I know lots of people who use the old line about how they don't run because they've never seen a distance runner smiling while he or she is out running. Well I have to dispute that today. I ran 26 miles today with 40,000 of my closest friends and was smiling the entire way! Unfortunately, the only picture my wife was able to get was from the side, but trust me, I'm smiling!
Let's start with the beginning. I woke up at about 6am and promptly turned on the morning news. I heard Phil Schwartz (who is an experienced marathon runner himself) talk about how it was going to be cold and windy with some sprinkles. He said it was not going to be a good day for the marathon.
Not to take issue with Phil, but I thought it was a GREAT day. The temperature was perfect for distance running, the sprinkles never really materialized, and the wind was never much of an issue.
I guess you know where I'm going with this. Yes, I had a really nice day. I ran the exact time I was aiming for, and with the exact strategy we had planned. I was hoping to qualify for Boston, and I managed that. So it was a good day for me, and for most every other runner I've talked to regardless of their goal.
Let me tell you how my race unfolded. The start was a little cold, but not as bad as it's been some other years. My plan was to go out pretty slowly, and ease into my pace. the first couple miles were about 20 seconds/mile slower than my goal pace. But once the field opened up, and I loosened up, I looked at the clock at 7 miles and found I had caught up and was right on target. In fact, at the ten mile, half-way point, the 20 mile point and at the end, I was right on my target times. Big thanks to my friend Rick Staback who helped devise my plan.
Rick pounded the importance of trying to run negative splits into my head. He said he has run all of his P.R.'s that way. And his P.R.'s are very impressive. He also said it would feel much better during the second half if you were able to run that way. And he was absolutely right. I ran a steady pace the whole time, and kept waiting for it to get difficult like it has in every other marathon I've run. Usually that begins at about 22 miles for me. Today, it never got difficult. I kept holding something back for that time, and when it got to be 25 miles, there was nothing else to wait for so I let it go then and that ended up being just about my fastest mile split.
So that was my marathon experience. Two of my neighbors ran their first marathon today, and I'm so happy for them. Other friends ran really well also and that's really great to share stories.
Lastly, I have to thank all the thousands of spectators and volunteers who made the experience so great. There's no place like Chicago. Now on to Boston!
See you on the roads... in a few days.
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