Chicago Marathon 2024: Runner's weekend

[@smilingsunflower-q9p]

Excellent coverage and recap of the whole race event. Really enjoyed it and congrats on a great PB! They aren't easy so when they come around celebrate. All that training paid off with such a strong finish too! Well done. 👏🎉

[@runwithsean]

Thanks! It was awesome to have a plan and be able to execute it. It was a great day.

[@yianpap6093]

Well done, really great time Sean. Loved the moment with the wife:)

[@runwithsean]

Thanks. When I looked at my splits after the race I was like, “Hmm, mile 14 was significantly faster than 13 and my heart rate was actually lower that mile as well. What was different that mile?” Apparently to hit my A goal next time, she’s got to take the subway and meet me in more places along the route. Haha.

[@Panos_79]

Great recap Sean, congratulations for the pb, but mainly for a race where everything went your way and you really enjoyed it. Also, pretty sure I watched this whole thing yesterday as well 🤣.

[@runwithsean]

Haha. Thanks. Yeah, after I originally posted it, I got an email from KZbin scolding me for using a copyrighted song in the first video. I was like, what song? Oh, the bs backing track in the marathon photo video, that didn’t even have any lyrics. Haha. So I substituted some other innocuous music and reposted it.

[@SenthilRameshJV]

Before even seeing the video, im impressed by the lenth of the video being 26:23 (for 26.2 miles)

[@runwithsean]

Haha. Thanks, that was a happy accident, but I'll take credit that it was completely intentional. 🤣

[@saytani]

Well done on a PB Sean! Can never discount a PB achievement regardless of how much of the PB is and 8 minutes is admirable! I ran Berlin a few weeks ago and the start wasn't "organised chaos" but just plain on chaos! Had a sub 3 on the cards but the days leading to the event I had a very runny tummy from early Thursday morning, which resulting in me having no appetite or much energy at all until the day after the marathon. Still started the event and held on the finish without collapsing. Definitely unforgettable but for all the wrong reasons!

[@runwithsean]

Thanks! Thats stinks that happened to you. It’s so difficult for everything to go right in a marathon. Berlin is definitely on my list, but I’ll probably stay closer to home for my next attempt. Are you thinking of doing a spring marathon?

[@saytani]

@@runwithsean Yeah, it was very hard to accept, as I trained for 11 months and traveled from New Zealand, which is literally the other side of the world! I am running Paris and London Marathons in April 2025 (Paris as a training run, like I did with Sydney 2 weeks before Berlin) and London being a redemption run. I'd say from experience PB attempts are more likely to be successful when they are local as you will be much better rested and not have travel fatigue and consuming foods that you aren't used to.

[@runwithsean]

@@saytani I took your advise and just signed up for a marathon 30 minutes from where I live in May. I think I have officially joined the club of crazy people who finish a marathon and whether it goes good or bad want to do another, either for redemption or to further that PB. 3:20 was there for me in Chicago if I didn't have that knee issue towards the end. It felt good to finally execute on raceday in Chicago. But I know I can do better. I'm going to up my mileage more this time and do more strength and conditioning. We'll see what pace I think I can handle at the end of the next training block. Best of luck in Paris and London! That's awesome that you'll doing both. Just knocking off those world major marathons!

[@saytani]

@@runwithsean All the best Sean! Marathons are hard enough without the need to factor in travel fatigue, etc. Look forward to more reviews and running vblogs.

[@68JAYZEE]

Hey Sean great video and congratulations on you PB!

[@runwithsean]

Thanks! Felt good for all the work to pay off this time.

[@Louieg_fitness]

Amazing job 👏🏼👏🏼

[@runwithsean]

Thanks! It was a great weekend!

[@SenthilRameshJV]

Found your channel recently and have been liking your videos on how you evaluate shoes and it feels like its coming from a real place rather than watching all the corporate reviews. I am doing my first marathon in 10 days in NYC and i've been testing shoes just like you. I ordered EP4, and the very next day Adidas drops the sale and i got your same color way. I also have SB2 but have decided it wont be my race shoe with similar opininos like yours. Good for training but not for race. I have done 18 miles run in AP3 and a 21 miler in EP4. I was so far thinking i'll use EP4 because i've been reding or seeing videos about them a lot more than AP3, althhough from my runs and stas I've been faster in AP3 than EP4 for the 18+ miles run. I am going to try the AP3 one last time in a 10K race this saturday. May be i'll take the same decision as you. But what are your thoughts about using AP3 vs EP4 for 4:30ish marathon, it may be even more with NYC hills.

[@SenthilRameshJV]

I have also used NB Elite V4 in a demo run for 10K and i liked it. I've tried Deviate Nitro 3 (not elite) but found it narrow and unstable for me. May be elite is a bit more wide.

[@SenthilRameshJV]

And i'm in same size as you. I choose 12 for all my shoes even Saucony but may be I shoudl have gone 12.5 for EP4. Speed 3, 12 was perfec.t

[@runwithsean]

Thanks. I buy all of my own shoes and am legitimately deciding how I feel about them myself when running in them. I'm a decent runner, but no where near an elite or sub-elite. So my thoughts can often help people looking to run paces of mere mortals (like myself). Haha. Best of luck in your first marathon! It makes sense that you don't see many videos for the AP3 lately. That shoe has been out for over 2 years. Adidas only recently announced the AP4, which will launch in January. So everybody has run in and given opinions on the AP3 a while ago. That doesn't take away from the quality of the shoe. But it's not the newest, shiniest object these days. Every brand has come out with a new version of the supershoe that they had out when the AP3 was new. I actually really like the NB Elite V4 for training and long runs. But it just doesn't feel like a race day shoe to me. If I paid full price for that shoe and expected it to be a race shoe on par with other shoes priced at $250, I'd have been very disappointed. It feels great to run in. It's just not fast enough for me. If I was going to take it easy in a marathon and not try to push the pace, that would be a good choice for me. But for $250, I think it doesn't deliver as a race shoe. It's comfortable and bouncy, but doesn't feel efficient or fast. I have 70 miles in my Endorphin Pro 4s. I put 146 miles on my first pair of AP3's. I now have 54 miles on the new pair, that I bought for the Marathon. I really like both shoes. Having all that experience in the AP3 gave me more confidence to wear that one on race day. Once I decided that was my marathon shoe, I started running some marathon paced long runs in the old pair. And it still feels great after 2 years and close to 150 miles. That shoe has great durability and grip. To me, the AP3 feels stiffer and more propulsive. But the EP4 feels bouncier and has a nice roll to it. They both are on the wider side for a supershoe. So I like the stability that I get from both. If you are shooting for a 4:30, you are going to be in this shoe for a while. So the best advise is often to pick the one that you feel most comfortable in. If either shoe has given you blisters or rubbing, or you've felt more beat up after a long run in it, then I'd go for the other. You also want to think about if things get hard at the end of the race and you need to slow down, which shoe you think can handle those slower paces better for you. I've personally found that I can run easy in both of them. But I find the AP3 a little more aggressive and the EP4 a bit more accommodating at lower speed. The NYC marathon is a great event. There is so much crowd support to keep you going. Be warned, the worst part for me was the Queensborough Bridge. You will have just passed the half marathon and now you have to tackle the incline of the bridge, with no one to cheer you on at that point. Unfortunately, I had the hottest day in the history of the event when I ran it. So it was a tough day for me. Hopefully you have some nice cool weather and go out and smash it. Let me know how it goes and which shoe you go with.