Momentum is great to have on your side going into a marathon. Here we stand two weeks out from Chicago and not a hitch has come in our way of training. The segment started out after our 4th of July downtime ended and has just clicked for all three of us. Melissa is on fire right now; Carol is looking incredibly strong. As for me, I have been in this perfect bubble where my pacing has been dead on for everything we have done.

Pace and rhythm dictate success in a marathon and sometimes it takes a little time to get into the marathon flow. Not this time. We were all chomping at the bit from the get-go. For me specifically, I have had some wicked plantar fasciitis flare-ups this whole training segment that have me sleeping in a Strassburg Sock every night (thanks Naperville Running Company for getting that to me in a hurry!). Still, workouts have not been altered in any way and pace work seems to be the one time that I never notice my foot pain at all. I have also been relegated to running in only the Brooks Trances to alleviate the pain. Don’t ask why they work, they just do and I am content knowing that much.

At the start of downtime, Todd Snyder was supposed to be running Chicago with me. We were both pumped because we fit well together as training partners and compliment one another’s strengths and weaknesses well. Then a week before we started training, Todd got a stress fracture on his hip and was out. In came the great Chad “Nails” Johnson, who will be doing Detroit Free Press marathon a week after Chicago. Chad and I have not previously worked much together, but for no reason other than lack of any overlap in segmentation (barring club XC last winter). Chad has proven to be an excellent training partner for me. His attitude is more passive than some others and he is very worry-free.

Chad’s approach and attitude fit well with my generally laid back and joking approach to running.

Some people accuse me of not taking it seriously enough, but I would argue that I take my running seriously when I run (which is what counts) and otherwise will never alter my sarcastic and immature humor. That is who I am and as a former coach once taught me, “the hardest thing is to be yourself in a world that’s trying to make you into something that you’re not.” I have no apologies for being more lighthearted in my approach as I have found through the years that it is what works best for me. I also know that not everyone is comfortable around it. Chad handles my asinine bathroom humor, tasteless jokes, and jovial approach well.

So now we have started to pull back from our peak 140 mile weeks of the last month and focus shifts to feeling more “race ready.” Chad and I had our last workout together this morning before we split toward our respective marathons.That means that it is time to pull in the reins and really fine tune the last couple of weeks. All that lies between us and the race now are a single, easy 20 miler and a 3x2-mile at race pace. Now the nerves and the excitement hit high gear as the greatest city’s (okay, I’m biased) 26.2 miler looms before us. I look forward to coming in for a hometown marathon in front of all of my friends and family again. This is where I made my debut and this is the town that got me hooked. Let the addiction continue.

Patrick Rizzo s a graduate of North Central College in Naperville, IL, where he was a 7-time All-American in cross country and track & field. After college he joined the Hanson-Brooks ODP and qualified for the Olympic Trials in his Debut Marathon. He finished 25th at the Olympic Trials in 2007 and more recently was 15th (3rd American) at the 2009 Boston Marathon. Pat is currently training for the Chicago Marathon where his goal is to break 2:15:00 and finish in the top 10.