Pre-Race Jitters

On Sunday morning I run the Chicago Marathon. This will be my third marathon this year and by far the largest one with 45,000 participants. Although the weather doesnt look like it will be entirely favorable I am going to attempt a sub-four hour marathon. Luckily, I qualified for the D Corral which should help me achieve my goal with fewer runners on the course when I start. The weather is looking like it will be low 60s in the morning and potentially could hit 80 degrees by mid-day. It won't be as hot as last year, but still, not exactly ideal long distance running weather. If it stays overcast during the morning, at least that would help.

I visited the Expo today while I was downtown for work and picked up my race packet. This was my favorite Expo that I've attended so far. Everything was attractive, very well-organized and efficient. I had no issues. I was able to pick up all my stuff and basically walk around the entire Expo, as well as do some shopping within an hour. I probably would have spent more time walking around, but I had to get to work and I didnt want to come back downtown on Saturday when it was going to be crazy busy.

I'm feeling mixed emotions of excitement and anxiety about the race. I know that I can pull out a sub-four hour race, but mentally I need to be prepared to get from 18-23. If the weather outlook was better, I think I could be more confident. While I dont think I've ever hit "the wall" in my previous two races, I always feel the need to stop running at around this time and have ended up run/walking the last few miles. If I can just get through those miles perhaps by breaking them down mentally into smaller chunks, I think I can do the last 3 without walking.

My training has been going okay. I initially had planned two long runs more than 20 miles, but due to high temps and being sick one week, my training plan was cut a little short. I did run a solid 18 miler and a 21 miler, both during warm temps, so if I can keep those in mind, along with my great half-marathon experience, I will be confident and ready to go on Sunday. I did some speed work, although not consistently every week as I originally planned. I mixed in some great tempo runs the last couple weeks, which I think were a big help.

If you are in Chicago, come out and support the race, it will be a beautiful fall day to spend outside. Course info can be found at ChicagoMarathon.com. I will post a race report as soon as possible.