Matt Aaronson Chicago Marathon 2014 - 4:10 PR!!
I'll do a much shorter report than normal (and submitted only 4 hours after the race ended!!). All the context is in other posts, i.e. the highlights of the training build, my pacing strategy (which I thought about a LOT), etc. Key posts:
- All the context: http://members.endurancenation.us/F...fault.aspx
- The pacing debate (mostly with myself!): http://members.endurancenation.us/F...fault.aspx
- Garmin file of today's marathon run: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/611162125
RACE REPORT:
Chip time 2:53:37 (official pace 6:37/mi). Result is a 4:10
PR in my second marathon!
With wind from the SE and little to lose, goal-wise, my
strategy was to start out pretty hard (i.e. aggressive but not out of control) and
see what I had on the day. A positive split was expected, the only question was
if the wheels would stay on. Training suggested that sub-2:55 was a good target
although the aggressive strategy by definition put that into question.
Started
at a good pace and quickly got HR up to high 160's although didn't feel fully settled
in until the about mile 7 as the course started to turn back south into the
wind. Got in with a good group of ~10 people that was targeting 2:50, knowing I
wouldn't be able to stick with them but that using them for wind-blocking was
probably worth it and would gain me some time and hopefully not result in too
many burnt matches. HR actually backed off into the mid 160's and I started to
feel very good and in a good groove.
At the half split I was at 1:25:00 which is exactly equal to my PR from Rock 'n Roll Vegas last November. I was still feeling
good although the group had pulled ahead a bit and I didn't want to burn matches bridging. That might have been a mistake in retrospect because the course turned east
after mile 15 once the group was well ahead just as the
course turned into a headwind. I was still feeling ok although mile 16 was 10
sec off the prior pace.
At that point the combination of wind and overall
fatigue started to manifest and pace slipped into the high 6:40's. My upper left
quad started to tighten and I started to worry about a cramp coming on. I
shortened my stride and kept my cadence up, but pace was slipping, muscles were
very fatigued and I just couldn't run faster. The headwind was a constant. HR
was actually coming down as I had plenty of cardio capacity but muscles were
just getting too fatigued. I was not in any "dark place" but my legs were just REALLY tired. Pace continued to slide and miles 21 and 24 were
actually slower than 7:00/mi (mile 24 was 7:08 including about half of that
mile with a tailwind). Miles 22/23 averaged 6:52 which I knew was 3-hour pace.
At this point my HR was down into the high 150's but I just couldn't speed up. However,
by then I knew 2:55 was pretty well assured short of a disaster.
I really tried
to both lengthen and quicken my stride in the last couple of miles and was
somewhat successful in elevating my HR back to the high-160's and speeding up (with
a tailwind finally!) as I recorded 6:29 for mile 25. My attempt to "empty
the tank" resulted in 6:36 for mile 26 although 400m was uphill to the
finish chute where I ran 6:37 pace to the line. Calves were on the verge of
cramping in the last mile and that was a limiter. Immediately after the race I was really stiff and hobbling so I know I really pushed my muscles to their limit. Now, 4 hours later, I am very stiff and sore already. Tomorrow will be interesting (I better leave early for my flight because running through the airport isn't going to happen...).
Overall I think my strategy
worked okay and although it was a big positive split the wheels didn't totally come
off and I finished reasonably strong. Given the wind direction I'm not sure
that an even split strategy would have given me much more time at all today. So
very pleased with the effort and result!!
Official splits were:
5k - 19.46 (5k in 19:46, 6:22/mi)
10k - 40:00 (5k in 20:14, 6:31/mi)
15k - 1:00:19 (5k in 20:19, 6:33/mi)
20k - 1:20:43 (5k in 20:24, 6:34/mi)
25k - 1:40:46 (5k in 20:03, 6:27/mi)
30k
- 2:01:33 (5k in 20:47, 6:42/mi)
35k - 2:22:55 (5k in 21:22, 6:52/mi)...tough
40k - 2:44:23 (5k in 21:28, 6:55/mi)...a bit less tough but VERY frustrating...
Half marathon - 1:25:00 (6:29 pace for the first half...second half was 1:28:37 (6:46 pace), more like a training run pace but felt a lot harder!!!)
Nutrition was simple:
- Big Saturday lunch of homemade paella with some EN-ers at my house (Brenda and Steve Ross, Brent Pilon, David Salzman, Rachel Hawe and my Dad)
- Small dinner (that was larger than intended!!) of leftover paella and bread with Nutella (i.e. sugar)
- Woke up but wasn't too hungry. Ate half a Clif bar at 6am before the 7:30am start. Drank 4 espressos.
- 3 clif Shot Bloks at 7:15am before getting into the start corral
- 3 Gu Roctane during the run. Approx miles 6, 12 and 17
- Drank only water on course...no Gatorade
Some screwy HR data during the race too...annoying...only happens on race day, right??
Cheers,
Matt
Comments
Good luck with that flight.
Was the RnR LV you referred to a full? I thought you had done Chicago Last year??
How much wind was there on this day? had some wind in NY last year, but I only felt it was a factor in a few places on the course, wondering if the Chicago course is more exposed.
Hope the days after hurt isn't too bad!
Two thumbs up...
That is truly incredible!! Way to go!!