Blog Roll: Sage Canaday "Chicago in a world of hurt"

They say “Racing the mile is like burning yourself with a flame-whereas racing a marathon is like slowly roasting yourself over coals.” This “roasting” seems to crop up mostly after the 20 mile mark….it is what some might call “the last 10k death march.” In my younger days, I used to flat-out dread racing a 10k on the track. Lactic acid that stimulates your tongue like its coated from a copper tasting “kiss of death” seemed to be highlight of such track races for me (as well as various muscle failure, stomach cramping, and hyperventilation). That was pain somewhere between the quick flame burn and the slow roasting. Now that I’m old and running marathons, my perspective has shifted to just this: first 20 miles + 10k.

On 10/10/10 I ran Chicago, and like all the marathons that I have run, I was in a world of hurt for that final 10k. My left calf and hamstring were cramping, my thoughts were cloudy, and I was dry heaving in waves of nausea. The energy cost of moving 150+ lbs for 26.2 miles at a rate of 11.3 mph in 70 degree heat required a higher work capacity than my body could handle. I was totally dead, and at mile 24 I knew I needed two, back-to-back 5:15 miles and a bit of a kick in the final 385 yards to run a sub 2:19:00. That didn’t happen- I was already fading to 5:25’s and the only little “hill” on the whole course occurs in the last half mile of the race. On the bright side, I ended up placing 17th overall (8th American) and running nearly even splits of 1:09:34 and 1:09:44 for a PR of 2:19:18.

It was a tough day for many of the elites, as guys were dropping out like flies and those that went out fast early on seemed to fade (except for Jason Hartman who ran amazingly fast and still had amazingly even splits). I also want to give major props to some of my Hansons-Brooks teammates: Mike Morgan, who did everything it took (no matter how bad it smelled later!), to run a nice 2:14 PR; Luke Humphrey who took it out and pressed hard in the middle of the race – yet still finished well when others faded or quit; and to Tim Young, who ran a huge PR, ran the most even splits of probably anyone in the race- and who brutally missed cracking 2:19:00 by 1 second.

This is the second time I’ve narrowly missed qualifying for the Olympic Trials (the first being in 2007 when I debuted in 2:22:21…. a mere 21 seconds off the “B” standard at the time). Watching the finish line clock tick past that magical time as you attempt to feebly sprint down the last 90m is like some form of cruel and unusual punishment. You replay memories like that over and over in your head for the rest of your life. However, when I finally left the windy city this past weekend, I came away with more positive memories than negative ones.

Although we were all hoping to run faster times, the race was a step in the right direction for most of us. For one thing, I learned that I can pound Gu’s and Gatorade like a champ (Perhaps running in such events as the Krispy Kreme 5k Challenge helped train my stomach?) Also, to combat warmer race temperatures, I’ve learned to drench myself with water every couple of miles to capitalize on evaporative cooling over the surface of the skin. The marathon teaches you a lot of lessons-and many you have to learn the hard way.

Finally, I’d like to thank my sponsors and people who have supported me along the way: Brooks, The Hansons Distance Project, Keith and Kevin Hanson, the Chicago Marathon staff and volunteers, and of course my family, friends, former college coach Robert Johnson and all my teammates (current and past) for giving me the opportunity and encouragement to run in such great races.

Sage blogs on FLOTRACK