Chicago Marathon 2021 Race Recap

Race #189
Marathon #13
2021 Race #5
2021 Marathon #1
Chicago Marathon #2

Pre-race
I had a fairly decent first half to this training cycle but then had to pull back right at the heart of the summer thanks to the foot twist (temporary set back at Peachtree), a broken treadmill deck (4 weeks out of commission), ridiculous SC temps (80+), and school starting back. I still got the overall mileage in and felt confident I could finish strong.

My watch predicted a 3:52 marathon which, with better weather conditions, I probably could have managed. With predicted temps close to and possibly surpassing four years ago when I bonked-hard-and had a miserable time, I chose to aim for a solid effort instead. If that brought me in around 3:54, great. If not, great.

My race plan consisted of running to enjoy the course, walking every three miles when I ate my chews. Even that I left flexible. I really just wanted to enjoy the race because most of what I remember of 2017 centers around misery. I wanted to BQ but didn’t listen to my body and struggled home, barely coming in under 4 hours.

Race Morning
I woke up, not really nervous at all. The lack of expectations freed me to really enjoy the day ahead.

After getting all my gear on, Mom braided my hair (a great, new-to-me hack to avoid long run rat’s nest hair) and we headed to the lobby. I grabbed a free banana to get some calories and potassium in as we walked about a mile to Grant Park and the Gate 1 entrance. Mom took a few pre-race photos and then I entered the “no bag” line.

Prior to the race, I read the FAQs, which mentioned a ban on hydration packs but the allowance of handhelds and belts. My orangemud vest does not fall in either of those categories so I wondered if they would say anything. When my turn came, I got wanded and then when I turned around got told that my 20 oz bottle was too big; I couldn’t take it in. Seriously? I found that incredibly dumb, especially on this incredibly hot and humid day and expressed as much quite vociferously. At first, they wouldn’t budge but when I started to text Mom to come back and get it, the guy relented and let me through. That got me riled up at first but then I set it aside, found a place to sit and wait until time to line up.

Quicker than I thought, the 20 or so minutes passed until time to start moving towards the start line.

Four years ago, I had ambitious goals, goals derailed by the heat, so I started in corral C. This year I had a spot in E, still part of the first wave. Soon enough, our time came and we began the 26.2 mile loop journey.

The Race
I started the race, not playing anything through my aftershokz. I figured the crowd would be motivating enough.

In those beginning meters, I also decided to avoid looking at my watch. I would run by effort and make a conscious choice to enjoy and take in my surroundings so I wouldn’t end up blinded in the pain cave.

Mile 1 – 9:17

My watch hit the first mile split at about the same time I passed the marker. I knew with the large buildings of downtown it was only a matter of time before the satellite had issues.

Somewhere around this point Mom texted me her location. I had asked her to do this so I would know which side of the road to run on and where to look for her. I knew she would be at mile 3 thanks to the text and decided to hand her the aftershokz. They already started to feel sweaty around my earlobes with 24ish miles to go. I knew I would also have plenty of noise and distraction around me as well and could thus save the music for later in the race if I needed a motivation boost.

Mile 2 – 8:16 (probably when the satellite connection lost focus)
Mile 3 – 9:16

Technically, I handed the aftershokz off, just before mile 3. Since I felt good, I took my two chews without stopping. I ended up not walking, apart from a few steps at each water stop, while I fueled until after the halfway point with no regrets. A sign for me of working too hard is when chewing and attempting to breathe while running feels labored or like I have cottonmouth.

After the aftershokz handoff, I don’t remember much specific about the race until around mile 11 except for the fact that I could feel the muscles in my hips (the outside ones?) getting sore earlier than I expected. I still moved forward at a fairly even clip, walking only through the aid stations. Oh, and I had trouble remembering to fuel on the three mile marks. I ended up taking the 6 mile chews at mile 6.5 and the 9 miles chews at mile 10.

Mile 4 – 8:30
Mile 5 – 8:47
Mile 6 – 9:22 (quick portopotty stop)
Mile 7 – 8:54
Mile 8 – 8:54
Mile 9 – 9:09
Mile 10 – 9:03

Around this point I started noticing some negative thoughts creeping in. I still felt physically fine and knew I had hydrated well. These thoughts tend to come anyways and persisted for a few miles, knocking at the door. Instead of letting them in, I told them “thanks but no thanks. Not interested. I’m here to enjoy this run.” I had to remain steadfast in that response because negative thoughts have a lot of staying power.

Somewhere in these miles Mom texted me her next location, near mile 13. I started thinking about my orangemud vest and the fact that even though I had a little under half a bottle left, it would not last long which would leave tremendous chafing possibilities. I decided to drink as much as I could of my bottle before I saw her and hand the vest and bottle off to her. Of course, I texted her this plan.

She texted me back to let me know where she would stand, just before the intersection and the aid station. Since the satellites had indeed given me some bonus mileage and I avoided looking at my watch, I did not know the exact difference between my watch and the official distance. Thus, when I saw an aid station come up after my watch reached 12.6, I figured she might mean that aid station so I took off my vest, didn’t see her, and put it back on. I texted again to ask if she was close to 13. She said yes so I settled in for a few more tenths. When I saw the 13 mile marker ahead, I pulled the vest off again but passed the marker and did not see her. I texted her again, thinking that I had missed her, and prepared to toss the vest to the side trusting that Mom could retrieve it. It’s old enough though that I would not mind losing it and having to replace it if she couldn’t find it. Then I saw her, right before 13.1. I had put the vest back on a second time so the handoff required some quick maneuvering but we managed it.

I felt mentally the lowest at this point. To keep the earlier metaphor going, I had cracked open the door to the negative thoughts and struggled to close it again. To get that door shut, I started making a plan. I knew what I wanted, to enjoy the race, so I would start taking strategic walk breaks. I would walk through the aid stations while taking two cups of Gatorade and one cup of water. I would also walk at each mile. At first, I planned to walk a tenth like I normally do on long runs but at mile 15 when I started the first walk as planned, I wanted to start running almost right away so those walks lasted only half tenths. With a plan in hand, I knew I could finish the rest of the race.

Mile 11 – 9:09
Mile 12 – 9:06
Mile 13 – 9:42
Mile 14 – 8:53
Mile 15 – 9:08

Reaching mile 15 with this plan in mind helped finally banish those persistent negative thoughts. I had only 11 miles to go, a distance I ran for my last long run before the race. I also knew that I would get to walk every mile, something that breaks the run down into manageable chunks, easy to consume and find yourself at the finish line before you realize.

During this section (i think, since I did not pay attention to the mileage when I passed these points) I passed through neighborhoods I have no memories of from four years ago. First, I loved the right turn we took into Chinatown with the traditional arch over the road with a banner stretched across it welcoming runners. I loved the change in the architecture through this section making it so uniquely suited to that neighborhood. Second, the course passed directly by the Mexican consulate. A large group of Mexican American spectators lined the street blasting music and cheering vociferously as I passed thanks to a Mexican lady running to my left. I absolutely loved that neighborhood.

Mile 16 – 9:18
Mile 17 – 9:58
Mile 18 – 9:50
Mile 19 – 10:12 (only one of three miles above 10 minutes)

I remember reaching mile 19 and realizing that as I kept moving, my legs found their rhythm. I could keep going. As this thought flitted across my mind, I saw a woman who had stopped and turned around to wait for a couple other runners behind me. As I passed her, I heard her describe how her race had blown up; she had nothing left. I’ve been there before and felt so grateful in the moment that I did not feel that way again.

Through those last six miles, I did not feel great but I did not feel terrible either. The temperature had come up a little but frequent, significant breezes helped cool me down. I kept up the planned walk breaks at the mile and through the aid stations although with a couple miles to go, I didn’t feel thirsty, an odd sensation for a heavy sweater like myself. I definitely nailed hydration in this race.

I started my music around mile 22 but never really heard it well thanks to the ambient noise. I realized quickly that I didn’t really need it but I left it alone until after the finish.

Mile 20 – 10:10
Mile 21 – 9:37
Mile 22 – 9:48
Mile 23 – 10:29
Mile 24 – 9:54
Mile 25 – 9:53

When I finished the walk break at mile 25, I knew I had only 1.1 miles left. (I took the walk breaks at the mile markers, not according to the splits on my watch.) I could do this.

Going into the last half mile we turned onto a slight incline which I could tell took a toll onto several of the people around me. Even though this minor hill came nearly at the end, it did not feel difficult to me at all, yet another way that my native training ground came in handy as preparation for the race.

AT the top of the hill we turned into Grant Park. I could see the finish line with a little under 300m to go. The day before while watching some 5k finishers sprint the final distance, I decided to give that a try depending on how my legs felt when I got to my own finish line. When I saw that finish line, I told myself to go all out and I did. My legs felt almost fresh at that point which told me that I ran conservatively, thus avoiding overextending myself.

Mile 26 – 9:29
.2 nubbin – 8:04 pace (definitely picked it up)
Total – 4:09:34

Even though I would have preferred a sub 4 hour time, I most definitely met my goal of enjoying the race and proving to myself that I can run a solid marathon on high mileage, in heat and humidity, with even more in the tank.