Chicago Marathon Training, Week 5 Recap

Week 5 of training is in the books. Despite a hot & humid week, I felt like I did a good job on all of my runs. I’m starting to feel stronger overall everyday. The only downside: I feel a small twinge of pain in my left knee. I have had IT band problems plague me for the last year or so, and I’ve been dreading this happening. I do foam roll after every run, but I don’t think I do enough core & hip strengthening, so that’s on my list this week to work on improving.

Sunday, July 14th: Rest day

Monday: 3 miles • 9:44/mile
This was the first day of heat for the long inferno of a week ahead. It was over 85 degrees when I went for my run, so I was glad it was a short and sweet 3 miles. My legs felt great, even after Saturday’s long run, and the heat must not have been bothering me too much, because I ran much faster than my typical paces. I guess I just wanted to get it over with & hop back into the sweet, sweet air conditioning at home!

Tuesday: 70 minutes cross training • bike ride
I joined up with a group of women who bike Tuesday nights for about 2 hours. This is a little excessive for my cross-training day as I only need 60 minutes, so I met up with them along the route partway through the ride. I ended up going about 70 minutes total, and it was a fun ride.

Wednesday: 3 miles • no pace recorded
I had one of those days where I got home late, so I was tired, hungry, and did not want to run in the 90+ degree temps. But then I thought, what else am I going to do with myself all night?! I ate a snack and then drove to a shaded path to run, so it was much more bearable & felt about 10 degrees cooler there.

In the end I was very glad I ran, and besides, I couldn’t bear to tell you all I had skipped out. Accountability sure helps! For some reason my Garmin randomly didn’t record the run (?!) so I have no pace for ya.

Thursday: 6 miles • 10:46/mile
I had been trying to get up in the mornings to run all week, to no avail. But, Thursday evening was supposed to hit mid-90s again and I knew there was no way I’d get a 6-miler done in that without passing out, so I made plans with a neighbor runner to meet at 5:30am to get the run in. It was still very warm and humid when we started (I think about 75 degrees & 90% humidity), and I was definitely ready to be done by mile four, but we got ‘em in.

Friday: Rest day

Saturday: 12 miles • 10:50/mile
12 miles! It has been so long since I’ve done such a long run. It went by quickly, with the pretty lakefront scenery distracting me for a while. I may or may not have daydreamed about one of these boats being my own…

Dreaming aside, I was smart and carried a water bottle with me the entire way. I made sure to keep filling it up and drink from it as we powered through the miles. I think this had a huge impact, because even though it was in the upper 60’s when we began (positively cool compared to the rest of the week) I did sweat a whole lot…but I felt great the entire time. I also popped some shot blox fuel starting around mile 6, 1 block at each mile (or as I remembered). This works for these runs, but now that the runs will get longer, I’ll need to find some alternative fuel choices.

This week’s schedule:
• Sunday: rest
• Monday: 60 minutes cross train
• Tuesday: 3 miles
• Wednesday: 6 miles
• Thursday: 3 miles
• Friday: rest
• Saturday: 9 miles (step back week!)

Let me know:
How were your runs or workouts this week?
How do you like to fuel during long runs—what do you eat & drink, and how often?
What are your favorite core & hip exercises?

Chicago Marathon Training, week 4 recap

I’ve made it one month into Chicago Marathon training! Woohoo!

This week was once again pretty good, but the temps & humidity here are starting to get a little tougher. I’ve found that juggling around my runs during the week, so I can save my longer runs for days that aren’t so rough, helps tremendously. Here’s this week’s recap:

 

Sunday, July 9^th: Rest day

AKA lots of cleaning and painting the new house again, kind of exhausting for a rest day.

 

Monday: 60 minute cross-train

Matt decided to bike along with me, but we only got about 25 minutes in before a massive downpour began. Luckily we made it home just in time to beat the rain. I finished up with some hip & core work, and called it a day.

 

Tuesday: 3 miles • 10:32/mile

Running Club night! We had our monthly meeting at a park that has several miles of paved bike trail and unpaved off-road trails. Unfortunately, it rained a lot during the day so we didn’t get to off-road unless we wanted to look like swamp people, but the 3-miler on the paved trail was a nice change of scenery. The humidity was killer, though. It seemed like it took me an hour to stop sweating.

 

Wednesday: 6 miles • 10:49/mile

Met up with a friend for this run along Lake Michigan. We took it easy and chatted most of the way, which kept our mile splits pretty consistent between 10:43—10:52. I was tending to start out runs way too fast a few weeks ago, so I am glad I’ve been able to even my pace more.

 

Thursday: 3 miles • 10:35/mile

Ran the same paved trail as I did on Tuesday with my preggo co-worker. Chatty & relatively easy pace, enjoyed the company!

 

Friday: Rest day

Ah, rest days, how I love you. I get out of work at lunchtime in the summer, so I invited a friend over that I haven’t been able to hang out with in a while. We laid out on the beach and had a couple beers and caught up. Rest day indeed. The sunburn and probable dehydration weren’t really smart prep for the long run Saturday morning, though…

 

Saturday: 11 miles • 10:56/mile

[Thus follows a long recap for a long run…]

My long-run-buddy, Liz, and I met up at 6:30am to start our run, hoping to beat some heat and finish early. We split the run into two parts: A 5-miler out-and-back that took us north along Lake Michigan, and then a 6-miler out-and-back to the south.

It was a pretty morning to run. The early sun on the lake is always beautiful. Although, we thought this scene was a little too Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” on the beach.

Look at all those seagulls!

It’s so peaceful to run in the early morning. A solo fisherman sat, waiting.

Early morning company

And you never know what you might see along the way…

A deer on the beach, that’s a first!

The first five miles went by decently, with a couple stops at a bathroom and water fountains. When we got back to our cars to head south for 6 miles, though, for some reason I found myself thinking, “Ugh, that was only five miles and we still need to go six more?” I grabbed my hand-held water bottle to bring with me, and ate a couple energy chews, hoping that would make me feel better. I just felt a bit sluggish, and the miles seemed so long.

Our first five mile splits were at 10:30, 10:31, 10:46, 10:46 and 10:41. The following six mile splits were 11:19, 11:13, 10:42 (when we finally felt back ‘in the groove’), 11:21, 11:22 and 11:01. Definitely a bit slower. I think the heat was starting to get to us. I should have carried my water & hydrated during the first five miles, not just the last six. My running buddy also suffers from tight hammies, so she had to stretch them out a few times while I just slowed wayyy down so I didn’t have to stop, but she could still catch up. It’s always hard to get going again after stopping, for me.

All in all, we got the run done, and I felt pretty decent afterwards. My legs were achy during the last few miles, but that went away after I stretched out well and got an iced coffee in me. I don’t feel sore at all today and my knees feel good (which I always monitor, thanks to IT band issues of the past). Considering this was my longest run since the end of January, when I ran a half marathon, I’m happy!

 

This week’s schedule:

• Sunday: 60 minutes cross train
• Monday: rest
• Tuesday: 3 miles
• Wednesday: 6 miles
• Thursday: 3 miles
• Friday: rest
• Saturday: 12 miles

 

Let me know: How were your runs this week? How do you make the long runs feel better or go by faster?

Chicago Marathon Training, week 3 recap

My week three of Chicago Marathon training went pretty well. I felt good, thanks mostly to making sure I am not pushing the pace on every single run, I think (which, yes, I would have done in the past). I do need to start incorporating more strength training for my core & hips, rather than randomly doing some exercises here and there…which usually just get forgotten.

With the Fourth of July holiday, I did have to shuffle some of my workouts around. I also skipped an easy 3-miler on the 5th, but I was SO sore from painting my bathroom on the morning of the 4th (going up & down the ladder felt like the equivalent of 3859730 squats & lunges), that I don’t think it will have an impact.

Sunday, June 30th: 9 mile long run (9.2 total distance) • 10:53/mile
This run was split into two parts. My town had its annual Firecracker 5K/10K run on Sunday, so I ran 3 miles before the race, and then ran the 10K with my training buddy. I kind of felt silly spending money on what was just a training run, but it was a lot more fun than the usual long run, and it made it go by fast. Plus, having the water stops was nice!

Monday: 60 minute cross-train (bike ride)
Fun but very windy day for bike riding. It felt good to get in some cardio time without stressing the legs too much. The roads against the wind were definitely a workout, and they had my heart pumping & legs maxxed out for a short amount of time.

Tuesday: 3 miles • 10:30/mile
Another east 3-miler to shake out the legs during the week. It was a humid one, though.

Wednesday: 5 miles • 10:46/mile
Another humid day. Ran two loops of a paved but mostly shaded trail with a couple hills thrown in.

Thursday: 3 miles • DNR
This is the run I didn’t complete. I started painting our bathroom for a few hours in the morning, and then we hosted people for the afternoon/evening 4th of July cookout. Don’t worry, I exercised my biceps by lifting some beers and eating some ribs. It’s all about balance…right?

Friday: rest
I was all over this rest day. Actually I was a little antsy and I find I can never sleep as well on rest days, but my legs were nice & fresh for the long run the next morning…

Saturday: 6 miles • 10:26/mile
It was a step-back week, so our ‘long run’ was shorter. Felt fairly easy, which is good mental fuel as next week I jump up to 11 miles!

Here’s what’s coming up this week on my Hal Higdon Marathon Training, Novice 2 plan:
• Sunday: 60 minutes cross train
• Monday: rest
• Tuesday: 6 miles
• Wednesday: 3 miles
• Thursday: 3 miles
• Friday: rest
• Saturday: 11 miles

What’s on your training plan this week? Any tips for hip & core strengthening moves?

Chicago Marathon Training, week 2 recap

Here’s a recap of my week #2 marathon training.

All in all, a solid week. I am feeling good mentally & physically!

• Sunday, June 23^rd: Long run, 8 miles • 11:19/mile pace
  • I did my long run on Sunday instead of Saturday, thanks to a traveling mishap on Saturday. I waited to start until almost 9am, which wasn’t so smart since it was about 75 degrees when I started, and 85 degrees when I finished. It was a hot one! I went slow & steady since it was my first long run, and I stopped at home to refill my water bottle with ice water about halfway through, so those things helped me to feel pretty good throughout.
• Monday: 3 mile run, easy • 10:23/mile pace
  • Easy recovery run along the lakefront kept it breezy & cool.
• Tuesday: Was supposed to cross-train by biking, but it was rainy/stormy out, so I did some core work & Pilates strengthening inside.
• Wednesday: 5 mile run, easy • 10:50/mile pace
  • Ran with my training partner for a nice, easy 5 miles. Goes by so much faster when running with a friend!
• Thursday: 3 miles • 10:10/mile pace
  • Ran along some roads in the hot sun & HIGH humidity. Sweat didn’t even seem to drip off…just stuck there. Gross & was glad when it was over.
• Friday: Rest day
• Saturday: My usual long run day, I planned it as a rest day due to wedding planning out of town all day, but did LOTS of walking…probably 2 hours total in the city and throughout some parks in Cedarburg (and moved my long run to the next day)

Here’s a look at what I have coming up this week:

• Sunday: 9 mile long run
• Monday: 60 minute cross-train (bike ride)
• Tuesday: 3 miles
• Wednesday: 5 miles
• Thursday: 3 miles
• Friday: rest
• Saturday: 6 miles

How I’m Training for my First Marathon

Let’s take a look at what’s ruling my life these days…marathon training!

Running a marathon is truly something I never thought I would do. Over the last couple of years, I’ve run many races & distances, including a handful of half marathons, with a PR of 2:11. The dedication and time it took to run 13.1 miles, and the few injuries that cropped up during those times, were enough to make me swear off even the idea of running 26.2 miles.

Then this past January, something changed. During a “run-cation” (vacation + running  race) with my two sisters in Florida, they talked me into signing up for the Chicago Marathon so we could all run it together.

Translation: They will finish over an hour ahead of me, and I will be cursing them as I near the 20-mile mark & they’re already celebrating. I missed out on the speedy runner genes, apparently.

I’m still not sure what it is that changed my mind… Maybe it was the fact that we’d run a half marathon in the Florida heat that morning and our wine flights at dinner were going to my head. Maybe it was the fact that a half marathon used to seem like an insurmountable task to me, but then, even when I slacked on my training, I was still able to finish 13.1 miles. It wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t pretty easy, but a half marathon also wasn’t an impossible feat anymore. So I needed a bigger challenge. Why not take that conquest on with my sisters, my best friends, by my side?

My sisters & me after the Naples Half Marathon.

I had used the Hal Higdon training plans for half marathons before, and I liked the balance of running with rest/cross training days. I felt like it gave me a great running base without going overboard. A pal from my running club and I decided to train using the Hal Higdon Novice 2 program. I switched around the schedule of my days, but here’s what my plan looks like for the next couple of months…

Click to see the greuling & fun details…

I’m giving myself the flexibility to switch around days and workouts, especially with the summer heat about to descend upon us here in Wisconsin, and all the fun activities that pop up in the sunny summertime months. It seems like here in Wisconsin, we get 3 months of great weather, followed by 9 months of winter, so I have to enjoy the sunshine while I can!

Each Monday, I’ll post the week’s upcoming workouts, and a recap of the past week’s so I can keep an eye on my progress & stay accountable.

This week’s workouts:

• Monday: 3 mile run (check!)
• Tuesday: cross train with my bike group, pending storms / alternate: Pilates and core work
• Wednesday: 5 mile run
• Thursday: 3 mile trail run with running buds
• Friday: rest
• Saturday: 9 mile long run
• Sunday: rest, i.e. stretch/foamroll & walk

Any words of advice for a marathon newbie? Do you have a specific training program you prefer to follow, or other fitness that you incorporate into your routine to help you?