People don't seem to realize how bad the heat was at Chicago

please help me out wrote:

Joe,

What fast guys came on here and said that the heat was a major factor? Who used their real name? I believe that it is a bunch of 3 plus hour marathoners that will not use their real names because they can be looked up.

So did you run? What was your time?

please help me out wrote:

They would be useful if they carried a name with them. Ask yourself Why they wouldn't include their name?

No one with half a brain would post with her real name on LetsRun.

I don't care about being looked up. I ran 2:35:34 (a 9 min. PR). I wanted to run 2:30, but I sweat a lot more than the average runner and suffered badly in this race in 2008 (hit the half in 1:16 high and ended up at 2:52). So I readjusted my goals, went out in 1:17 and didn't fall off very much. Picked off tons of people who went out in 1:14-1:16 but couldn't handle that on a warmer-than-expected day.

26.2 miles is a long way to go, and a lot can happen. Going out a little too fast in temperatures only slightly higher than optimal can have a HUGE impact on such a long race. You have to use your head and run the smartest race.

Organization was great, gatorade and water in copious amounts, people to race the whole way, and a flat course. Can't ask for more. But when the weather's not what you were planning on, you have to modify plans accordingly or risk a disaster.

I'm just another 2:30 something pud, but I beat a number of better runners who didn't use their heads.

The weather was a little warmer than usual- it was significant enough for me to know that 2 miles into the race I needed to start grabbing water cups and dunking them on my head....I did that at every water stop. I also grabbed extra Gatorade cups and tried to drink as much as possible (I had elite fluids but ended up missing over half of them because i'm an idiot and didn't decorate my bottle very well and some of them had fallen). I probably consumed close to 80-90 ounces of fluid during the race- something similar to what I did at '07 Grandma's when it was 75 and sunny most of the way and barely ran a trials qualifier there. My teammate that DNFed did so not because of the heat.

We also knew that the most even pacing possible was going to be emphasized because it was on the warmer side- unfortunately some of us fell brutally short of a trials qualifier.

Congratulations,

You send the same message as Hanson and Conto (the 2 that have allowed their identity to be looked up).

The day was warmer than ideal but still able to get in a good race.

Many others, who probably had unrealistic expectations, want to blame the weather. If a 3 hour marathoner wanted to run 2:45 and failed, it was not the fault of the weather. If people left their name we can look them up and judge whether their goal seemed realistic based upon their history.

"26.2 miles is a long way to go...."

Really? LOL!!!!!!!

Congratulations to you as well. Your 2 minute PB is accompanied by a name. You raced smart and will get your trials time next time.

You helped in proving the point that it was not too hot to run a good race.

I think that just rerouting the route Chicago Marathon and do the route in reverse going south and some sight altercations will put more of the route under shade and less breeze. Not only that I bleieve that I would give a better view of the city. Following is a link to a route suggestions, I think there are many pluses to this proposed route:

http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/us/il/chicago/119128689941817264

A) More neighborhood to be seen including more of Wrigleyville, Buena Park, Uptown, University Village, Bridgeport and River West.

B) More 'L' Stops along the route including Wilson, Lawerence, both Clinton stop, and the Grand blue line stop.

C) Increase parking along the lake near Montrose Harbor.

D) There are two more hospitals, Weiss and Thorek, and more hospitals in the last 13 miles. Also, the loopback from 13 to 22 would concentrate medical services where medical service is most need.

E) Shady for the last 13.1 miles instead of the opposite.

F) Less Traffic issues by going under the congress parkway, under the Ohio feeder ramp.

G) Frees up 22nd and Roosevelt and Ashland which frees up traffic for any Blackhawks, Bulls, Bears or Sox Game.

H) Get rid of the evil far west loop.

J) Better views of the city including an awesome finish into the city down the Inner Lakeshore Drive and LaSalle instead for the 4 miles of South Michigan Ave. Plus the finish would be a backdrop of the city skyline.

K) ) More view of the city skyline from different angles even at the farthest areas.

L) Move Charity Mile to mile 4 along Loomis so that they can see their friends finish early and medical personal can quick be moved from there to Mile 10+ via highways.

M) More opportunity for the lake to moderates temperatures.

N) Show case more of the city which has not been shown more. Like Uptown and Buena Park with the Aragon, Rivera, and Uptown Theater.

What do you guys think?

tjkcssa wrote:

please help me out wrote:

Joe,

What fast guys came on here and said that the heat was a major factor? Who used their real name? I believe that it is a bunch of 3 plus hour marathoners that will not use their real names because they can be looked up.

So did you run? What was your time?

Waiting.........

Lekuta wrote:

Are we the only country that makes up the excuse, "I'm a big guy and a sweater" like it is a negative or an excuse?

If you are this so-called "sweater" species, would it not be logical to have an efficient hydration strategy in place? What, did you only find out on race day that you are a "sweater" and thus, this led to your demise, along with your "big-bone" theory?

All of you "big sweater" guys should just hang it up. It the most ridiculous excuse on the board. Be grateful you sweat and are able to cool your body rapidly, but next time, learn your body better before toeing the line. There are hydration stations for a reason.

This isn't a pet theory, there is plenty of scientific literature to suggest that people with greater body mass don't tolerate heat as well.

Also, sweat rate varies greatly between people, and heavy sweating is generally wasteful. If you aren't evaporating the sweat from your skin (i.e. it's just dripping off of you) then you are just dehydrating without getting much benefit in terms of thermoregulation.

Thus people who are big and/or sweat a lot are more likely to be adversely affected by warm or hot conditions on the course.

Can't they run it on some type of giant treadmill, indoors? That way, if you get tired you can slow the belt down a bit. Also, if it's too hot and you're sweating too much, you can turn the A/C up a bit.

Hey midwaste, notice the editing done on this thread overnight?

Seem rojo can't handle any rebuttal.

Kevin Hanson wrote:

Malmo is correct. It was not that bad. I was there and had several athletes run. I get annoyed when people expect perfect everything for a marathon.

Here is the check list.

ORGANIZATION. It was excellent.

COURSE. Flat and fast.

CROWD SUPPORT. Excellent energy on the course.

HUMIDITY. Not a factor

COMPETITION. Every American had someone to run with and many had pacers.

WIND. Often a factor in Chicago, but not this year.

TEMPERATURE. About 10 degrees over ideal with 60 at the start and 70 at the finish. Much better than any World Championship or Olympic Games over the past decade.

Races are not run in a bubble and to ask for more than 90% is ridiculous.

For us Davila, Morgan, Young, and Canaday all ran their personal bests.

The fact is that not all factors are equal.

A marathoner of any ability looking to run a PR can get by some organizational snafus, subpar competition and lousy crowd support but we who must plan and finance our own marathon trips base our choices first and foremost on the course and the weather, especially when we are looking to run faster.

Ha. I just don't understand the logic for going west of Ashland or way south on Michigan Avenue. It is depressing, ugly and unshaded. Nobody wants to run there and nobody wants to watch it from there. I think all my points are valid and it would improve the race for all. But I guess there are people like you that would rather run in a desert with nobody around. Personaly, I try to enjoy running even if not for a PR.

yeah, I noticed the editing. The truth hurts I guess.

A point not to be missed by Kevin Hanson is that he is training his athletes to reach the level of the World Championships and Olympic Games. The WC's and the Olympics are almost always going to be run in warm summer conditions. It's great to run a PR on a flat course on a cool day. But when it comes right down to it, can you compete in tough conditions when it really matters? Desiree Davila has proven she can do that, and Kevin Hanson expects no less from all his other athletes. No excuses. You have to be able to perform when it matters. Go ahead and chase times, but it means nothing if you can't compete on the day. Davila has managed to do that to the tune of a 2:26 marathon, fourth all-time American. There is a lesson to be learned there.

I was one of those people that faded badly, and I do not believe the heat was a huge factor. I believe it accounts for a little bit, but with it being my debut marathon I did a lot of things wrong and have learned from them about what not to do in the future.

-The weather was sneaky with it being pretty much all in the shade the first 12-13 miles, and then not having shade the second half - did not know the course very well, which I should have known that.

-I did not eat enough before, only had half a bagel (not nearly enough food)

-need to find something with more calories than sport beans I can take easily

-Probably not hydrated enough, which I thought I was before

-Got out faster than I planned, got caught up in a group and was running 528-529pace instead of 535s like I planned

-Hit the half in 1:12:15, wanted to be 1:13:15-1:13:30

-I felt I was in shape for running 225-226, but these factors that I did wrong caused my blowup more, the heat just had a minor factor

-I ended up running 2:46:09 - body completely shut down at 18-19 miles

The heat probably accounted for about 10% at the most of my problems, but not as much as everyone is saying. My name is Curtis Begley, figured I'd put my name since people are sayin no one is owning up to who they are.

I'm not afraid of you looking me up. Why the hell would I care? I'm nobody. A lot of people from the Marathon Training Thread already know who I am anyway. My name is Matt Blume, and I ran 2:32:56 on Sunday in my second marathon. My PR, from Chicago '09 (my debut), is 2:28:38. I don't consider myself to be a "fast guy", but I'm also not "a 3 hour marathoner who wanted to run 2:45". I ran a 1:08:18 half marathon this past May in Indy, and my training went pretty well for this marathon, so I believed I was in shape for something in the 2:22-2:24 range. I knew it would be warm on Sunday, so instead of going out aggressively in 1:11, I went out in 1:12:52. I figured if things went well in the second half I could get in the 2:24 range, and if things went south I'd still be able to manage a PR. Things just went south a little faster than I anticipated, and I faded out of PR range. I don't believe that I went out over my head. Did I make some mistakes in my racing and fueling? Absolutely. Several lessons were learned on Sunday. Would those mistakes have had the same effect on my race if it was 45 degrees on Sunday? Doubtful. I don't see this as making excuses. I see it as using logic to better understand what went wrong so that I can make changes in my future races. And I think all the other folks on here who raced and had rough days are doing the same thing. They're saying that the heat in the second half of the race was a little worse than they anticipated or realized in the first half, and it ended up affecting them more than they expected. Now they are recognizing the issue and so that they can better prepare for it the next time out.

I was one of those people that faded badly, and I do not believe the heat was a huge factor. I believe it accounts for a little bit, but with it being my debut marathon I did a lot of things wrong and have learned from them about what not to do in the future.

-The weather was sneaky with it being pretty much all in the shade the first 12-13 miles, and then not having shade the second half - did not know the course very well, which I should have known that.

-I did not eat enough before, only had half a bagel (not nearly enough food)

-need to find something with more calories than sport beans I can take easily

-Probably not hydrated enough, which I thought I was before

-Got out faster than I planned, got caught up in a group and was running 528-529pace instead of 535s like I planned

-Hit the half in 1:12:15, wanted to be 1:13:15-1:13:30

-I felt I was in shape for running 225-226, but these factors that I did wrong caused my blowup more, the heat just had a minor factor

-I ended up running 2:46:09 - body completely shut down at 18-19 miles

The heat probably accounted for about 10% at the most of my problems, but not as much as everyone is saying. My name is Curtis Begley, figured I'd put my name since people are sayin no one is owning up to who they are.

- it was warmer than it was supposed to be with I saw 65 at the start, and 84ish on a bank at like 18-20 (dont remember where), but you are going to get that in races. everyday is not going to be perfect, I just failed to adjust/execute how I should/made some marathon rookie mistakes.