33 posts tagged “marathon”

Once again, our man Dean Karnazes shares what he knows best, which is the power of mind over matter (though his power is considerably greater than, well, any other runner I'd dare to imagine). His thoughts on The Marathon — not any specific race, but the complete and formidable challenge of the event itself — ring so true from my experience that I can't help but share them: The Marathon.

In particular, this quote strongly recalled for me a key moment around mile 11 this past fall, just before making the swing west out of the city center and into the dark heart of the back half of Chicago:

You remain steadfast, knowing that you did not skimp, that you did not take shortcuts along the way, that every footstep was earned through months of diligent preparation. Still, with each wearing thrust forward, that little nagging inclination of self-doubt progressively advances toward the surface of your awareness.

How do you break it?

Courage comes in many forms, today you will have the courage to keep trying, to not give up, no matter how dire things become. And dire they do become.

Or, it might be the thought of telling someone "I tried, but I just couldn't."

I recalled what coworker and Boston native Eric Olson told me a couple days before the race: "Why not you?" That's the 2004 Red Sox down 0-3 and winning out from there, that's Lance winning seven Tours, that's Eruzione hurling his gloves in the air and jumping on his teammates as the Soviets skate off the ice in disbelief. All in one.

I'm finishing the damn thing.

I got an email today from the Chicago Marathon folks at LaSalle that indicated registration for 2007 is now open.

Ambulances

Aside from an almost immediate, "will I? won't I?" debate with my id about entering the race itself, and taking another crack at Boston, my main reaction was amazement that they've expanded the open entry field to forty-five thousand frickin' people. That's bigger than the entire population of the town in Michigan I mostly grew up in (Midland) and it just has to be a logistical stretch. Grant Park, the staging area for the start and finish, can fit an awful lot of people, but even this year's field of ~40,000 felt like it was pushing the boundaries.

If there's an organizing committee that can pull it off, it's Carey Pinkowski's at LaSalle. Runners from here, there, and everywhere whom I've talked to agree that Chicago is very well-organized, thoroughly staffed with dedicated volunteers and has a buzz and raceday vibe that only a few other endurance events of any stripe can hope to match. But is any bigger really any better? Should potential entrants take a little responsibility into their own hands and register early if you know the damned thing's hugely popular and will fill up months in advance?

HB, that Grand Rapids Marathon is sounding like a real back-to-basics treat right about now.

…so said an unnamed runner in this highlight reel/trailer for the video now being compiled about Dean Karnazes' astonishing accomplishment of running 50 marathons, in 50 states, in 50 days. Plus, two more after the finale in New York to "recover."

Journeyfilm Presents - Endurance 50

As I posted in my race summary, I applied the "prevailing wisdom" and blamed insufficient hydration for a killer calf cramp that cost me some time in my attempt to qualify for Boston. However, some interesting research posted in the NY Times believes there is isn't a significant correlation between hydration and cramping:

"Conventional wisdom says cramps are caused by dehydration and that the solution is to consume salt and drink more fluids. Not true, says Martin P. Schwellnus, a professor of sports medicine at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

At the conference in Chicago last month, he reported that he could find no relationship between dehydration and cramping. He has studied cyclists, marathoners and triathletes, measuring levels of electrolytes and body-weight changes, both of which are indicators of dehydration. Those who cramped were no different from those who did not.

Two other studies looked at how much weight ultramarathon runners and triathletes lost during races — a measure of fluid loss and a direct indicator of dehydration. Those who cramped lost no more weight than those who did not. If anything, Schwellnus said, those who did not have cramps were slightly more dehydrated.

The cause of cramps, Schwellnus believes, is an alteration in the electrical signals going to exhausted muscles so that the balance between those signals activating muscles and those inhibiting them is distorted. One way to protect yourself is with proper marathon training and proper pacing. “Racing at too high of an intensity is one of the single most important risk factors,” Schwellnus said.

When muscles cramp, there is a simple and effective treatment: stop running and stretch that muscle. And, Schwellnus said, realize that the cramping will soon stop.

“Almost no matter what you do, if you stop the activity, the muscle will come back to normal,” he said."

...from NY Times (registration may be required). Hat tip to Don for the link.

Whaddya think? It's a plausible theory.

As it should be, the 2006 Chicago Marathon was a memory-making machine of a day. It had it all: a primed throng of almost 40,000 runners from all corners of the globe; a petulant, ill-willed race time weather forecast; Chicago's incomparable Wayne Messmer barreling his way through the National Anthem; and a champion who, I didn't learn until much later, nearly knocked himself unconscious just inches from snapping the tape.

Let's get the "bad" news out of the way first: I didn't achieve my A1 goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I was 13 minutes, 18 seconds short of the cutoff, which is 3:15:59 for a 36 year old grinder like me. My time was 3:29:17, a 7:58 mile/minute pace overall. I had to hit 7:28 overall to make this thing happen. Here's why I believe I missed the mark:

• Tough Start. I did not prequalify into one of the "Preferred" corrals that are gated ahead of the open running field. This means that the pace group I most wanted to be situated with — the 3:10s — wasn't available to me, and I had a huge field in front of me that required a ton of energy to dodge and weave through in order to make up lost time. My first 5K split was 24:33, which put me almost 2 minutes in the hole before I'd barely gotten warmed up. For me to have a shot at this at all, I needed to be able to run as close to 7:28 as possible from the very start. I just didn't have it in me to run multiple sub-7 minute miles to make back the deficit, and I knew I was well off the pace with a 1hr 39m time at the halfway mark. I wish I'd been in town the weekend of the one half marathon here that acts as a summer pre-qualifier (the Chicago Distance Classic), but I wasn't, so that left me in the open field.
  
  
• Difficult Winds. It was windy and raw (but mostly dry) for the race itself, gusting hard out of the northwest at up to 30mph. The wind was an annoyance during the first long westbound stretch shortly after the halfway mark; it became a mortal enemy where it would do the most damage, between miles 24 and 26. This part of the course was a straight shot north along Michigan Avenue, and despite the huge cheering crowds I felt like I was barely making any headway at all. A cold wind like that silently saps your strength, no matter how warm you think you are, and it was all I could do to let out the clutch at the end of the final water stop at mile 25. It was the first time during the race I actually allowed myself to think about walking. I'm glad I didn't, but you can be reasoned into almost any position on any topic in that combined physical/mental state.
  
  
• Hydration/Electrolytes. This is probably the point that I handled most irresponsibly in terms of preparation. I must not have hydrated properly in the run-up to the race because I suffered a cramp in my right calf the likes of which I cannot recall from any other run, including the 2001 marathon. It cinched up on me in the middle of mile 22 and forced me to hop over to the side of the road, stretch it out as best I could with a nearby lamppost, and then continue on my way. At that moment I also decided to lay off what little sprint power I had left at that stage for fear of having no running reserve whatsoever. During the race, I hit almost every gatorade stop and ate four gel packets, even to the point of my stomach starting to register protest, so I think my in-race management was okay. But I don't believe I was topped up going in.
  

All three factors combined to rob me of 13 minutes I may or may not have had on my side of the table this year. We'll never know whether an ideal fall day and a front-running corral assignment could have helped enough, but who cares. Control what you can control and put everything else under the best effort you're capable of that day, and don't bother what-if-ing when it's over. My runner-up prize, cutting my 2001 marathon time of 4:01:34 by more than 32 minutes, is pretty gratifying.

 Here are some of my clearest memories from the course:

• Wayne Messmer's National Anthem rendition. It's just so Chicago to kick it off that way.
• Stepping over more trash — gloves, trash bags, sweat pants from the eighties, a few gatorade bottles filled with, uhm, not Gatorade — than you can realistically imagine the 15,000 runners ahead of you can shuck at the starting horn. You absolutely have to watch your step or you're going down.
  
• There was a guy in front of me for a bit, around mile 5, with a shirt from some race that read on the back, "Marathon: A 10K following a 20 mile warmup" shirt. Not motivating. Thanks, guy.
  
• Mile 7. Spectator in a SF Giants cap shouts and points at me, "Two-Seven-Seven-Two-Six, that's what I'm talkin' about!" as I pass (that's my bib number). I really appreciated the attention to detail.
  
• Mile 17, a regret. Somehow not seeing my friends/co-workers from FeedBurner at their appointed spot. They were definitely there and saw me pass by but by then I was already fretting about the pace and didn't put my best look-for-em eyes out when I passed those designated positions.
  
• Mile 20-ish Orange Slice Lady. A kindly older woman handed out orange wedges as fast as runners came by her spot on 18th St in Pilsen. It totally hit the spot, as I was getting fairly sick of Gatorade Endurance Formula and chocolate gel by that point.
  
• Karno! I damn near caught Dean Karnazes just before mile 24. Yes — the very same guy running the Endurance 50. He wasn't surrounded by a huge throng of runners as I'd expected; in fact, only three or four people with "Endurace 50" singlets seemed to be keeping pace with him at that moment. He was chugging along like the Santa Fe War Bonnet, and at that very late stage I had to choose: keep up the speed to catch Dean and compose something better than "How's it going, Dean? Do you like Chicago?" as a greeting, or finish the damn race. I tried to keep him in my sights, but once we hit the wind tunnel on Michigan Avenue, it was over. (Somehow, I only finished one minute behind him. However, I can barely walk, and he's already knocked off marathon #37 in Minnesota.)
  
• The wind down Michigan Ave, drowned out by cheers. A HUGE crowd turned out to line Michigan Avenue south of Balbo, which is the 2-mile stretch just before the dogleg turn into the finish chute. This is a significant course change since 2001, and it's massive change for the better. As relentless as that wind was, the encouragement from both sides of the street was even better. In better conditions, this new finishing route should really charge up anyone struggling toward the end.
  
• Spotting my family in bleachers, just 100 yards from the finish. I'd missed them at least once on the course, but there they were, and they spotted me the moment I spotted them. I was a huge thrill and the perfect way to end the run. I had no big kick left, but I wasn't hobbling over the line, either, and I made as steady a drive across the threshold as I could.
  

As promised earlier in the week, here is my planned playlist for the back half of the Marathon. The running time is 1:34:49, which would be one hell of a nice second half split to run. Again, my plan is leave the headphones off for the first half of the race because it would be incredibly foolish to tune out the live experience of running through packed city streets at the peak of the entire field's energy level.

The tracks below don't really reflect the total range of my musical tastes. Nor should they. (I really like Tool, for example, but they drive me completely insane with those ridiculous time shifts from 14/6 to 9/5 or whatever-the-f*ck it is they play. Not a good choice for even, steady pacing, although The Pot almost made the cut.)  These songs are battle-proven to get the blood moving, and I have particular memories of fast laps and crisp, sunny days hustling along the sidestreets with most of them on the Shuffle.

• Elevation (Influx Remix) • U2
  This is a remix that includes some spacious, airy synth sitar at the beginning; if you went to the Elevation Tour in 2001, the loop you heard when the band took the stage with the house lights up is what opens this track as well. Always takes me back to that show, and it's always an uplifting start.
  
• Galvanize • The Chemical Brothers
  Ignore Budweiser; the dub bass running through the bottom of this track gets in your bloodstream, especially through a good pair of earbuds.
  
• The Saga • Trancesetters
  This is from a collection of trance that a friend picked up on our last business trip together to London. It shifts and swerves across the left-right stereo split at precisely your current heart rate, whatever that might be. The faster, the better.
  
• Yeah (Crass Version) • LCD Soundsystem
  It's crass, it's up there, it's nine-plus minutes of bouncing cymbals and racing synth. Another Run Lola Run-inspired romp.
  
• Get Up Offa That Thing • James Brown
  What James demands, you give the man.
  
• Super Bad • James Brown
  Can't just give him one number, can we?
  
• Black Shuck • The Darkness
  The Rock Block begins. Big guitars, bigger ego, biggest backbeat. It's plain damn fun to run with this band.
  
• Wasted My Hate • Metallica
  A deeper cut from an old, overplayed album, but the tempo syncs perfectly with my race pace. Plus, it's fun to count the number of times James Hetfield goes, "hyeh-HAHH!"
  
• Vitamin R • Chevelle
  Another piledriver special. These guys know how to deliver power chords played on the fat strings.
  
• Liberate • Disturbed
  Pin your ears back and run like they're gaining on you.
  
• Forest • System of a Down
  Serj and the boys beat the hell out of a recording studio somewhere in L.A. Listen to it as it happens!
  
• Beautiful Day (Quincey & Sonance Remix) • U2
  And now, a careful step back. I'm a shameless U2 fan, but I try not to get all wave-the-red-flag-atop-the-barricades with it most days. This set comes along during a critical period of the race. I expect to be somewhere around mile 19 when we hit this four song set from Bono and Co. "Where are the guitar-driven classics?!" you might rave. I strongly considered Gloria, Out of Control, Like a Song..., and other tracks that don't require an LCD light curtain to play well on stage, but at this mile mark I'm gonna need an emotional break-beat. This is the set to do it.
  
• Electrical Storm (William Orbit Mix)
  A little bit dreamlike, a little bit anthemic, a whole lot of what distance running feels like when you're alone with your thoughts on a quiet path.
  
• Do You Feel Loved
  There is nothing particularly special about this track. Except Adam Clayton's bass line. It seems to fit perfectly with my race pace, and that's why it's here. It's a musical handrail.
  
• Walk On (Single Version)
  The big (set) finish. I have an old, old post that explains why this track will always be close at hand.
  
• The Hand That Feeds • Nine Inch Nails
  Trent brings the disco backbeat, next I decide what to do with it.
  
• Rock Star (Jason Nevins Remix Edit) • N.E.R.D.
  If you're going to throw a block party, try to book the Neptunes to DJ it. Seriously, if this remix doesn't get you pointed in some direction of your choosing at top speed, you're already dead.
  
• Fall Behind Me • The Donnas
  The girls totally kick my ass every time with this track. The title/chorus lyric is blatantly compelling for anyone running a race and you really don't have to think through it. Just go.
  
• Roving Gangster (Rollin') • Kid Rock
  This track and the next combine for the last ~8 minutes of the playlist. I better have Grant Park and the finish line in sight at some point during their running time. This particular track has been a perennial favorite for running, and there's one rhyme in particular that's extremely motivating for this whole Boston-as-a-quest business. I'll leave that for you to explore without my help for now.
  
• Slither • Velvet Revolver
  "Supergroup Shmupergroup," I hear you say. And right you probably are; it looked like Weiland, Slash, Matt Sorum, Duff, and that other guy were having fun shooting the video, but was there any real substance to this effort beyond a few tide-me-over paychecks? The only answer you need can be found 2:43 in, when Slash absolutely stomps on the solo and makes you remember that there once was a real band we called G'n F'n R. Why this track as the big finish? Because I once ran a 4:59 pace for a couple hundred meters with this bullet in the chamber, that's why.

This is the plan, and it's what's loaded up right now. I'll happily entertain suggestions and offerings from your own workout playlist, though, and I reserve the right to change things up completely if someone suggests a big winner. How about a London-mixed bhangra beat?

Running Chicago this coming weekend? Get ready for the added challenge of a receding cold front:

WGN Weather Weblog: Weekend Forecast

The money quote:

"Its blustery backside northerly winds — including possible 20 MPH gusts — and the last of the system's steady rain may greet [Marathon] particpants as it gets underway at 8am Sunday."

That's a blustery backside forecast, all right. Worst weather I can remember for race day since I started paying attention to it. Just gotta run through it. Any of you long distance types dealt with rainy pavement for a half or full marathon distance before? Should I treat it any differently?

In a little less than seven days (I'm writing this Sunday evening), I'll have finished this little journey I started back in June. I've run somewhere north of 400 training miles in four states, gone through 1 1/2 pairs of Asics Gel Nimbus lightweight trainers, burned tens of thousands of calories, and made some new friends and future training partners through CARA. (Joining highly recommended if you're looking to train for a race with a group, obviously.) I feel pretty good — well, really good compared to my dismal training outcome back in 2001, when both legs ached the week before the race and my goal was simply to finish — and I think I'm as close as I can get to being ready for this thing.

This weekend was a quick 8-miler, followed by a big group breakfast at The Bagel. We've definitely got Taper Madness and don't know what to do with ourselves now that the training mileage is dropping off to next-to-nothing. We ran the out-and-back 8 at a fast 7:27 clip, which turned out to be a great test of how sustaining my exact race pace should feel on the 22nd.

This week? Practically nothing, as the training schedule requires. 3 tomorrow, 4 Tuesday, nothing Wednesday, and then 2 (2?!) on Friday. I haven't made a Friday run yet and I'm not about to start now! Tradition.

So begins some serious carbo-loading and something approaching a decent night of sleep each time I can manage it (especially Friday night; they say that 2 nights before the race is the sleep that matters the most).

Later this week I'll post my 13.1 Shuffle playlist. I'm saving it for the last half only — the first half of Chicago should be experienced with ears open, as it's an energetic, cheering spectacle unlike anything else you'll encounter in amateur running. I'll also post a photo of me in my race gear, so you'll know who the heck to look for out there on the course!

Good run at the Bucktown 5K this morning. I stayed with my man Justin for the first 200m or so, who was pretty psyched to finally get his first-ever 5K under way. (He did great.) Once he started to get into his meticulously-planned Shuffle playlist I knew he was beyond reaching from this mortal plane, so I got into my 5K pace and kept it moving, finishing with a 21:30. Meanwhile, John ended up reconnecting with his clearly misspent youth, posting a 19:51 for a ridiculous 6:23/mile pace.

Up next: a couple of days off! Enough with the running for a two-day stretch or so. I'm feeling usual shifting array of aches and pains around my calves and quads, so I think some rest and ice is called for. This week continues the taper, with a 4/5/4 schedule. I'm dropping that first 4 and maybe swimming that day instead. (Have I mentioned that I think swimming is an effective antidote to the high-impact punishment running doles out? I do, I do. Keep at it, wefloat.)