27 miles, hard
60-75 degrees, sunny
Today was the big day. I came to Chicago with dampened expectations and shaky confidence, but got to the line this morning feeling calm and ready to give it my best.
I can't say I've experienced a race start quite as intense as the one in Chicago. The first three miles snake through the canyons of downtown with huge, loud crowds and thousands of runners. I never saw mile markers 1 or 2 amid all the distractions, but hoped that last Wednesday's dress rehearsal would help me keep pace. Through the third mile maker I saw 17:52, so I was averaging 5:57/mile, just a hair off my goal of 6:00/mile even. I settled down on the run north out of downtown and hit consistent 6 minute miles, gradually passing hundreds of runners.
Around mile 8 Mike Cotterell caught up with me and we began to run together at a 5:55/mile clip. We both felt pretty good at that point and didn't mind pressing the pace a little. Another runner latched on to us, and entertained us with snarky comments.
We crossed the half-way point in 1:18, so I was on pace for a PR if I could hold on. We were still running 5:55 mile after mile, but I wondered if I would keep it up. Realistically, though, I knew I was banking time for when I would slow down the last few miles.
The second half of the course exposed us to the sun as the temperature rose to about 70F. It wasn't too uncomfortably hot yet, but as the race progressed the heat definitely became a factor for everyone. I made a smart move at the two sponge stations and kept my sponge to re-wet at every water stop. This, plus taking water/Gatorade at every aid station made the heat bearable for me.
While still running 5:55-6:00 through mile 18, I wondered if/when my biggest weakness would reveal itself: endurance. Much of my poor confidence was derived from a lack of training miles over the summer. At some point it had to catch up to me. Then, suddenly at mile 20, I fell off pace.
Mike and I had just passed former teammate Benedict Sloane, and were catching up to Charlie Ban, who was visibly struggling. I slowed more and more, desperately trying to kick start my pace whenever I passed a cheer station and hoping the course would turn back towards downtown soon. By miles 24 and 25 I was running close to 8 min/mile and fully blowing up.
I managed to run a respectable final half mile, passing about 6-7 runners and kicking to the finish. I did not reach my goal of crossing the line at 10:10:10am on 10-10-10, missing it by just a minute and a half. Still, I ran about what I expected to run (2:40-2:45) and recovered through the day surprisingly well. Final time: 2:42:52.
Splits:
Mile 3: 5:57 (avg); 17:52
Mile 4: 5:49; 23:41
Mile 5: 6:04; 29:45
Mile 6: 6:00; 35:46
Mile 7: 6:00; 41:46
Mile 8: 5:59; 47:46
Mile 9: 5:59; 53:45
Mile 10: 6:01; 59:47
Mile 11: 5:54; 1:05:41
Mile 12: 5:55; 1:11:37
Mile 13: 5:55; 1:17:22
HALF: 1:18:13
Mile 14: 5:54; 1:23:26
Mile 15: 5:55; 1:29:22
Mile 16: 5:58; 1:35:20
Mile 17: 5:55; 1:41:16
Mile 18: 6:00; 1:47:16
Mile 19: 6:01; 1:53:17
Mile 20: 6:02; 1:58:20
Mile 21: 6:14; 2:05:34
Mile 22: 6:21; 2:11:55
Mile 23: 7:08; 2:19:03
Mile 24: 7:52; 2:26:56
Mile 25: 7:38; 2:34:35
Mile 26: 7:00; 2:41:35
FINISH: 2:42:52
