2016 Chicago Marathon Race Recap

I completed my second marathon last Sunday as part of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. I finished in 3:56! Even though I PR-ed by 17 minutes and had my first sub 4 hour marathon, I haven't had many positive thoughts since I crossed the starting line.

Someone once told me that finishing a race is how an athlete expresses themselves. That a strong finish is an expression and reflection of the time and effort you put in to your training. This race did not reflect how hard I worked all summer. My quadriceps were in charlie horse level pain from about mile 10 to mile 26.2. I knew it was a physiological problem, and planned to get a blood work up as soon as I got back home. What the heck happened????

Thought Progressions on an 18 mile run...

My thought progression during my run today; feeling tight➡️ you can't take five miles to warm up during the marathon ➡️ panic - can't hit my paces ➡️ text P to come pick me up.....

Marathon Meltdown / Peak Training Week

Closed out this week with 75 miles, including the last 21 miler before Chicago!! But the best part of it is that P still loves me, despite the fact that I threw a three hour fit of epic proportions on Friday. After a long week, it was just a special mix of insomnia, hormones, and peak training tiredness. I realized I was in the wrong corral for the Chicago Marathon and the deadline to change has already passed. I've been checking weekly and hadn't been able to see my corral until Friday. I think psychologically speaking, it was just the last banana and I was so mad at myself for missing the deadline. After working so hard this season, how could I have overlooked that??