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Chicago PR

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Chicago PR Empty Chicago PR

Post  T Miller Fri Oct 28, 2011 9:10 am

This is way late but life has been pretty crazy since Chicago. Some of the craziness includes two trips to Plano, TX for work, a week in Disney and Wendy's dissertation defense. I haven't even had time to get our cars' into the shop for repair. Anyway, better late than never right?

My previous marathon PR of 2:57:17 was set back in Chicago 2009. Since then, I took some time off while Wendy was pregnant with our son Rowan. Since his birth Aug 29th 2010 I've done 3 triathlons including a half Ironman and paced Wendy though her first marathon in Eugene of this year.

My goals going into this race were
a. 2:47:00 6:23 / mile
b. sub 2:50 6:29 / mile
c. PR sub 2:57:17 6:46 / mile

We traveled up to Chicago on the Friday before the race and stayed at our friend Emily's parents house. Friday night we attended the 365 dinner and it was great to meet up with a bunch of old friends and meet some new ones too. The dinner was great and the company was even better. The main topic for the evening was the weather and more particularly our strategy for racing in the less than ideal heat. There were many different opinions but my takeaway was that I should be conservative by starting off with my sights set on the B goal. That would have been my plan regardless so I guess I didn't make much adjustment if any.

This was the first marathon that both Wendy and I were both running but running independently. We decided to each run our own race. I would have been very concerned for her but thankfully she had 2 pacers in her brother Wes and our friend Scott. They did a fantastic job for her and I'm really glad that they were with her. Read her race report HERE if you want to know more details about why I'm so glad.

There was a whole group of us staying at Emily's parents including Wes, Scott, Emily, Katie, Wendy's dad Doug and of course me and Wendy. We took a short run Saturday morning and spent the day just hanging out. Just before lunch I looked down at my watch and noticed that one side of pin that connects the watch to the band had come loose. After playing with it for awhile I realized that my band was broken it was just a matter of time before the watch would fall apart. This wouldn't do so we took a trip to the local running store hoping that they would have a solution but knowing that the only solution was to purchase a new watch. Thankfully my wonder wife knows the importance of such things and we soon left with a new Garmin 610. Later that evening we went for an early dinner and hit the sack early. I slept better than I typically do prior to a marathon. The next morning we all rode together to the starting line and hit the corrals with plenty of time to spare. The corrals were pretty empty when we arrived but we soon ran into Jim and then later I ran into Steven F. while in the corral. Before I knew it, it was go time. The plan was to start with 4 miles that were 6:40 or slower and then to slowly start making some time back so that I could cross the half in 1:25:xx. This would set me up for a small negative split to meet my goal.

The race started and my complete focus was keeping the pace slow. My first 4 miles were 6:37 6:41 7:11 and 5:36. I'm not sure what happened there but perhaps I missed the 3 mile marker and hit my lap at the 5k. This freaked me out a bit and I probably picked it up a bit for the 4th mile bringing it in for an average pace of 6:31 for the first 4. I didn't realize this until just now but this surely didn't help my race.

The next several miles were focused on keeping the pace comfortable and was clicking them off around 6:25. Around the 10 mile mark I could start to feel the pace getting to me and eased up a little so that I could keep the first half relatively comfortable. In 2009 I crossed the half with rubber legs and didn't want that to happen again this year. I crossed the half in 1:25:37 just about right where I wanted to be.

It wasn't long after the half that I realized that I was giving it more effort but my pace was dipping below my target pace 6:29. I was starting to give back some time so I fought this internal battle to keep it as comfortable as possible while also giving up a minimal amount of time. I was running right on the edge between comfortably hard and pain and suffering. I was able to keep my pace in the 6:4x range until I reached mile 21. At 6:4x pace I knew that my B goal was gone but that I was only giving up a minute every ~ 4 miles. The 22nd mile came in at 7:01 and when you start giving up 30 seconds + per mile that it really adds up fast. I fought those last few miles to keep the bleeding to a minimum but they still ended up 7:01 6:58 7:05 7:04. Those last few miles were a real struggle but they always are and I always try to remind myself that those last few miles define the difference between a successful and unsuccessful race. Finish time was 2:54:57 6:37 / mile for a 2:20 PR. Not exactly what I set out to do but I'll take it on a less than idea weather day.

After the race I was slowly walking the shoot trying to wait for some familiar faces like Wendy, Wes, Scott, Schuey, Chris, etc... I would walk really really slow and then stop but after a short bit they would prod me along. By doing this I was able to meet Chris for the first time and Schuey and hear first hand about Chris's race. I waited a bit longer and finally ran into Wes and found out about Wendy's race but wasn't able to see her since she had been swallowed up by the med tent. Then i headed over to the family meetup area to hear about everyone's races.

I missed my goal and I'm in pretty good shape right now so I'm considering giving it another shot at the Monumental Marathon next Saturday. Since the race I've run 2 20's and I'm feeling pretty good. I've put on a little weight so my focus for this mini taper is to get my weight back down to a reasonable race weight. I'm not committing to Monumental just yet but it's a serious consideration. Online registration closes Oct 31's but registration will be available at packet pickup so I'll probably wait til last minute to make the call.

Chicago PR Chicag11

Thanks for reading.


Last edited by T Miller on Fri Oct 28, 2011 5:58 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Post  John Kilpatrick Fri Oct 28, 2011 9:24 am

Awesome race, Tim. Great job on the PR - I liked the account of the internal pacing struggle - much easier said than done! Good luck with whatever you decide for upcoming - you sure recovered well from Chicago!

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Post  Michael Enright Fri Oct 28, 2011 9:35 am

I liked the part where you got a new 610 out of broken watch band - awesome!

Seriously, a well-run race in the heat, and congrats on the PR!
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Post  Jack_Scaff Fri Oct 28, 2011 10:33 am

Hey, even if it was not your goal, that's a pretty impressive PR. Well done.
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Post  Diego Fri Oct 28, 2011 10:40 am

Tim, every PR is a great one. I have no doubt that the sub 2:50 will soon happen. You ran a very fine race in the conditions.
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Post  Jim Lentz Fri Oct 28, 2011 10:59 am

Nice job on the PR, Tim!
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Post  Bob Fri Oct 28, 2011 12:18 pm

Great PR, Tim, on a not so perfect day to shoot for one.

Well done.
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Post  Jerry Fri Oct 28, 2011 12:51 pm

Awesome race, Tim!


Great idea for another attempt(I was going to suggest you run White Rock with me in December).

Post your Monumental Marathon result as soon as you get home, cause I will need that motivation on the following day for my half. lol!
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Post  Michele "1L" Keane Fri Oct 28, 2011 2:51 pm

No matter what, a PR is a PR, Tim! I know you can run faster, but given the conditions, that was an awesome race and one that proves your mental strength. Nice job keeping on task!

If you do run Monumental next weekend, be ready to drop it to easy if you are not recovered enough. No sense getting hurt - right?
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Post  Jeff F Fri Oct 28, 2011 3:55 pm

I agree with Michele, a PR is a PR. Congratulations for a great accomplishment on a tough day!
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Post  mountandog Fri Oct 28, 2011 4:04 pm

Great race. Break watch - get new one. Love it. Good to have a PR on the Steamrollers team!!
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Post  Joel H Fri Oct 28, 2011 4:35 pm

Nice job and congrats on the PR in some tough running conditions. Good luck at Monumental!
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Post  healdgator Fri Oct 28, 2011 5:36 pm

Congrats on the PR, Tim. I imagine that makes the struggle over the last 4 miles worth it. Really impressive, especially with that big orange F on your face.
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Post  T Miller Fri Oct 28, 2011 5:59 pm

healdgator wrote:Congrats on the PR, Tim. I imagine that makes the struggle over the last 4 miles worth it. Really impressive, especially with that big orange F on your face.

That F was a little misleading, how is it now? Better?
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Post  Seth Harrison Fri Oct 28, 2011 7:51 pm

Just echoing what everyone else has said Tim. A PR in those temps is an awesome race. Congratulations! Thanks for the great report.
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Post  fostever Fri Oct 28, 2011 10:55 pm

Hey Tim,

Way to make the adjustments needed to get your PR. I'm amazed you've done two 20's already. I'd say you're ready to tackle another one if you like, Wow! Nice meeting you both, it was a pleasure. Was trying to post the pic they took of us before the race so I uploaded temporarily to the avitar. Looking forward to racing with you again, maybe we can both PR again at the next venue?cheers
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