Race Report: Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2023

Date: 14 Oct 2023

Goal(s): 3h:09m to 3h:12m

State of mind and fitness coming into Chicago-2023.

From a training perspective I would say this block has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. The weekday workouts were executed to the T. However, the longer workouts – progressive long runs, back to back long runs et-al. over the weekends bore mixed results. Furthermore, In the tune-up races leading up to Chicago, we encountered moderate success aka small victories on the one hand and some serious debacles on the other hand over a range of distances – 10km, 21.1km and 25km respectively.

From a mental perspective, this roller coaster ride did take a toll on my mental conditioning in the build-up to Chicago. More importantly, In the personal and professional sphere, at this juncture where I am in life, there are more questions than there are answers. Therapy and spirituality ensured that I got myself into the best possible mind-space to race Chicago with a commitment to self that momentum gained from an accomplishment in Chicago would be re-channeled into other areas of life per-se.

In summary,

• This training block had been a mixed bag and I felt “under-cooked” as I started tapering for Chicago.
• Stress was managed well coming through this period even though there were things to worry about.
• Nutrition was well governed with supplements and protein taken in adequate measure over and above regular home cooked food.
• There was no major injury even though there was a nagging niggle on the right knee (early phases of Patello-femoral Pain Syndrome) that I picked up in this training block. Religious adherence to strength and conditioning (which is my strong suit in any case) ensured that this niggle stayed at bay.
• Took recovery seriously (more than I have ever before) in this period.

Pre-race

I reached Chicago on the Tuesday preceding the race via Dubai after an arduous 20-hour journey. I was staying in Wrigley hostel which is about 6 miles from downtown Chicago. Santhosh JK had been kind enough to order in a plate of Pongal when I checked into the hostel. A school buddy also called in to check on me.

Reaching Chicago early had its own advantages; I got to acclimatize well with a couple of easy runs and one quality workout at the fantastic Lake Shore trail – 9.5 miles of dedicated running and cycling tracks along the lake Michigan shoreline.

Again, staying in a hostel has its own advantages, you get to meet interesting folks from across the world. This hostel (as was the case elsewhere) was teeming with runners as we got closer to the race and we traded quite a few stories. All in all, this was a unique experience that had a therapeutic influence on my being in the days leading up to the race.

We i.e. Vandy, Vikram, Gayatri, Parag and Self met at the expo on Thursday and collected our bibs so as to avoid the fatigue of junk miles on the legs thereafter. The weather changed quite drastically over this period. From being warm (about 18°C) on Tuesday to being cold on Friday (and thereafter) [about 8°C with a slight drizzle]

Saturday morning, I went out for a short walk and followed it up with a short conditioning session. Saturday afternoon I visited the local ISKCON temple for some spiritual solace before the race and had an early lunch. The rest of the day was spent relaxing in the room and checking in on messages and calls from well-wishers in our wonderful community. I had a short pep-talk with my coach aka Ash Nath, here is a summary of what came out of that conversation;

• You have trained for this and your expectations are realistic • No one else can help you now. The onus rests on you. • Earn the timing you want. No excuses. • I believe in you. Believe in yourself!

It was time to silence the mind and sleep. I was in bed by about 10:00 PM.

Pre Race Fueling

From a fueling perspective, I had 4 meals through Saturday and Maurten Drink-Mix 320 (caffeinated) on Saturday evening as per the (Maurten) fueling guidelines.

I woke up at 4:30 AM and had a oats porridge with a peanut butter toast and a banana alongside my morning ablutions that included my spiritual practices and mobility drills both. Again, in line with the recommendation, I had a Maurten Drink Mix 160 about 3 hours before the race.

Race Day

It was cold in the morning on race day. To that end, I had worn some extra layers and covered my hands and ear with gloves and a bandana (thank god for TMM!) respectively as I made my way to Grant Park. Two major learnings here;

• I should have worn an extra layer on my legs as well until the start of the race. I was wearing compression socks and thought that should be enough. That was not to be.
• If the race organizer says gates open at 5:30 AM, BE THERE AT 5:30 AM! I reached the main gate by 6:15 AM and had to encounter 3 choke points – The entry into the holding area, the gear check-in AND the serpentine queues in front of the porta potties. With the result, I could not visit the loo one last time before starting my race.
• Another fall out of the point above is the fact that my warm-up on a cold morning was not proper.

Note on fueling: I consumed a total of 7 Maurten gels, 1 gel 10 mins before the start of the race and then during the race I consumed 6 Maurten gels at an interval of 6kms i.e., 6,12,18,24,30 and 36kms respectively. Intermittently I was consuming water alongside the gels and Gatorade at every alternate aid station. The long and short of it, I was ingesting a lot of carbs throughout my race.

The objective at Chicago was to run a long due personal best. To that end I was targeting something in the realm of a 3:09 to 3:12 finish i.e., 4:30 per km to 4:32 per km pace. Worst case outcome was a sub 3:15 finish (4:37/km pace).

Sanjeev Patel had set me up with Natraj Ponna who was pacing the 3-hour bus at Chicago. Natraj gave me a low down on the 3:10 and 3:15 pacers at Chicago and the pacing strategies that they planned to employ during the race. Ash had advised me three things in this regard;

• Stay steady until 25kms so that you can push in the last 17kms. • Stay between the 3h:10m and 3h:15m pacers throughout the race. • Start out at a 3h:14m finish pace and then feel and find your way to a 3h:10m finish after 25kms

The silver lining in an otherwise clouded morning was the fact that I started right at the front of Corral-C. This meant I did not have to weave around the crowd and I was able to stick to the blue-line right from the start of the race. I shed my layers just before the race and off we went across the start line.

The Race

The GPS goes crazy in Chicago for the first 6-8km owing to the sky-scrapers all around us. I used power as a proxy for pace in Chicago. I use the Stryd power meter for all my runs, so basis that, Stryd had predicted a power of 273W and a finish time of 3 hours and 9 mins (+/- 3 mins) for the marathon distance.

I started off conservatively and 1 mile into the race I threw my gloves away as I was not used to running with them. The crowd support is insane in the downtown area as you literally run through a scream tunnel! I had to keep reminding myself not to get carried away with all this adrenaline.

I settled into a nice rhythm after 10kms. The field had spread out and I was constantly conversing with myself in the third person – Come on Kart, this is what is happening right now. Where you are is where you are – this was a Mantra I kept repeating to myself through the race.

Until about the halfway mark, I ran in the power range of 265W to 275W. I was sticking to the Blue-line and also looking out for other runners around me who were running at a similar pace. I crossed the halfway mark in 1:34:xx on course for a 3:10 to 3:12 marathon finish.

For the next 5kms I consciously pulled myself back and stayed around the 4:35 pace (265W power) so as to reach 25km mark on strong legs. Around the 27th km the 3:10 bus crossed me and I joined that entourage for the next 2km. But by now fatigue had slowly started settling in and I decided to back off a bit so that I had some juice left in the legs for the final 10kms with the result that I had to drop off the 3:10 bus.

At the 30th km there was a public announcement that Kelvin Kiptum had smashed the world record (and how!) this acted as a catalyst for me as I found a second wind and pushed forth for the next 5 kms.

Until the 35th km I was on course for a 3:10 finish. I started slowing down thereafter. There are a few undulating sections in this segment of the race and in any case, fatigue was having its say by now. I could see runners around me cramping, walking etc. this was well and truly grunt time. I decided to dedicate each km to each one of my trainers aka GURUs who were collectively responsible for me being there, racing at Chicago. Two other things that I was keeping an eye on were the mile markers and the blue line.

With about 2 miles to go we made our way back into the downtown area and the scream tunnel around me ensured that I just kept going. With about 800m to go I was literally running on fumes. I realized this when the last “bump” on this course came up. With 400m to the finish line I got disoriented and cramped badly on that “gentle” uphill slope. I walked it for about 80-100m before I started running again. I literally tumbled across the finish line because today nothing was going to stop me. This evoked memories of a similar stumble 400m from the finish line in Delhi a couple of years ago.

Post-race I was cramping badly, I requested one volunteer to raise my legs and get the blood circulation back into the body. Then began the long wait to retrieve the baggage, change and head slowly back to the hostel in chilly temperatures with my teeth mimicking a typewriter. The only source of warmth was the messages and calls from family and the fantastic fitness community back home and in the US.

Here are the splits from my effort at Chicago:

Looking Back

What worked for you?

• A consistently healthy mileage (80 to 85 km per week) through phase-2 and a high mileage (105 to 112 km per week) through phase-3 (peak phase) of the Chicago plan.
• Aerobic runs were easy and done as doubles or pre/post strength work.
• Long tempo runs e.g. 2 * 6km at mixed paces with a short RI followed with 3 * 500m @3:50/km again with a shorter RI. This taught me to hold a range of paces for a protracted duration of time and then run fast on tired legs.
• A robust strength and conditioning program which ensures that my musculoskeletal system can take all the pounding that running entails and provide me with the much-needed variety in workouts.
• A well-rounded Yoga program that helps me stretch after all the running that I do and also builds the much-needed grit while holding some of the more difficult stretches for a longer duration.
• Working with a nutritionist who made me realize the value of ergogenic supplements alongside real food and the need to eat clean and eat well in a timely manner
• Tune up races like TCS10k and Bengaluru Ultra which built my confidence
• A two-week taper where I was true to the concept of tapering and really amped it down.

What didn’t work for you?

• Progressive long runs during the weekend (e.g.) A 35km run done as 10km @5:15/km, 10km @5:00/km, 10km @4:30/km, 5km @4:25/km with a 60-90 second RI between each of these sets. Holding a 4:30/km pace on tired legs for 10km was difficult.
• Tune up races like Bengaluru 10k challenge, DRHM and Hyderabad. A lack of taper in the build up to these races cost me and my confidence dearly. But this is the nature of the beast when it comes to tune-up races. I need to choose wisely vis a vis these tune up races.
• The Alphafly2. I will stop racing in them henceforth. The midfoot portion is a problem particularly on the right leg.

Any other insights?

• The last 400m at Chicago made the difference between a 3:12:xx and a 3:13:xx finish respectively. I need to work on the finishing kick at the fag end of a marathon.
• Even though I was slowing down after 35kms I was able to will myself to keep going and did not entertain negative thoughts at any point in this race. This is a positive vis-à-vis my mental make-up.
• I am embarking on Project 3:09 i.e. to hold a pace of 4:30/km for my next marathon.
• This is a Personal Best effort aka PB effort by 4 minutes and 16 seconds 😊
• Improvement in timing / performance is a steady process for me.

Races Ahead

• Tata Mumbai Marathon (Full Marathon) – 21/01/2024
• New Delhi Marathon (Full Marathon) – 25/02/2024

Kartik Iyer is a conversationalist, running geek, techie, marathoner, miles to go CrossFit junkie and bathroom Carnatic vocalist. He loves striking random conversations with people just about anywhere, music and anyting to do with tech and fitness, in no particular order. He can be reached at @kartikiyer2007 on Insta and on Strava