On the flight to Chicago, sleeping peacefully in the row in front of me sat the person who convinced me to sign up for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon: my friend, Gloria. It was her convincing, which took all of maybe five minutes, that I signed up for an expensive race I knew nothing about. Perhaps the best part of training for Chicago was the opportunity to meet other phenom runners, shout out to Eli, who would later join us on our trip to Chicago. The three of us together began our long runs during the most unforgiving summer months in South Texas.

With every 5 a.m. group long run, my mental toughness was sharpened. It’s the rottenest yet most addictive part of running: the daily practice in mentally grinding past the pain. I’m not good at this stuff, but that’s why everyone needs a support system when marathon training–friends who inspire, who stretch us to places beyond our carefully curated safety bubble.

My Chicago Marathon Goals

I kept it simple:

• beat my previous marathon time, an achievable feat
• remain injury free
• have a good enough experience that I sign up for another
• make memories with the girls
• perform well, and hopefully maintain a 9:30 min/mile pace for a finish time of 4 hours 10min/15 mins

Post-Chicago Reflection

Two months have passed since my Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 8th, 2023. I’m now 56,384 steps closer to completing my goal of running all world majors.

Since my focus was to beat my previous marathon time, I’m happy to report that I crossed the Chicago finish line at 4:22:25 with aching lungs but a full heart. I was overcome with emotion. I hate to admit that I don’t remember much about the course, but it was bustling with spectators, music, signs, and skyscrapers. I was too focused on my performance to take in all the sights, but what did stand out was how crowded it was for the entire 26 miles. Thick masses of runners never dissolved with distance, and that made it hard when passing slower runners.

Let’s address the elephant in the blog. I didn’t meet my goal of a 9:30/mi pace, but I didn’t miss it by much. According to Garmin, I kept a solid 9:51/mi pace. To my delight, my first 23 miles were on target for a 4:06 finish time until a charlie horse in my left calf on mile 23 derailed my focus. I immediately stopped to massage my leg, flex my calf on a street curb, and try to run faster to make up lost time, only to immediately seize up in another brutal charlie horse in the right calf. Weariness filled every crevice of my body and spirit. I allowed myself to shed a couple tears at my lost momentum and proceeded to run-walk the last 5k.

Disappointments like this are both soul-crushing but familiar. Mental toughness is half the battle, also not my forte, but it’s the reason I fell in love with running–because it’s something I know I need to practice. This marathon was a learning experience. This will fuel my desire to do better in my next.

Data Nerd

The numbers don’t lie. I was a well-oiled machine, that is due, at least in part, to the amazing training I received from coach Raul and the ideal temperatures (55-66 °F) keeping my heart rate at an average of 142 bpm.

Before seasoned runners start scoffing at that HR, one must know that my HR is fairly low at all times. My average resting heart rate for the past year has been 43 bpm, so I can easily top out around 160-170 bpm in a short race. Hitting high numbers like that feels really bad, so 140 is my happy endurance pace.

World Marathon Majors explained

It wasn’t until months into my Chicago marathon training that someone asked if I was “…interested in running all the majors,” to which I replied curiously, “What’s that?”

Renowned elite runners set world records at these marathons, i.e., Kelvin Kiptum’s 2:00:35 world record crushed Kipchoge’s on the very same Chicago course I was stomping around on.

With one world major down, I have five to go; it’s a lofty goal, and sadly, just a few days ago I received crushing news that my application for the non-guaranteed lottery was not selected for the Berlin Marathon in fall 2024.

The difference a running coach makes

Yes, there are thousands of training plans I could have downloaded online, but take a second to scroll to my last paragraph to see why I didn’t do that for the Chicago Marathon. The difference was that I shaved over an hour off my marathon time. There’s no comparison: training on a piece of paper vs. having an running coach cycling behind you at 6 mph for 19 miles at 4 a.m. to cue when to drink my electrolytes and take my gels. Of course, there are many factors to explain why I shaved a full hour off my first marathon time, but the biggest factor was the one-on-one help I received from Raul, my coach.

After reflecting on my performance with coach, I performed well with the exception of a few undeniable mishaps:

• Not knowing my pace: skyscrapers interfered with Garmin’s GPS signal at the beginning of the race, and I came out of the gate too hot in my first mile
• Wearing the wrong clothing: long sleeves, no matter the pre-race temperatures, was a poor decision, especially knowing how much of a sweaty runner I am.
• Using my hand-held hydration: I knew better. I always run faster with my hands free, so I should’ve worn my belt hydration
• Reducing my marathon training to 14 weeks instead of the usual 16-18 weeks: this was about the only thing out of my control because I was training for a huge charity bicycle ride, SB250, well into late June; more weeks of training would’ve allowed me more time to spread out long runs and not feel compounded fatigue

Despite these mistakes, I’m proud. Thank you, el coache!

And finally…

My first marathon, which really shouldn’t be counted as such, was the Brownsville Chief of Police Marathon on December 11, 2022. I finished in a whopping time of 5:27:59. I half-heartedly trained for it, skipped numerous long runs, and was left with a justified, shameful time. I can’t believe I just admitted that. It’s something I’ve forcibly buried deep in my vault of memories.

While embarrassing, I find these blunders important milestones in my running journey, not only to humble myself but to remind myself of how far I’ve come. Running has never come easy to me, particularly long distance and endurance. Being transparent in my running experiences might just help others feel empowered to start or continue their own running adventures. Running is not easy, and it’s important for me to articulate that if you run at all, you are indeed a runner, regardless of pace.