ChicagoMarathonTrainingRecap3

*Week #5, September 7-13

Monday: OFF
Day off from school and from running.

Tuesday: 3 miles and 10 strides
The plan was to run them all easy.

A humid day but luckily not as hot.  I did not want to run cause I was tired.  Waited as much as I could before going out for my run. No more cold nor cough and felt so much better than last week. Splits are:
Mile 1-11:16
Mile 2-10:24
Mile 3-9:52

Also, did 10 strides.  Could feel myself flying.  The numbers I saw on watch were 5:55 for fastest and 6:55 for slowest. 🙂

Did a total of 3.38 @10:09 average pace.

Wednesday: 7 miles
The plan was for 2 miles warm up, 2 miles at 11:00, 1 mile at 10:00, 1 mile at 11:00, and 1 mile cool down.

I almost missed this run.  It was my mother’s birthday so we went out to dinner.  Of course I ate too much and then went home to take a nap.  When I woke up, I felt better and then went out for my run.

The last time I ran 7 miles was on 7/18/15 (7.07) for an average pace of 11:53.  This run (7.03) was done @10:44 average pace.  Felt good but then was a little tired at the end.  Weather was in the low 70s which was good weather to run. Splits are:
Mile 1-10:55
Mile 2-10:55
Mile 3-10:28
Mile 4-10:14
Mile 5-10:01
Mile 6-11:11
Mile 7-11:30

Thursday: 4 miles
The plan was to run at an easy pace.

I had to do a couple of errands with my mom and sister on Thursday so I did my run on Friday.  Ran total 4.02 @10:38 average pace.  Negative splits!  Boom!  Of course my intention was not to do negative splits but it short of happened.  Splits are:
Mile 1-11:23
Mile 2-10:40
Mile 3-10:27
Mile 4-9:58

Came home to foam roll and I had some company.  Love my Lola.

ChicagoMarathonTrainingRecap30

Friday: OFF

Saturday: 18 miles
The plan was for this run to have negative splits.

Lately I am not having good luck with my long runs.  Two weeks ago I ran 18 miles.  It rained a bit but wasn’t too bad.  The forecast for Saturday was similar to two weeks ago but it was pouring by the time I arrived at Fleet Feet.  Plus, it was a little chilly.  Definitely not a good combination.

I started off OK with my group but then got really cold.  I did not want to risk getting sick like I did two weeks ago so I headed back to the store and did not finish my run.  Of course it stopped raining and the sun was out when I reached the store.  Ran total 6.37 @11:50 average pace.  My coach told me to do my run on Sunday.  Splits are:
Mile 1-10:45
Mile 2-11:15
Mile 3-11:14
Mile 4-10:57
Mile 5-12:47
Mile 6-13:53

Sunday: 18 miles
Went to bed really late after my mother’s birthday party and woke up very early to take my sister to the airport.  Came home and went back to sleep.  One thing led to another and I did not run at all.

*Runs on treadmill are done on 1% incline.

Thoughts:

  • I have 20 miles on Saturday and am slight worried about it.  But I think I will be OK, right?
  • It is finally cooling down in Chicago.  The forecast for Saturday is low 59 with high 73.  I am really hoping we have decent running weather on October 11.
  • I had so much fun on Saturday hanging out with family members.  We ate, drank, and sang till almost 11pm.  It was almost midnight by the time we cleaned up and went to bed.  I woke up at 5:30am to head to the airport.
  • Love seeing the numbers on my short runs.  I definitely see an improvement.  Plus, the cooler weather has helped.  As for my long runs, well, that is another story.  I know they’re meant to be run at a slower pace but it sort of bothers me that they’re that slow.

12 Comments on Chicago Marathon Training Recap Week #5

  1. I have my final 20 miler on Saturday! I’m so excited!! I’m pretty sure this will be my 3rd and final marathon… it takes too much training :(– I love half marathons so much more!

    • I agree that it takes too much training. After each marathon I’ve told myself that it is the last one. Eventually I would love to run the Boston Marathon so we’ll see how many more I run.

  2. You’ve got to keep telling yourself the 20 will be OK… practise your ‘I am going to run easy and dead on pace for each and every mile’ mantra every day, especially just before you go to sleep! 🙂

  3. You are going to rock the 20-miler. You’ve done so much hard work already in all these weeks leading up to it. You’re ready to take 20 by the horns and show that distance who is boss!!! And just think about how glorious your taper will feel afterwards. =)

    • Thanks! I checked in Google calendar where I keep detailed information about my runs and it turns out that my run in July was on a very hot day. I was supposed to run 10 but with the heat and being so sunny, I only managed 7. Amazing how much weather is a factor. Cannot wait for fall!

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