Chicago Marathon 2023
Author: Aly Comeau
Hello! Boy, it’s been a long time since I wrote a blog post. The majority of the blog posts on this website have been written so wonderfully by various interns! I appreciate them so much. I wanted to share my experience at the Chicago Marathon. I had planned on making an instagram post and quickly realized I have a lot to say!! In a recent poll, I had wanted to hear from my followers what they’d like to know about my marathon experience. Sounds like some people want to hear about my training, my fueling/hydration, my thoughts, my recovery after and my everything! I want to preface this with saying, I am certainly no marathon veteran as this was only my 3rd marathon! I’m learning a lot about myself as a runner and what works the best for me. So take this in, with a grain of salt, and know what works well for me may not work well for you! However, I do use my expertise as a dietitian in my own fueling and recovery strategies… and my experience as an athlete and certified personal trainer has helped me with the training plan and changes I had to make.
The training plan:
I *very loosely* followed the Hanson’s Marathon Method. I used this training method for the Cape Cod marathon and very much enjoyed it, so figured I’d give it a whirl again. There are different levels from Basic-Advanced-Elite. I followed the basic plan for the Cape Cod marathon in 2022 almost exactly. I wanted to challenge myself so I intended on following the advanced plan… keyword *intended.* I went through A LOT of changes during this training cycle. I started a full time job, continued to build my private practice and worked inpatient per diem at a hospital. SO - basically working 40+hrs a week, with travel to my in-person day job was a BIG adjustment for me. My runs were either at 5am, on my lunch break or in the evening at 7-8pm. Needless to say, my time was limited so there wasn’t always time for me to get my speed workouts, long tempos or even all the mileage I had originally planned for. Another hiccup in my training came with a minor injury. I rolled my ankle pretty good and had to take about a week off from running. AND THEN I re-rolled that same ankle :D :D :D. I noticed myself getting increasingly frustrated with my training. I also noticed myself becoming anxious and dreading my runs. In addition to these changes, we got engaged in July (YAY, celebration) AND planning a wedding while keeping everyone happy is very difficult. I found myself worrying more about everyone else’s happiness than my own. Running has always been a form of release and reduction in my own anxiety. My very own release was now CAUSING additional stress, I had to re-evaluate. I had a lot of very good reasons and voices telling me to consider deferring Chicago to the following year. Ultimately, this just wasn’t the right option for me. I don’t enjoy putting things off, I don’t enjoy waiting for things… so I re-evaluated. AND that’s okay. I remind myself often that running is for FUN, my training is written in PENCIL and meant to be adjusted. I run to live, I don’t live to run. SO - I let go of the black and white ideas around my scheduled plan and allowed myself to do what I can. I was ranging mileage between 30-35 miles per week on average. I did have one really high mileage week (51 miles).
For those of you who are interested in my specific training; my longest long run was 17 miles (this is an aspect I absolutely LOVE about Hanson's method, running multiple 20 milers is just not something I want to do, at this time in my life). My weeks typically went like: Monday: rest, Tuesday: easy (4-7 miles), Wednesday: speed workout OR easy, whatever I can get in, Thursday: easy/or rest (4-7 miles), Friday: easy (4-7 miles), Saturday: social with my pals (5-7 miles), Sunday: long (10-17 miles). I want to reiterate that there are SO many different methods to marathon training - this is what has worked well for me at this point in my life. I may consider trying other methods for experimental purposes in the future :D or as my life and priorities change. Running 6 days a week is not always feasible. Also - some people enjoy strength training in addition! I hope to incorporate strength training at some point into my training cycles. Training is also extremely important to figure out what fuel options work the best for your body, before, during and after. There are SO many products out there, and for good reason. What works well for me… may not work well for you. Trial and error! BUT NEVER trial a new product on race day… unless you want to increase your chances of pooping your pants… which are already high because you’re running for many hours.
The week of:
So we know, I had a lot of challenges during my training cycle. Finally I get to the week before, taper week. Well of course I caught a head cold this week right? Don’t pity me lol, I was fine… AND annoyed. I was stuffed up and had a decently good sounding cough. SO we pivot on taper week too. I didn’t follow my plan at all… I did what I could. My taper week consisted of - 3 miles easy on Tuesday, 3 miles easy on Thursday, 3 miles shake out Saturday… marathon Sunday. My plan had called for a few 5-6 mile runs throughout the week, I really didn’t have the energy for this. I focused my efforts on hydration and eating well throughout the week. I had SO much pasta… everyday. And guess who’s still not sick of pasta, ME :D! Love it. I had yellow gatorade daily, carried my emotional support water bottle everywhere and mixed in additional electrolytes when I could.
The days before:
We flew into Chicago on Friday; when we arrived we did some site-seeing, deep dish pizza, etc… We walked to the Bean and guess what everyone, it was under construction. I can’t even lol. If you’ve never been to Chicago, I highly recommend it. The architecture is just gorgeous. Saturday, we did an easy 3 mile shake out. We ran to Grant Park where the race began and ended just to check it out. Prior to my shake out I had a honey stinger waffle. Post shake out we went out for breakfast. My primary focus for the day was to eat lots of carbohydrates and hydrate my body. I wanted to store as much energy in my liver and muscles so my body had plenty to use for the race. For breakfast, I had a breakfast mac and cheese with a fried egg. My secondary focus for the day was to try to sit and rest the leggies as much and as often as I could. We did go to the Lincoln Park zoo where I housed chicken nuggets and fries and sat on a lot of benches. I also wanted to see as many animals as I could… We were in Chicago at the zoo, duh. For dinner, I already had my heart and stomach set on some sort of pasta dish. I had 2 containers of penne pasta with red sauce and bread. I also had 1 entire emotional support water bottle worth of water and some liquid IV with my dinner.
The morning of:
I woke up at 4:30am to start the process. It was suggested to arrive at the gate at 5:30am, so I wanted to give myself plenty of time to prepare. For breakfast I had 1 plain, white bagel with peanut butter, a GoGo Squeeze applesauce, coffee (ofc) and yellow gatorade as well as pure H2O. I, again, was trying to store as much energy in my muscles and liver to be readily used when I start running. Carbs are our body's main source of energy. Carbs, carbs, carbs are king! For that reason, I continued to drink my yellow gatorade and I had another GoGo Squeeze applesauce at 7am, my wave went off at 7:30am. It was rather chilly, I had a large sweatshirt on which I was able to donate at the start of the race. A “chuck it” sweatshirt, IYKYK.
The race:
As I mentioned, my wave went off at 7:30am. There were over 48,500 runners so I didn’t cross the start line until 7:44am. I stuck to my fueling strategy. I used the UCan Gels and planned to have 4 total throughout the race. I took a UCan Gel every 45 minutes. So it went like; UCan (pineapple) 45 mins, UCan (strawberry banana) 1 hr 30 mins, UCan (pineapple) 2 hrs 15 mins, UCan (strawberry banana) 3 hrs. I switched off flavors to keep my life interesting, that’s the only reason. I followed each gel up with a swig of water. The UCan gels consist of carbohydrates, designed to be “long lasting,” basically the carb is coming from corn starch. This gel is unique in that way, most gels use sugar for their form of carb! This helps my muscles and liver stay energized with carbohydrate… because once you’re out… you’re out and that my friends is called “hitting the wall.” It’s recommended to have 25-65 gms of carbohydrate every hour of running. These gels have around 19 gms of carbohydrate per 1. Honestly, in my reflection I think I could have used 5 gels and I would take them a bit more often, maybe every 35-40 minutes. Emma Bates (famous, look her up) takes a UCan gel at every 5k. For reference, there are 8+ 5ks in 1 marathon. Truly, it’s about what your body can tolerate and what works best for you. I did carry a water bottle that was H2O and ½ a packet of liquid IV. Personally, I know I’m a very very salty sweaty person. Just ask Jake, immediately after the race he kissed my cheek followed with “bleck you’re so salty!” SO - the liquid IV pack has around 500 mg of sodium per 1. Sodium (and other electrolytes) are important for muscle contraction… I use this product to *hopefully* prevent a muscle cramp. On the course in Chicago, they were providing gatorade and water around every mile-2 miles. I was alternating between water and gatorade around every 2 miles. Basically it went, mile 2: water, mile 4: gatorade, mile 6: water, mile 8: gatorade… that kind of thing. I know my body does well with gatorade (preferably yellow… that's the superior flavor, sorry) so I went ahead and had this, again, to continue adding additional carb in hopes that I didn’t hit the wall.
The wall:
Well I did, I hit the wall. Around mile 23, my legs were like “heyyyy!!” I lost a bit of my momentum and went from my avg 7:20 pace to around an 8:00-8:05 pace. Which was totally fine by me. This is where the negative thoughts started flowing into my brain. My brain went from “I love this, this awesome, I’m stronger than I think” to questioning life choices “Ugh this sucks, 3 more miles wtf.” I am so beyond happy that I do the work I do as a dietitian. I was able to tell myself what I tell my clients; acknowledge the negative thought, it exists AND that’s okay. AND AND AND. I remind myself, “Ugh this sucks AND I have had 3 hours of ME time!”, “3 more miles wtf AND I’ve gone 23” “This hurts so bad AND this is what the training was for, these next 3 miles.” When things get tough, acknowledge and keep moving forward. It’s amazing to me what a neutral-positive attitude can do.
Looking back, I think my body could have used an additional hit of carbohydrate. The reason we want to start early in the race with our carb intake is to prevent the demise later in the race. When we are running, our body is using energy rapidly, so rapidly it’s very very difficult to keep up with the replacement of it. When we don’t have it readily available, we tap into the muscle and liver… (our carb loading) and when we lose that… welcome to the wall. Our body will have to find new ways to make and use energy. So if you’re considering running a marathon on a low carb diet, I have one word for you; don’t… or at least I wouldn’t do that. You live your life boo.
The out of our control:
There is only so much that we are in control of on race day. We can control our training (to a certain extent, make pivots when needed), we can control our fueling strategy (usually), we can control our mindset (to the best of our ability)... but we cannot control the weather, the crowds, the wind and sometimes our GI system/our breathing doesn’t go the way we planned. This particular day in Chicago was perfect, the weather was amazing!! There were a lot of runners, I tried my best not to swerve and weave through the crowds. The energy in Chicago was also unmatched!! The crowds were so loud and supportive, it really helps push you towards the finish line. It was such a perfect day, several World Records were beaten!
The recovery:
Immediately following the race, it can be really hard to refuel and recover. My stomach is typically pretty upset from being jostled around for 3+ hours. I knew this ahead of time because of my 2 previous marathon experiences. I also know the importance of refuel and recovery post movement. It’s essential to replenish our carbohydrate stores and repair our muscles with adequate protein. Since I know my body wouldn’t be able to stomach a meal within 30 mins-1 hr post race, I intentionally packed an Ensure for after! The Ensure had a carb:protein ratio that was pretty reasonable for post movement, we are looking for 3 or 4:1 carb:protein post movement. The best thing to have is actually chocolate milk!! But - I had an Ensure in Chi Town so that worked for me. I also had some pure H2O, I tried not to guzzle it, just small sips! Once my stomach settled, I was able to have more mac and cheese and chicken nuggets… OH and a beer ofc :)!! Longer term recovery; I typically take 1 entire week off from running and any movement, besides some gentle walking. I’m a very quad-dominant runner, following big races my quads are screaming all week. I’m writing this on the Friday after my Sunday race and it’s just today I can sit on and stand up off the toilet without assistance from the wall, lol. My focus around food for the week is to eat adequately, 3 meals and snacks… prioritize protein and hydration.
The upcoming:
I’m very much looking forward to a break from following a training plan. However, Boston 2024 is coming fast, training will begin in January. I can’t wait to break down that experience and training cycle then!!
