This is a long over due post. I'm typing it months later and back dating it.
The Chicago Marathon was a disappointment for me. I still had a good race, but this was supposed to be a PR gimme.
Where to begin? Months ago, I had wanted this to be a "pinnacle race"... Meaning a PR that I've gunned for since Philly last year and in Boston, but couldn't get due to either a lack of stupid sleep or merely very tough course. It was intended to break me out of my 2:38-2:39 range.
Flat and fast course, combined with ideal weather was all I could ever ask for. The goal was simply a sub 2:38, which I should've easily been able to do in Philly or Boston. Even if I might've been more fit for those races, this should've been a sure thing.
So where did this go wrong? I suppose it all started following Boston, six months prior. I was recovering from the marathon, yet still ran some good races to take advantage of my fitness. I wound up getting a massage, and during that massage a muscle in my right adductor-groin knotted up severely or pulled. My adductors are always uber-tight, just like my hamstrings... but they generally have never been a problem. So the massage itself maybe didn't cause it, but it did ultimately triggered the Jack out of the box. And that Jack is fucking evil! Since then, it has yet to calm down and has wreaked havoc on my groin and abdomen.
Initially in June, I took a some weeks of downtime and reduced mileage to try to let that knot chill out. This should've helped. No such luck the knot never went away. In July, I needed to start training for Chicago. I found the adductor merely manageable, so I pressed on. A side effect of the down time was me bumping up back to 50/week and creating a classic shin splint in my left calf. I probably would've been better off not taking any downtime? The calf/shin actually effected me throughout my training more than the adductor. The adductor only became a bigger concern for me after my peak was in (and at the time, I was still more worried about my calf).
However, at about mile 10 in the Chicago Marathon the adductor moved to front and center.
The race itself had me going out very conservative and I was to pick up a healthy negative split for the PR. I crossed the half almost exactly on target: 1:19:20. I had run the first half with some teammates. They fell off just before the second half and I was solo for the balance. All I needed to do was drop a few seconds per mile and hold on.
After the second half though, and as much as I tried - each mile became increasingly difficult to maintain. Obviously this is the case with all marathons, but when I was basically under the impression that this PR was a lay up - it became a mental and physical problem for me.
My stride refused to open up and completely caved as I went deeper into the race. My lower abs and both adductors became extremely tight. I felt like I was running hunched over. After the 30K, I tried to get aggressive and had a few miles sub 6:00. At about 23 I was forced to pull back. I didn't hit the wall. I just couldn't stride any longer. I then maintained a 6:10-12 through the finish. A far cry from a strong finish and the last few miles were excruciatingly painful.
After, I described the race as my toughest marathon in several years. It wasn't supposed to be. This was nothing like what I had experienced in any of my other sub-2:40 races.
I finished in 2:39:37. Out in 1:19:20 and back in 1:20:17. Not a train wreck split, but certainly not what I had expected given over 3,000 miles in the last 12 months. My body failed me in the last 4 miles. There was nothing I could do. The only good thing I can say about this race is that I at least defended another 2:40. That's now my 7th sub-2:40 marathon. It was also my Chicago Marathon course PR by 1 whopping second. Whoopie!
After the race, I was extremely sore for a couple days. I took it easy and things chilled out by the end of the week.... or so I thought.
Split recap:
K Time Diff Pace
5- 0:18:58 18:58 6:06.3
10- 0:37:38 18:40 6:00.5
15- 0:56:33 18:55 6:05.3
20- 1:15:13 18:40 6:00.5
25- 1:34:01 18:48 6:03.1
30- 1:52:44 18:43 6:01.4
35- 2:11:48 19:04 6:08.2
40- 2:31:03 19:15 6:11.7
.2- 2:39:37 08:34 6:17.0
1st Half- 1:19:20 / 6:03.1
2nd Half- 1:20:17 / 6:07.4
Overall- 2:39:37 / 6:05.3
153rd place overall / 21st IL / 4th IL AG / 2nd CARA AG
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