My kind of town, Chicago is

[ian]

Some of the thoughts that went through my mind at the time...

Prerace: better stay away from the Robax, even though the lower back is tight as hell... why did I get to the race site 90 minutes early?... holy geez it's cold; the non-Canadians are screwed... hey, that's the fountain from the opening credits of "Married With Children"... screw it, I'm going to wear the arm-warmers I bought at the expo even though I barely fit into them and my running buddies will mock me when they find out...

First 10K: sweet 6 second start differential from the front of the "A corral", but it's still a bit crowded... watch your step, these roads are anything but smooth... armwarmers, 2 layers of gloves, a skullcap under the hat, my heavy shorts, and I'm still cold... finally some running space to get around people... I'm only speeding up to get warm, 2:5x will be fine today... was that just a 6 minute mile? oops, I better dial it back... 38:47, 3:52/K

Second 10K: remember to look for Wrigley Field as I make the double-left turn... there it is, that makes my day... apparently I'm running near someone named "Kyle", if the thousands of "Go Kyle" cheers are any indication... tailwind is helping with the cold, I think I'll ditch the outer pair of gloves, straw tucks nicely into the orange ones... I know it's a cold day to be a spectator, but I figured Boystown would muster up more enthusiasm than that... skullcap is now in a pocket; I don't care if it's going to make my pictures look ridiculous, I paid $20 for that thing... 37:37, 3:46/K

Third 10K: this is exactly the kind of start I needed last month at QCM when I was going for a PB; too bad I'm wasting it on a fun race... halfway at 1:20:28, I wonder when the wheels come off today... hey, there's Richard Whitehead (the double amputee); he's a big dude and his stride is like backwards-skating with time reversal; what's he doing way up here? [a new 2:51 WR, it turned out]... lots of turns in this course, kind of makes it easier to divide things into little chunks... that's the fifth time today I've splashed a shrieking aid station volunteer behind the one I've taken a cup from; tough job, but this aspect of the race is probably better than Boston or NYC... still feeling fresh, maybe I'm racing this thing after all... 37:17, 3:44/K

Fourth 10K: time to get moving... not really thirsty, but I should keep sipping Gatorade for the sugar... starting to pick off quite a few elite women... holy crap, didn't think I'd see a 200 pounder running this pace... 2.5 straight miles of Michigan Ave., here I come... aw nuts, the wind shifted again and that digital sign said it's still 31 degrees... 37:10, 3:43/K

Last 2.2K: PB is in the bag but I'm going to squeeze every last second out of this race... so many shuffling runners; I need to fire up my mental jukebox to keep my turnover high: Ray Charles' Busted does the trick perfectly with its triple beat... that guy looks strong, I think I'll tuck behind him... too slow, I'm still not huffing and puffing... stupid Arctic wind, you can't keep me from sub-2:40... push harder, I want 2:39:29 so that I can legitimately round down... right turn up the cement Mount Roosevelt, can't believe that there's still a runner every ten feet... push harder, the finish is only a long block after the upcoming left turn... dammit, I can see the finish line clock in the distance ticking towards 2:39, oh no you don't, I've got six seconds of chip time you stupid clock... across the line, stop the watch, 2:39:00, probably minus a second or two, which means... 8:08, 3:42/K

Final Result 2:38:59, 3:46/K: did I just do what I think I did? nah, nobody runs a 5 minute PB on a vacation race after losing some of the summer peak... cool: free beer!... why yes, I do want a photo taken of me with medal, beer, space blanket, and a banana... yay, no Boston-like lineups at the gear tent... double-yay, lots of warm dry clothes... triple-yay, I can finally check out that brewpub down the street from my hotel (how many other runners could finish off the 8x4oz. sample tray and an entire pizza before noon?)

[BJH]

nobody runs a 5 minute PB on a vacation race

Yeah, apparently they do! Well done ian, enjoy that beer!

[Marg]

Dude, you couldn't have possibly thought all that in such a short amount of time!!
You are incredible. What more can I say... except congrats.

[HCcD]

Holy C@rp, Dude !!! You sure put a new meaning to a Fun Run .. Congratulations, on a smokn' race and PB ...

[deerdree]

it's almost unfathomable, except, it's not! congratulations!! what an amazing result.

really? the 'married...with children' fountain? cool.

[KBO]

You are pretty darn zippy! Great race! I loved reading your report.

why yes, I do want a photo taken of me with medal, beer, space blanket, and a banana... yay

Funny because I had the exact same thought in the finish area getting my picture taken. Fast or slow...it was a heck of a race to remember. Good job Ian!

[Robbie-T]

Really great run Ian!! That is an outstanding result, congratulations.

[flexrun]

5 minute pb eh!!!! CRAZY !! Where does it stop???? I knew you had some much faster times in you when you where pacing for me in Boston and ran backwards for a while at about the 40 km mark to try to get me going again and you still finished in sub 3 hours. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me .Your Awesome! Keep up the good work!

One question for you, Is it one of the fastest marathon courses in the world?

[trixiee]

Well done! You somehow made it feel like a walk in the park!

[chunkymonkeymelonhed]

Wow Ian, impressive. Congrats to you!

[ian]

Where does it stop????

Not to get too "glass-half-empty", but this might be my last 42K PB for awhile, as none of my fitness indicators pointed to anything under 2:42 and I've basically picked all the low-hanging fruit.

One question for you, Is it one of the fastest marathon courses in the world?

Sort of. If you dislike hills, then yes, this course is wonderfully flat. I didn't care for the bumpy roads, most of which were asphalt on concrete. I think the biggest advantage this course gave me was a neverending supply of runners to pick off without all the crowding of Boston or NYC. If you feed on crowd support, this is also a big edge here, although yesterday's spectator turnout was undoubtedly much lower than it would have been with warmer weather.

[MINITEE]

Speechless, simply speechless!

[BingeRunner]

Fantastic race! Bloody fast, no wonder I didn't see you...Thanks for leaving a beer for me

[Kristen]

Congrats, Ian! I suppose this thread sums up my sentiments. Let me just say that tracking you was exhausting. Next time you plan on setting a huge PB like that, a little advance warning please? I had to postpone my LSD on account of all the excitement...

Kristen

PS You think you've done as much as you can with the marathon for a while, eh? Doubtful.

[Darth Tater]

I'll bet it took you longer to compose that race report than it did to run that freakin' race! Sweet mother of mercy that was fast!

Congrats on yet another PB this year!

Dude!

[VDoT]

Awesome racing, spectacular time. I can't imagine running at that speed for a whole marathon! I barely get to 4:00 pace during my 600m intervals!

[Spirit Unleashed]

congrats Ian. You are a fast dude!

[La]

maybe I'm racing this thing after all...

I'd say so!!

Well done on the 5-min PB! Outstanding!

Great report, too!

[Jo-Jo]

Great race.
Love the "play by play" detail.
Beer and pizza before noon...a lovely ending to a little fun run

[Strider]

Dude, what a race - amazing report and post race celebration. Way to stay strong and kick it through to the end. Seriously impressive result - what a year.

[purdy65]

Ian

Words escape me! You help and encourage all of us here, and then you go out and show us how it's done! Amazing!

I think Chicago is on the radar for me next year!

Congratulations!

Lisa

[Doonst]

Wow that's so fast. Starting out for fun can be the best thing.

[scrumhalfgirl]

wow. wow. wow. those progressively negative splits are textbook! simply incredible!!!!!

[a-slow-5]

Amazing! Great race, great report. Glad you had "fun"!
Huge congratulations!

[bnn]

John and I read this last night and our jaws hit the floor.

Awesome running! Glad you got to see wrigley!