2016年初春的第一天，跑团的几位成员参加了一个叫三月疯的半程马拉松比赛。这个比赛是伊州北部最具有挑战性的路线，全程有六个大坡和若干个小坡，总爬升为745尺。据说这个赛道和波士顿马拉松的较为相似，再加上比赛安排在波马前四周左右，是一个非常不错的波马热身赛，所以每年都吸引了附近的大批高手前来参赛，1000个名额往往在报名开始的几个小时之内被一抢而光。
周末团跑
20160206， 气温20+F， 大家在不同的地方，跑得都很高兴。
1/2/2016 新年第一次GROUP RUN和聚会
2016年的第一个周六, 十几位跑友一起聚到Half Day Forest Preserve的DPR, 在冰天雪地里面开始了新的一年里面的第一次group run.
跑友们象小学生一样, 兴高采烈的一个跟着一个, 排成一列, 先在雪地里, 跑出了个Love2016的trace, 以此庆祝新的一年, 并表达了我们对跑步这项运动的热爱.
晨跑之后, 大家聚到图书馆的会议室里面, 进行了短暂的交流, 几位有经验的跑友分别介绍了各自的经验和教训:
Li 回忆了自己的参加的第一个全马比赛, 告诫大家要量力而行, 不可以莽撞.
Cliff的一贯理论是慢跑是王道, 慢跑才能跑得长，跑得久，不受伤, 慢跑是为了跑得更快。跑步要小步幅, 高步频.
Danrey建议大家要聆听身体的信号，知道什么时候不能push，交叉训练很重要，比如一周隔天跑，加上交叉训练，科学训练。
静跑友也回忆了自己当初悲催的时刻, 谈了一定要避免受伤.
有幸请到渔歌参加我们的晨跑, 渔歌发言对group run给予高度的赞扬，说约跑能互相带动督促，也有建议和帮助；训练的时候, 要聆听身体信号, 避免受伤；训练马拉松一定要follow training plan – 因为那是经验总结。
戎队的讲话要点是：参加group run非常重要，不管有没有跑步经验，只要参加group run，就能科学训练，都能跑长跑久，达到自己的目标，才能不受伤。慢慢来，每次都take baby step。我们最大的目标就是70岁还能跑！跑步的最大感受是让我们发掘自己的潜力！
超女Apple谈她参加过的多个百公里比赛。她的经验：人的潜力是无限的（她大学体育是不及格的），强大的比赛对手也是有帮助的。跑步参赛训练是王道，也交叉训练：游泳等
绍队讲话要点：social runner，多参加5k,10k, 这是能让家人一起参加的最好event! 感恩跑群里有这么多人，目标是大家都跑到100岁；交叉训练很重要，三项-游泳，骑车和跑步.
谢谢芝加哥各方小分队的出席；新年里面多参加各方活动，扩大宣传，打算今年我们跑团自己办个半马比赛，注册non profit organization等等.
跑友们会后又在Portillo’s边吃边聊, 度过了难忘的一天!
彪悍的奔跑 ——记DINO Jackson County 50英里越野赛
原本很想写一篇纯干货的理性赛记，然而这实在不是我的菜，浑身都充满感性的气质，只能继续把赛记写成了心里活动横飞的日记。其实它本来就是我的日记。为了让想要干货的童鞋不浪费时间的看到想看的东西，我把一些所谓的经验用粗体显示出来，如果这些经验能荣幸的被称为干货的话。
大叔的芝加哥马拉松赛
大叔在知天命的那一年，暗暗地下决心，要做一件挑战自我的事情。到底是啥，自己也不确定。他羡慕如鹰展翅，天马行空的感觉。于是开始幻想那些高空作业的许多项目诸如跳伞，蹦极，热气球，开飞机，等等。
跑了一个马，B了一个Q
两年里跑了2500迈之后，2015年10月11日在芝加哥参加了人生的第一个马拉松比赛，并且成功地达到2017年波士顿马拉松的要求。如果不出意外的话，可以去跑2017年的波马了。趁着还没忘，赶紧补个总结。
DPRT 志愿者
这个周六又在本地的DPRT半马/全马/50迈比赛的中做了一次志愿者。这个比赛的赛道几乎全部是在平坦的树林里面，地面上是很细小的沙石，维护得特别好。每年都吸引了几百位来自四面八方的trail爱好者，今年是这个比赛的第六届。另外的两位女士把家里面的trick or treat的装饰用到水站上，得到众多跑者的一致好评。
我们跑团的两位女士报了全马比赛，跑团的团长和另几位队友一路热情陪跑，加油，外加后勤和摄影.
去年的跑50迈的赤脚大仙今年又来了，他太太带着三个孩子在8迈处为他加油。不过后来很遗憾，听说他在半程(25迈)的时候退出了比赛，希望他没事.
有两个17岁的少年也参加50迈并且顺利完成，一个用时9:26, 另外一个花了10:06！一位第二天就过67岁生日的美女也顺利到达终点，成绩为10:21, 组织者在她在过线之后，立刻给她颁发了年龄组第一名的奖杯。:-)
我儿子一个同学的爸爸本来要跑半马，结果被损友忽悠了成50迈，最后用了11:31完成了他的第一个超马比赛。
最感人的是强大的亲友团。几乎每个50迈的跑者都有亲戚朋友到各个水站加油助威，陪聊陪跑，送吃送喝，赋予了跑者的无限的精神动力，鼓舞着他和她在这个trail上努力完成每一迈！
-Xuefeng
我的DPRT马拉松
昨天刚刚从意大利出差回来，今天就早早地把闹钟调到六点，可没等到钟铃响，人已经五点就醒了。会是一个秋高的早晨，心里满平静的。DPR Trail 马拉松，就在家门口。芝马抽签没获准，当时就计划用这个就近的全马，完成一年两马的目标。
DPR 真的好方便。十分钟不到，郭郭把我送到“主场”，就是我们每周六训练团跑的集合地。主办方红红的帐篷已经搭好，草坪上三个火盆边聚着三五成群早到的跑者，烤火祛秋寒。是只有几百人的小比赛，所以异常高效，一分钟上去就领到了跑号牌和参赛袋。我的跑马搭档绍润也挎包到了，抓拍了几张小照，比赛就开始了。
刚跨过赛门，手机的记录软件就给我造了点小麻烦，搞鼓了几下，也罢，就是没记录，也无所谓。反正是目的是完赛，领略森林跑程的秋景，享受融入吧。不去为小事打扰了赏秋的心境。往南跑，没多远就碰到了磊队，开心地叫了他的名字。他说你跑过来，回头拍照。大名顶顶的群Chi 驰跑团的群主跑星，也是最好的跑友之一，陪跑，还当随军记者，真的好荣幸。磊这个群主简直了，很难找到这样尽心尽责的跑团团座。前面的五迈热身，轻轻松松，边和边上的跑者聊天边跑。很快就过了我最熟悉的大树笑脸（河边跑道的一棵两人合抱的大树，被好心人在树干上点了张笑脸），梦房子（一栋在森林里的大房子，美丽得像梦）。跑友David，Ivy 他们也从不同的方向跑过来为我们击掌加油，带劲！长跑，拼的就是坚持，精神鼓励让心充得满满的。绍润七迈多时反超上来，正好碰上大下坡，猛冲了一段。嘿嘿，以后绍润的粉红跑服就出了视线。
八迈的水站到了，雪峰白处长（我团的情报处长，信息小宇宙，首马BQ的清华才子）早在相机水站服务了，他上周刚跑完芝马，这周就披挂为我们在水站服务。什么语言来表达都是多余的。粉衣的美女宁队，配我跑了中程最大手笔的十迈，我们边跑边聊，谈着，看着，终于又到了白处长的水站。磊团已把绍队送过了十八迈，在等到我和宁，留下了这张三人的合影，可惜白队太谦虚，成了镜头外的处长。要分手了，和我最强大的陪跑挚友。
下面的八迈，会是真正的考验。自从暑假结束，这两个月周跑量还不到准备马拉松初级跑量的三分之一。公司的大项目，把人压成了相片集锦。经常是超负荷工作到七八十个小时，最近三周把平时用作拉伸综合训练的三节舞蹈课也统统翘掉，无一幸免。经常是每天早上或晚上围着小区跑不到一迈透口气，就得重回地下室接着赶活。一周在意大利，每天睡不到四五个小时，带的两套跑服，一次也没穿过。跑马路上没有捷径，什么样的付出绝对与成绩成正比。
二十迈，脚步开始凝滞。印度的长腿紫衣跑者，在二十一迈的时候，把我轻松超过。我在芝城三项的时候碰到过她，聊过几句。跑道上的跑者稀稀拉拉，偶尔会有自行车擦身而过。秋叶还是一样的美丽，地上偶尔也会被一条艳丽的毛毛虫惊到，这些是你二十二迈以后的救星。我开始在内心里暗念，“坚持，我可以，坚持，最后的四迈，一咬牙就过去。” 找树叶，找蓝天下的白云，找赶过的悠闲信步的老夫老妻拉着的手。千万不要也不能找自己的腿和压痛的脚趾。直路的尽头就是跨跃DP 河的铁桥，流水，秋雁，断枝，白云；没有比这更诗意的秋嬉图了，而我的心境此时已不能有一点点的发散，只能聚集在每迈出的下一步。下坡，进入到最最熟悉的黄色森林环道，熟悉到它的每一棵树，每一株草。
只剩下最后三迈，平时最亲切最动人的环道变得无比漫长。前面有一组三位少女，看出中间的是真正的跑者，两边的是为她最后配速的“兔子”陪跑，咬牙超吧，紫衣和蓝衣长腿早就无影无踪了。最后的追赶，俗称“钓鱼”不管咋样，在这宁静平和的森林跑道上，会造出一点点激动。她们听到了加速的步伐，向右让了让，其中的一位礼貌地喊了声“好样的，加油”。
还有半迈了，和其它大的城市比赛不同，没有夹道的观众，摇旗的鼓励，只有静静的阳光，和白色的沙道。难吗？还在笑着的是自己，不就是半迈了吗？！！BOO，加油的万圣节十八迈的鬼人们早已成为过去式。想象着每棵树都是观众，风拂过脸颊，脚擦地的莎莎，都是发自内心的加油！前面还有一位黑衣的男士，也一定在经历着这最后的考验。终于看见了终点的拱门，还不冲就该没机会了，脚步真的会流星，擦身超越黑衣男士的瞬间，竟真的有一股豪情，绍润在门的那一边等着啦。
好，爽！年度的第二个全马已经在身后的秋阳中挥洒过。满足，满意，没有理由不：）看看手机跑步记录，也许是最慢的个人记录。有关系吗？速度是追求的一维结果，确永远也追不上经历的过程。
一人，一树，一草，一页。有词意的DPR之旅……
“碧云天，黄叶地，秋连心，友相携林河落。金色，金色，二六驰马豪情经过！” 结束了这年的跑马经历，明年再见！
-Ronnie
DPRT MARATHON
绍队和戎队参加了DPR Trail Marathon, 顺利完赛。李团等人陪跑，为两位美女加油，并负责后勤和摄影工作。
MY CHICAGO MARATHON
Tuesday, 13 October, 2015
I ran my 2nd Chicago Marathon in 3:20:03. It was successful run although there are definitely areas for improvement. Before the race, I had A goal of 3:15, B goal of 3:18 and C goal of 3:20, only C goal is touched.
Deciding on running Chicago for the first time last year was an easy one since we all live in here. I had little experience if any to run on streets of Chicago with huge crowd, deafening cheering and loud music. I was a quiet, focused runner all year long since I picked up Marathon running 2 years ago, after a major injury that sidelined me for Ironman 70.3 in Benton Harbor Michigan only 3 weeks away. Frankly, I did not enjoy my first Chicago Marathon much, the cheering crowd was just too much to let me focus on the run, which I mostly filtered out. Deciding on this second one was more so a push over, that I was nudged by running buddies Krishna, Dennis and Jamie before the deadline of 12:00 PM. April 21, 2015, one day after I finished my first Boston Marathon in 3:26:21 in a cold spring day, in a Marriott hotel room sandwiched between two great academic institutions Harvard to the west and MIT on the east. What the heck, 53% chance of hitting the lottery to pay $185, why not? Chicago deserves a second chance.
My training plan towards Chicago is more speed works and faster long runs, more long runs, some times back to back distances over the weekend summing 26 miles. I sprinkled swim here and there, where I have another goal of swimming an Ironman distance at a decent pace. After falling off the bike in 2013, I decided to focus on running and enjoy swimming in between, as this is probably the most load I can handle with 4 kids and a full time job. I am flexible with my schedule, although I want to make sure I don’t miss speed works and long runs as much as possible. Chicago is my A race, prior to that, I raced a fun relay with my swimmer friends did running leg, swimming in Lake Monona for 2.4 miles no wet suit, and racing Fox Valley Marathon 20 mile won the Age Group.
Fast forward to Chicago Marathon, I pretty much finished all the workouts in the schedule minus a few doubles and weekend long runs when I took care of my little Zhu’s, (I love my munchkins). I enjoyed most of training runs, solo in the week, small group during the weekend. 3 weeks prior my 20 miler race simulation is on par, everything looks perfect on paper to run a 3:18 Marathon. Tapering is fantastic, I had good sleeps one week before the race, the night before I even had uninterrupted 5 hour sleep straight. I really look forward to the race, anticipating a great experience.
Race day forcast is less than ideal, but a manageable 60 degree average with a bit wind from Southwest. From the get go, I saw the 3:15 pacer and decided to follow along. In less than half a mile, I lost the sight of them but following along fellow runners, running by feel. I looked the watch, my heart rate is only logged on mid 140s, which I figured it is extendable for at least 3 hours. I know I can’t trust the speed shown on the watch, so I didn’t even look at it, but look at the time when one mile marker was reached, 2 mile marker and 5K marker was sighted. I did a quick calculation in my mind that I was running at 7:20 average in the first 5K. I assessed how I felt, the feedback was fine, I felt better than Boston Marathon in April at this point.
Then I remembers George Chen could be here any moment, who is volunteering at Aid Station 2. I hesitated little whether to run on the left or right side of the street. Hmm, what George would do. It turned out I made the right choice to veer left, soon enough I heard a familiar voice calling my name, precisely that was George. But it was just happening too quickly, I did not even have time to slow down and high five him. Oh well, too late now. I hear myself talking.
Before I knew it, I already approached Lincoln Park, ready to turn west and go back down south. That’s where a little wind picked up, I was then calmly speeding up to find shelters around me. There are plenty of runners to draft behind.
I looked my watch again at 10K point, realize I ran a bit too fast, then I slowed down a bit. I remember at 8 mile mark, I felt the first wave of fatigue, but it disappeared very quickly. Whew. Soon 15K and half Marathon point have passed, I looked at the time, sheesky, it is 1:37, best of half Marathon PR. I did another quick scan of how I feel, hmm, probably not a chance to negative split this puppy. I feel normal but scaled to the tired side. Perhaps with little slow down, my energy can come back. Or is it?
Little did I know that Garmin played trick on me, I felt mile 17 and 18 marker were hit so quickly, it turned out they are 2 to 3 minutes each ahead of the real distance, but my mind for some reason believed it, I even thought mile 19 marker should have been mile 20. Could they make a mistake like last year that there were no pacers?
I definitely paid a huge price, by believing in Garmin data, where it logged 1 mile ahead of the race. In the meantime, the race fatigue started coming back again haunting me, I felt the left Achilles is about to come off, the bottom of the foot is getting stiff, where I still have a 10K to go, plus a mile. My hamstring also stiffens up, I tried to run through it, however, it grinds to a stop.
Dig deep, you can do it. “You can do it!” someone shouted out at me when obviously I was sighted muscle cramp. That is exactly where the Chicago Marathon shines, the fantastic support from the crowd even when it is thinned out. OK, I will do it, I may not finish it in 3:15, not 3:18, but I wanted it definitely inside 3:20.
I used the bowling throw stretch from Pete Jacobs, it works every time. I decided to walk the aid station from this point on, get the fluid I need and take a needed break to go back to the game. 8:15/mile, 8:10/mile later, I was able to bring it back to sub 8 mile again, and even had a push on Michigan Ave. to finish the race with a 7 min/mile. 2 miles to go, 1 mile to go, only one nasty Roosevelt hill to go. Deep breath, dig deep, deep, deeper. There you go the finish line. Wow, I made it. Ouch. Let’s have some banana, chocolate milk, water, and beer.
Manually adjusted Garmin data:
I have changed whole distance from 28.08 to 26.48 miles.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/925343610
-Gaofeng
ChiRunners 驰跑团 