Apr
2018

Illinois Marathon Training Recap, Week 20

categories: Illinois Marathon, Marathon Training, Running, Weekly Recap

Illinois Marathon-2

Week #20, April 9-15

M Rest
T 3.72
W 6.36
TH 3.62
F Rest
S Ran 3.32
S Rest

Great day for running but legs felt very tired.  I surprised myself and ran a “fast” mile of 11:53.  Must remember to run S-L-O-W-E-R now that I am so close to my marathon.

I almost skipped my run on Wednesday because I was tired.  I haven’t been sleeping well.  I woke up very early on Monday and Tuesday and after work what I really wanted to do was nap.  🙂  It was 60 degrees outside and I know I’ve been complaining a lot about the weather so it was the perfect day to be out, right?  I wore shorts and compression socks.  Luckily I also wore a long sleeve top because once outside I was COLD.  Very weird.  It was 52 degrees when I was done.

My workout was interesting (15 minutes warm up, 4×800 @5:20/rep with 400m recovery, 4×400 @2:20/rep with 200m recovery, and 10 minute cooldown.  Each interval was done faster than expected and that made me very happy!

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Thursday had pretty decent weather and I couldn’t wait to run in shorts!  However, it felt chilly on my run (like on Wednesday) and am glad I wore a long sleeve top.

Illinois Marathon-186.jpg

The weekend was all about crappy weather.  Wind and rain.  I went back and forth with debating on doing my long run (40 minutes warm up, 3×10 minutes @10:43 with 400m recovery, 2×5 minutes @10:01 with 400m recovery, and 30 minutes cool down) on Saturday or Sunday.  By the time I finally decided to do it on Saturday, I realized that it was going to take me over 2 hours to finish and I wouldn’t be back in time to shower and meet my family for lunch.  I told myself that depending on how I felt after lunch and the weather conditions, I might still do my long run on Saturday.

Lunch was fun.  We went to a Mexican restaurant.  The food was OK but it was great hanging out with the family.  After lunch I went home and took a nap.  🙂  I felt much better after my nap I went out for an easy run (40 minutes).  It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be and regretted not doing my long run instead.  I even managed to finish each mile at the same pace – that has never happened!!

Illinois Marathon-187

I wanted to cry Sunday morning.  As much as I tried to motivate myself, I just couldn’t do it.  I skipped my run.  Did I feel guilty?  Yes.  I sent a message to my coach and she said I could do it on Monday.  The problem is that we are expecting snow.  So we’ll see if I run on Monday.  Sigh, really over this weather.  But I guess I shouldn’t really complain since the weather conditions for the Boston Marathon as expected to be worse.

Illinois Marathon-188.jpg

Total mileage for the week: 17.02
Total mileage for this training cycle: 432.04
Total mileage for the year: 353.21

Here’s how training has gone so far:
• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6
• Week 7
• Week 8
• Week 9
• Week 10
• Week 11
• Week 12
• Week 13
• Week 14
• Week 15
• Week 16
• Week 17
• Week 18
• Week 19

How was YOUR week?  How is the weather where you live?


Apr
2018

Random Thoughts Thursday 15

categories: Random Thoughts Thursday

Random Thoughts Thursday

• My coworkers have been reminding me but we have 37 days left of school.  Fun!

Days left of school-1

• This year I will be teaching summer school.  I am actually looking forward to it.  It is part time (8am-12pm) and goes from June 11-July 6.  I will have have the rest of the day to do whatever I want to do and will still have over a month of summer vacation.

• I rarely drink soda but sometimes I will drink Coca-Cola.  I met up with a friend for lunch and could not resist ordering a bottle.  It was so good and I almost finished it right away.  For some reason it tastes so much better in a bottle than in a can.

Coca Cola-1

• I love Running Warehouse’s customer service.  They offer FREE 2 day delivery and if you want to return/exchange anything, they also offer FREE returns.  Plus they give you 90 days to return anything you purchase from them.  Sometimes they will waive that policy and accept your return even if it is over 90 days.  Last week I returned 2 pairs of running shoes that I ordered in December.  I received an email yesterday letting me know that they received my return and will be issuing a credit.  

• Monday morning I woke up to snow on the ground.  It wasn’t a lot but very weird for April.  Mother Nature is cruel and likes to play games with us.  Yesterday it was 60 degrees and it is expected to be in the 70s on Friday.  

Snow-1


Apr
2018

Spring Training Update!

categories: BibRave Pro, Illinois Marathon, Marathon Training, Running, Tuesdays on the Run

Disclaimer:  I am promoting these races as part of being a BibRave Pro.  Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find and write race reviews!

As you’ve been reading along these past few months, I’m training for the Illinois Marathon on April 28th.  I began my training on November 27 (just realized it will be 5 months of training).  I joined an online coaching group with Mary and Rochelle where they’re coaching a group of women training for the Boston Marathon.  We had our last Facebook Live call yesterday in which Mary talked about the course.  It was interesting and one day I will be there!

This has been a hard and wonderful training experience.  It felt hard because of the weather and some of the runs.  I did most of my training outside and there were so many COLD days.  I did 4 runs on the treadmill.  Surprised I didn’t do more since I don’t mind too much running on it.  However, I did tell myself that I would try to do my runs outside and only on the treadmill when I really and absolutely had do.  <<Nothing wrong with it but a personal preference.

Illinois Marathon-41

Illinois Marathon-96

My training began with mostly easy runs.  Those felt good.  Sometimes it was hard to run “slow”.  That wasn’t a problem later in the training when the runs got more intense and my body could only run “slow”.  Sometimes I even ran slower than the “slow” pace and I was OK with it.  I did miss a few runs – I was too tired or didn’t feel like running outside or the treadmill.

I had some awful and great runs.  Awful because the pace felt hard or the weather conditions simply didn’t help (this has been a LONG winter).  Some great runs because the weather was decent and/or I nailed the required paces.  Those were GREAT confidence boosters and just what I needed when I had a run that didn’t go well.  All about balance, right?  Marathon training isn’t easy.  We have our good and bad runs.

My last long run was this Sunday – 3 hours.  Ugh, I was cold and tired at the end.  I will admit that I had my doubts (again) about how I would complete a marathon when I had no desire to run after 3 hours (and this marathon will take me more than 3 hours).  

Illinois Marathon-181

So let me tell you about my goals for this marathon.  I still have 3 weeks of training and a few more “long” runs.  Nothing crazy like 3 hours but yet more like an 1 hour or so.  

Illinois Marathon 2018 Goals

After the marathon I will take some time off.  I signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon (October 28) and I know Mary and Rochelle will have another coaching group training for that marathon.  For sure I will be a part of it!

I do have 2 races that I signed up for in May.  I am doing the Chicago Spring Half Marathon/10K (I signed up for the 10K) on May 20 and the Soldier Field 10 Mile on May 28.  While I would love to PR in those races (it’s been years since I’ve PR in those distances), I have to see how my body recovers and feels after the marathon.  It will feel weird not running 5 days a week but I am sure my body will love the time off.

If you’re in the Chicago area and would like to join me, below are two codes you can use.

Byline Bank Chicago Spring Half-1

Use code “BRSoldierField” to score some bonus RAM Racing sunglasses for the Soldier Field 10 Mile.

RAMRacingSunglassesHow is YOUR Spring Training coming along?  Does it feel like Spring where you live?  Not here.  We had snow yesterday.  🙁

Linking up with Marcia, Patti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

TuesdaysOnTheRun


Apr
2018

Illinois Marathon Training Recap, Week 19

categories: Illinois Marathon, Marathon Training, Running, Weekly Recap

Illinois Marathon-2

Week #19, April 2-8

M Rest
T 3.23
W 2.92
TH 7.24
F Rest
S Ran 4.00
S Ran 15.34

Tuesday was a nice 40 minutes of running.  I also cut off 3 inches from my hair (feels so much better) and bought card stock paper and pens at Michael’s.  I went there to return some ribbon that I had purchased in December.  The paper is pretty!  Someone suggested I use it to make something for Mother’s Day.

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A friend of mine had mentioned the Brooks Asteria as a good running shoe and I ordered a pair.  Got mine on Wednesday in time for my 35 minutes run.  I like the colors and the feel reminds me of the Pure Flow.  That was my favorite shoe before I discovered the Launch.

Illinois Marathon-175

I ran in them again for Thursday’s run.  I also received a pair of the Oiselle Pocket Jogger Shorts.  I’ve heard great things about it and am thinking that this might be the shorts I wear for the Illinois Marathon.  The weather was decent and I didn’t know it was going to snow.  It began when I was out there and I did not want to return home to change.  I kept running.  It wasn’t that bad and eventually it stopped.  You can see my legs are red.  🙂

My run was 2 mile warm up, 2×15 minutes @10:43 pace, 2 mile cool down.  I ran by feel and didn’t look at my watch but knew I was running those 15 minutes at a faster pace and it felt comfortable.  I had no idea the second interval was faster.  That was another confidence booster that I needed for my upcoming marathon.

Illinois Marathon-178

Saturday morning I went out for 4 miles.  It was cold (20 degrees) but very sunny which warmed me up.  I also ran by feel and felt comfortable on my run.  I had headwind the first 2 miles but knew it would be much better when I turned around for the last 2 miles.  I didn’t mean to go faster than my easy pace (11:56-13:04) and I ended up with negative splits.

Illinois Marathon-179

Less than 3 weeks till the Illinois Marathon!  🙂

Illinois Marathon-180

Today’s run was a 3 hour run (45 minutes warm up, 3×30 minutes @10:55, 10:45, and 10:35, then 45 minutes cool down).  I was hurting when I was done.  The wind was just too much and no matter where I turned, it was there trying to push me back.  I didn’t hit all of my paces but I am still proud because I ran for 3 hours.  Plus, the average pace for the 3rd interval is 10:44 which is a big decrease from the 2nd interval average pace of 10:57.  Pretty good!

I believe this is my longest run for this marathon training.  No 20 miles for me.  🙂

Total mileage for the week: 32.73
Total mileage for this training cycle: 415.02
Total mileage for the year: 336.19

Here’s how training has gone so far:
• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6
• Week 7
• Week 8
• Week 9
• Week 10
• Week 11
• Week 12
• Week 13
• Week 14
• Week 15
• Week 16
• Week 17
• Week 18

How was YOUR week?  


Apr
2018

Random Thoughts Thursday 14

categories: Random Thoughts Thursday

Random Thoughts Thursday

• While I’ve been enjoying my Spring Break, I am sad that it will be over soon.  One week is not enough time.  I want two weeks.  🙂  I just realized that as of yesterday the 4th, we have 2 months left of school.

Spring Break-2

• You know I love Tieks shoes.  I have 2 pairs and ordered a pair in Sapphire.  Aren’t they gorgeous?

Tieks-14

I also want to get one of these.  They’re both so pretty but really don’t need both pairs.  Or do I?

Tieks-15

• Thanks to Facebook I was reminded of the day I completed by first ultramarathon in 2012.  I did another one two years later and then stopped.  I haven’t thought of doing another one till I got that reminder.  Maybe next year?  Who knows.  For now I want to do well in my marathon this month and in the MCM in October.

• Is it really Spring?  It doesn’t feel like it.  On Saturday it was in the high 50s and then every day since then has been a different number.  Yesterday we got a little bit of snow.  I woke up in the morning, saw some snow on the ground, and went back to bed.  It melted by the time I went out for my run.

Weather-1

• I was decluttering and found these tights.  Man, I think I’ve had them for over 10 years.  Not sure why I still have them.  I guess the real question is why did I buy them in the first place?  I mean, fishnet tights?

Black Tights-1

• A cat picture just because.

Lola-1