October 11th, 2007
Chicago Marathon
I started a new 18 week training cycle on June 1st. I normally do about 75% of my training on a treadmill. This summer I increased it to 95%. It’s just impossible to run in 90 degree heat for more than 5 miles with out dehydrating.
From the outset, I padded my schedule with extra miles, speed, and hill work. In my previous marathon, I finished 12 minutes short of my Boston qualifying time (3:20). I knew by Chicago I wouldn’t be ready for Boston yet, but I believed I could get within striking distance. I set a 3:25 goal.
Just four weeks into my training, I was in top form, running faster than ever. With three training months remaining, I decided Boston might be possible. In July, I switched to a more aggressive training schedule.
By August I was running 70 miles a week. Initially, I thought I would give out physically before completing the cycle. Instead, I began deteriorating mentally. Though running great, my training indicated that even if the planets all lined up (i.e. perfect course, perfect weather, I timed my training to apex perfectly) I would probably have less than a minute to spare in attempting a 3:20. With six weeks of hard training left, I thought about abandoning my 3:20 goal.
I called my Houston running mate, John, to solicit his opinion. He said that my goal was a bit too ambitious, but at this pint, I should try. First, he said that I had made it this far, and that I should finish the cycle. Secondly, he said not to focus on my Boston time until I was standing behind the starting line in Chicago. At this point, my focus should be on finishing my training. It was sagacious advice and helped me complete the cycle.
Two weeks before the race, I believed that I had a better than 50% chance of qualifying for Boston. My pre-race speed workouts were all at record pace (PRs). Ten days out, the weather forecast was perfect (high of 67 degrees). This was in-line with the marathon website that stated the average temperature for race day was 65. However, this quickly changed.
Seven days out, the forecasted morning low was up to 65, and the high to 72. Four days out the forecasted high was in the upper 70s. With just three days remaining another Houston running mate, Jeff, emailed the following forecast:
“Saturday Night-Partly cloudy. Near record breaking warmth likely. Lows in the upper 60s.”
“Sunday -Partly sunny. Near record breaking warmth likely. Highs in the mid 80s.”
Jeff was also concerned, as he was doing Chicago with me. Jeff had previously run a 3:45 marathon, and was hoping to better that by 10 minutes so he could qualify for Boston (over 50 yrs old time requirement).
The night before the marathon, the forecast for gun time was 72, with a high of 87. I now believed my chance for Boston was less than five percent. Nevertheless, I tried to stay positive. “Maybe if it’s cloudy and there’s a strong cross wind.” I told Jeff. He replied, “Go ahead and humor yourself.”
We woke at 6:00 a.m. on race day and immediately turned on the local weather. It was already 75 degrees with 86% humidity. This wasn’t the forecasted high; it was the current temperature at 6:00 a. m! The forecasted high was now 87 with a heat index of 90+. I conceded that Boston was out.
We made our way to the start at 7:00 a.m. expecting high congestion as 45,000 runners had registered to run. Fortunately, I had run well enough in my previous marathon to get “seeded” for Chicago. This meant I was allowed entry into one of the four gated starting corrals at the front. I entered corral “B” with the other runners expected to run a sub 3:30.
I met half-a-dozen other runners that had planned to run a 3:20, prior to race day. Every single one said they, “…now would be lucky to do 3:30.” I decide to forget about time, and just run what was a comfortable pace. That was a mistake as I had spent the last four months planning to run in the low 3:20s at a comfortable pace.
At 8:00 a.m. we were off. Even being seeded, a minute and half pasted before I made it to the start line. I started my watch. I was already apprehensive as we would have a light 5 mile/hr wind at our backs for the first 8 miles. Sure enough, I was sweating quite a bit by mile two.
Again, just running by “feel”, I didn’t even look at my watch until mile 6. I was at a 3:27 marathon pace, and in trouble. My breathing was heavy. Up to this point I went through the water stops while running, drinking what I could. At the mile 7 station, I slowed to a walk to get a full cup of Gatorade in me. Using this technique, I realized that I probably wasn’t going to make 3:30.
At the end of the water station, I stopped my watch in disgust and stepped-off the course. I stood on the side for 30 seconds with my hands on hips and totally discombobulated with indecision: “What do I do? Should I try for the best time I can? Do I just try to finish? Do I just stop?” Just three days earlier, I was 100% sure I would set at least a PR. Now, I just didn’t know what to do. Just then, the New Balance 3:30 pace team went by.
Their pace didn’t seem that fast. I fell in line behind them. We were now running into the wind and I actually felt better. I began to think that I might be able to hold this pace all the way through. At mile 9 we came to another water station. I again slowed to a walk trying to get at least a full cup in me. The pace team drank on the run and began to pull away. The same thing happened at mile 11 and I knew 3:30 was out of reach.
Half way through mile 13, I began to get a chest pain. I knew it was nothing serious, and probably just cramping due to dehydration. However, I believed the probability of an injury was likely. I was now on a 3:48 pace and soaked head to toe. I literally, not figuratively, looked like I had just stepped out of a shower. As I approached a medical tent at mile 14, I saw about half-a-dozen runners at the entrance. As I got closer and looked inside, I saw two others stretched out flat on cots. One was covered head to toe with ice bags. That was enough for me. I stepped off the course and quit
A lot of four letter words were flying around, surprisingly, from other runners and not me. I was frustrated with the futility of my results, but not with my effort. I took the risk of running a PR on a day when the heat index was 90+. I lost. About three hours later I learned from Jeff that I probably wouldn’t have been allowed to finish even had I tried. The marathon was stopped.
Though now 52, Jeff spent his 20s as a British Royal Marine Commando. He spent a winter leaving out of a Norwegian ice cave, and one summer tracking through the jungles of Belize. Resiliency was in his nature. Though already hurting at mile five, Jeff adapted. First he slowed his pace to what he thought he could hold until the finish. Secondly, at each water stop he would walk in order to drink two full cups of Gatorade, and pour another two cups of water over his head. Amazingly, he did this for the next 21 miles to finish in 4:07. It was an admirable display of determination.
However, as Jeff was finishing, he saw race officials walking up the course. So many other runners had adapted Jeff’s four cup hydration strategy, the stations ran out of water. Due to that and other concerns as the medical tents were filling up, the race was halted. All remaining runners were directed off the course and handed a finisher’s medal. On the train back to the airport, I met a man wearing a finisher’s medal who only made it to mile 12.
Ultimately, I was ambivalent about the race. I was initially disappointed that I didn’t finish. However, this was totally abated in retrospection for two reasons. First, my goal is to run faster, and eventually qualify for Boston. Finishing the race in 4+ hours would have done nothing to further that end. It probably would have had the opposite effect. Secondly, when I got home that night, I knew I had made the right decision as I read an article posted on foxnews.com:
“CHICAGO MARATHON SHUT DOWN AFTER 4 HOURS DUE TO HEAT, ONE RUNNER DEAD-In a race run in scorching heat that left one man dead…Another 250 runners were taken to hospitals. …Almost 10,000 of the 45,000 registered runners chose to not race [at all].”
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,299956,00.html
cnn.com reported similarly, “Organizers shut down the course four hours after the start of Sunday's Chicago Marathon because of 88-degree heat and sweltering humidity that left one runner dead…”
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/07/chicago.marathon.ap/index.html
I’ll go on record here and state that I will never start another marathon when the temperature is forecasted above 80 degrees combined with a dew point (relative humidity) above 65. Not only is a PR is impossible, running can be dangerous.
Overall, I’m still optimistic. Houston is only 12 weeks away. I should be ready to start serious training in a week. Additionally, this is a great time of year to run as the weather cools. There are two great half marathons in November and December. Having run on the treadmill all summer, it will be nice to run some pre-marathon road races to get a good gauge of my Boston potential before I actually try.
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