And just like that, it’s all come to an end.
This is the final week of my training for the Chicago Marathon, and by the end of this week I’ll be in the city getting ready for the race.
Note: I’m publishing this after the race, because I didn’t have time to down this weekend and write. But I wanted to share this first before I write up a race report of the actual marathon.
I’ve been feeling a little beat up the last week or two, so I’m planning to take this final week of the taper extra easy. And then I’ll just have to wait and see how I feel come Sunday.
The Plan for the Week
Initially, I had planned on doing 45 miles this week. That’s what I did in the lead up to Jersey City, and I felt fine. But given how tired I’ve been, I decided to trim that down to 40.
I’ll start with an easy, short long run on Sunday. I’ll work in a couple miles at pace on Wednesday. The rest will be nice and easy.
Here’s the breakdown:
- Sunday: 12 miles, end with 2-3 at MP
- Monday: Five miles easy
- Tuesday: Five miles easy, trails
- Wednesday: 5 miles, w/ 1T + 1M
- Thursday: 4 miles easy
- Friday: 4 miles easy, strides
- Saturday: 4 miles easy, strides
And here’s how it went.
Sunday – Starting Strong, But Still Fatigued
I woke up Sunday, and I felt pretty good. The plan was to do a shortened long run at an easy pace, and I’d end with a few miles at goal marathon pace.
I slept in a little, and I hit the road around 8:30. It’s really starting to feel like fall now. There was the slightest chill in the air.
As I jogged past the Reservoir Loop, I saw a big crowd gathering. There was a local charity 5k taking place at some point in the morning. This time of year, they’re pretty common on Saturday’s and Sunday’s.
I kept going, up and down the hill towards Millburn. During the run, I wasn’t paying any attention to my pace – just trying to stay easy. But looking back, I easily got down to 8:20-8:30 after I warmed up. Good sign.
Coming back up the hills, it was a little slower going. I hit the 10 mile mark at just under 1:28 – a fairly slow split. The last few miles had crept up to 8:40-8:50. But I still felt pretty good.
Since there was a race going on at the loop, I avoided that and decided to finish up on the streets behind my house. After I hit the 10 mile mark, I tried to speed up to marathon pace.
My stride opened up, and things felt good. But when I glanced down at my watch, I was running above 7:00/mi. There was a slight incline at the start of the mile, so I thought that might be holding me back. But after I got to the top and things leveled off, I still wasn’t getting below 7:00. The split came, and it was a disappointing 7:19.
Hmm …
No sense banging my head against the wall and wearing myself out. Instead of pushing the last part, I eased up to a slow jog. I had initially planned on doing 13 miles, but this caused me to cut the day short and pare down the mileage slightly for the rest of the week.
Monday – An Early Morning on the Treadmill
My car has been in the shop for the last week or so. I’ve had the luxury of working from home – but today I actually need to go out and leave the house.
It’s easy enough for my to drop my wife off and borrow her car. But since I had a relatively early meeting, that meant I had to wake up and run before we left to drop her off.
So I was up at 6, and I immediately hopped on the treadmill. Forty five easy minutes, two episodes of Star Wars Rebels, and it was time for the day.
I did a bit of yoga and stretching, and all in all I felt pretty good.
Tuesday – On the Trails and Feeling Good
Tuesday morning, I hit the trails for an easy five miles. These runs seem so short, and they’re over before I know it.
I went out 2.5 miles and turned around. On the way back, I felt loose and free, like I was flying. I added in a couple quick strides at the end. Nothing too fast, just a little something to loosen up my legs.
My legs are coming back to life – a good sign!
I finished up the five miles in 48:25. The final two miles were 9:15 and 9:10. Much faster than any trail miles I did last week.
Wednesday – A Glimmer of Hope
This is my last chance to get in a little confidence boost before Sunday.
The plan today is to warm up, run a mile at goal marathon pace, run a mile at threshold pace, and then cool down.
I left the house and headed down to the Reservoir Loop. I warmed up on the first loop around, finishing up with a couple of strides. All systems go.
My watch buzzed at the end of mile 2, and I picked up the pace. I sped up quickly and easily, and I thought I was going about the right pace. But it felt just a little bit harder than it should have. That’s when I looked down at my watch and realized I was going way too fast.
I backed off and settled into the right pace – 6:45-6:50 for the rest of the mile. This felt great. My heart rate was around 157-158, which is typically what I find sustainable early on in the marathon.
I ended up splitting the mile in 6:42, so a little fast. But that’s because I started off a little hot.
The next mile, I settled right into the pace. The target was 6:20ish. Hit 6:20 right on the dot. It was definitely a little harder – and not a sustainable pace for the entire race. But I was running much more easily than I did at the half marathon at Sandy Hook.
Average heart rate was 162. My target heart rate for threshold work is in the low 160’s – usually 163-164. So right on target.
I slowed down to a jog for the cool down. But that was still 8:20. The engine was revved up, and that felt super easy. I was out and back in less than 40 minutes.
Finally, a little bit of confidence. Maybe I’ll be ok come Sunday.
Thursday – Last Day In New Jersey
Tonight, we fly out for Chicago. So this is my last run in New Jersey before the big day.
Woke up and hit the trails for 5 easy miles. Uneventful. Finished under 48 minutes, so a little faster than Tuesday.
Still feeling good.
Our flight left at 7:45, and we were supposed to get into Chicago fairly late. We landed a little after 9:00 Chicago time. But by the time we taxied to the gate, grabbed our bags, and caught the shuttle to the hotel it was after 10.
I had wisely decided to stay right near the airport tonight – at the Aloft O’Hare. It was a ten minute shuttle ride from the airport and a lot cheaper than all the hotels downtown.
Since it was getting late, we just ordered in some ramen, grabbed a drink at the bar, and called it a night.
Friday – On the Trails By O’Hare
I’ve stayed at this hotel before when I came to Chicago for a conference. So I knew there was a nice running trail nearby – the Des Plaines River Trail System.
It’s about a mile from the hotel, and from there you can pick a direction and go for quite a ways. I woke up, drank some coffee, and hit the road.
The first mile went quickly. I got to the trail, and I headed north. I made the same mistake last time – the trail came to a dead end. So I retraced my steps and I ran past the exit.
I went down another mile or so and turned around. I felt great, and I was literally visualizing the finish of the marathon when a tree root reached up and grabbed my foot.
Bam!
I hit the ground, took a quick tumble, and popped up. I banged up elbow a little, and it stung, but nothing seemed too badly beat up. There was a light scratch on my elbow and my palm, but I figured I’d be ok. Dusted myself off and headed for home.
I finished up with a couple quick strides – closer to marathon pace than anything else.
As I came to a stop, I looked down and realized that I had scraped my knee as well. It looked a lot worse than it was, but my shin was covered in blood. Uh oh …
I took a shower and cleaned up. Took a few minutes for the bleeding to stop completely. But after that, everything was fine.
We woke up, grabbed breakfast, and caught the shuttle back to the airport. From there, we took the blue line train downtown, switched to a bus, and checked in at our hotel – the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk.
I picked this hotel because it’s close-ish to the start (about a mile) and the course runs right by the front of the hotel. So it’s a perfect homebase for my wife to spectate from. In retrospect, it was a little out of the way to catch the train, but the bus system was pretty reliable. The three-day pass was definitely worth the $20.
After we dropped our bags off, we hopped on a bus and headed towards the expo. We stopped at Devil Dawgs on State Street to grab something to eat first. Gotta fuel up!
Does a bucket of fries and a peanut butter shake count for carb loading?
After that, we took the train and a bus the rest of the way down to the expo. The place was packed, but everything moved super quick.
I picked up my bib and wandered through the expo. We stopped to take a picture, and we looked at a few things. They were giving away samples of Goose Island, but the line was longer than I wanted to wait in.
The atmosphere was electric, though. It’s starting to feel real!
We went back to the hotel and laid down for a nap. In the evening, we walked over to Lou Malnati’s for some deep dish pizza. The wait was almost two hours – which is insane.
So instead, we went back to the hotel, ordered the pizza to go. By chance, we had run into a friend of mine who I knew was running the race. I planned to touch base with him on Saturday, but it turned out we were staying at the same hotel.
We all enjoyed a drink at the lobby bar, and then I went to pick up the pizza. We stuffed our faces and then went upstairs to watch some TV and call it a night.
Saturday – Scouting Out the Course
One last run.
Woke up Saturday morning, drank some coffee, and hit the road for a couple easy miles.
I jogged the race course in reverse down to the start. People were out there taking pictures near the start. Everyone was excited.
The park itself was shut down in the middle because they were running the 5k. So I went back out to Michigan Ave and ran to the south end. I turned around a few blocks past Roosevelt Ave and ran the final part of the race.
There’s a right turn up Roosevelt and a short, slight hill. Then you’re in the park for the finish.
I jogged back to the hotel and finished up my 4 miles. All systems go.
We spent the rest of the day doing some light sight seeing. Enjoyed dinner in the hotel restaurant. Went down to Navy Pier for lunch (an Italian Beef sandwich). And then took the River Cruise to learn a little about the architecture of the city.
In the evening, we met up with one of my wife’s coworkers who was running. His friends and family had a reservation at Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap, an old Italian restaurant.
The place was a little outside of downtown, so it was busy but it wasn’t mobbed. We had a table for 15 people or so in the back. The pasta was great – had linguine and clams. After that, it was time to go back to the hotel and turn in for an early night. And hopefully some sleep.
It’s Show Time!
And that’s it!
In the morning, it’s go time. The alarm is set for 4:45.
I haven’t felt great for the last couple of weeks, and I was a little worried that I’d overcooked myself in training. Maybe that half marathon wasn’t such a good idea.
But Wednesday felt great, and my runs the rest of the week have felt fine, too. The weather is looking decent – high 50’s, low 60’s, with some clouds and moderate humidity.
So I’ll take it a little conservative in the morning and see how things go. Sub-3 might be a reach, but low 3:00’s should be quite do-able.
Let’s hope.