I felt like I’d been waiting for race morning all week. I had spent all summer laser focused on the Chicago Marathon and by chance found myself in town most of the week for work. This turned out to be both good and bad, I think. Good because I was able to get acclimated and such. Bad because the travel took me out of my normal routine – and I had two sleepless nights because of noise outside my hotel room. Luckily, I switched rooms and floors and then slept fine in the couple of nights leading up to the race. But anyway, I’m excited to share my Chicago Marathon recap – I started writing this in my head during the race.
Race morning started bright and early. I met up with my friend Deb and we headed to the RMHC tent. I’ll be writing separately about the RMHC experience but it was amazing. We had plenty of time to use the bathroom, fuel up and get ready for the race. Finally it was time to head to the corrals. It was a gorgeous day and I was nervous but ready to run.
I lined up behind the 4:10 pacer but never actually saw them once the race started. My splits from my watch are a bit off because the GPS is crazy in Chicago so I’ll recap by larger chunks.
Miles 1-6.2
The race started off after a bit of a wait in the corrals, but before I knew it we were off! I turned off auto lap and my plan was to just hit the lap button at each mile marker. This worked relatively well but the first few miles downtown were still a bit wonky. I wanted to start slower and run within myself to not get too excited. I couldn’t tell if the pace on my watch was accurate because I knew the GPS was wrong. I should’ve just looked at the time only. I came up on Pam from Two Runners Travel early in mile 1 and was excited to say hi. I’ve been just missing or quickly spotting Pam and Christine both at races for a couple of years now, so it was nice to say hi and chat for a minute. The tracker says I came through the 5k in 30 minutes and a 9:50 pace. After saying bye to Pam, I trucked along and saw a couple of Oiselle singlets ahead of me. I caught up with Katie, a fellow bird, and we hung together for a couple of miles, just chatting and having fun. All the chatting caused me to slow down just a hair and I came through the 10k in 1:01.
Miles 6.2-13
The next seven miles were pretty uneventful in terms of the actual race. I felt good – not great – but good and my pace settled in to a 9:36ish range. There were so many people out cheering, which I really appreciated. I was surprised though, because I didn’t feel like the course was super crowded. Yes – I was aware that I was running with my 40,000 new best friends. But I didn’t feel hemmed in or boxed in at all, which was really really nice. I saw my first set of friends right at the 13 mile marker – blogger buds Wendy and Marcia – thanks for being there ladies! I crossed the half at 2:07:58 and felt really good. I had some friends and colleagues coming up on the course so I was getting excited. My legs felt like I was working but I didn’t feel tired. I also didn’t feel thirsty. This would later come back and bite me in the butt. I was drinking very little water / Tailwind from my handheld water bottle. Oops!
Miles 13-19
I continued to feel great as I was running and after I crossed the half, I had a number of fun things to look forward to. One of my work colleagues was at mile 16, my Oiselle teammates were at mile 17 and my boss was at mile 19. So my motivation was to just get to the next friend. I ran some of my fastest miles during this stretch and felt amazing. I loved running through Pilsen – there was SO much energy. Right before mile 20, I spotted my boss and that was fantastic because I was just starting to cramp. I hit the 30k right at 3:00:44, which put me on pace for a 4:2x finish. I knew at this point my 4:10 was out the window, and also realized that with the quad cramps, I’d slow down so just tried to make sure I could come in before 4:30.
Picture courtesy of my friend Kelly – about.me/kellywils0n
Miles 20-26.2
These miles were the worst of the race for me. My cramping was pretty intense at this point – I even stopped at a medical tent to try and get some relief — I’ve never done this within a race. I’m actually really lucky that the medic let me hop back into the race quickly – he kindly ignored protocol and let me go. At this point, I was just in extreme pain but kept pushing myself to fight through it. I reasoned that it hurt as much to run as it did to walk, so I might as well try and run the best I could. I hit the 35k in 3:34 and the 40k in 4:14. Two good things happened during this stretch. One – I keep moving forward. I’ve had bad cramps one time before while racing (Richmond in 2014) and they pretty much derailed my race. I was determined not to let this happen this time. Two – I saw friends at miles 23 and 24. That honestly was incredible and so needed. Finally I reached the 800m to go marker. I thought to myself, “okay just two laps around the track, I can do that.” Then we turned right one final time and headed up the small incline towards the finish. I was not pleased that after 26.1 miles of FLAT FLAT FLAT, the race was giving us an incline in the final tenth of a mile. Not awesome but it was short, so that was okay. Finally – I reached the finish! Marathon number seven was done.
Final time: 4:29:21.
While I did not reach my A goal or my B goal, I’m really quite pleased with how I was able to hold on to come in under 4:30 when I had some unexpected problems late in the race. I am pretty sure I can pinpoint exactly what went wrong – my under fueling early in the race was a big mistake that came back and bit me in the butt. I’m very proud of my 21+ minute PR and thrilled to see my hard work pay off. I’m still figuring out what exactly is next for me so more on that to come. I’ll also be sharing more thoughts on the Hanson’s method and on running for a charity over the next couple of weeks.
Tell me about your goal race this year – did you hit your goal?
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I just ran my first marathon this past Sunday, and I had loose goals (a – 4:10, b – 4:15) but I didn’t stress over it too much because I didn’t want to be disappointed from my very first 26.2! I kept really good spirits and a positive attitude during the entire run, and I loved almost every second of it. I came in at 4:17:51, which is good enough for me for my first! I’m excited for future races to come, although right now I’m enjoying the break. I’ll get to sleep in this Saturday for the first time in 5 months!
Congrats on the huge PR!
Awesome – great job and congrats to you on your first marathon. It’s a good feeling!
Obvs, I was so excited to read this! Great work out there 🙂
Thank you, boo! xx
Congrats again, Courtney!!
Oh the cramps. Can we seriously catch a break?? Ugh, I’m so sorry you had to deal with that again 🙁 I’m working on nailing my fueling down as I agree that it is such a make or breaker (but so tough to figure out).
I’m looking forward to reading what your thoughts are on Hanson’s.
YES girl – do not ignore your fueling on race day. TRUST me, lol. You are going to rock your race, I know it!
I’ve been really looking forward to your recap. Congratulations on your huge PR! You look so happy in those pics and it had to be great to have so many people out there cheering you on! I’m so sorry you had cramping issues, but you didn’t let them stop you and you did an awesome job!
Can’t wait to hear what’s next for you!
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Thanks – I can’t wait to figure out what’s next, lol 🙂
Congrats on a tough race! What is with the cramping? I experienced it too. Awesome PR!! Love the action pic!
I know what caused mine – very poor race nutrition – I will not ignore my water bottle for 15 miles next time, lol!
Wow, what a huge PR! So cool that you had so many people to look forward to on the course!
When you said that the med people let you jump right back in the race without following protocol, what did you mean by that? What is protocol when you go to a med tent during a race?
Congrats again on finishing strong.
Well he started to direct me over to talk to someone else. I think they are supposed to take records, make sure you are okay, etc before letting you back in the race.
I love love love that you reassessed your goals during the race and finished strong! I did that last year–it was great to salvage a race that didn’t meet my original goal. No matter what, finishing is winning. I’m glad that we saw you–I’m only sad that we haven’t met IRL!
Great job my friend! <3
Thank you – was SO looking forward to seeing you and it was a real boost!
Congratulations on finishing your 7th marathon! Wow!! I also ran Chicago this past weekend! And man, that ‘flat’ course was tough! And that hill at the end? My goal was 3:59:59 and I made it in 3:48:12. Now I’m super stoked about trying to qualify for Boston, which I never thought was possible. I’m running Paris in April and will use the Hanson’s Method for the first time. Can’t wait to read your reflection on the method!!!
Congrats! You will LOVE Hanson’s and I bet you’ll crush your goal using the plan 🙂
Congratulations! That is so tough to push through cramping. I ran my second marathon this past weekend in Portland! I didn’t cut off as much time as I had hoped but like you am just so pleased with the race. In the moment I couldn’t have pushed myself any harder… but definitely need to revisit my fuelling!
Congrats on Portland, Danielle. I know the weather wasn’t the best for that one but sounds like you ran a great race!
Congratulations ! You trained so hard for this and even if you didn’t hit your A or B goal, it is a huge PR !
Thanks Karen – it is a HUGE PR and I’m really proud of that. 🙂
What a great PR! I would’ve been reasoning the same that it hurt anyway and to keep moving forward. My one goal race this year was the Tink 10k, and I all I wanted to do was finish with minimal ITB pain. It felt very good to meet that goal. Now I’m just logging miles since I have no fall race.
Thank you Lesley!
Congratulations on a huge PR! And way to battle through such pain to finish…you are always an inspiration!
Thanks – the end wasn’t the best but overall I’m really pleased!
Congrats on your PR!! My GPS was all wacky during the race as well! So sorry to hear about the cramping, my sister had the same problem with her quad. So weird. Way to tackle another marathon!
Lack of nutrition really did me in – but it was a valuable lesson learned. And yes, I did manual splits because I knew the GPS would be OFF!
Congratulations on your PR!!! 20 plus minutes is no easy feat! I’m looking forward to reading your thoughts on the Hanson Method.
Thanks Dodie – Hanson Method recap coming later today!
Look at how all that hard work paid off! A 21 minute PR is huge! Congratulations a million times over! And a huge kudos for rallying after the cramping. I’ve never had cramping during a race or run but can only imagine how hard it would be to fight through that pain. Being able to do that is so, so huge. Awesome job!
Please don’t do what I did – make sure to fuel appropriately all throughout the race! 🙂
Great recap and way to fight through at the end! Congrats on your huge new PR!
Thanks! It was a great weekend 🙂
Congrats! I just ran my second marathon in Baltimore this weekend (26 minute PR, woop woop!) But, boy, did I get hit with some quad cramping as well. I fueled very well throughout (I actually have to take salt pills to keep my blood sodium levels balanced because of a minor heart valve issue so I’m REALLY careful with how I fuel) and they still hit me. I’ve done a limited amount of research on it and it seems the new research points to form as the culprit rather than hydration. Who knew? Looks like I’m gonna be focusing on strengthening my hips and glutes during my next training cycle to try to keep my form in check even when I’m exhausted in that last 10K stretch!
It really can be a number of things. Form can definitely be a contributor. But I’m quite certain that my cramps were primarily due to not taking in nearly enough calories for the first 2/3 of the race. Easily fixable, at least. Congrats on Baltimore – the weather was lovely for it!
Congratulations on a huge PR. Even w a little hiccup towards the end, you finished strong. I think that last 800m was the worse. I kept thinking about the two laps around the track too. But that felt forever! I think the weather definitely helped all of us. Sorry to have missed you there.-L
Thanks – way to go on your amazing race!!
Well done! I can’t wait to read your post about running for RMHC…I just posted my recap and it’s completely obvious that I totally, TOTALLY loved it! Well done, teammate!
Congrats Courtney! A 21 PR is a huge accomplishment, and I’m not surprised one bit given all of the hard work that you’ve put in over the past couple of months. Way to push through the pain and to get to that finish line. You’re a rock star!!!
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Congratulations on your PR! I’ve been following your blog but I have never commented. I enjoy reading your race recaps. I am doing the Chicago RNR half this summer.
Congrats on your PR!!! I enjoy reading along your journey as your trained for this marathon. I look forward to reading about what you plan to do in the future.
Congrats again, lady! I love reading race recaps from the same races I do because it’s always a different perspective. Ah the nutrition conundrum. I forced myself to take in something at most of the water stops because I’m super cautious about bonking due to lack of electrolytes or nutrition. I was with the pace group and at the halfway mark they said to take in something at each stop, which was a nice reminder. Chicago is just a fabulous race!
SO proud of you for rocking it! I could’ve used a reminder like that, lol 🙂
Congrats Courtney! That’s an incredible amount of time to PR with. I’m very impressed with your Hanson’s training. I just don’t think this old body could handle it. I was loosely targeting 4:30 before my fall. But, I’m pleased that I also PR’d. Your smiling face in that top pictures says it all! Great job!
You did amazing – so sorry I didn’t get a chance to meet you in Chicago!
It seems like we had nearly the same race day experience. Haha. Way to go girl! A PR is a PR! Can’t wait to read your thoughts on Hansons.
Alaina @ The Simple Peach recently posted…Chicago Marathon Race Recap: Part 1 {Pre Race}
so awesome! congrats!! how does this race compare to marine corps?
I am so proud of you for finishing under 4:30 with your horrid cramps. Way to hold on and pull it out.
Thank you Abby – it was really tough but I’m proud I just didn’t throw in the towel!
Girl, great job pushing through. I’m convinced under fueling has bitten me several times now that I look back and really try to analyze. Definitely something I want to work on for next time. So cool that you got to see so many familiar faces!!!
Yes – I’m kind of annoyed I did this but in the moment, I didn’t even think about it! Today, I tried out a huma gel and think I might add those in to my marathon fueling plan for the future!
Congratulations! I think you did a fantastic job, even though you didn’t hit your goal. A marathon under 4:30 is amazing!
Amazing job! I struggled in the race as well, but the way that you persevered is impressive! You finished strong and you have much to be proud of and celebrate!
Heather Debelak recently posted…Chicago Marathon Reflections
Thanks Heather – it was a lovely day! Tough at times, but that’s marathons!
I loved reading your recap! Congrats on your 21-minute PR. That’s fabulous!
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Congratulations! I love that you finished under 4:30 and I love how you had so many friends to watch out for on the course. No kidding about GPS being a wreck in Chicago – you should ask them about that at the Garmin store there. 🙂
Loved your article. I want to do Chicago next year, and I plan on using the Hanson method. Congratulations on your marathon victory. My goal will be to finish, but I’d love a 4:15 to 4:30 finish.
This year was my 4th Chicago in a row. I am new to running and not very fast (yet). I was hoping to sub-5, but I was at 2:32 at the half, and I knew my back half wouldn’t be faster, so I decided not to kill myself. I came in under 5:30, which was good enough for me! Kudos on a great race!
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Congrats to you as well – it was a great day! Sub 5 is in your reach!
Thanks! In retrospect, I’m sure fueling was my issue, so I want to focus on that for next year. I simply ran out of steam and basically walked miles 17 – 22. If I can maintain my energy in the second half, I’m sure I can break that 5!
So, so many congratulations for you. This reminds me of my preparation for first marathon! When everything just falls away and you just go. So happy for you!