Lake County Marathon 2000—the end of the line

Buck Hales

Well, it sure was interesting-- running a marathon on the first and last day of April 2000.  In many ways the Lake County Marathon was more difficult than the Chicago Lakefront ultra we ran on the first-- at least I felt worse afterwards. It was considerably warmer and very sunny, which might have contributed to how crispy I felt. I guess the story of this marathon starts where the ultra left off.  My running pal Saint Stephen and I did the ultra together and we did Lake County together.  He delayed in getting his number and was closed out of the marathon, but through another runner’s misfortune came Saint Stephen's luck.  Dave was injured so Steve took his place. This certainly helped me out too, since I had the privilege of running the marathon with my pal.  I only had one long run in April, a 12 miler on the 16th.  I experienced little discomfort but was very fatigued for a few days after the run.  So I essentially tapered for the next two weeks. I only ran 10 miles last week and was getting that antsy feeling, a good sign for a marathon.  I got as much rest as I could, though I don't do advance resting up very well.  So my preparations were good-- expect for food. My usual pre-marathon regimen is very carbohydrate intensive, but I strayed from the norm and consumed a lot of protein. I had a protein shake on Saturday and then for dinner Saturday night baby-greens with salmon. It was divine! Nevertheless, when I got up Sunday at 4:30 to go through my ceremonial preparations, I found that I was not as, shall we say, comfortable as usual. This feeling persisted through out the entire day. Ugh. We caught the train at Ravinia at 6:30 and found it was quite well subscribed too. When we arrived in Zion, it took us 30 minutes to get off since the whole train had to exit from the first car. The police force of Zion was standing guard, ready to arrest anyone who strayed into the woods to water the trees. It was really a strange sight to see the attention paid to governing the bodily functions of the gathered runners. Dutifully we waited in the long line. The blue curtain held the promise of only a certain form of relief. We peeled off our warm ups and got down to our newly minted matching singlets (Virtual Buck and Saint Stephen emblazoned on our new white togs). Though it was quite chilly, the sky was clear and it promised to be a warm day.  It was rather chaotic at the gear check and we never managed to encounter our running friends, but I did see my student John Allen at the start. He too was wearing a borrowed number from another of our fallen comrades.

Our plan-- run a mile, walk a minute. We ran the first two miles and then began our rotation. What a difference it makes to intersperse some walking. This strategy carried us comfortably through the 50K just 29 days earlier and since this was my last long training run for the Prague marathon, it was an easy plan to adopt.   The crowd was thick and excited.  It is a fun race since the 10K, 1/2 marathon and marathon all start together. When we made it to Waukegan, the 10K finish, about 1/2 of the field dropped out. Our 10K time was 57 minutes and our run-walk pace was about 9:45 overall. And we felt great.  As we neared the Great Lakes naval station, I began searching the horizon for a place to go. Finally, at mile 10 we found one single john with a line waiting for it. After a minute of waiting, we opted to water the beach and continued. That was our slowest mile-- 11:55. Then came the "big hill” that lead from the shoreline up to Greenbay Road. Steve and I cruised up the hill chanting: I sang out, "the hill is my friend" Steve responded "the hill is MY friend", then I chanted "the HILL is my friend" to which he chanted back " the hill is my FRIEND" and we ran past 30 or 40 people, mere mortals who were struggling up that hill!  Hearts in our throats, gasping for breath we topped the hill buzzing with excitement. There’s  nothing like picking up the pace to make your run more interesting.

Soon 3/4ths of the remaining runners bailed at the 1/2 marathon finish in Lake Bluff. We took a sharp left and found ourselves nearly alone and in the lovely tree lined streets of Lake Forest. I had never run the LC marathon before, though I had run the 1/2 several times. Immediately I regretted that I had cheated myself out of the good half of the race all those times before.  As the miles clicked off the temperature began to rise. The sun was beating down and though there was a nice breeze, the warmth of the day exacted its toll.  About mile 16, it seemed to get more difficult. I thought the gentle rolling hills were a joy to run on, the change in terrain brings such a relief to the leg muscles, but the downhill stretches were tough on Steve's knees.  It is a beautiful route running through quiet tree lined streets, huge yards with mansions set in pastoral splendor. We pressed on. Each time we stopped to walk I strided out ahead and he faltered and moaned, one more mile. Each time we neared the next mile mark he sighed a big relief. Poor guy was really having a tough time in the later miles. But I felt just great. I took Gu at mile 6, 13, 18, and 23 and that really carried me through. Tri-berry was yummy. The double caffeine tropical fruit was somewhat strange but up lifting. Good water stops but virtually no spectators at all. The 19-20 mile stretch on concrete sidewalks was tough--very exposed, next to traffic and tough on the feet. We soldiered on. I really did feel good. I was pumping my arms, toeing off and running with very relaxed form-- head up and chest forward. At mile 23 I noted that I had never felt quite this good at this point in a marathon before. We walked at the water stop just after 24 and ran the rest of the way in. As we rounded the last bend, entered the home stretch to the finish line a large crowd was lining the last 200 yards, and I KICKED. I had the best finish of any race I've ever had, total full out Bucky Burst to the max. The crowd screamed and the announcer could barely get my name out before I blazed across the finish line. 4:22:07.  woo-hoo! I have never been so happy with such a slow marathon before in my life. My 3rd slowest of the 13 marathons I've done. And maybe one of my very best.  Steve was just a few seconds behind me, opting for a soft landing.  His courageous persistence, pushing through the pain in his knees, is a model for stoic heroism.  Almost as soon as I stopped running my legs went totally rubber on me-- must have been the burst.

Aftermath: I got home and my legs really screamed, my trigger point was on fire and I was completely wasted. After I showered and ate I slept for 3 hours. Then I got up and went to bed. About 3 AM I woke up very sick to my stomach. Unfortunately that feeling persisted for several days. I felt amazingly good otherwise. I was a little stiff and sore, but I could walk up and down the stairs with ease.  There really is something to be said for approaching marathons this way—and nothing can equal the joy of running long with your best pal.