Chicago Marathon Expo 2013 in Pictures

Today I attended the Chicago Marathon Expo with my new teammates from the Bootleg Runners Coalition. Warning! Lots of pictures with people in yellow t-shirts follow!

I bumped into Erin, and her daughter Alice at the Roosevelt Road Red Line station. After Annabelle arrived, we met the rest of the BRC at the Bongo Room in the South Loop. Besides getting breakfast, I got to meet the team and try on my cool team t-shirt.

BRC waiting for breakfast

Outside the Bongo Room after breakfast

I got a ride to the expo from some of the BRC members and once we got there, we picked up our race packets. Then we all donned our BRC t-shirts for a group photo:

 BRC

Our group hit the expo stores and the running apparel purchases were fast and furious. The lines at the Nike apparel store were massive, but we all actually moved pretty quickly.

Long lines to checkout at the Nike apparel area

I snagged a couple of "pace tats" (3:10 and 3:20) from the official marathon pace booth (without registering for a pace group, shhh!)  

A true "bootlegger" with his haul

We went over to the Runner's World booth and got a pic with Bart Yasso of Yasso 800s fame.

Bart Yasso and the BRC (source)

We wandered around for a few minutes, and then we saw Sara who was working at a booth! I hadn't seen her since the Rock n' Roll Half in July, so it was nice to catch up with her for a few minutes.

Surprise it's Sara!

Then Erica appeared and we got a big happy group photo!

Erica (in pink) 

It was finally time for me to get off of my feet, so I left with Ken, Erin and Alice. We walked all the way back to the Red Line. On our way there actually walked approximately the last 1.5 miles of the marathon on Michigan Ave. Instead of turning east up Mt. Roosevelt to Grant Park (finish line), we instead turned west to the Red Line.

This was the best expo ever. Now, all I need to do is to rest tomorrow after my 3 mile shakeout run. It's almost here.

Good luck to everyone running/volunteering and spectating on Sunday!

Chicago Marathon 2013 Training: A Recap in Pictures

It seems like a lifetime ago (instead of just nine weeks) that I was wondering whether I would get out of injury jail safely or not. Well, here I am nine weeks later, practically injury-free and about to run my third Chicago Marathon. Since my previous post summarized my training in numbers, I thought I would take attempt to recap my journey in pictures.

Week #1
It all started the week of August 11th with seven short runs, followed by a 10 miler by the lake:

Made it to the lake and back in mid August for my first "long" run!

Week #2
Another handful of runs this week, each a little bit longer than the previous week, including this awesome run:

Fleet Feet Pint Night Run #2

Week #3
I got in my first track workout of the marathon cycle. I actually only did my traditional half marathon interval workout that day, but baby steps were in order.

At the newly renovated NPU track for my first track workout

Week #4
September got off to a rough start with a miserable, humid run by the lake. To top things off my Garmin also deleted the run data after I was finished.

Wurst Run Ever

Week #5
I ran my first 16 miler solo this week. However, as I was running it, I bumped into another runner who was doing his 16 miler as well.

Me and Declan

Week #6
Besides getting my profile in the Chicago Tribune's marathon section this week, I ran a refreshing 18.5 miles in two separate runs on a rainy Sunday.

Best run(s) ever!

I also got to run in my only "tune-up" race of this cycle: The Oktoberfest 5k. Afterwards I got to and hang out with the Wurst Running Club Ever.

Oktoberfest 5k (src)

Week #7
My second and final 16 miler took place this week and this time I ran the entire distance with Declan. We knocked out the run in a little over 2 hours. 'Twas a great day for run by the lake.

Second 16 Mile Run 

Week #8
My mileage started to drop this week for my taper, but my speed increased. I ran an 11 miler at just over 7:00/mile on a beautiful Sunday morning.

Another perfect day for a run in paradise

Taper Week:
The final week before the marathon began with an eight miler at an easy pace with Declan and Annabelle. As cool kids do, we color coordinated our outfits:

Lookin' good in blue!

Summary:
So, there you have it, a depiction of my marathon journey. Speaking of journeys, I think I heard a wise man once say that "it's not the destination, but the journey." Allow me to spin it my way Mr. Wise Man: "The marathon finish line is one awesome destination, but the journey getting there ain't too bad either." Don't stop believin'.

Chicago Marathon 2013 Training: A Recap in Numbers

Now that I'm in the midst of my easy training week before the 2013 Chicago Marathon, I thought I'd look back on my eight weeks of marathon training with some stats:

Chicago Marathon Training Stats (8 weeks):
Number of days in training cycle:	56
Number of days run:	56
Number of training runs:	82
Average weekly run count:	10
Number of 16 mile long runs completed:	2
Number of "tune-up" races:	1
Number of strength workouts:	28
Number of yoga sessions:	11

Now for some graphs....

Average pace was 7:54/mile over the eight weeks.

Average mileage was 44/week over the eight weeks

Analysis: So, how does this all this training mileage translate into a marathon finish time? Well, I made this handy chart which shows my weekly mileage training for my previous marathons and the corresponding finish times based on those numbers:

Previous average training mileage in relation to my marathon finish time

Last year my average pace in the last 3 weeks of training was a 7:55. This year my average pace over the last 3 weeks of training was 7:32. This probably means I am a little more fit than last year.

Prediction: If all goes to plan and the weather is nice, a sub-3:10:40 (sub-7:15/mile) will be mine! :).

Caveat: The weather was near perfect for the 2012 Chicago Marathon, so if the temps are a few degrees too hot on Sunday, I will drop the yellow line down a level and be happy with a 3:11 (BQ -14) to 3:23 (BQ -2).

Running Streak: BTW, my running streak will end this week (Thursday) at 60 days. It was nice knowing ya Mr. 60-Day Streak, but I need a couple of days of complete recovery before Sunday!

Conclusion: Numbers are nice, but all of this analysis could all go out the window if race day is hot, or I start off too fast like a usually do. We shall see...

Chicago Marathon Training: Week #8

Fast Start

On Sunday, my final Chicago Marathon training week (#8) got off to a fast start. I was still recovering from my final long run last weekend, so the plan was to run 11 miles and then add three miles of recovery later in the afternoon.  It was nice and cool at 7:30 am when I hit the road down to the Lakefront Trail. After a one mile warm-up, I decided to see if I could hold a sub-marathon pace for the entire run. 

 

Runnin' by the lake

I ran about a 7:00/mile average pace for the next 10 miles, which felt fantastic and was not a struggle at all. If the weather was a tad cooler that day, I might have opened up the speed a little more.  However, it shows a little discipline that I didn't get overly aggressive on this long run, which kinda goes against my nature. This slow start long run shows me that that is how I run best: negative splits. I would like my marathon split regression line to have the same general slope as the one that went through this run:

Regression line sloping from left to right = good!

Total Miles: 11 @ 7:07/mile.
3 Mile recovery later in the day.

Track Work Thursday:
I was really cautious going into this track session. I had been running fast all week, so I felt that doing the Hanson prescribed six miles at 10 seconds below marathon pace was too much and might be tempting "injury fate". So I decided to just do four, but do my warm-ups and cool-downs a little faster.

At the track between my intervals

My splits:

1.75 mile warm-up
2 miles at 6:28, .25 mile recovery
1 miles at 6:18, .25 mile recovery
1 mile at 6:15
1.75 mile cool-down

Okay, these splits were substantially below my marathon pace. I guess I can't help but run too fast when I hop on the track. That's just how I train: Too fast. I am just thankful that I had the forethought to step away after four miles and not to push myself too too hard.

Summary

I matched my second highest training mileage of this cycle and my taper finally starts. I am running faster than I ever thought I would after just eight weeks. Next week, I am just going to run slowly and put in around 25 miles. If the weather is cool next Sunday, I should at least be able to get a course PR sub 3:10 marathon.

Stay tuned for my next post when I summarize my training and make a final marathon pace prediction!

Week #8 Total: 53 miles
Average Pace: 7:20
Other Training: 4 strength workouts and 2 yoga sessions

Eight weeks down, one to go!

How Not to "Pace" a Marathon in Three Simple Graphs

As the 2013 Chicago Marathon approaches, I am thinking quite a bit about my marathon pace. After running a 5k a couple of weeks ago, I was able to use the McMillan calculator to determine that my marathon pace should be about 7:13/mile, which if I run the tangents correctly, should get me a course PR (sub-3:10). Lots of coaches say that even pacing is the best way to run a marathon. However, I seem to run the fastest when I run the second half of the race faster than the first (i.e. negative splits). So, it would seem that for me to run my best on marathon day, I need to run either even or negative splits. However, looking over graphs of my paces for three of my past marathons, I have done quite the opposite. Take a look at my average mile pace for each 5k split in the following marathons:

Whoa, this one was bad. What I wouldn't have given that day
to swap the pace of the first 5k with the pace for last 5k!

When your legs aren't ready for 26.2, and you run way too fast early on,
then you'll end up walking it in (if you're lucky)!

Okay, this one isn't too bad (it was a course pr), but I wish I could
have swapped out those 7:05s for 7:17s. I might have been faster overall.

My speedy marathon starts are usually the result of early race adrenaline and being overly aggressive (i.e. not targeting a realistic race pace). The downside of running those big positive splits (besides losing gobs of time) is that the last few miles are a painful struggle and in a couple of cases, simply a death march. I have to walk and watch lots better-paced runners fly by me after I've hit the wall near the end of the race. If only I had adjusted my mile paces upward by 20 seconds in each of these three races, I could have put off "the wall" a little later or maybe entirely.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that I need to take it way easy for the first few miles of the Chicago Marathon on October 13th. I want the graphs to have a slope line going from the upper left to lower right, or just plain flat, rather than the other way around. We shall see...

Chicago Marathon Training: Week #7

Fun Start

Training week #7 got off to a fun start as I got to run with Declan. We were both doing our final long run in the Hanson Brooks training plan, which is 16 miles.  We met at the northern terminus of the Lakefront Trail on Sunday morning for a run that was to take us all the way to and around Navy Pier and back. It was a beautiful day for a lakefront run: Sunny and upper 40s to start.

Heading south

At the turnaround at Navy Pier

We were supposed to run about 7:45/mile but ended up running a pace more like 7:35. Time flew by as we chatted about pressing world issues. We knocked the run down in just over 2 hours.  Since we are pretty evenly paced, I hope to run with Declan for most if not all of the Chicago Marathon.

The 16 Miler on the map

Total Miles: 16.00 @ 7:35 

Tuesday: I went for a run on the Chicago River North Branch Trail and came across the set of the NBC tv show Crisis which stars Gillian Anderson and Dermot Mulroney:

On the set of "Crisis" note the trailers on the bridge

Wednesday:

Six mile morning run along the North Branch of the Chicago River

Near Lincoln Ave. and the Chicago River on the River Trail

Followed by 2.5 miles later around Welles Park.

Track Work Thursday (a.m.):

This was such an effortless track session it almost made me reconsider my marathon goal pace:

My splits:
1.5 mile warm-up
3 miles at 6:52, .15 mile recovery
2 miles at 6:35, .20 mile recovery
1 mile at 6:25
1.75 mile cool-down

My feet were just gliding over the track for most of the workout. I was barely exerting a strong effort. During one of my recoveries, a guy who had previously tried to keep pace with me during one of my mile intervals, asked me if I was doing 7:30/miles. I told him more like 6:30s and I think I amazed him. I am trying not to get too excited about this workout as a lot can happen on marathon day, so I think I will stick to my 3:10 marathon goal for now.

2.2 mile recovery at lunch.

Summary

I matched my highest training mileage of this cycle and my taper starts in just a few days. I could pull the plug on my training now and feel confident that I could at least go for a 3:15 marathon. If I can sharpen correctly in the next two weeks, I should be able to get that sub 3:10 marathon, which would be a course PR.

Week #7 Total: 60 miles
Average Pace: 7:32
Other Training: 4 strength workouts and 1 yoga session

Seven weeks down, two to go!

Chicago Marathon Training: Week #6

Rainy Start

Running in hot, humid weather is never fun, but on Sunday I finally caught a break and ran in the rain and it was fantastic. It was a tremendous feeling to be able to run and get the cooling effect from the rain. It reminded me of the conditions I ran my marathon PR in. On my way back from Oak Street Beach, I stopped off at Fleet Feet in Old Town to pick up my race packet for my 5k on Thursday. Also, on my way back my Garmin battery gave out at mile 10 and I decided that I needed to order a new GPS when I got home. It will take me longer than one hour to run a marathon, which is how long a charge it holds.

At my turnaround near Oak Street Beach in the rain

Total Miles: 13.58 @ 7:45 + 5 mile recovery later that afternoon

Tuesday: My profile was in the Chicago Tribune's marathon section:

Track Work Thursday:

Oktoberfest 5k.  This was my track work for the week. It isn't the typical six miles, but the effort was greater, and I ran faster, so I'll take it.

Near the finish of the Oktoberfest 5k (src)

3.14 miles @ 6:20/mile.

Friday: New Garmin 310xt arrived. I like that it can upolad data to my computer wirelessly, has a longer battery life and seems to acquire satellites much faster. Oh yeah, and it's slightly smaller.

Left: My old Garmin 305 with a white eraser for a button
Right: My new Garmin 310xt

Summary

This was likely my highest training mileage of this cycle as my taper starts in just 1.5 weeks and the marathon is 1.5 weeks after that. I am feeling really good right now. Just have to keep this going for a little bit longer!

Week #6 Total: 60.3 miles
Average Pace: 7:43
Other Training: 4 strength workouts and 1 yoga session

Six weeks down, three to go!

St. Michael Oktoberfest 5k: Race Recap

This was the first race that the entire Wurst Running Club Ever participated in. Even Declan who is crushing his marathon workouts and took a pass on the 5k, showed up with his entire family to cheer us on.

Pre Race:
I left my house at 5:30pm and after a quick 20 minute drive, found a spot about 1/2 mile north of the start line along Stockton.  After I picked up my t-shirt, we all stood around and chatted for about 20 minutes then I checked my backpack. Then I did about a two minute warm-up in the soupy humid air and started getting hot so I decided to cut my warm-up short. I jumped in near the front of the pack in the start corral. After the U.S. national anthem, and a german themed costume contest, the gun sounded.

Before I go over how I did, here's a photo dump of the evening:

Anne giving the thumbs up!

Some of the WRCE gang pre-race in our "dirndls" (picture taken by a giant Red Eye box)

Mo at the finish line doing her patented
 "Mo Bot" as her fans go crazy (sorry about the blur, the finish line was in the dark)

The Red Eye Box near the finish. He took the WRCE group picture above.
 Man, he must have been hot and sweaty!

Mo showing off her cool "Run for Beer" headband

Erin and Anne near the finish (again it was dark)

Declan with the Wurst Running Sign Ever. Way to spell. "WURS"?

Declan and the happiest kid on earth!

Chillng post race with free Oktoberfest beer and food at Rocco Ranalli.
That's Eric and Jennifer on the right.

The Race:

I wanted to use this race as a marathon pace predictor for the Chicago Marathon, which is in three weeks. However, there were some factors that would potentially slow me down. First of all, it was going to be hot and muggy as the forecast was for 88 degrees at 6pm. On top of that Eric informed me that the paths were full of rain water and mud. On top of that, I had not tapered at all for this race. This was my second run of the day and I have been doing double runs every single day this week (hey, I'm training for a marathon). So, obviously these things would likely prevent me for going super fast.

Mile 1: Everyone in the front pack shot off fast. I glanced at my watch and we were going at a 5:45/mile pace the first 300 yards. Erin's husband took my picture and Erica, who was running just behind me sidled up to me and asked me what I thought my race pace was, and I said I didn't know, since I was training for a marathon. I then told her I guessed about a 6:05 pace. She said that would be a PR pace for her so she wished me luck, and I sped forward. I set my sights on just trying not to overdo it in mile one. We came upon quite a few large puddles and I had to swerve around them and other runners who were running just to the side of the water. Hey, at least the wind was to our backs. 6:18/mile.

Mile 2: This is where I started to get over-heated and my shirt was getting soaked. We swerved around a couple more puddles before the turnaround and then headed back south. The wind was in our faces now, but provided little relief. Some runners ahead of me went OVER Fullerton instead of under it. There wasn't anyone at the split in the path to direct them. I think they were mad.  6:21/mile.

Mile 3: At this point I was just trying to hang on. The heat, my tired legs, and my soaked dirndl shirt were all dragging me down. Luckily Declan and his family were there to provide cheers of support. A couple of random girls told me they liked my "halter top" shirt. 6:26/mile.

Pic that Declan's wife got of me just before the finish (source)

Mile 3.1 I could see the finish line clock up ahead as it was nearing 20:00, so I used up what little fumes I had left and sprinted passed the finish line just so I could finish sub-20.  5:31/mile.

Stats:
Official Time: 19:54
Official Pace: 6:25
Overall Place: 16/501
Age Group Place: n/a (race does not have age groups)

Analysis:
As far as a pace predictor, a 19:54 5k translates to a 3:10:45 marathon.

I think that a 3:10:45 is attainable for me. That is, if the weather conditions are cool on race day and my marathon training continues on the trajectory it is on. Coincidentally, I ran a 3:10:40 at last year's Chicago Marathon. So that would be wild if I ran the same exact time as last year! Of course, there are lots of variables to factor in, but I do actually feel that I am at least as good as shape as I was at this time last year. I will make a final pace decision in the next couple of weeks, but this gives me a good indication of what fitness level I have now.

Conclusion:  A fun race, even if the conditions weren't ideal. Nice after party with free beer and food. I am happy with the progress I'm making with my marathon training and this race validated that I am at a good spot right now.