TTM 3,121

I randomly thought about this today... What's my been mileage over the last 12 months? Answer: an eye popping 3,121 miles!

That's insane. It's a result of rolling through 3 different training seasons over the last year.

I generally think of things on a trailing 7-day scale, or a weekly mileage, or an calendar year's mileage... But I haven't thought of it on a trailing 12-months scale. It completely blows away other 12 month period that I've had before. On an calendar basis, I've run a little over 2,500 each of the last few years. CY13 will be a PR around 2,800-2,900. But over 3,121 on a TTM basis!? 60 miles a week, assuming no time off. That's big boy miles!

Certainly a lot of guys run more than I do, as I tend to peak for specific events (marathons), as opposed to maintaining more steady mileage in off seasons. My 3 seasons in the last twelve months have been Philly, then Boston, and now double dipping for the Chicago and New York City Marathons.

It's no wonder I feel trashed at the moment.

That number will push a bit higher too over the next 2 weeks as I round out this training cycle.

Monday night's 9 mi tempo was so-so. I'm happy it was done, but I'm not happy how the times rolled off. I faded a little in the last few miles as opposed to progressing. No doubt it was because I forced miles last weekend.... 51 miles in 3 days. Not something that I haven't done before, just how it was done. I jammed in a 15, then a 23 in Barrington, then a sloppy 13 on Sunday. 15 in front of the 23 made it very ugly. Let that be a lesson. 23 then 13 then 15 is ok. 15 then 23 = not worth it if I want to maintain any sort of quality.

Anyway, 3,121. Wow. Stay calm, and carry on.

Tempo recap:

1- 6:03.3

2- 5:51.0

3- 5:52.3

4- 5:45.4

5- 5:46.9

6- 5:46.5

7- 5:49.5

8- 5:53.9

9- 5:54.6

Avg- 5:51.5

Here we go, 20x 400...

Last week, I ran a very fast 8x 800 workout. My half marathon didn't reflect it. After the half and a few days of painful recovery runs, I forced myself to take a critical day off.  I went back to the track last night not knowing what to expect. It was time to spin wheels and hope for the best.

One of my all-time favorite workouts has become the 20x 400. OK, so it may not be as monstrous as Quenton Cassidy's 3x 20x 400, but 1x 20 is still a bad ass workout.

I ran with Scott, Evan, and Justin at North Park Track. We were looking for somewhere between 16 and 20 reps, with 75 seconds of rest. Headwinds on the home stretch; decent temps. We traded the lead for the first several laps, though I would up taking it more often. I clearly had a fire in me that some of the other guys didn't. I felt incredibly smooth and in control for the entire workout. I hung in there and progressed my pace for the full 20.

Taking the day off on Wednesday was a difficult decision to make, especially being inside of a peak week. I hate the idea that I had to do it, but I felt like absolute shit on Tuesday. I ran a double, and in the second run I literally had to stop a mile short because I was in so much pain. All sorts of banged up. My hip turned into a train wreck. My entire left leg was completely knotted up. I didn't have a choice, so I scratched Wednesday and opted to get a massage. I needed to hit the reset button. And reset I did.

Out of the last 5 years, my training log shows that I've run this workout 7 times now. I've never averaged 20x 400's this fast before. The closest I've come to 72.28 average was 72.5, just before Philly. I was in solid condition then... easily PR shape if it wasn't for a botched race.

I still have a little over 2 weeks of big mileage ahead of me. 

I'm starting to foam at the mouth.

Shin splints be damned... I'm not giving up that easy.

Split recap:

1- 73.7

2- 73.3

3- 73.9

4- 72.8

5- 73.1

1-5 Avg: 73.36

6- 72.8

7- 72.9

8- 71.6

9- 73

10- 72.2

6-10 Avg: 72.50

11- 71.8

12- 72.7

13- 72.8

14- 72.1

15- 72

11-15 Avg: 72.28

16- 71.7

17- 72

18- 71.2

19- 70.8

20- 69.3

16-20 Avg: 71.00

20x 400 Avg: 72.28

Chicago Drippy Half Marathon

I definitely have some fitness in me right now, but today just wasn't the day to show it.

Chicago in early September can be a crap shoot with the weather. For this year's Chicago Half Marathon it was, 70 degrees, which isn't a deal breaker at all... BUT it was also a very drippy 90% humidity (per weather.com). Ugh. And dripping it was... I had probably blown through all of my prior day's hydration on the warm up run alone.

If there's one thing that I hate more than a crappy windy race, it's a drippy humid race. We actually kinda had both today though, as there was a headwind for half of the run. The out and back provided some help in the late miles, though you wouldn't notice it in my splits.

Running wise, I didn't feel all that terrible. My splits were very steady in the early going, as I jammed through about 5-6 miles with Scott Laumann. I averaged about 5:43 through mile 7, like clock work and spot on with PR pace. In spite the weather, I was still gunning for sub 1:15.

The Chicago Half is notorious for mismarking the course though, in the later miles. So once again, I'm not sure if the course was long -or just very poorly marked. Regardless, I apparently ran a "6:06" in the 8th mile and a 6:01 in the 12th mile. I seriously doubt that I ran that slow in both of those miles... especially the 8th mile. I'm not sure where I would've gained that lost time either. I think that got into my head a little, once I saw both of those splits. Anyway, I definitely slowed down a touch in the last 5 miles so it's a moot point. I went from those low-5:40's to a low-5:50's, then choked a 5:57 in mile 13.

Ultimately, the humidity took over and I sagged. Scott gradually pulled away from me in the 6th mile and left me with little motivation, aside from a road kill in the 9th mile. (SL had a great race btw, going just under 1:15 - he picked it up a lot after mile 6 then faded a little, but not nearly as badly as I did). He had a couple guys to chase. I only wound up chasing 1 of them. The motivation eventually caved once again as I just gut it out to finish the race and not trade placements. Oh well.

I'm a little bummed, because this was the first time in a few years that I've been in decent shape for a half marathon and I didn't get the chance to show it off. More importantly though, I didn't wear myself out and it was a solid run in what will be a big boy week of marathon training.

Eyes on the prize... 10/13/13+11/3/13=badmotherfucker.

Split Recap:

1- 5:38.8

2- 5:46.9

3- 5:45.9

4- 5:44.4

5- 5:40.3

6- 5:46.9

7- 5:43.2

8- 6:06.1

9- 5:51.7

10- 5:50.6

11- 5:50.1

12- 6:01.9

13- 5:57.5

.1- 0:38.6

Total- 1:16:22.9, Avg- 5:49.6 / 3rd AG, 15th O'All

182 ADK miles yields tempo and speed.

I spent the final 2 weeks of August at the cabin in the Adirondacks. This included some big running that has started to get me in shape for the fall racing. The vacation also provided some much needed family time, a very welcomed "unplug" from the markets and the world, ...and probably most importantly, a distraction from my recent relationship break-up.

....I'll spare the details on the break-up, aside from the fact that it really sucks to fold on something after putting so much time into it. After 5+ years, Sarah and I mutually agreed that the relationship was stagnant. Neither of us have been overly happy or satisfied for some time, and both somewhat unfulfilled on many levels. Maybe me more than her and that's why I might've held back? I donno. It hurts to admit and pull that trigger though. I've thought about this far too much. In the end, I lose a truly wonderful person in my life. Sucks.

Anyhoo... back to running. I used the time at the cabin to cram in as many miles of hill work as possible. I wound up with 182 miles over the 2 weeks. Some of the runs were absolutely wicked, including a new favorite that runs to Belfort and back.... it's a 17 miles route that I ran twice as progression runs, with over 2500 feet of vertical change. Another was running from the cabin to Stillwater Road and up a few miles... 12 miles total with nearly 1800 feet of vertical change. Rolling hills every step of the way.

Just by comparison, the typical Barrington 20 miles, which is as hilly as can get anywhere near Chicago - done the hard way, and including a trip up Chris Woods Hill... has about 2200 feet of change. My typical "as easy as I can do it" 20 mile ADK run has about 3000 feet.  The only other place that I've had more bad ass 20 milers has been up at the Rasmussen Compound, in Wisconsin.  

When I got back to Chicago the other day, I wasn't sure where it left me... aside from yearning for flat ground, sick of a ramp in training, and still dealing with a shitty medial tibial shin splint.  I'm still not sure how fit I am, but at least I had a couple tests that suggest I'm now gaining ground quickly... 

On Tuesday night, I had my first chance to test my fitness... 8 miles of tempo, which started in mid-5:50's and finished in the mid-5:30's. I averaged 5:46. Very solid for my first true tempo run in a while.

Last night I confirmed - 8x 800 w/ 90sec rest. I averaged about 2:32.6. The final rep was 2:29. I called it quits at 8 instead of 10, so that I could save something for this weekend's race. I don't think that I've run 800's that fast before. I'm pretty happy with that one.

Aside from the minor problem of a fucking shin split, which is incredibly uncomfortable to run on when it's flared up... all other health issues seem to be ok at the moment. Even my hip and hammy's seem to be ok. Runs have their good and bad days due my age old problem of the left shin split. It's been there for about a month and a half now (or going on 7 or 8 years, depending on when you start counting). Eventually it'll let up... any day now...

Chicago Half Marathon this weekend. If I get through that without snapping my shin in half, then I'll press for 2 big-boy weeks of 100+ miles.

July wrap up.

A recap of the month of July and where things stand:

- I averaged 70 miles a week for the month, 4 weeks of basing.

- 7/11, Bastille Birthday 5K: 17:14. It wasn't pretty since I hadn't had any solid running prior to that point. But then again, maybe that time was meant to be? I hadn't thought of that until just now. Forget it, I like it.

- 7/14, Hometeam Charity 10K. In addition to 5oz of gold and 300oz of silver, this was my 36th Birthday present to myself. It was a disgusting stuffy heater though, and hurt at 35:39. I felt old. I died. The last mile was pathetic. I had no motivation either. I blame it on the weather and a lack of speed work. I placed 2nd for CARA AG points.

- Since then, long runs have jumped up to 20 miles.

- I now have 3 weeks in a row of tempos, with averages in the mid-5:40's... I guess technically, including the races, I have 5 weeks in a row with tempos.

- I took 3 days off from running in July, and as of now, I haven't taken a day off in over 2 weeks.

All in, my endurance has come back. I feel comfortable running pretty much any distance, and am feeling more fit. I'm still lacking any interval training at this point.

BUT.... All of this has come at a pretty nasty cost: I did bump up rather quickly after having some lame running in June. I'm now suffering from some ugly shin splits in my left leg and I'm actually starting to feel a bit broken down. This is classic. I've been dealing with left calf issues for nearly 10 years now. Anytime I drop my mileage down and then pick it back up again, I aggravate the calf and inner shin. Massage hasn't helped one bit. In the last couple weeks, I've been trying to run a little more with my Vibram Five Fingers. That usually chills it out, but no such luck yet.

This shin issue needs to go away if I'm gonna ramp up with any quality and intensity. Clearly I need a day off and some recovery.

That said, I'll run the Terrapin 5K tonight and press on through the end of this week. I'll take a day or two off next week and get that much needed cut back. Hopefully that puts me back to an even keel.

I head up to the cabin next weekend. That'll give me 2 very big weeks on the hills. My ADK training and September running likely the balance of my year.

With September comes racing season. Stretching through November, I have the Chicago Half Marathon, Park Ridge 5K, Chicago Marathon, Palatine 5K, and NYC Marathon......
Yeah, that's right... I'm racing 2 marathons in 3 weeks....

Half way.

I'm slowly pulling myself out of maintenance mode and back into running. It looks increasingly like I'll be running the Chicago Marathon this fall, followed by the NYC Marathon three weeks later.

Along the way, I'll take on more of the CARA Circuit. This isn't going to be easy.

Year to date through June 30th, I'm at 1,440 miles. That's more than I've ever run in the first half of the year. I don't think I want to get 3,000... (that's a huge number!)... but this will be my biggest year ever.

Spring break is over. Summer running is here.

Roselle + Spring Mile = Done.

It wasn't pretty, but I did gut out another age group win at the Roselle Run for Roses 5K a little over a week ago. I followed that with a fast mile mid-week, and now I'm in a mini-recovery mode.

Roselle 5K:

I actually had the intentions of running a fast 5K here, but for some reason it just didn't work out. I'll blame it on a lack of mileage over the prior weeks, and a last minute audible that had me running for placement instead of time. Training wise, I've been gradually winding down in this post-marathon mode (more like delaying the inevitable), yet still racing nearly every weekend for the last several weeks. I simply have sacrificed quality long runs for races. Regardless, I went to Roselle thinking that I'd be able to run a 16:20ish.

A little head wind in the first half of the race forced me to change my strategy. I didn't want to be the work horse for the chase pack going into the wind. If I did, then I would've risked either dying or getting dropped by guys that I should've beaten. And if I would've sat in the middle of the chase, then I would've gone out too slow and been victim to who knows what (heaven forbid a negative split 5K).

So with the gun, I sprang quickly onto the back of the lead pack. It was fast. I knew it. These guys were going sub 16 pace, but I felt nice and loose so I just went with it. I simply decided to get far enough ahead of the chase and then gut out what I could. I didn't have a watch and I don't recall my exact splits - but they wound up something like 5:08, 5:28, 5:23, 0:32 = 16:33.

That first mile was really hot. I saw the clock and immediately had a big "whoops!" Trouble with that, was I had already started to slow up before reaching the marker (as did most of the pack). Only they clung to their pace from there, while I pulled back again in the second mile as I tried to get under control. Hence 5:28. After the first mile, I dropped a kid that went out with me, and saw nobody else the rest of the way. Little did I know, that a couple guys from the chase were closing on me, but nobody ever passed me. And for that, it was a success as I won my age group. 16:33 was a far cry from 16:20 and even more from a PR... but another good enough.

Spring Mile:

A mile isn't something I normally do. Since some of my recent racing was behind me and I was about to hit the reset button, I thought I'd give it a shot just to see what I could do. So last Wednesday night, a number of us went to the track for the first time this year. It was a treat, since we've been doing our speed on the lakefront path or in the zoo parking lot.

I simply had the target of running sub-5 minutes. I know I can go faster, but given that I suck at the mile... I figured I'd play it safe. I split 75, 76, 74, 73... for a total of 4:58. It felt great and was actually pretty fun. I couldn't have run it any better too - a very conservative and clean negative split. To boot, I capped off the 2x 400, 1x 1600, 2x 400 workout with a blazing 65 second 400. I think I'll try to give the mile another shot after building my training back up, as opposed to winding down. I'd absolutely love to go sub 4:50, which I should be able to do with a little more fitness and speed work.

Now that that's out of the way, I'm taking a few weeks of reduced mileage before I roll back up. Some much needed recovery. I'll keep it simple for now and reassess in a couple weeks. Ultimately I'll build to burn a fast marathon in the fall (location still TBD), followed by a lay-up with the NYC Marathon. Along the way, I'll give my 5K and half marathon both an honest shake for PRs.

Postpartum Marathon Syndrome

On the heels of a marathon, I almost always get some sort of postpartum syndrome. I'm often not quite sure what to do with myself. I go from loads of big mile training, then run a race, then it all shuts down and I'm left guessing what to do with myself.   

So that's where I've been for the past month... Stuck between wanting a break, but forging ahead with a few races... I mean, it can't all go for naught.  With no real goal in mind, I've decided to snag some quick CARA Circuit points.

I've kept up about 40-60 miles a week since Boston... probably least amount possible to allow me to strike while the iron is still somewhat warm. I've raced in the following:

4/28 - Oak Park Race That's Good for Life 5K - 16:20

If ever there was a recent chance for my 5K PR, this might've been it. The weather was absolutely perfect for racing in Chicago (actually, very rare!!). No wind, nicely in the mid-50's. Oak Park is a very competitive race that I've run several times. It's a fast course, and I had plenty teammates and other runners to help pace with. Unfortunately, I wound up missing my PR by 4 seconds. This was 2 weeks after Boston, and though I was fit, I still felt somewhat flat and sore. So true, you can burn a fast 5K after a marathon... without doing any additional work whatsoever... but it didn't feel good and it was still shy of a PR. Maybe I should've put in a little more work following the marathon? Whatever. I was 4th in my AG, which is amazing considering this was a 16:20!

5/19 - Woodridge Seven Bridges 5K - 16:43

This race served a simple purpose: moar CARA AG points. And I did just that, as I won my AG. It was a hot day... probably our first of the year for a race. I wasn't feeling overly fast, and I basically recognized that I had no competition in the age group. I hung in there, and just ran as short/fast tempo. That's what I call good enough.

5/25 - Soldier Field 10 Miler - 56:22

I had the goal of a sub-57 race. I haven't actually raced too many 10 mile road races, so this was entertaining. Like a giant fast tempo. I believe my 10mi PR was previously inside of a half marathon or a tempo run. Either way, SF10 is a competitive race so I went out with Scott Laumann again, and we blazed the first 5miles. Unfortunately, we turned and realized that the wind was previously at our backs. Per forecasts, wind wasn't supposed to be a factor, but it certainly was on the lakefront. After the turn, I gave up nearly 10-15 seconds a mile and ran a 56:22. Not the best execution, but another good enough for 2nd in my AG.

After Shamrock and each of these races, I believe I'm now seeded 1st place for the CARA 35-39 AG. Ugh. I'm afraid of what this might bring. Since I have no major goals for the rest of the season, I fear this might rope me into gunning for the circuit. I know that I'm not the fastest guy in the 35-39 AG, but if the more elite guys miss enough races, I might be able to hang in there with a few more decent runs.

At the very least, I'm going to run another Circuit 5K this coming weekend and then reassess. Beyond that, I'm a man without a plan and I'm getting by on a diet of lite mileage and former marathon fitness.

2013 Boston Marathon

After a month of thinking about what that happened at the Boston Marathon, and after being lazy about posting... I'm finally updating Coursing.

Unfortunately, the actual race itself became of little importance due to the events that directly followed the marathon... or interrupted the marathon for many people.

Regarding what followed the race, I still struggle with what to say. Unless you live in a cave or you're reading this years from now, you are fully aware that the 2013 Boston Marathon was bombed. Literally. Two bombs went off, both right near the finish line. Seconds apart. Three people died on the scene, and something like almost 200 people wound up in the hospital, including a huge number of amputees.

It was a disgusting act that left America and the sport dumbfounded. What should've been a day of joy, celebration, competition, and holiday in Boston turned into a nightmare scene straight out of Hollywood. Fortunately, it could've been a lot worse all around. And for myself, I had long finished the race and was a few miles away from the finish line when it occurred.

The days that followed where a complete circus act, very similar to watching OJ Simpson drive down the highway. The city went on lockdown and law enforcement went on a manhunt for two suspects. A few more people died. Emotions were high. Every media outlet in the country thrived on it, and was fixated with each and every waking moment.

Finally, with the killing of one suspect and capture of another, things have calmed down. There are still dribbles of news every now and then, but for the most part, this cowardly act is fading away. Who knows, maybe they'll come out with a made-for-TV movie on it someday? For many of us though, this won't be something that we are going to forget for a long time.

I'll never forget hearing the huge "BA-BOOOOM!" that the two blasts made. I heard them from Cambridge.

I'll never forget watching the chaos unfold on TV, only a few minutes later, knowing that I was only a few miles away and that I was just at the scene. This sort of thing happens every day in random places all over the world. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised that it could happened in our own country? Either way, to actually be that close to a bombing leaves you emotional and jumpy, to say the least... even after 26.2 miles.

I'll never forget a casual conversation with another marathon finisher while walking through the Boston Commons. Both of us jokingly said, "I survived the race". About 10 minutes later, the bombs went off.

I'll never forget that 2 days before the race, on Saturday, a handful of teammates and I climbed through the scaffolding, directly in front of Marathon Sports on Boylston St, right at the finish line. This was exactly the scaffolding that was blown to smithereens and killed and mangled people 48 hours later. We climbed on it like monkey bars. We laughed and had fun the whole way. We then took a photo in front of the finish line, and moved on.

And lastly, I'll never forget my conversation with a women at the airport, while I waited to board the plane back to Chicago. She was in the final steps of her race when the blasts went off. She was 26.1 miles deep, and physically stuck on the course between both blasts. Exhausted, tired, dehydrated, delirious... and now nearly killed. Not knowing how else to respond, she crossed the finish line and found safety. She was physically unharmed, but I can only imagine the horror that she experienced.

It is absolutely horrible that such an innocent and pure event like that was soiled. The most famous race in the world was victimized, much like the Olympics and some other sports in the past. For runners, this was especially disheartening. Our Mecca, our Vatican, our place of homage was tarnished. Again, we can only be fortunate that more people weren't injured or killed.

Everyone has their own stories of the 2013 Boston Marathon. Alas, all the things I mentioned above took center stage away from what was a great race for many of us. Unfortunately, time has passed and I never really had the chance to fully reflect upon my own race. I haven't really embraced or celebrated the accomplishment. I wound up running my second fastest marathon to date, a mere 9 seconds away from a PR and 23 seconds away from cracking below 2:38. It might have actually been one of my best marathons yet, given how strategic Boston can be.

Here are some very brief memories and thoughts from the race itself aside from the bombing:

I spent the night before the race in Hopkinton area with Jason Kedzuch. What was supposed to be logistically easy, nearly turned into a pre-race nightmare as our shuttle driver got lost. Luckily, we made it to the start with a little time to spare and found our teammates.

Weather on Patriot's Day was nearly perfect. It was sunny and in the 50's. We had a touch of headwind, which increased as we got closer to the coast.

I ran most of the race literally stride for stride, with teammate Scott Laumann.

Scott and I tackled the course by going easy on the early down hills, averaging 6:13's for the first 3 miles. We blazed the 4 through 16 miles at an average of 5:55.8... (I recall constantly thinking "Wow this is really fast", and minutes later thinking "Wow, this is going so smooth and easy"). We battled the uphills in 17 through 21 with 6:13 avg's. At that point, Scott and I separated.

I stayed conservative on the sharp downhills of 22 and 23, then threw everything I had at the last 3 miles. My final 5.2 miles, which were in an increasing headwind at that point, averaged 6:02.9.

In a perfectly executed race, the goal was to go through the half at about 1:18:40 (we were 1 whopping second fast!), and then come back in whatever possible to get sub 2:38:00. I recognized that a negative split would've been very difficult or impossible for me with that strategy... and hence stuck to an even-effort plan.

I ran 2:38:23.

Looking back, everything felt very smooth and very fast. At no point, did I feel like I was out of control or bonking. I was truly all-in from mile 4 though 26.2... even those late miles. I don't think it would've been wise for me to have gone any faster at any point in those 22 miles. The uphills took a lot out of me, and the late downhills were taxing and begged to break me (hence, I didn't roll 5:45's on them)... The late headwinds probably took a little away from me in the final miles that I didn't expect. Mile 25 had a nasty uphill/over pass that hurt but I still pushed on it. I was sub-6 pace in the last 2.2K.

The only place I could have possibly squeaked out any time would've been in the first 5K. Scott and I started the race incredibly conservative... Hell, that first mile was 6:23! Coming out of Hopkinton is basically a fall-down-hill mile. That 5K was so slow that when we finally picked it up, we easily had a thousand runners in front of us at the 3 mi split. We did this to save our legs, and maybe that helped in the end? In hind sight though, it would've been worth the risk to go out slightly faster so that I had a chance at a sub-2:38.

Otherwise, I ran the highly strategic course as perfectly as I think I could've. And for that, I'm extremely proud of my Boston Marathon. On any other course, I would've had a huge PR race

It was a great experience and help to tackle all those miles along with Scott, and I couldn't have done it without him. Likewise, I couldn't have made it through all of my winter training without my TTAU teammates. A big thanks to my host for the weekend, Jason Kedzuch (he and Dawn made me feel at home, and kept me safe in Somerville). I only wish Sarah could've been there with me (she was sick at the time, back in Chicago).

I put a ton of split info below, but I think it's worthy of looking at to see how special this race was. Given the volatile course and an even effort, it was a near perfect performance in a Boston Marathon that will never be forgotten.

K's - Splits - Laps - Avg Per Mile

5- 0:19:18 - 0:19:18 - 0:06:12.6

10- 0:37:45 - 0:18:27 - 0:05:56.2

15- 0:56:14 - 0:18:29 - 0:05:56.9

20- 1:14:38 - 0:18:24 - 0:05:55.3

25- 1:33:02 - 0:18:24 - 0:05:55.3

30- 1:52:01 - 0:18:59 - 0:06:06.5

35- 2:11:19 - 0:19:18 - 0:06:12.6

40- 2:30:07 - 0:18:48 - 0:06:03.0

42.195- 2:38:23 - 0:08:16 - 0:05:59.5

1st Half- 1:18:39 -- 0:05:59.9

2nd Half- 1:19:44 -- 0:06:04.9

TOTAL 26.22- 2:38:23 -- 0:06:02.4

Mile- Split

1- 6:23.1

2- 6:11.7

3- 6:05.1

4- 5:59.0

5- 5:59.0 (30:37.9)

6- 5:51.0

7- 5:57.0

8- 5:59.0

9- 5:57.2

10- 5:52.5 (1:00.10)

11- 5:55.3

12- 5:52.9

13- 5:56.7 (split- 1:18:39)

14- 5:53.9

15- 5:58.6 (1:29:52)

16- 5:53.1

17- 6:10.1

18- 6:11.7

19- 6:01.8

20- 6:16.5 (2:00:25)

21- 6:24.9

22- 5:59.6

23- 6:06.3

24- 5:59.3

25- 6:07.4 (2:31.0)

26- 6:02.0

.219- 1:17.9

26.219- 2:38:23

2nd Chicagoan

3rd Illinois

216 Male

235 Overall

The road to Boston goes through Chicago

I gotta say, I've been nervous about my training recently. I suppose this isn't much different than any other marathon journey, but the fact that was I sick early on, then crammed my miles, I haven't had stellar tempos, and my 400s workout was even a touch slower than pre-Philly... all in, a lack of solid confidence boosters have left me a little amiss on what to expect in Boston.

Then came along the Shamrock Shuffle. One of my all time favorite races, and conveniently a prefect tune of for Boston this year. I'm still not gonna stick my neck out and say I now KNOW I can run something specific in the marathon... However, after crushing the 8K and PR'ing a key race, I can now say with confidence that I'm ready to give it a go. If all things line up properly, I can have a great marathon and potentially target a PR.

That being said, the Shamrock Shuffle was my rehearsal for things to come on Monday. Here's how it played out:

The weather was fairly typical for this time of year, in Chicago. Temps were around 50ish, which was comfortable. Winds were annoying, but at least they only effected the first few miles of the race.

Prior to the start, organizers decided to mess with the competition and do a staged elite start. This sucked, in my opinion. The elite field had slightly over 2 minutes lead on the masses. It was especially odd because a good number of us were faster than numerous "elite" runners, especially when you consider the women that started early too. (Sorry ladies, nothing against you, it just wasn't right to have staggered start and force some blood thirsty wolves to chase you down and turn you into road kill). Ultimately this just changed the whole competitive dynamic of the race. It placed a bunch of people with targets on their backs in front of us, and also limited the true competition of the race since we weren't allowed to run with people of our own caliber. Due to this timing lag, it made a mess of things a few miles in, as we smashed into the back of others.

Anyhoo, so elites went off, then the masses started 2 minutes later. Mile 1 was jockeying as usual. Clowns all around going out too fast, I tried not to get caught up in the mix. I mostly ran next to or off the shoulder of teammate, Scott Laumann. Nearby was another teammate, Verdo Gregory and running pal, Kevin Granato. Fortunately, the buildings shielded us from some headwinds for about half of that first mile. The other half, we were at the whim of some nasty gusts. Scott and I went through the marker at about 5:28. A very nice start to what I was hoping be a sub-27 race. (I actually wasn't even thinking about PR'ing at mile 1).

After the first mile, the field began to shake up a bit. We started to pick it up a touch once we got a little wind at the back. It was actually kind of cool... the four of us and a handful of others wound up leading the race of the 30,000+ masses. After another half mile, Scott took the lead and pulled a touch in front, Verdo followed. I was left with Kevin and the few other randoms scattered farther up from all of us. Everyone else fell off. We also started slamming into the back of the elite women. We blazed that second mile at 5:12.9. I just remember thinking, "Holy shit!" But it didn't actually feel that bad since we went out easier. Sick.

Mile 3 was a bitch. We turned from State Street onto Jackson and directly into a nasty head wind. Scott and Verdo did their thing, though not necessarily working together. Kevin and I stayed about 5 meters off, and we traded the lead a few times. I'd like to say that he and I were working together, but quite honestly, Kevin did most of the work into the wind. We continued to fly by the women's elite field. V fell slightly behind us. Scott gapped us... maybe 10-15 meters up now.

Looking back at it, this was very wise of me. I stayed patient, and calm... unlike other times where I try to gun it into the wind. Here, Kevin took a brunt of the blow for me. (Apparently, this is a common racing strategy?) We went nearly the fully mile into that shit. Once we turned the next corner and out of the wind, the hard part was done. Passed mile 3 at 5:27.5... though the effort was much higher than that.

Losing the wind was like a sling shot for me. I immediately dropped Kevin and Verdo. Likewise, I kept waiting for Scott to throw down and gap me even more. We kept passing women. I just hung on for dear life. My strategy became to not let Scott gap me. Then I realized I was actually gaining on him. When I saw that, I rolled whatever I could to catch him. It took that whole mile, but I finally closed it. Another blaze: 5:17.5.

I had huge momentum at this point. But the problem with the Shamrock is hanging onto that momentum. Mile 5 can be cruel and suck it out of you. Tail winds can become headwinds. You got a hill. It's a mess. I still hung on for dear life. I now had a few meters on Scott, but I felt him pushing me.

Roosevelt would be the test: If I could successfully make it up that hill without dying, then I might have a chance to PR. Once again, I played it smart. I conserved instead of hammered all in up the hill. Nobody passed me. In fact, I kept waiting for Scott and Verdo to play me for the fool. Then turned onto Columbus and I pulled the trigger. 400 meters to the finish. I passed a scattered handful of guys, guessing from the elite field. Still waiting for a challenge from behind, but it never happened. A blistering 5:09.4.

All in: 26:35.7

Scott followed a few seconds later, then Verdo and Kevin about 10 seconds back. I didn't realize it until just now... but the results show that I placed 4th out of the masses. Let's say that again so it sets in, remove the elite field that had over a 2 minute advantage on of us, and I placed 4th in a field of 33,000 runners. The winner was a mere 6 seconds in front of me.... and there lies a nasty rub... I had no clue that only 3 guys, which were very very close in front of me, started with the masses. Had I known, I might've been able to do something about it in the last half mile. Regardless, absolutely incredible.

It's days later and I'm still jacked about this. My best race in a year (potentially one of my best ever), 11 second a PR, I negative split by about 10 seconds, 4th age group, 4th in the race of the masses.

Fuckin bring it, Boston!

Split recap

1- 5:28:4

2- 5:12.9

3- 5:27.5

4- 5:17.5

5- 5:09.4

= 26:35.7 / 5:21.2 avg