I was getting excited the week leading up to this year’s Chicago Marathon. The heat and humidity in Berlin two weeks prior to Chicago were still fresh on my mind and so was the wall I hit in the second half of that race.
But the weather forecast for Chicago promised something much more pleasant. The conditions were looking ideal and I was eager for a better performance this time.
I flew into town on Friday afternoon, checked into my hotel, and headed to the Expo to get my bib and T-shirt.
47,000 runners were expected in the race, a huge increase from the 40,000 runners of 2022 and it showed at the Expo, which was choked with people and vendors hawking their wares. I might have avoided the show floor entirely but it was necessary to cross it in order to pick up my T-shirt after getting the race bib outside in the lobby.
It brought to mind the orderliness of the Tokyo Marathon Expo where visitors were forced to follow a strict path through the show and changing directions was prohibited. That wouldn’t work in the States. It was sedate albeit frustrating at times though I found that the Japanese were too polite to stop me from jumping the barriers when a shortcut presented itself.
The full court press suggested only a short stay at the Expo. Bib and T-shirt in hand the next order of business was carbo-loading. I decided on Eataly, and its authentic Italian quisine, which was close to my hotel. The Tagliatelle alla Bolognese and Pizza Margherita were so good that I ordered some Cacio e Pepe for takeout and wolfed it down in my room.
It was chilly Saturday morning as I went out to pick up some salt bagels and cream cheese to fuel the day’s carbo load and sodium fix. Race day was forecasted for similar weather and I was delighted for the cool temperature. However, it occurred to me that I didn’t pack any expendable clothing to forestall shivering in the corral before the start. Rookie mistake. I resolved to get to a thrift store that day to rent a warm sweatshirt. I say “rent” because my discard would be donated right back to charity after the race.
Team Fox held a lunchtime meet and greet for its runners and supporters at Parson’s Chicken and Fish on Halsted. I wasn’t running for Team Fox this year but Katie Casamassina, who runs the Team Fox endurance events, always invites me to their parties regardless.
I totally enjoy these Team Fox gatherings. Besides being warmly welcomed by Katie and Maci Hanson, another Team Fox staff member, I got the chance to catch up with other friends I’ve made through the Michael J. Fox Foundation these past two years.
I met Chuck Kistler last year in North Carolina when I ran with Team Synapse in the Blue Ridge Relay. Chuck lent his microbrewery as a pre-race meet-up for Team Synapse. He donates some of the profits from this business to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Chuck also ran Chicago this year and last for Team Fox.
Jared Koch and Jason Kopacz ran in the Blue Ridge Relay on Team Synapse. I first met Jason and his wife, Kristi, at a Team Fox dinner before the 2022 Boston Marathon.
Jared came into Parson’s showing some dyskinesia. Dyskinesia, a general lack of control of limbs and body that manifests as multiple tremors, is a common symptom of Parkinson’s. After an hour or so it settled down. Jared said that the stress of the hour drive to Chicago triggered it. Its intensity varies throughout the day but, happily, it doesn’t happen when running.
Jason and I are with Team Synapse again to run a relay in Florida this December. Jared would like to join us but had to back off so that he can prepare for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery in January. He would really like to put this annoying dyskinesia behind him.
DBS has become more prevalent among the people I know who are living with PD. Electrodes are implanted into certain areas of the brain so as to apply high frequency electrical stimulation. A battery pack is embedded into the chest to power the electrodes. DBS can be quite effective at eliminating dyskinesia. The whole thing makes me queasy but the technology has improved greatly in recent times.
Jason has DBS and is quite happy with the system. He described to me how the patient is awake as the placement of the electrodes is done. When they are placed correctly and the stimulation is turned on, Jason reported, it is amazing how the body totally relaxes and the tremors fade away. Jared has been encouraged by such reports and is eager to get the procedure done.
Cheryl Denton came by to introduce herself and her husband, Jim, to me. Cheryl has been following my exploits and was happy to finally meet me in person. Cheryl is running and Jim came along to support her.
Jim had DBS surgery in January and you wouldn’t know to look at him that he has PD. He is very happy with his DBS results.
Jason told me that he still has to take the medications — DBS doesn’t eliminate that need. We talked a little bit about some of the medications he has used.
I recently attended an American Parkinson’s Disease Association (APDA) event where several pharmaceutical companies promoted their drugs that targeted a reduction in “off” time for people living with PD. “Off” times are when the meds have worn off and another dose is needed.
One such drug is Inbrija, an inhalable form of Levodopa. Levodopa is converted in the brain to dopamine, which is the neurotransmitter that Parkies are in short supply of. Levodopa is usually administered with Carbidopa as a way to minimize the side effect of dyskinesia. Inbrija is formulated without Carbidopa. As an inhalant, it is very fast, delivering the Levodopa within seconds compared to the 30–60 minutes required for a conventional the pill form (Sinemet, which includes Carbidopa).
At the APDA event, I challenged the Inbrija rep about the likelihood of dyskinesia because of the lack of Carbidopa in it. She couldn’t or wouldn’t give me a satisfactory answer.
My guess was confirmed by Jason who has tried Inbrija while running. “It’s like cocaine,” he said. The response to the inhalation is immediate and the dyskinesia is off the charts. Jason said that his arm started tremoring wildly and it totally disrupted his run.
Big Pharma likes to throw drugs at problems and addressing “off” time has been a lucrative target for them. I find it a discouraging situation. These drugs are not cures. I can’t imagine that Pharma wants a cure because a cured patient represents a lost customer.
While we ate some lunch I overheard a conversation at the next table about HOKA running shoes (my personal favorites) and had to insert myself. It turns out that one of the folks at the table, Joe Bennet, lives close to me in West Seattle. He was running in support of a friend and a brother-in-law both of whom have PD. I imagine we will soon cross paths again, literally, in West Seattle.
I chatted with Jessica Green, a running coach, who helps train Team Fox runners for endurance events. She has been suffering from knee pain since last November and is getting fed up with it all. She has avoided surgery but she eventually agreed with me that an arthroscopic clean-up of articular and meniscal cartilage might be a good option for her. I’ve done that several times decades ago and it always worked out.
After the meet and greet, I took a bus to the Salvation Army and picked out the perfect zippered hoodie for discarding the next morning. The rest of the day was spent resting in my hotel room and scarfing down the last of the bagels and cream cheese.
As was the case in 2021 and 2022, Team Fox runners gained access to the Goodman Center of Roosevelt University. Only two blocks from Grant Park and the entry to the Start Area, the Goodman Center is ideally situated for pre-race staging and post-race socializing.
I was able to see Chuck, Jared, and Jason again before we headed out to Grant. Anna Haber, who I met in 2022 at Goodman, was there also and gave me a big hug. She came along with her friend Jenny Luft who was excited to run her first marathon. Mike Debartolo and his daughter, Anna, were there to run the race together. Mike may be joining Jason and I at the Florida relay race. Of course, Maci and Katie were welcoming everyone and wishing all a great race.
As is always the case at the Majors, millions of spectators lined the course. The crowds were loud and enthusiastic. Folks with microphones encouraged the runners. At one point I was startled to hear “Sweet Caroline” (normally the anthem at the Boston Marathon) but it was not the familiar version. A live band was covering the song and playing it note for note with such accuracy that it felt surreal to hear their lead singer’s voice instead of Neil Diamond’s.
Tokyo came to mind again because absolutely no spectators enter the course during that race. Chicago may be the worst of all the majors for randoms cutting in front of runners to meet up with friends on the other side of the road. One had to be alert to avoid hitting babies in strollers and parents darting in front with toddlers in their arms.
Team Fox was set up with cheer stations at miles 7.5 and 24.5 and, as always, I got a great boost when I passed them as they roared for me, rattled their cow bells, and we exchanged high fives (and some low fives — there were a few children as well).
Chicago prides itself on routing the marathon course through its 29 distinct neighborhoods. Honestly, I normally don’t notice the distinctions. But this time I was hit with the smell of Kung Pao Chicken and Hot and Sour Soup at about 22 miles. I think that I didn’t notice Chinatown last year because it was four weeks after I got COVID and my sense of smell had not yet returned.
I had a good run. The weather was indeed ideal: 46 degrees and 72% humidity. Normally, I sweat heavily and that requires constant electrolyte replenishment or I suffer horrible leg cramps.
Not this time. Somewhere around 17 miles it dawned on me that I wasn’t really sweating very much. Hence I needn’t be so aggressive with the hydration.
My pace was steady throughout and I had enough left to pick it up the last few miles. I even felt good enough to exhort another runner, who was flagging towards the end, to race me for the final 200 meters. She was very appreciative of my help in getting her over the line.
Finish time was 4:06:10. I would have liked to go under four hours but I decided at the start that it was imperative that I not go out too fast. Starting at an unsustainable pace risked hitting the wall in the second half of the race. From there my pace would tank and I would likely miss my real goal of beating last year’s 4:11:48.
My second half was 62 seconds faster than the first. Having a strong finish makes all the difference. It makes running a marathon (dare I say it?) fun.
My friends seemed happy with their results as well. Chuck improved on his 2022 result by about 25 minutes. Mike and Anna were able to get their photo crossing the finish line together. Jared, Jason, Joe B., and Cheryl were satisfied although Jason didn’t like hitting the wall in the second half. Both Anna and Jenny were thrilled with Jenny’s debut.
I know that my day’s result was largely due to the cooperative weather pattern. Notwithstanding, it would be really nice to figure out how to improve my performance in less than ideal conditions.
The Garmin watch I wear calculates a parameter called “body battery”. Garmin has a proprietary algorithm (based on heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep cycles, etc) for calculating how the body recharges during sleep and discharges over the course of a day’s activity. Ideally, one would get a great night’s sleep to fully charge the battery to 100% then go run a marathon the next day.
Never happens for me.
On average, my morning battery level is 65% and although it occasionally gets above 80%, I have not figured out how to get it that high intentionally. The low numbers may have something to do with frequent (i.e. hourly) trips to the toilet at night.
Usually I ignore the body battery numbers because there have been times when Garmin tells me I just ran 15 or more miles on a dead battery. That’s obvious nonsense.
However, I looked at the numbers for the six marathons that I have run this year and there are some noteworthy trends. For example, upon waking up on race day mornings my battery averaged 56%. By the time the race starts the charge has dropped to about 40% on average.
Apparently, a 40% charge is not enough to get through a marathon. In fact, something like 45% appears to be my minimum. Anything below that and my battery goes dead on the course.
This year I avoided hitting the wall only in Boston and Chicago. In Boston, I woke up with a 68% charge. Making my way to Hopkinton eats up a fair bit of juice leaving me with 46% at the start line. But in Chicago, with less work required to get to the start, I woke up with 66% and still had 48% for the race. In none of the other four marathons this year did I have as much charge at the start.
Perhaps this is not nonsense after all.
How well might I run on a fully charged body battery and by what sorcery might I achieve that?
Pre-bed meditation for a better night sleep? More efficient carbo-loading? More coffee? Less coffee? Go to bed earlier?
Love to figure it out by November 5 when I run the New York City Marathon.
And I hope that it is another cool day.
I am running for Team Fox again this year. You can donate to my New York City Marathon campaign (click this link). I could use your support. If you share the passion that The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) and I have for finding a Parkinson’s cure please consider contributing. All donations are meaningful and greatly appreciated.
Alternatively, if you would like something tangible in exchange for a contribution, consider purchasing my book Run With It: A True Story of Parkinson’s, Marathons, the Pandemic, and Love. It was named as a Finalist in the 2022 Wishing Shelf Book Awards. It also received an Honorable Mention in the Eric Hoffer Awards and was rated “RECOMMENDED” in the US Review of Books.
All profits from its sale are donated to MJFF. It can be found on my author’s website and Amazon. It’s cheaper on my author site (for domestic shipping), a larger percentage goes to MJFF than for Amazon sales, and you get the option of having it signed by the author.
