Chicago Marathon Goals!
Y’all, it’s Friday. THE Friday before the marathon. Excuse me while I go find a paper bag to breathe into! Slightly kidding, slightly not. Anyways, it’s Friday and I promised that I would pop in with my goals and plan for the Chicago marathon. It has been a long year and a long time coming! I’m very, very excited to check out the city and run in new areas. I’m meeting up with other BibRave Pros and checking out all the sites I’ve seen on Instagram. Without further ado, let’s just jump into it!
Chicago Marathon Goals
- Run a 4:15 marathon
- Hydrate consistently and avoid cramps
- Stay out of the pain cave and don’t throw a pity party
- Have fun!
Sounds simple enough right? Well considering the fact that I completely fell apart in my first marathon, finished way over 5 hours, had ridiculous blisters, and could hardly walk for days….yeah totally simple, lol! However, this time around I trained for a specific time goal in mind. I simply wanted to come in under 5 hours. I found a coach and we devised a training plan based on effort. He gave me pace guidelines but really suggested I’d do by effort. This was a complete game changer. Once I let go of the time and let myself run, everything fell into place. Both of my 20 mile runs were set at a 10:30ish pace. Now, I know that’s still a bit away from a 4:15 marathon time but I want to try. I have a pace band which will help me stay on track in the latter miles but I will run the first part by feel. I know that any time I finish with will be a PR no matter what since I am planning to finish this marathon strong.
As far as race strategy goes, I don’t plan on stopping. Ever. I will hydrate at every water stop, Gatorade every other one (with water) and fuel every 45 minutes. I’m getting up with plenty of time to eat, have my dance party, and head to the Hospitality Tent to wait before the start. The night before the marathon, I plan on eating some pasta and heading to the hotel to try my hardest to get SOME rest. I trust that whatever will happen, will happen and the only thing I can control is my attitude. The pain will come but the thoughts don’t have to. During the last half of the race, I will focus on the beautiful city and the fact that I am absolutely blessed to be able to do something like this. I don’t want to wallow and have a pity party mid-race. I’m looking forward the exploring the city afterwards and EATING. ALL. THE. FOOD!
Overall, it’s kind of a bittersweet moment. I’ve had SUCH, SUCH, SUCH a blast this summer making new friends and running all the miles. I’m happy because race day is here and I get to enjoy all of Chicago but I’m also a little sad because it marks the end of my great summer. I look forward to running a strong race and will work on taking in all the sights and saying a prayer of gratitude that I’m healthy enough to run!
If you’re running Chicago, what are you race goals?
