Chicago Marathon 2013 & Start of Injury

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

One final spin of the wheels

Yesterday, I was feeling spent and flat. Today... today is a new day.

I did a variation of Bill Leach's pre-marathon workout tonight as my final bit of speed:

1x 400 @ "mile pace" (ran 75.8)

1x 1600 @ "all out" (ran 5:00.3... 78,77,74,71)

1x 800 @ "mile pace" (chill at 2:32.5)

1x 800 @ "near all out" (rolled 2:24.1, evenly split)

1x 400 @ "all out" (rolled 66.1 and felt very comfortable)

I'm actually pretty pleased with this workout, considering how crappy I've felt in the last several days.

The mile started very slow. Braulio and Scott took the early lead, so I didn't have control. We also had a collision with a kid in lane 1 on the first lap (that probably cost a second). It finished a little slower than I wanted but I'm actually ok with it, as we ran a huge negative split. Someday I'll get the chance to blow one of these out.

In a weird way, I don't know that I've run a 800 that fast before...? I did a 65 second 400 back in the spring, with a similar workout. Anyway, I felt really smooth and never out of control anywhere in this workout. A full effort, but left me craving more. That's how it should've been run!

I'm completely off tomorrow and Friday. I'll also get a massage tomorrow. Shakeout on Saturday. There might be hope for me after all.

Tick Tock Taper

I'm questioning everything right now. I have no clue what my fitness has in store for me, come Sunday.

I can hang my hat on this: In the 15 weeks leading up to this marathon I will have run 1,068 miles. That includes a few down weeks and a cut back leading into August's vacation.

I've never run that many miles leading into a marathon before.

In the 15 weeks leading up to each sub-2:40, here's what I've done:

'13 Boston: 961 (2:38:23, tough course / near PR)

'12 Philly: 1,002 (2:39:40, the insomnia marathon)

'11 CIM: 877 (2:38:14, PR... spectacular)

'11 Rotterdam: 875 (2:38:46... spectacular)

'10 NYC: 1,006 (2:50/DNF... over trained, blew up)

'10 London: 725 (2:39:53... post-SFX, under trained, still near PR)

'09 Chicago: 987 (2:39:38... spectacular)

The only time I came close to these miles was for NYC in 2010. I pulled the plug on the training early as I was overcome with a calf strain. Without cutting it short, I probably could've squeaked in another 30 miles. I still tried to race it, but then blew up in it. At the time, that was my best fitness. I still wonder if I've actually ever been in that good of shape since then... (Hell, I haven't PRd my half since then).

My taper has me second guessing everything right now. I'm still sitting on 62 miles in the last 7 days (more than usual), and with only 4 more days to go. I'm still sore and achy. This needs to go away ASAP. I'll track it tomorrow night, then flush the system with a massage and few days off. Shake out on Saturday. Maybe that'll do the trick?

I know if I have the rest, I can be fast... I don't know how fast, but there is fitness in me... Will I allow the rest though? Will I get enough?? I can take 2 more days off. To keep my sanity though, I also need to run a few more days... I need the pre-marathon workout and a shakeout. I almost wanna only take 1 day off.

I have 4 days to go.

I feel like a crack addict.... I just need one more hit... The clock ticks loudly. It's starting to consume me.

Fucking taper. Fucking miles of trials and trials of miles.

Peak is in, now what?

I'm definitely feeling the effects of my training. I'm drained. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I'm sore.

I hit a 7 day PR peak of 110 miles about a week and a half ago. That was insane.

My quality has taken a hit as a result of the quantity. My peak is in though. I had 4 out of 5 weeks north of 90 miles, 6 of 8 weeks north of 80 miles.

Here are my most last 2 weeks of workouts:

9/25 - 20x 200 w/ 200 recovery:

- 20x 200's served a purpose and gave me some turn over... and I actually ran them pretty well.

1-5- 36.32 avg

6-10- 35.37 avg

11-15- 34.39 avg

16-20- 33.84 avg

34.98 avg

9/28 - Park Ridge 5K:

- The Park Ridge 5K turned out to be a bust. I gunned for a PR (needed sub 16:16), but I bombed in the final 1/2 mile.... It was spectacular up until that point, and then I just ran out of gas. Clearly that early pace pushed me and I paid for it... or I just didn't have the balls to finish the job (I hope that's the case). The weather was somewhat ideal too. That's my second honest attempt at PR'ing a 5K this year and failing by a matter of seconds.

1- 5:10.2

4- 5:12.8

3- 5:24.3

.1- 34.0

16:21, 5:17 pace

10/1 - 10mi Tempo:

- I then took 2 days off and went for a 10 mile tempo. It wound up being slower than I would've liked. Maybe I turned stale with the 2 day break? I donno, I simply lacked the hunger and ability to push the pace faster in the last couple miles though. I wouldn't have wanted to go any longer. My cool down home was a train wreck.

1- 5:55.8

2- 5:52.7

3- 5:58.1

4- 5:57.8

5- 5:58.0

6- 5:56.1

7- 5:58.0

8- 6:03.9

9- 5:54.1

10- 5:53.5

5:56.8 avg

10/3 - 10x 800 w/ 90 sec recovery:

- Mostly steady and averaged 2:37.4. To my defense, this was on the path and as a rain storm was clearing. It was 100% humidity and felt absolutely disgusting. A far cry from the 8x 800's at 2:32.8 that I had back on 9/5, and certainly not a confidence booster.

After a couple really solid workouts in early/mid September, I feel like this training ended with a thud. I got the volume though and made it though. Maybe too much quantity and not enough quality?? Shit, have I over trained??? And am I fit enough to roll a PR in Chicago? UGH....