First off, my apologies about the length of this entry. Not only am I really excited to share my story of the race that was the 2012 Chicago marathon, but I learned more in this marathon build up than probably all of my other years of running combined.

Secondly, I know it may seem ridiculous when saying I’m not happy with some of the efforts as I do understand that in the grand scheme of running these times are a lot better than many people will run. However, keep in mind that one of the best things about this sport is the ability for each person to have their own expectations and bench marks for where they think their hard work and talent should put them.  When I hear of an elite runner “bomb” a race and run 2:19, it is frustrating to me – but in his (or her) world, they did not live up to their potential. I am a firm believer that time does not tell the whole story.  There were many races in high school which I may have not run a PR, but I ran to the best of my ability and competed harder than I ever had. Even if my time didn’t reflect that, I took satisfaction in knowing the type of race I actually had.  The end result of this marathon showed me that I was doing the right things throughout the segment, but no matter how impossible I viewed some of my workouts – it was EXTREMELY frustrating that I only finished 2-3 of my hard workouts.

“You are as good as your best day, even if you haven’t had it yet.”  This quote is how many of the African runners think as it relates to running.  A combination of human nature, the sport of running, and the instant gratification attitude many of us have become accustomed to, has resulted in each of us constantly thinking we are as good as our last workout.  When you factor in weather, nutrition, running on tired legs, sleep, and the other “unknowns” in regards to why you feel a certain way on a given day, it is important to remember this quote.

With a little more than a week to reflect on the race, focus on walking down stairs like a normal 29 year old, and think about what I could have done better, I’m finally getting to recap what was arguably the best race of my life.   Definitely in my post collegiate days and other than 1-2 races in high school, my proudest accomplishment in my running life yet.  Oddly enough I found myself within 45 minutes of crossing the finish line, thinking to myself, “What’s next?”  Fortunately Lindsay generally knows what I’m thinking and has reiterated many times that I need to enjoy this. 

My last PR in the marathon was 3 LONG years ago when I ran 2:39 in Long Beach. I won’t bore you with the disasters that I called races since then, but feel free to view my profile at:  http://athlinks.com/claimworksheet.aspx?term=Scott%20Wandzilak&yob=1983 to see my efforts. Most of my training was based on the Hanson Brooks Distance Project and my programs were put together in collaboration with Brian.  While I didn’t have a major breakthrough other than my PR and fell apart in a bad way in every other race, it was comforting to hear that my current coach, Nate Jenkins, was impressed by the overall work. 

Training

A big key to my 10 minute jump in this race was due to the changes in my training for this build-up…particularly in the last 10 weeks.  The biggest change was instead of having an “easy” or “hard” day, I was doing specific work 4-5 days per week, having some type of work out.  Now, I basically have 2 easy days per week. While I may not have a really hard work out the other days, I will have something that makes it a little more challenging than just going out to jog 10 miles at 7:00-7:30 pace.  I’ve outlined two weeks below for you – if you are more interested in this, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  The basic premise of what my coach is trying to do, is to teach my body to use glycogen more effectively.  I may not be 100% accurate with this, but close enough:  During a marathon, your body uses carbohydrates stored as glycogen until it runs out. It then switches over to fat stored as glycogen. This switching over is where people hit the wall and in most cases will put you in the (extreme) hurt tank and can ruin months of training.  What my program was structured around is trying to make my body use the carbs stored as glycogen more effectively and slower, thus creating a reserve that my body can use later on the race.

Averaged around 82 miles per week.

Did NO track workouts – previously buildups had all of my hard workouts on the track.

** Marathon pace during practice was 5:40.

                1-2 double days per week

Monday: 3 mile warm up, Drills, 3 miles at 6:00 (usually was closer to 5:50), 2 mile cool down

Tuesday:  12 miles at 6:00-6:10

Wednesday:  9-10 miles with 10 x Hill worked in (typically 15-20 seconds at 90% sprint)
Thursday:  10-11 Miles at 7:00 pace (Or slower)

Friday:  Long run. Ranged from 20-23 miles each week.  Varied, but here is an example:  2 Mile Warm Up, 10k (40:00), 5k (1 min fast 1 min slow), 5k (20 min), 5k (17:30), 5k Max Effort

Saturday:  8

Sunday: 4 or OFF

Monday: 3 mile warm up, Drills, 3 miles at 6:00 (usually was closer to 5:50), 2 mile cool down

Tuesday:  12 miles at 6:00-6:10

Wednesday:  9-10 miles with 10 x Hill worked in (typically 15-20 seconds at 90% sprint)
Thursday:  10-11 Miles at 7:00 pace

Friday: 2 mile warm up, 4-6 x 3 miles at 5:40. Rest is 1 mile at 6:10

Saturday: 8

Sunday: 4 or OFF

The Race

Fortunately my time at a previous half marathon allowed me to become part of the Elite Development Group. This allowed a group of about 100 of us to have access to a specific heated tent, and special access to the starting line.  Temperatures were in the 40/50’s – Lindsay may quote 30 degrees colder than that.  I recognized a guy from Southern California in the tent and we had similar goal times, under 2:30, so I was pumped I had found at least another guy to run with from the beginning.

After about a mile, we had a group of 12 or so that were going to work together throughout the race. I felt relatively comfortable until mile 11 when I got the first hint of fatigue in my quads.  Because I was running in brand new racing flats, that I hadn’t done one work out in (Yeah I know), I was a bit paranoid to see how my legs would react. Fortunately I held it together until about 21 which is when the grind started.  I held it together as each Kilometer seemed to feel longer and longer.  With about 2 miles left the group was down to 3 of us.  We ran fairly even splits throughout the morning and had to run the last mile in about 6:30 to accomplish my goal.  I get the first 800 – and I’m working HARD at this point – in about 3:10.  I kept thinking that I’ve been having the best race of my life and have grinded through almost 2.5 hours of fast running, and that I may come up a bit short. At this point, I forgot about my form, probably looking a bit ridiculous, and basically sprinted as hard as I could. I wasn’t thrilled to see the hill preceding the final 200 meters but got my way through it and had the chance to enjoy the last 150 or so. Only taking in water during the race, I felt relatively good – ‘relative’ being the key word.  I’m sure accomplishing something I had put 3 years of hard work into had something to do with it.

The future:

As I am only running every other day right now, I am in the process of figuring this out.  With my goal accomplished, it is time to up the ante and set a new one!  Odds are I am going to focus on 1-2 half marathons this spring and focus on the 5k and 10k in the coming weeks/months. To get my time below 2:20, my other times have to drop.  Whatever the future holds I am pumped to get going on the journey!