Chicago Marathon was today. Felt kinda weird, considering this was supposed to be an "A" race for me, but in the end I'm really REALLY happy that I didn't run the whole thing.... I wasn't even tempted.
Weather was a heater once again. Like the 4 out of 5 years now! Can they just get the hint, and change the date or start time already?? Ugh.
Start was at 7:30, already in the low-60's and a little stuffy, but it heated up real quick. It wasn't too bad while I was running, but definitely too uncomfortable to have gone the distance. By 10:00, it was easily 80+ with a killer sun.
Right from the onset, my goal was to run the first half of the race (and nothing more) at approx marathon goal pace.... ~6:00/mi. I did just that.
It was a little annoying through the first several miles, because my legs just refused to loosen up and get a comfortable stride. The thought had actually crossed my mind to bail at about 4-4.5 miles. It was too much work and it was only gonna get hotter. Jason and I hung together through about 6 miles. Fortunately, then I had started to ease into my stride and finally feel decent. I picked it up slightly and plugged away though the half. (It was quite easy to see other runners starting to fade into the heat too. It was clearly gonna be a shit show for people going the distance).
I love the first half of the Chicago Marathon!.... One of my favorite parts of any race, as the crowds are chalk thick, and the course snakes its way through the concrete canyons in the Loop, then all the northside neighborhoods, and back down through the loop again. It was all that much more fun having a number of friends at several spots along those miles.
A fun run, great workout, and perfect execution... Once I loosened up, I felt totally fresh and comfortable too. That leaves me in a great spot for my training over the next few weeks.
Congrats to all those who raced and gutted it out, in spite of it being yet another shit show of a Chicago Marathon.
Split recap:
1- 5:55.6
2- 5:59.6
3- 6:02.0
4- 6:00.9
5- 6:03.2
6- 6:01.8
7- 5:51.8
8- 6:05.2
9- 6:02.2
10- 5:59.7
11- 5:48.2
12- 5:55.2
13- 5:51.2
.1- 0:37.7
Total- 1:18:14 / Avg- 5:58.1
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