Jarvis Googoo

On October 12, I completed my fourteenth marathon; Chicago. The Chicago Marathon takes place on the ancestral homelands of the Anishinaabe – the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations.

When the applications opened, I submitted mine right away and was accepted the next day. While the race was 303 days away, I went ahead and booked my hotel on December 13, which was decently close to the start and end area; the Embassy Suites River North.

After the Jersey City Marathon (JCM), I got myself a new bicycle to compliment my training (which I purchased on March 29). Three days later, I got my plan from Coach Lee; same paces with a sub 2:45:00 goal. We had to make the paces feel comfortable.

For the new block, I started something different. Rather than regular running shoes and then racing/speed shoes, I went with both for an overall strategy. I’d use AlphaFly for racing/speed work and New Balance Fuel Cell Elite 4 for the other days.

One major mistake I made with spring training was turning my regular days into faster ones. Foolishly, I was aiming for a below 4:00 pace. While I was able to hit this, it had a negative impact on Wednesdays and Saturdays (when I was supposed to be running faster). As I barely recovered in time to run JCM, the increased/unnecessary speed took its toll and set me back. My left shin became tender, I couldn’t meet my target paces, my right glute got sore, and then following that, my right hamstring. I was worried going into the Cabot Trail Relay that I wouldn’t be able to give it 100%. I wondered if being 44 was slowing my recovery time, but Meaghan said that injuries are like seasons, so stay optimistic. Obviously I’ve had these and other setbacks before. While the Cabot Trail Relay was an amazing weekend, my right leg was on my mind and pondered if it would hold up. It did, but I wasn’t able to give Leg 17 my full capabilities.

Later in May, after chatting with my physiotherapist (who gave me a primary diagnosis of proximal hamstring tendinopathy), Erin, and Lee, I stopped the sub 4:00 paces on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Lee said these runs should be 30 seconds slower than marathon pace, as doing 4:00 forces me to dig a massive hole and I wouldn’t be able to meet my workout targets (as everything else is about recovery). A bit of a hard pill to shallow, but never think with an ego. I had to scale back.

My regular days got slower than Lee’s recommendations (to play it safe), and the workouts were best efforts based upon how I was feeling. June was both tough and humbling (especially with Garmin and Strava giving me slower predictions). Lots of physio exercises, reduced speeds, and leg weight training. Although I couldn’t fully stretch the right leg, better performance was slowly returning.

June 21 was my 5K of the year at the Summer Solstice. While I finished in first place, it was at 17:52, and even though this was slower than what I’ve done on the course, I was happy with it. After the race and discussing age categories with others, one young guy thought that I was in my late-20s. This was very flattering, and told him that hydration, exfoliation, and moistuirizing (good skin care) helps a lot.

By the end of the month, I did a team Long Run for the first time in ages and it went great (except for the cool down); a real confidence booster. I started feeling a little better on the right leg even though I couldn’t fully extend it. Acupuncture, massages, resting more, and extra stretching were all helping. Mid-July I definitely improved. Not 100%, but closer to it.

The Nova Scotia Half Marathon was on July 21 and I finished it at 1:19:47. While it wasn’t a personal best (not even on this course), given my injuries since the spring, I was pleased with this. The next day I received exciting news; one of my best friends Tanya (a Mi’kmaw that I went to law school with and fellow 3L roommate) was also going to be doing the Chicago Marathon.

For late-July and early-August, our Spain vacation (Menorca and Barcelona) did mess up my training schedule a tad bit (which usually happens), and I ended up missing a Long Run. Totally cool, as running in both places was beautiful. Leaving our Barcelona hotel, I was flattered that the concierge asked me about running and doing a race in Spain one day.

By August 6, I was virtually injury- and issue-free. Now it was time to get back to my regular speed/strength and start hitting my target paces again for the Workout and Long Runs. A week later, Drew followed-up with me to be a part of the Rum Runner’s Rely and I was game for it. I’m glad that I did this as it was a decent ten kilometre-ish race before my marathon. Plus with Cobequid being cancelled as a safety precaution, this worked out (and I got an extra Saturday Long Run out of it as I missed one in Barcelona). By mid-August, I was back to normal. It was tough to scale back since late-May to ensure a full recovery, but absolutely worth it. August 20 was a special celebration, as it was my first time meeting – and even passing – my intended run paces in months. It was extra nice that friends were even commenting that my speed was back to what it usually was. Recovery Runs were feeling good too (even with the big Saturday Long Runs the day before). My August 27 Point Pleasant Drive Hills were the strongest yet with a 4:10 run pace (previous record being 4:19 on March 6, 2024).

One lovely thing that I liked about my summer training was that I got to run in a new/different place on a couple of Thursdays in New Brunswick while visiting Ugpi’ganjig, Madawaska, Esgenoopetitj, Pabineau, Oromocto, Sitansisk, and Woodstock.

September was also good. On the fourteenth, I was back to hitting a sub 4:00 pace on a Long Run. I used to feel exhausted by the end of these runs and often napped afterwards, but things were picking up. Days later while reviewing the marathon logistics, I realized that I was qualified for Corral A in Chicago. I was bummed that I didn’t pay more attention to this, but figured “ah well.” Experimenting with my 750 millilitre flasks, my knuckles ended up cut. So I opted to stick with the 500 ones for Chicago, although I deduced that the 750s never gave me issues when I wore gloves. I did my Rum Runner’s Leg on the last Sunday and earned a new 10K Strava personal best (PB) of 34:04. Before I left for Chicago, I got my race plan from Lee. He sent it in miles but I converted it into kilometres (as I love the metric system). The first 10K was for 3:57, followed by a 3:56 till 22K, and then 3:54 to 35K, although I could go a little faster at 25K if my systems and I were feeling strong. The last 7K was a sub 3:53. The final advice was not to overdo the carbs.

Friday before the race, I took an Uber to the airport with Chris. It was a great opportunity to chat and get to know him and we talked all things running, including a bit about our day jobs. Once in Chicago, we met up with Tony and Sarah and we headed to the Expo. A wonderful surprise was that Tony and I – based upon our best times – were able to go from Corral C to B. I was unbelievably happy. While qualified for Corral A, it was maxed out. Nevertheless, I was over the moon with this upgrade. But even with the euphoric news, a severe issue emerged; exhaustion. My Body Battery was zapped. I got up too early for our flight (but better to play it safe), and with the travels, I found myself completely spent. My physical, mental, and spiritual well-being were drained. I had to ensure Saturday was as relaxing and stressless as possible. After getting some carb food, I went back to my hotel. That night, I managed to get a solid seven hours of sleep, which helped a lot.

To ensure that I wasn’t overtaxing things, Saturday morning I skipped the Abbot 5K and did a solo Shakeout Run beforehand. Furthermore, I secluded myself from socials. I wasn’t being anti-social, but needed to focus on myself prior to the marathon (my friends understood this). I did step out to get a new pair of Bandit racing shorts; the Superbeam Next Gen 7 Pocket Quarter Tights (in black). I read about these and have a pair in Deep Peri Blue and Rush, and they are absolutely some of the most incredible shorts that I ever used. Aside from the comfort/support, their pocket system is awesome (for iPhones, keys, cards, and gels); I did not need a FlipBelt. While waiting in line, I chatted with some fellow Canadians (Elliot and Al) and even saw Sarah, Chris, and Tony. Before going back to my accommodations, I picked up some more spaghetti. That aside, Saturday was just relaxing in my hotel room, carb-loading, messaging folks, YouTube, and capping things off with almost two hours straight of yin yoga.

On marathon morning, I woke up for 3:29 a.m. I felt as if I had a very good near eight-hour deep sleep (despite what my Garmin showed). Rather than the full Gatorade bottle, I drank 250 millilitres of mango smoothie and had a bagel with peanut butter at 3:55 a.m. Being just a few kilometres away, I walked to the race start area. While I purchased a Fast Track for quick entry, I didn’t need it as showing-up early sufficed. The day before, Greg (who gave me the idea of the Zürich Marathon) inboxed me some great advice re Corral B and ensuing that I got to the front early. I bumped into Chris and Sarah just outside of the corral, and met up with Tony several minutes later. While waiting to begin, I got to meet the three original starters of the first Chicago Marathon; George Mueller, Randy Burt, and Henry Kozlowski. They were full of energy and excitement. We all were.

Our corral got going for 7:35 a.m. Greg informed me that if I started at the back of it, I would spend too much time trying to get past people. Glad I listened, and while I still had to do this, it wasn’t as bad given how massive the event was. There was some minor people-bumping along the way (probably the most yet I’ve experienced), but obviously it wasn’t malicious and just an unintentional and expected part of the race. Throughout the course, several dogs barked at the runners, and in the bliss of things, I barked back. At about 6K, I spotted a cute Corgi. I also saw a couple of Toronto Harriers (another Cabot Trail Relay team).

Following the plan, I honestly don’t think that I really fell off the lines anywhere. I hovered around or was even on my target paces, scaled back when I was going too fast, but ensured that I wasn’t going slow either. When I hit 7K, I reminded myself that I only needed to do what I just did six more times to complete it.

As a whole, the Chicago Marathon barely has any elevation; it’s essentially a flat course. As a marathon first, I did not run with music. I tend to turn off my tunes towards the end of a 42.2K, and while I love my AfterShockz, I stopped wearing them for my Workout and Long Runs – as well as all my other races – a while ago. The Chicago crowds were incredible; no quiet spots and the spectators cheering you on were essentially concerts. It was now time to fully embrace these moments.

The 21.1K mark was along Wacker Drive and I smiled; I was halfway done. Over the years with both running and racing, I learned that perspective helps a lot. With a full marathon, mentally breaking it up and framing it differently makes it more enjoyable. For example, as I mentioned re 7K, I simply thought of repeating this six more times. Over the midway point, I completed over 50% of the race. At 32K, I tell myself that it’s just ten more to go, basically running my Diana Grace Avenue loop just over five times. Perspective!

As per Lee’s direction at 25K, I assessed where I was, and it was a good place. Time to pick it up. I slightly increased my pace. I was looking forward to seeing how things would be at 35K and if I could blast it to the finish with the same vigour as I did for the 2023 California International Marathon (CIM). Once I was ready for the last 7K, I did a quick evaluation. My hip flexors were a tiny bit tender, so I couldn’t really dash it à la CIM, but I still had speed. In fact, although I felt stronger with my CIM finish, the final 7K of Chicago was actually faster (go figure). For CIM, Lee said to pick off those ahead of me, and I did the same thing here; spotting a runner in front, catching up, passing, and then repeating. I love surging. My flasks were now empty but I felt alright even with the warm temperatures (embrace the hot summer training I always say). For the first time in years, I did pack a few gels in my new shorts (did I mention how awesome they were?), and took two of them. Not sure if it was the gels or something else, but the last two kilometres on Michigan Avenue became my slowest of the race. No matter; the previous 40K was terrific. While I didn’t hit my specific goal, crossing the finish line, I earned a new PB of 2:46:42, ecstatic for knocking over five minutes off my last marathon, and one hour and 20 minutes since my first one.

Once done, I started walking (never abruptly stop). The Chicago Marathon was also the least sore I’ve felt to date post-42.2K; no aching nor limping. Aside from a warm head due to the heat, I felt good. Volunteers handed out wet facecloths and I placed one on top my skull. After chugging three bottles of water and getting some fun pictures with marathonfoto, I looked up Chris, Tony, and Sarah on the app. They were still running, so I went to go get my gear. Along the way, I FaceTimed with Kerri to share the good news and how I was doing. I then met up with Sarah. We had a nice chat about the event, losing loved ones, and being grateful to be able to run. Soon Tony arrived and we headed back to our respective accommodations (I was staying at a different hotel that was very close to theirs). I also got to speak with my mother on the phone and told her how I did (with about half of the conversation being in Mi’kmaw).

After a short stretch and posting my results on The Social Media, it was time to celebrate and socialize with the crew. We set off to Giordano’s, as I never had a Chicago deep dish pizza in my life. I felt it was only appropriate to finally try it while in the Windy City. I liked it, but it had too much sodium (as it was tough to fall asleep that night). I left dinner a little early as I wanted to walk around to sightsee the city. Strolling along the River Walk, I stopped and sat at the River Theater to reflect a bit on life, culture, growing up in We’koqma’q, running and all the wonderful experiences associated with it, and having only the deepest gratitude for everything. For the entire walk, it was fun to congratulate other runners who also completed the Chicago Marathon. I ended the walk by reuniting with Tanya (and meeting her friends). While the social was a short one (I needed to pack as I had an early flight), it was lovely to catch-up with her.

My flight was changed for the next morning, and upon arriving in Toronto, I bumped into Christina (who also did the 2022 Boston Marathon) as well as Val (my favourite professor from undergrad). It was fantastic to see them as I passed the time. Landing in Mi’kma’ki, Kerri picked me up at the airport and surprised me with a thoughtful congratulatory card. We celebrated the Chicago Marathon with a Thanksgiving Dinner of nachos with chicken.

From the Chicago Marathon, I learned some important new things. For one, on marathon morning, a 250 millilitre drink (preferably a good smoothie with carbs) will suffice. A full Gatorade bottle is unnecessary. This reduces restroom breaks before the race. The other tip is to stop heavy carb eating about five hours before bedtime. While a four hour gap helped, an additional hour would have contributed to a better sleep (although I did get a good one). Furthermore, if stressed or exhausted, focus on yourself. I felt awful by Friday late-afternoon, and by withdrawing from a lot on Saturday, it diminished feeling drained. Moreover, while I used to do several yoga practices throughout the day before a marathon, doing one long session after my last major meal and before bedtime felt extra relaxing. Finally, keep an eye on and investigate any information re starting corrals and your best times. While I missed out on starting in A (which I was qualified for), I was grateful that I was able to get into B.

The Chicago Marathon was memorable one. Next up; the Zürich Marathon in Switzerland on April 12, 2026.