They say you go through a bad patch in every marathon you race. The causes are numerous. A cramp, water down the wrong pipe, bathroom break, or just getting tired. They can also last miles or minutes. They can come on without warning or reason and go away via the same process. It is a part of the distance and you just have to learn to deal with it.

Today I woke up in Chicago feeling pretty darn good. Slept well, had a decent training cycle (best one in awhile at least). Lots of 4 am workouts that I was happy with and some good solo long runs. Most importantly the weather was fantastic. Low 50s and a bit on the breezy side. But better than the mid to upper 70s I have had to deal with two times I have started this race. Beautiful sunrise over Lake Michigan to top it off and I was pretty awesome.

I started awesome too. If you have ever run Chicago you know what I am talking about. Fantastic crowd support is the big thing. People 4-5 deep the first 4 miles or so. Twisty course that isn’t fast for a marathon but makes it feel like a cool local road race. I was right on pace (hoping to average 610-615) for 5 miles or so. Then my stomach started to go goofy. But I kept on rolling thinking (knowing?) it would be better eventually. It never really got there. I managed to stay on pace for another 12k and then needed a pit stop. Got through that and got back on pace, running to the half marathon point with a 6:12 and 1:22 and change for the half, even with a two minute pit stop.

Let me tell you though, that 6:12 was a lot of work. I mean a lot of work. More work and hard breathing than a split like that should cause at mile 13 of a marathon. Now I have no problem hurting in a race. Typically in a marathon I will bang my head against the wall whether it is good for me or not. Cramps, fatigue, or whatever I am too stubborn to back off. But today I did. I didn’t have that factor today and I have no idea why. Maybe I was sick if feeling sick for the better part if ten miles. I just decided to back off. I didn’t have that toughness, or that PASSION or DESIRE or WILLINGNESS to put the hurt on me.

So from there it turned into a simple, tough long run. I was able to push some miles. I was able to take in the city a bit. Engage the crowd a little more than I usually do. Finished in sub3 with time to spare.

You should always be proud of finishing a marathon. It is a humbling experience no matter how you do it. But I am not sure what lesson(s) I learned from this day. It was the kind of race that either motivates you to go after a future event or to maybe approach running from a new angle. Not sure which direction it will take me. I put a lot of work and life balancing into this one and it was frustrating.

But I am blessed enough to be able to do this sport and run a time like the one I did today. So remember to be thankful and humble about this part of our lives. We are a lucky crowd to have the privilege to compete and challenge ourselves.