Chicago Marathon: Karma Police?

That was my punishment for making fun of Hall's "tight hamstring" DNF in London, wasn't it?

I executed my plan for the first 8 miles - first 4 in 6:00, and then drop to 5:50 pace. But I knew by then something with wrong with my hammies. They were tight, and every stride sent a shooting pain to my upper hamstring/glute area. It didn't start cramping yet, but I knew I wouldn't last at that pace. For whatever reason I just couldn't settle into a comfortable and smooth stride. I had more than a couple, "what the eff is going on?" moments in that first hour.

At that point, though, I had to face reality and make a decision: either carry on at that pace and inevitably cramp and blow up; or drop back to a pace that didn't hurt my hamstrings and finished best I could. I opted for the former, and thankfully found that I could at least hold a 6:15 pace without much discomfort.

I also decided to stop and stretch at 4 points to help manage - miles 12, 16, 20 and 24 - where Britt was waiting with electrolyte bottles (Nuun). So at those spots, I walked for about 30 seconds, chugged the drink, and stretched, which really helped. Those splits were about 7:00, and the rest were all in the 6:15-6:25 range. Far my ideal, but it allowed me to finish in one piece, without injury, in 2:45.

Thinking back to training, I often had hamstring tightness that I would have to stretch during a run, For example, on long runs on the lakefront, whenever I stopped at a fountain to drink I'd also stretch for about 15 seconds. I didn't think anything of it and just chalked it up as part of training fatigue. But I guess its something more.

Aerobically the entire race was easy. A handful of friends I saw out there even commented that I looked like I was out for a jog. But muscularly my hamstrings just couldn't handle the pace. I don't know if its a fitness issue or a specific deficiency that I need to address. I'm hoping for the later.

Maybe one day I'll figure this distance out.

For the time being, I'm in pretty good spirits. No, this isn't the race I wanted, but I am proud of adjusting mid-race the best I could and fighting through it. More importantly, I don't feel at all burnt out or like I need some time away. In fact I am anxious to build on this to get my race times back to where they once were.

I'm signed up for the Houston Half in 14 weeks. So let's just call yesterday a great base training long run, mmkay?

See you in Houston, Dave!

Dave like I said yesterday I wasn't expecting that! I remember being on the course and looking down at my watch and saying "Dave should be finishing for a PR shortly". So it wasn't meant to happen yesterday but I truly believe that you should keep at it!! I believe that you can figure the marathon distance out. If there is one thing I learned about you over the years and that I feel you and I are the same is that we "love challenges!!". So this is a challenge and one that you will figure out. I haven't seen you run or run with you of late but I bet you are in the best aerobic condition that you have ever been in!! Keep with it buddy and the reward will only be that much sweeter when it is reached.

Smart move, Dave-O, and the big difference is that you finished, Hall did not and he could have chosen the same path. If I had to venture out on a limb, my guess would be some glute deficiency - maybe from fatigue, maybe not. That has always been the driver for my hammie issues. Good luck with getting this issue solved and looking forward to how you run in Houston as it is an excellent course for a fast run.

Of course, I have no answers to the hammie problem.

It's a humbling and (at times) mystifying distance.

Nice job adjusting on the fly!

Dave,

I can't even fathom running at your speed ever.........but thats great you have that ability.I know with my own running I have started to take 10 minutes every night and do simple leg stretches .Sit down on floor, legs in a v as wide is comfprtable and stretch to each side ,holding the stretch for 30 sec. each side . Do each side then the middle.try to relax during stretch,and repeat 3x each side hopefully stretching a little further each time make sure you feel a gentle stretch in the hamstring . the key will be to do this each week 4x a week you should gain flexibility and that should help the pain. Good luck

Nicely done, sir.

I'll work on having the same weather in January.

Was wondering what the deal was when I got your 10k update and then again when I saw you at 13. This explains it.



Hang tough, get a massage, and get yourself ready for Houston. Nice 2:45, though.

Nice race Dave - I suppose to many the idea of slowing down because they want to and not because they have to (at least not when you did) would be a great option. Godmother Michele would know if that was a smart move - she says it was, so I have no doubt! Maybe not the 2.5 you were looking for, but 2 3/4 taking it "easy" on a fragile leg/situation is pretty damn impressive.

Smart race, Dave-O. Nice one to build on.

Have a PT check out your quad/hamstring strength ratio. If your quads are not as strong from being a flatlander, that may be an issue.

Bah. What a frustrating experience! Still, you were write to throttle back and not injure yourself for a PR that clearly wasn't going to happen.

Was this your first race in the Flyknits? I can't imagine they'd give you hamstring problems... but it's not impossible, either.

Dave, I really thought you had it this year after following your new training program this year. It seemed really good and must have made a big difference in that your slowdown pace was still the 2:45 time. You will figure this out and hopefully your coach and a PT can help especially once you let them know about the issues during your training. Good luck and we're all pulling for you.

I was really looking for you bust a good one this year with the coach and weather and all. There is more fight in there and this is just going to make it that much sweeter when you pop a good one.

Hey, you may have had a blow up, but 2:45 is no slouch performance especially with your hamstring issue, way to play it smart and not add insult to injury. I'm sure you've researched a plenty, but I've been doing Wharton brother's active isolation stretching since my ITB/back injury in 2011 and it has helped tremendously. My hamstrings were my weakest area and now, knock on wood, have been the least of my worries. They have videos on their website. They have a dissenting opinion from the industry standard of the static stretch hold of 20-30 seconds to the active iso of 1-2 seconds. You'll get that PR your looking for, hang in their. Great seeing you and Britt at dinner and afterwards!

I agree with using the Wharton stretches - make sure to do the Piriformis, Glute, ITB, and hamstring ones. I have found that there are often two causes of hamstring weakness: 1) overly tight, strong quads; 2) tight, weak glute medius. I was astonished that working on my glute medius made my hamstring better and keeping my quads looser helped as well. You don't need a PT or anything, just Youtube and google.

Good luck with this as it is a pain in the butt (no pun intended), but it can be overcome.

You'll get this down, then one day it'll all come together and you'll drop the hammer and throw down a monster time.

Oh, you'll get this done, no doubt in my mind. Once you pinpoint the exact cause you'll nail it. I'm looking forward to that race report and I'm happy to read that this one still shows you have the fight in you. Awesome!

Ah, something's going on. Some kind of muscle imbalance. You are too talented and have done too much work to have a "speed governor" like that kick in at 5:50 pace. I'll always believe that your BEST times will come at the 15k to half mary distance but there's no reason you shouldn't already have a sub 2:30 in hand with your ability and training. Frustrating, I know. So great to see you Sunday and sorry I was so lame late night but that 4:15am wakeup call for Monday was scaring me out of more football/beers/wine. I'll be out there in ChiTown again soon as you are ramping up for Houston and your recovery run pace can be a puke my guts out speed workout for me. Nice job sticking with it on a day that wasn't delivering magic for you. That's impressive and inspiring, buddy.

Dave, sorry to hear that your hammies prevented you from having the race that you wanted...but, you did the right thing in deciding to slow the pace and make the best of the race. There is no sense in blowing up and potentially injuring yourself. Look out Houston!!