing for the rising heat. I never really made a decision on that one.

Miles 20-26.2

Mile 20 came around and I felt great. Well, no, I was in pain, but it was controllable and sustainable. I decided to pick up the pace slightly. I passed Colleen. (6:38, 6:48)

Runners were dropping like flies, and I was passing dozens. No one had passed me in miles. I picked up the pace again. (6:29, 6:29)

I might actually be able to pull this off. At mile 24.75 I felt something painful in my chest. I don't know what, heart rate, bubble from drinking water weird, something, but it was growing. And I was slowing down immensely. Welp, I managed to delay the wall until mile 25, but here it was, my old friend. I was jogging. And then my chest felt like it was going to explode, so I stopped to walk for ~15 seconds. Colleen passed me.

The pain dissipated, I picked back up to a jog and prepared to lope my way in for a sad ending. But I felt better. Much better. I actually picked it back up to sub-6:30 pace and started hammering the last mile. Sub-6:00 pace now, up the one hill, good lord that hill is stupid, I'm pretty sure I made some audible grunts as I passed Colleen one final time, and pushed it to the line. 2:55:11

Post-Race / Thoughts

I didn't have much time to myself, because I still had people out on the course. I grabbed a finish line beer with my brother, and we noticed it starting to get hot, really fast. It had hit 70, and Mrs BB had started a half hour behind me. My sister started an hour behind me. We walked back to mile 25 to try and catch them. When I finally saw Mrs BB it was 75 degrees. I ran with her for a bit to make sure she was okay (she was!) and then remembered how much pain my legs were in.

I'm still taking lessons from How Bad Do You Want It. I can be a head case during races. I'm reeling that in. I'm incredibly happy with my pacing, resolve, and patience. You can get away with losing patience in other races, but discipline is needed here and I finally got one right.

It's been said a ton on this sub, but I let the pressure of racing and PRs get to me, and I lost my love of running for a bit. I'm happiest and consequently I do best when there's no pressure in a race. Just gotta remember that a lot more.

What's Next

New York City Marathon in a month, but I'm just going to be jogging it for fun. Maybe I'll pace Mrs BB if she lets me. Then just building a base until an ultra in February.