Sunday, August 6, 2017

Week 9 of 18 Chicago Marathon Training

It's the half way point, EEEEEK!  Dare I say I am feeling really good and I attribute it all to the strength, cross training, and loosing 10 lbs.  I know I have some tough runs coming up, but it feels good to know that the peak is almost here and then the taper comes quickly!  Most hate the taper but my body LOVES the taper!

Monday:  Rest day.  Rest day is sacred to me and I love it :) . Especially with speed work days being Tuesdays.  I need all the rest I can get!


My attempt to get a good pic of mel and stella leaving me in the dust

Tuesday:  800 meter repeats x 6 with one mile warm up and 1.5 mile cool down.  100% humidity.  We were drinking air.  It was so foggy and wet that we were instantly drenched.  Other than the very first interval, we were able to maintain our pace.  Glad to be back to the lower end of the repeat scale but I know coach is ready to ramp back up again to the higher repeats and that always scares me.

Wednesday:  Cross training and strength.  I finally managed to get up and get an hour on my bike with rocking robin.  Strength did not happen though :( . I have managed to fall off of the strength wagon this week.

Thursday:  7 miles easy.  Actually my coach had us doing speedwork again BUT, since I have a 10 K on Saturday, I really didn't need to do three days of speed work.  Unfortunately when we got up there was a huge thunderstorm headed our way, so we both went back to bed hoping we could get out post work.  The weather ended up being amazing all day, and we took both of the dogs out for our 7.


Friday:  Cross and strength.  Decided to sleep in and make it a rest day due to the race being Saturday.  Really glad I did because later that night, I was wide awake very, very late.

Saturday:  10 K race, Brew to Shoe. Here is a pic from the first year I did the race, complete with my beer!
2013 Brew to Shoe on the old course

This year we were not so lucky with the weather.  We knew the weather men had been predicting 100 % heavy rain all week, but we all secretly hoped they were wrong.  Whelp, they were dead on right.  When we got up, thunder was rumbling already, and by the time we got to the start line, the lightening and rain had started in earnest.  The RD kept pushing back the start time, but they finally had to make a decision due to the roads needing to be opened back up.  The RD shortened the 10K down to a 5K, with the 1 mile run happening right after the 5K cleared out.  Unfortunately, I needed 6 miles, so a 5 K and a longer wait didn't sound good to me.  I could run on my mill and be completely dry or run in the rain around my house and get a full 6.  As we were driving home, the lightening got less and less, so I decided to eat quickly and head out an hour later.  


We managed 6.2 on some sloppy roads with a little bit of rain and some rumbling of thunder, but no lightening.    

Sunday:  Long run 18 miles.  We had a birthday party the night before and I was so exhausted that I fell asleep as soon as we got home.  I am glad that I did because 4:30 came way too early.  Of course we had a lower temp thanks to the rains that moved through BUT we had 100 percent humidity.  Thanks Kansas.  I really struggled around mile 15.  That was the first time in a long time that I honestly contemplated stopping.  I had done one loop with Deuce first for about 10 miles and then came back home to swap out out dogs and pick up Stella for the last 8 miles.  I was trying to run and not walk at all, but I think trying to gut it out made me feel like poop.  I usually walk every 2 or so miles when the humidity is that bad but I thought I would be tough and keep going till I had to fuel.  Oh well, live and learn, I may be a runner but my walk breaks help me stay strong and finish.  I managed to finish and get to work.  Yes, I had to work on a Sunday and it wasn't bad but I was sad to not be with my family on a weekend.  That may be all about to change, but more on that later:0)

Total mileage for the week:  38.2

It's going to be a busy few weeks at night, so I HAVE to get my butt out of bed and do all of my work outs early, not just my runs. I have no excuses,  I need to get in bed earlier no matter what and I need to get up and not hit snooze.  We start soccer this week and apparently I have been promoted to heard coach.  I have little to no knowledge about soccer so this will be very interesting.  

Have a great week!!!!
  



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