Chicago Marathon!

[bobsmith1492]

Originally posted by: confused1234
what are good HM times? ive done a couple practice runs that were 13.1 miles and ive finished the run with a 6:58 pace. never ran a marathon though

Ya, that's a good clip for sure.

 

[Savarak]

you runners made me circle around the city in bumper-to-bumper traffic for over 1 and a half hours before I finally found an opening to get to where i wanted to go

 

[Savarak]

and it just happened to be on the weekend that I'm visiting Chicago since I moved out to AZ

 

[snoopdoug1]

Originally posted by: bobsmith1492

Originally posted by: midnightrat
In case anyone was interested, it was freakin cold. I didn't make the time I wanted by quite a wide margin. I don't have my official time yet, but by my estimates it in the neighborhod of 5:45

Sweetness! You ran it, eh?

Stiff?

I'm hobbling around like a bowlegged cowboy who just rode his overfed mule 50 miles through a rocky canyon.... or something like that.

I didn't quite hit my 8 minute miles, but close - 8:03min/mile for a total time of about 3:32.

Off to bed again! I'll probably try to jump out of bed in the morning, my legs won't respond, and I'll crash down on my roomie (who also ran it) and then lie on the floor for a couple more hours...

Good work midnightrat! By the way, you can check the website and put in your name and it tells you your times and pace and everything.

Congrats on your time! 3:32 is the exact time I ran my first marathon in. The second marathon I ran was chicago and I ran 3:24. Did you have even splits? Even splits made all the difference for me.

 

[bobsmith1492]

Ya, they were pretty even; at the half I was headed for a 3:28. I sped up a bit from 20-25K, but lost a lot of time 'cause I had to walk a bit in the last 4 miles (there were cramp-like jolts shooting up through my quads starting around mile 21...).

 

[midnightrat]

Wow bob, that's an awesome time. I keep telling myself that I did good just having finished but it's kinda sad, at least to me when a group of walkers pass you like your running backwards

According to the email I got, my official time was 5:45:15

I was pretty sore today too, I start to laugh at myself cuz I was having such a hard time squating to put on my shoes this moring and going up and down stairs

The only think I can look forward to is training smarter for next year. Maybe even read a book or two about training. I still had fun in the end but next year I'm gonna make that group of walkers eat my dust!

 

[jamesbond007]

Hey congrats on your completion! That is what counts, IMHO. I am training for the Fargo marathon next year. I am shooting for anything sub-4 hours.

I get a lot of weird looks from people because I'm a big guy, kinda. I'm just under 6' by a hair and currently weigh about 195. At my best, I was about 175, but I could run FOREVER. My friends don't get it because they are small and lanky, but can't run more than a mile or two at best.

By the way, what shoes do you guys wear? I'm an Adidas guy myself...

 

[LordMaul]

Eating Marathon, maybe.

 

[midnightrat]

A couple of things I learn on my first marathon:

1. Make sure you dress properly, I definitly didn't wear enough and i think that had the most impact on my time. I actually stopped at an aid station to warm up for a few min.
2. Wear heavier shoes to train in and run in lighter shoes. I trained in light shoes, New Balance 901's which are about 10.5 oz, but ran in 970's which are about 14 oz. Next time I'll do the opposite.

Another observation that I made was that body size didn't seem to make as much differance as one would think. I think individual physiology has more of an impact than % fat or % lean muscle mass. My friend who is much heavier than myself and didn't train as well as I did finished faster than I did. My theory is because he was able to store more energy and use it more efficiently than I did, and the cold didn't seem to bother him as much. I think I used most of my calories trying to stay warm vs. moving forward.

 

[Steve]

Marked for next year

 

[sash1]

I ran the Maine half marathon back in high school. Ran a 1:21:. About a 6:15 pace, i think.

I can't do the marathon because of my knees, and now I don't run anymore so I'm out of (cardiovascular) shape. I just hit the gym now and bike occasionally, so I'm in shape, just not in running/distance shape.

Grats on your time. I've always wanted to run a marathon

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: ebaycj
be sure to pre-load the night before with at least the following:

2 chicago-style hot dogs with everything,
2 italian beefs, and
2 slices of chicago-style deep dish pepperoni pizza (lou malnati's is the bomb).

This will no doubt help your quest for 8 minute miles.

Just picture a toilet as you're running. :laugh: