This was my second marathon and definitely a very strong performance. I signed up with the 3:55 pace team but was feeling froggy so I decided to line up with the 3:45 team. Start felt a little fast to me and my HR was just a little high in the 170s (comfortable doing distance at 165 or so) but I was feeling great and had no problem holding the 3:22 pace through the first 13 miles. I actually left the 3:45 team behind at mile 6 or so and was running on my own the rest of the way. The cold temps definitely helped me to feel like I was turbocharged in Chicago.

The energy from the crowd was pretty constant all the way through, especially in the Loop, Old Town, and China Town. I brought the ipod along just in case but definitely didn't need it. Physically I felt fine until mile 22 when my right calf felt like it wanted to lock up on me. I knew that was a bad thing so I conciously decided to dial the pace back to save the leg. My left calf had the same sensation but the reduced pace kept everything in check pretty well. Miles 22 to 25 were quite tough and I had to constantly fight the urge to walk. While I would've still made my 'sub'4' goal, another goal was to not walk any part of the race other than water stops. I knew that if I walked in Chicago, I would have to train for and race another marathon just to prove that I could run the whole thing. That was some strong motivation for me.

I feel like I slacked off on my training in the end. I would do my long run on monday instead of sunday (football baby!), not run if it were raining, blow off some shorter runs. Honestly I began to hate running once the miles climbed to 50 per week. Still I did get a 26 minute PR and smashed the 4 hour barrier. I guess the only thing I can do better is to pack in some more miles and maybe a little speedwork.

Warm down consisted of the walk that would never end after the finish line. The charity tent was right off the finish line but they force you to walk an extra mile...pretty cruel. Thankfully an ice truck gave me a ride right to the tent where my family happened to arrive at the same time. I was in immense pain and extensive stretching didn't help. An ice bath later helped a bit.


Definitely the cramping in my calfs told me I couldn't run any faster. I'm not sure I would've run faster anyway, I was pretty spent.


Great race in a great city. If you're crazy enough to run marathons, you've got to run Chicago!