Chicago Marathon - Run

Preparing for a hot day I drank way too much pre-race. Peed twice at charity tent, once before getting into the corrals, once just before crossing the start line and again at mile 6 (I KNOW). In all fairness it's really hard to regulate drinking when you're up literally 4.5 hours before the race. Normally I am up and on a run within 1.5 hours of waking up so this was just awkward for me.

I wanted to hit 6.5 hours for this race but based on the last long runs I didn't think that was a reasonable expectation. More importantly though was that I wanted to keep an even pace throughout simply because on most runs I am fine the first 3/4 and just miserable the last couple of miles. I stuck to a 5:2 run walk interval until mile 10 or so and then switched to a 4:1 and then to a 3:1 shortly thereafter. 3:1 was really good for the hotter parts of the course, and 4:1 was good for the last 3 miles when I had a better idea of how much I could burn.

I was really pleased with how I was able to stick with the intervals I set for myself. There were only a few moments where I was doubting my ability to finish but I'm pretty sure that's completely normal for a marathon, and they were mostly during the beginning of the race. I felt settled and strong around the halfway mark, like I finally realized I was actually going to make it barring any kind of catastrophic interference. I never needed to walk more than a few minutes, and after the halfway point I was almost the only person still trying to run at all- most people seemed to just be walking. This was actually both motivating and annoying- it felt good to actually be able to pass people, but then it became a struggle to get through the sea of walkers especially when the course officials started allowing clean up vehicles on ones side of the course.

I was met by my boyfriend at mile 20 or so which was nice, gave me something to look forward to (and he gave me a mini ice cream snickers!) I was feeling so good about the race that I only walked with him for about 2 minutes before taking off again. There was one point before that where I felt a little queasy because of the heat (and the possibility of needing a poo break) but I overcame it. The last few miles seemed to drag on because there wasn't a good sense of how much further we had to go (mile marker signs had been removed) and so many people just kept saying "just 3 miles! just a mile! just a mile!" I really had no clue until I was able to get my bearings. I was able to run up Mount Roosevelt and got to see my boyfriend again right at the finisher chute which was great! So excited to have an even race and a strong finish.

Maybe try pacing a little slower in the beginning to get closer to even 15 minute pace. I couldn't believe that I wasn't falling to pieces at the end of the race and it's probably because I kept myself slow at the beginning (14 min mile instead of my usual 12-13 min mile). Definitely try to sit down as much as possible before the start and not drink as much!

Wandered out of the chute, grabbed the food and medal, then hobbled over to Michigan Ave to meet my boyfriend (who had Ben & Jerry's for me, yay!). I dropped my stuff at FFC South Loop this year instead of Charity Village so that eliminated a lot of unnecessary walking. Had a light massage at the gym and put some ice on my feet for a bit. Did the ice bucket when I got home, showered, put on fresh compression socks and then went for a walk to the bar for a celebratory cocktail at around 7. Stopped for a slice of pizza on the way home from there.


Lingering issues- not so much injuries but just not feeling 100%. Not sure if it was my feet or my shoes but I didn't feel awesome starting the race- like my feet were already sore. Maybe all that standing? I was also having pain on my right big toe again, it was burning a ton- not a blister, just a big angry callous. Whatever is going on with my ankles is annoying too- I think it's a peroneal tendon problem. Recovery on Tuesday is almost 80% for everything except my left ankle which is swollen around the malleoulus, probably tendonitis or a sprain. Not as much right knee pain as I was expecting- I did get taped on Friday so maybe that helped a bit? Need to get custom orthotics.


Overall a very well run race. However, being in the second wave, I was disappointed that the pace truck was passing me not even halfway through the race. I didn't start in the back of my corral (the last one) and I was definitely under a 15 min mile during the first 8-10 miles so it seemed like the pace vehicles were ahead of schedule. This was only a problem when they started crowding the course when there were still lots of runners out. I never got pushed onto the sidewalk like last time, but aid stations were getting shut down right as I was getting to them which made getting fluids a little harder later in the race- and it made me worry that eventually there might not be water on the course so I kept stopping to fill my handheld bottle. I asked other runners if they thought the pace car was too fast and they confirmed what I thought, so I don't know. I get that things have to get shut down and opened up but when there are that many runners out, adhering to the policy they set up (6.5 hour pace AFTER the last person starts) is important especially on a hot day.