I finally made it to the last week of training! And, let me just say taper about put me over the edge! It was a week of trying to stay relaxed, light workouts and a trip to Chicago!

Chicago Marathon Training Week 18

Monday — Rest day, plus planks to keep the streak going.

Tuesday — 5 miles. A quick and easy run before endless rain descended on the area.

Wednesday — After a crazy workday I drove out to watch my son’s cross country meet. 3 hours in the car round trip, plus scaling hills in the pouring rain = not happy legs. But on the plus side, my son knocked a couple of minutes off his course time!

Thursday — After Wednesday’s adventure, I opted to pass on the 3-mile run on my plan, and instead spent some much needed time on my yoga mat, followed by a trip to the massage therapist.

Friday — Travel day! My husband J and I had an easy, uneventful flight to Chicago and we hit the expo after checking into our hotel. The expo was sensory-overload for sure, but fun!

Can you tell I’m a little excited to be there?!

Saturday — International Chicago 5K. We woke up to a serious drop in temps (try a real-feel of 28!) so instead of walking over to the race start, we shared a car with Kim and her mom. Staying warm while waiting in the corrals was a bit of a challenge, but the race itself was fun. We made sure to keep the pace nice and easy.

Later Kim and I met up with blogger/IG friends for brunch at Beatrix. So much fun! It was really nice to meet Jen, to see Erica again, and to finally meet Lacey.

Lacey, Erica, me, Kim & Jen

Sunday — Chicago Marathon! Race recap to come, but I am happy to say that I crossed that finish line!

Total miles for the week – 34.3
Total miles on the road to Chicago – 474.5

That’s my quick run down  – now I’m off to rest and eat all the things 🙂

I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.

Seven days…just seven days! By this time next week, I will be out somewhere on the streets of Chicago. But, before I get ahead of myself, here’s a quick rundown of this past week.

Chicago Marathon Training Week 17

Monday —  I wrapped up September with a rest day and 140 miles for the month!

Tuesday —  5 miles. October kicked off hot and steamy. It was 74 degrees before sunrise – not cool Mother Nature! It was a really good run despite the humid conditions. I also started a new plank streak.

Wednesday — I woke up just feeling off so I did a short core workout, including my plank and called it a day.

Thursday — I don’t know if it was the rainy weather or my mileage catching up with me, but I was feeling creaky. So I pushed my run to Friday and opted for some time on my mat.

Friday — 6 miles. This was probably one of the worst runs I’d had in a while. I felt like I was dragging the whole time and could not get out of my head.

Yep, this sign in the road pretty much summed it up!

Saturday — 8.5 miles. And just like that this run was glorious! It was just 38 degrees when I started so I had to break out gloves for this one but I was not complaining. This run was everything Friday’s run was not!

Total miles for the week – 19.5
Total miles on the road to Chicago – 440.2

Today, and most of this week really will be very low-keyed. Daily planks, rolling/stretching, and my PT exercises. I have just two short runs this week plus the International Chicago 5K on Saturday…and then training is done. My biggest challenge this week will be keeping my nerves under control!

That’s my rundown for the week! Any suggestions for race week?

I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.

Week 16 of training is done and it certainly had its ups and downs! Thankfully this week ended much better than it started. Here’s how things went down.

 Chicago Marathon Training Week 16

Monday — Rest day/Sick day. By late afternoon on Sunday, I was huddled on the couch under a blanket with a sore throat and headache. I wrote it off to just being overly tired and had hoped a good night’s sleep would take care of it. Yeah not so much. I woke with the same sore throat, headache, and now the added bonus of being completely congested.

Tuesday — 3.5 miles. I was still feeling horrible but panicked over missing my run. So I opted to head to the gym for mill miles in case I didn’t last very long – turned out to be a good call.

Wednesday — Another rest day. Did I mention that in addition to feeling lousy, work was just insane?! This was turning into a long week.

Thursday — 6 miles. I had 8 on my plan and just decided to head out and see what I could do. My head felt like it weighed a ton, so I was pretty happy to make it as far as I did.

Friday — 10 miles. For the first time all week I woke up feeling fairly good and surprised myself with double digits!

Saturday — Rest day.

Sunday — 10 miles. The first couple of miles were sluggish, but then everything clicked!

Doesn’t everyone break into a dance post-run?

Total miles for the week – 29.5
Total miles on the road to Chicago – 420.7

All things considered, I’m pretty happy with my mileage for the week, and best of all my cold seems to finally be packing its bags.

Marathon Participant Guides arrived in the mail this week – yep it’s getting real!

That’s my rundown for the week! How was your week?

I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.

Hello Taper Town!

Week 15 of training is done. Now it’s time to reduce the mileage and put an emphasis on rest and self-care.

Chicago Marathon Training Week 15

Monday — 6 miles. With my husband traveling this week I was on school drop off duty, which makes it not possible to swing a morning run.  I ended up heading out soon after work, and despite being under-fueled and hydrated, had my best run of the week!

Tuesday —  Rest day!

Wednesday — 7 miles. Stomach issues just made this run a struggle from beginning to end. I was happy to just get through this one and spent the rest of the day feeling less than fabulous.

Thursday —  8 miles. Temps dropped dramatically overnight and it was just 37 degrees. I had to break out my gloves and it was glorious!

Friday —  Rest day and acupuncture.  My right TFL and hip had been squawking a bit all week so I wanted to get some extra attention before my long run.

Saturday — 16 miles. My husband J joined me for the first 8 which really helped to make the miles click by. Temps climbed quickly and by mile 12 I was feeling totally overdressed and overheated. Mile 12 was not pretty. J drove out to meet me, bringing salt tabs and water. I re-grouped and finished the last 4 miles with some of my fastest splits of the day!

Sunday — I opted for a nice walk with J and my pup this morning and will spend the rest of the day watching football and getting a few small house projects done.

Total miles for the week – 37
Total miles on the road to Chicago – 391.2

That’s my rundown for the week! How was your week?

I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.

Happy Sunday!

It is a beautiful Sunday here and for the first time a while, I woke up to a wide-open day. I’m looking forward to a day of relaxing, watching some football, and perhaps a little yoga (I think my legs will thank me!). But, first I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.

 Chicago Marathon Training Week 14

Monday — Took a rest day after the Surftown Half Marathon on Sunday.

Tuesday — 8.2-mile run. While I love that we’re moving closer to the first day of fall, I do miss starting my runs in daylight.

Wednesday — 5 miles in new shoes! I’ve been debating trying a shoe with a bit more cushion and have had my eye on the Brooks Glycerin for a while. They felt really good!

Thursday —  6.2 miles. Another run in the Glycerins. The swampy humidity returned and I was happy to squeeze this run in before the rain came.

Friday — Rest day.

Saturday — 12 more miles in the Glycerins. Pacing and fueling clicked and I was pretty pleased with how this run went!

Total miles for the week – 31.4
Total miles on the road to Chicago – 354.2

All-in-all it was a good week and, as a bonus, I think I may have found my marathon shoe! I think I did a much better job of prioritizing rest and recovery, including trips to both the acupuncturist and massage therapist, so this week the goal is to do more of the same.

And, just like that, the first week of September is in the books. These weeks just keep rolling along, and Chicago gets closer and closer! Here’s how this week of training went down.

Chicago Marathon Training Week 13

Monday — 6-mile run. Took advantage of the Labor Day holiday to sleep in a bit and still got a quite run through town.

Tuesday — Rest day.

Wednesday — 7.5 miles. This run was rough from start to finish, but I got it done. My TFL/quad was cranky throughout the run so after work I headed for a visit with my massage therapist.

Thursday — Finally got some time on my yoga mat…that is, until my furry “coach” took over!

Friday — 6.25 miles. My legs still felt pretty tired, but this run was much better than Wednesday’s. I also got an awesome surprise to learn that I had won @runtheworldinbabydays ProForm treadmill giveaway on Instagram!

This will be mine in about 3 weeks or so

Saturday — Rest Day. Got an acupuncture treatment before heading down to Westerly, RI to hang out with Kim and get ready for the race.

Sunday — Surftown Half Marathon plus warm-up (14.75 miles). I’ll recap the race later this week. Added bonus – I finally got to meet Darlene!

Total miles for the week – 34.5
Total miles on the road to Chicago – 322.8

That’s my rundown for the week! How was your week?

I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.

Happy Sunday!

I have to say that I am way behind on replying to blog comments, so I first wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who commented or reached out on Instagram and Facebook to offer some words of encouragement! I was feeling pretty down after cutting last week’s long run short…and will admit to having a mild freak-out.

I’m happy to say that after an extra rest day I feel like I’m getting back into the groove. Here’s how this week went down.

Chicago Marathon Training Week 11

Monday — A much-needed rest day!

Tuesday — 5-mile run. The humidity was off the charts again, but my legs were feeling good so I was all smiles.

Wednesday — 6 miles on the treadmill. I just couldn’t bring myself to face another run in the humidity so I opted for a trip to the gym for a mill run.

Thursday — Had a fun day off from work with the family that included arcade games, mini-golf, and way too much ice cream!

Friday — Another day off from work to celebrate my husband’s birthday! I got him to join me for my run and 6.2 miles were done!

Saturday — 16 miles – a new first! Thankfully, the weather was near perfect, in the low 60s when I started and just 72 by the time I finished. Running 16 miles solo was definitely a mental challenge! Physically, it was a pretty good run through mile 12, things got a little rocky for miles 13 & 14 before I got back on track for the last 2 miles.

Sunday — 4-mile recovery run.

Total miles for the week – 37.2
Total miles on the road to Chicago – 258.3

In addition to my runs, there was daily PT exercises, planking, and time spent on active recovery. All this combined with a bit more sleep definitely helped to make for a better week! Hoping this trend continues as I take on week 12.

I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.

Week 10 is done and there’s no sugar-coating it – it was a rough one!

The combination of a chaotic and stressful work schedule, an ITB flare-up, and ongoing sleep struggles made for a perfect storm.

Chicago Marathon Training Week 10

Monday — Yoga and a trip to the acupuncturist to try to calm a cranky ITB.

Tuesday — The legs were feeling much better and despite another night of lousy sleep, I was able to get 5 early morning miles done.

Wednesday — 6 miles.

Thursday — My struggle for a good night sleep had caught up with me and I ended up hitting the snooze button a couple of times but still had enough time for a short run and some core work.

Friday — I was up and out the door early for round 1 of event set-up for work so there was no time for a morning run, but I did manage to sneak in 6 miles before the day was done.

Saturday — It was event day for work so I was up by 2:30 am to be out the door by 3 and on the road to the event location. 12 hours of final set-up, event management (including playing race director for a 5K/10K), and event tear-down followed. To say I was toast by the day’s end would be an understatement.

Sunday — Given yesterday’s non-stop pace, I knew it would be asking a lot to hit the 12 miles on my plan. My legs were not on board at all and by mile 4 I started to be concerned that I was going to do more harm than good if I continued. I called my husband to pick me up and by the time he got to me, I’d only hit 5 miles. Never a great feeling to cut a long run short but I think I made the right call.

Total miles for the week – 25.5
Total miles on the road to Chicago – 221.1

I am so glad to have this week behind me! Things should be quieter on the work-front this week, and best of all I have a couple of days off. My two big goals for the week are to focus on my PT exercises for my IT band and to get some much-needed sleep.

How was your week? Do you cut runs short or try to push through?

I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.

Chicago Marathon training week 9 is in the books which means I’ve officially reached the halfway point! Say what now?! This week definitely challenged me! Here’s how things went down.

Chicago Marathon Training Week 9

Monday — Rest day.

Tuesday — 4-mile run. I wasn’t feeling so hot in the morning so this became an afternoon run. And, given how stressful work was, this road therapy was so needed!

Wednesday — 6 miles and a glimpse of the start of a new day.

Thursday — 6.25 miles. While mile 1 was a sluggish mess, things quickly settled down and this ended being my best run of the week!

Friday — Rest day.

Saturday — 14.2 miles and a new personal distance record!

Sunday — A 4-mile recovery run is on the schedule for today, but my left knee wasn’t feeling so great this morning so I may opt for either a walk later or some yoga – or both.

Total miles for the week – 30.45
Total miles on the road to Chicago – 195.6

Managing the long runs

Saturday’s run went much better than last week’s 12-miler. I did a much better job of managing my fueling for this week’s long-run – though there’s still room for improvement. It also helped that the humidity of the past few days broke and temps were in the mid-60s for a majority of the run. Just like last week, I did the run in two parts: an 8-mile loop stopping at my house for a quick bathroom break and then on for the final 6.

The struggle bus started tailing me around the 10.5-mile mark, but thankfully I crossed paths with my oldest son who was out running 6 and he helped to “pace” me. While I couldn’t keep up with him, I made it my goal to just keep him in my sights and it really helped to have him to focus on. Self-doubt started to really creep in at 12-miles – I was starting to feel sore and tired, and the thought of two more miles felt like too much. Hearing my Garmin beep at 14 miles was just the sweetest sound!

Having tried a few different fueling options over the past three weeks, I’ve had the best results so far with SIS Salted Strawberry, along with Tailwind. So I’ll be ordering more SIS for the weeks ahead.

Overall, I’m really happy with the way my training’s been going so far and I’m ready for the next 9 weeks

I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.