Chicago Marathon Training Week #13

Ah, lucky 13!

Monday

AM: 5 miles (8km) - 52:10

Headed out later than usual seeing as there was no work to go to. It's such a difference running in daylight, I'd forgotten what the northern path looked like!

This was a relaxing run, where I just listened to the sound of the waves on the lake.

And then I got bored so decided to kick up the pace for the last half mile, just to see what would happen...
8:59 mile split. I didn't know I could run a mile in a time that starts with an eight.

Tuesday

AM: 7 miles (11.2km) - 1:08:33

Still feeling good (the denial treatment method for my calf seems to be working well). The moonset/sunrise view was pretty awesome early on in my run. My phone just doesn't have the ability to capture how amazing it was - a crescent moon low on the horizon with a thin band of vibrant pink just between the lake and some low clouds.

After getting all excited about yesterday's 8:59 I played again today. This time I managed an 8:24. These faster miles are addictive.

Wednesday

AM: 8 miles (12.8km) - 1:22:44

I can't remember if I've said this on the blog before but I'm scared of really pushing myself or trying speed workouts (or something that might resemble a speed workout). Every time I have really injured myself, speed and/or hills have been involved. So, for my Chicago Marathon training it's been running for distance pretty much the whole way. I change up the pace but only within my comfort zone. Well, you know, except for those couple of experiments I did earlier in the week.

Today was no different. I just went out and enjoyed my morning time. I love being outside, listening to the sound of the lake and the city waking up. I love watching the sky gradually brightening as the sun rises. I don't love the bug attacks but they're part and parcel of the experience and I'll gladly take them for everything else.

It's so easy to take it all for granted. But I am so lucky to be living here in this city. To be able to get out and run every day. To have the expanse of lake on one side and the convenience of the city on the other. To have a community of like-minded people around me who understand what drives me to get up before sunrise every day, run for hours, persist through random pains (btw - my calf pain has gone! I'm cured!) and discuss the relative benefits of different training plans.

On the speed thing, once I'm done with the marathon and have taken a little time off, I'm going to train with speed in mind. 2014 will have a new half marathon PR. And it's going to be a good one.

Thursday

Rest day!

Friday

AM: 5 miles (8km) - 50:29

Felt tired for the whole run. Just like everything was a little bit harder than normal. Mentally I was preoccupied thinking about my Saturday run. 20 miles - my longest run so far!

Saturday

AM: 20 miles (32km) - 3:42:08

My first attempt (successful!) at this distance in my training program.

I know there is a school of thought that says doing this run is counter-productive. And especially for a slower runner like myself. But I am so glad to have done it.

For me (and, I suspect, I lot of other people) running is a mental game. Obviously, physical fitness and training is required, but it's my mind that controls a lot of my success. Running 20 miles has given me the confidence to be able to say "I will succeed at the marathon". I know I can run the distance. And I know I can run it, even if I'm not feeling great. I also know that there is still a lot that can happen in the six miles I will never run until race day. But I got through 20 miles on Saturday, on pace, while battling continuing fatigue (what's going on here?) and an uncooperative stomach (again, what's going on here - I thought we had this sorted out?).

Despite not feeling 100% for the run, I recovered well. I felt tired during the rest of the day but not completely wiped out, like I have been before.

I am no expert on this marathon business. I do know myself reasonably well, however. And I know I need to practice, practice, practice because my mind and exceptional talent in doubting myself will always do their best to convince me I can't.

Sunday

Does watching shows on Netflix count as a workout? If so, I've worked hard today!

This week's stats

• Total miles: 45 (72 km)
• Total running time: 7 hours 46 minutes 04 seconds
• Total running workouts: 5
• Total cross training workouts: 0
• Total strength workouts: 0

Goals for next week

• Cross training and strength workouts

I dropped these because I felt like they were contributing to my calf pain. Hmm, calf pain has gone - maybe I was right? I'm going to add them back in but be super careful while I do it.

Chicago Marathon Training Week #12

The week the I-word reared its ugly head.

Update: I've just realized the font in this post has gone screwy. I can't fix it, so apologies to anyone who is as OCD as me. It's bugging the absolute daylights out of me.

Monday

Nothing. Flew to Atlanta first thing and didn't leave the office until late.

Tuesday

AM: 5 miles (8km) - 54:31

I chose a different hotel to stay at this week. The choices are pretty limited as my office is out in the suburbs. This hotel is in a better area - more residential and  just nearby has an approximately 4 mile long road, with sidewalks and street lights. This works pretty well as my longest mid-week runs are 8 miles.

I took my first run out with a liberal amount of caution. I had driven the route (well, I was a passenger while one of my colleagues drove the route for me) the night before so I had a feel for what was what but it's a little unnerving being out early in the morning in a new and unknown area.

Two other runners crossed my path during the run and both gave enthusiastic hellos. Early morning runners are the best!

I finished up feeling pretty good and happy to have run without incident.

Wednesday

AM: 6 miles (9.6km) - 1:04:01

Same route as Tuesday. Headed out feeling a little more relaxed than the day before. But not that relaxed, as when a squirrel (I think it was a squirrel anyway) ran in front of me, I may have squealed just a little and my heart stopped for what felt like a minute. Having found a safer and more consistent route meant I could relax into the hills more and use them as part of my training (rather than the constant start-stop routine I'd been doing previously). I have lost of perspective of what constitutes "hilly" but I think this route might be just that. It certainly has more hills than my Chicago runs (I know, it's not that hard though). Here are the elevation profiles of my 6 mile run in Atlanta versus 6 miles in Chicago. It would look better if I could get the scales equal.

Hello Atlanta hills

Practically flat Chicago

Thursday

AM: 0.1 miles - ow!

I started a run but called it quits with calf pain.

AM: Elliptical - 15:00
AM: Weights - 30:00

Took my workout inside but even the elliptical started aggravating my calf.

Friday

AM: 8 miles (12.8km) - 1:23:40

Feeling better today, so decided to give the planned 8 miles a go. All went well, my calf was quiet all run.

Saturday

AM: 10 miles (16km) - 1:50:29

13 mile run fail. This was the run where I really began to question whether there was something seriously wrong with my calf. It never really hurt but I could feel it from mile 2. By mile 8 I knew it was time to call it quits. I am stubborn so made it an even 10.

Sunday

Rest. Ice. Compression. Stretch.

This week's stats

• Total miles: 29 (46.4km)
• Total running time: 5 hours 12 minutes 40 seconds
• Total running workouts: 4
• Total cross training workouts: 1 (ish)
• Total strength workouts: 1

Goals for next week

Exactly the same as last week.

• Warm up and cool down
• Running form
• Getting up when the alarm goes off and not after I hit snooze three times

August summary

• Total miles: 153 (244.8km)
• Total running time: 27 hours 06 minutes 51 seconds
• Total running workouts: 20

Chicago Marathon Training Week #11

Under 50 days to Marathon day!

I found out this week that I'm confirmed to stay in Chicago until at least November 2014 (yay!!), so was talking to my Dad about how it meant I could now enter one of the other 'big' marathons next year - NYC or Marine Corp (or any one of the other fall marathons around). He said to me I should wait until I do Chicago before planning my next one because I probably wouldn't want to do another one. It's true, I've yet to experience the marathon but I am having The. Best. Time. training for Chicago (despite whatever moaning I may do here). So even if the marathon sucks (which I'm pretty sure it won't), it's just one day in the 126 days of my training. And I would say it's totally worth doing again.

Now onto the last seven days in the aforementioned 126...

Monday

AM: 5 miles (8km) - 52:19

Feeling a little sore from yesterday's weights session and never really settled into this run. Nothing too exciting to report but there was a lovely sunrise. No pictures as I'm not always carrying my phone with me (oh yes, safety first here!).

Note to self: carry phone with you so that you can take more sunrise pictures. No one ever gets tired of sunrise pictures. Plus you might need it for a phone call or something.

Tuesday

AM: 7.5 miles (12km) - 1:15:02

Erg! Buggy day today.

Had to cut half a mile from the plan due to some time constraints.

Wednesday

AM: 6 miles (9.6km) - 59:27

Right calf was sore today. Felt OK while I was running but starting and stopping didn't feel good. Despite this, I did some morning run photographic recording.

Run start. Just a glimmer of light on the horizon.

Turnaround.
Looks a little misty but really I think it's just sweat!

North Avenue on the way home.

All done!

Thursday

Rest day. Nothing going on here. Took a complete rest day to try and baby my calf back to normality.

Friday

AM: 8 miles (12.8km) - 1:20:15

Fabulous! Terrific!

Eight miles of just thinking how much I am loving marathon training and running and life in general. Friday runs are definitely my favourite runs.

Plus I had a celebrity sighting - spied Declan powering his way through a workout. Called out a hello and then got one back as he overtook me later on during the run.

Saturday

AM: 18 miles (28.8km) - 3:15:57

Another first time distance. I felt really good the whole run (well, except for that pesky calf) and had a great time with my training group. Once again, I ended up pacing - not the whole group but a renegade few who wanted a more consistent pace and fewer stops on the way (I personally think stopping close to every mile is overkill).

I repeated my fuelling strategy from last week with success, so I am calling it locked in as the primary marathon plan. So, what's my secret, I hear you ask. Crunchy Peanut Butter Clif Bar. For this distance I took one bar and cut it into six pieces and had one piece about every three miles. These just sit so much better than gels/chews in my stomach and I've felt so much more evenly energised during the run.

Now that I know I've got this in place, I'm going to experiment with some other solid fuel options as well. I had the opportunity to try a few flavours of Jimmy Bars recently c/- Erica.

These were all really good, although I'm partial to the Peanut Butter Clutter. I didn't really try these as a running fuel but I think they would possibly work. I think when it comes to the actual race, having a few flavour options up my sleeve will be a really good idea. I like the Jimmy Bars because the ingredients are simple and few - an approach to eating I've adopted whole-heartedly over the past month with really great results. I'm running better and feeling better and shed a few pounds in the process, which just adds to the running better and feeling better equation.

Sunday

PM: Weights session - 30:00

Just me lifting heavy-ish things for a while.

This week's stats

• Total miles: 44.5 (71.2 km)
• Total running time: 7 hours 43 minutes 00 seconds
• Total running workouts: 5
• Total cross training workouts: 0 (whoops!)
• Total strength workouts: 1

Goals for next week

• Warm up and cool down

Introduced some warm up and cool down exercises to a couple of runs this week and I think it made a difference to how I ran and then how I felt once I was done. I'm going to aim for every run next week to test it out a little further. It certainly can't hurt, can it?

• Running form

It's still a work in progress. Felt really strong over the course of the week so going to continue to make this a focus.

• Getting up when the alarm goes off and not after I hit snooze three times.

Way better this week but travelling again next week, so let's keep it on the list.

Chicago Marathon Training Week #10

Welcome to the second half of Chicago Marathon training. Less than 2 months to go!
*insert panic here*

Monday

AM: 5 miles (8km) - 50:20

Travelling again this week (boo!) but I decided that I would book my flight so that I could do my run in Chicago before I left. It kind of cut down my actual productive work time but was awesome for my running motivation. And everyone knows that running is more important than working, right?

Tuesday

AM: 4 miles (6.4km) - 44:08
PM: 4 miles (6.4km) - 43:32

Back in the Atlanta suburbs. No good running outside so I moved my 8 miles onto the hotel gym's treadmill. Buuut 8 miles on the treadmill is too much for my brain to handle. Split it into a double of 4 and 4 (my boredom is much more manageable that way).

This is very much how I'm trying to approach training while I'm traveling.

Wednesday

AM: Weights - 30:00

Just couldn't bring myself to face the treadmill again (I know, I'm pretty pathetic). Did a weights session instead.

Thursday

AM: 3 miles (4.8km) - 30:19

Wednesday's scheduled 6 miles moved to Thursday. But overslept and could only squeeze in 3. Better than the zero I was seriously contemplating.

This is Surfers Paradise in Australia.
I was chatting with my family (who live there) on Wednesday night and stayed up past my bed time.
Not good for early morning running. 

Friday

AM: 8 miles (12.8km)

Glorious!

I felt A-MAZ-ING for entire run. The temps (and humidity compared to Atlanta) were down and it made such a difference!! If only every run could feel so good. Plus, I was wearing my turbo-boosted shoes which obviously gave me an extra advantage on the path.

Saturday

AM: 17 miles (27.2km) - 3:04:23

Fantastic!

Another great run. I was a little apprehensive given the new longest distance prospects plus how bad I felt getting through my 15 miles a couple of weeks ago. As it turned out, completely unfounded.

I do my long runs with my CARA training group and we were leader-less this week which meant I became the groups unofficial pacer for the run (ie. I run with a Garmin and I had satellite connection when we started). I think I did pretty well - there were a couple of fast miles (whoops, when I'm feeling good I can't contain my enthusiasm!) and I got berated by a cyclist for not keeping my group in check (I agree that groups can be annoying on the path but just because I happen to be at the front of one, it doesn't mean I need to be yelled at).

I felt strong the entire way and felt like I could have kept going for a few more miles. OK, maybe just one more mile. But I'll take that over the "I just want to lie down forever" feeling I've had for the past few weeks.

Sunday

AM: Elliptical, Rowing Machine - 30:00
AM: Weights - 40:00

Getting so much better at doing things other than running. I pretty much deserve a medal.

This week's stats

• Total miles: 41 (65.6km)
• Total running time: 7 hours 13 minutes 02 seconds
• Total running workouts: 5
• Total cross training workouts: 1
• Total strength workouts: 2

Goals for next week

• Fuelling

Just quietly, I think I've got this nailed. I'm going to give it another long run to see before making my official announcement.

• Running form

I really feel like paying attention to this been paying great dividends. I feel better and run just that bit faster without feeling like I'm putting in more effort.

• Getting up when the alarm goes off and not after I hit snooze three times.

Travelling has encouraged some bad habits which I am determined to break this week.

Chicago Marathon Training Weeks #8 & #9

Gah! This was not how it was supposed to go!

I had a shocker of a week #9  which got in the way of everything (including week #8's training report).

Week #8
Monday

PM: 4 miles - 38:56

The afternoon run of "speed".

Tuesday

AM: 5 miles - 50:57

Surprisingly good given running the evening before.

Not actually from this run but I have no pics and that makes for a sad post.
I saved this pic with the title '5 mile sunrise' so I figure it fits.

Wednesday

AM: 6.25 miles - 1:05:46

Cut this run short of the planned 7 miles with a twitchy knee. Seeing as we're playing things smart and all around here.

Thursday

Rest day!!!

Friday

AM: 7 miles - 1:09:53

Storm runner! Halfway through this run it started pouring and then the lightening kicked in. I took shelter during the worst of the lightening (because being struck by lightening was not part of the training plan) but the rest of the run was pretty much wet, wet, wet.

Saturday

AM: 15 miles - 2:43:33

This was hard work. The last mile seemed to last forever.

But I did it and I maintained my long run pace so even if it was difficult, it bodes well for the future.

Sunday

Unplanned rest day. I had to go to the airport at around midday for a work trip and that messed up my day.

Week #9
Monday

AM: 3 miles - 34:32

This was slow. I was in a new area in Atlanta and couldn't find a good route to run. Spent a fair amount of time at stop lights trying to work out where to go next.

Tuesday

AM: 3.4 miles - 40:02

Still in Atlanta. I tried a different route again today but still not a winner. The hills were hard work and did not feel good on my legs. I called it a day after 40 minutes.

Wednesday

AM: Elliptical - 40:00

I gave up on running outside and moved onto the treadmill but the previous two days of hills gave me very sore calf. I subbed some time on the elliptical instead.

Thursday

A very late night on Wednesday resulted in a lot of sleeping in today and not a lot of running. And then I had the joy of spending my afternoon and evening in airports and on planes.

Friday

This week was a disaster and Friday just was the icing on the cake.

Saturday

AM: 11 miles - 2:11:09

Thankful that this week was a cut-back week given the amount of running I got in during the week. It was a bit humid and I was feeling not great toward the end. But I'm looking forward to a better week in week #10 even if I have to travel back to Atlanta again. Boo!

Sunday

AM: Stepper and rowing machine, Weights - 1:05:00

I wanted to run today but knew that miles today would have an impact on my miles next week. So I took myself to the gym for the prescribed cross-training and a weights session.

A scientifically sound conclusion plus a rant

For whatever reason, I didn't get my run in this morning. OK, fine, the reason was I didn't get out of bed early enough. I was tired and headachy and grumpy and it didn't happen.

That meant an afternoon run. I don't particularly enjoy running in the afternoon but I had no good reason to skip it, especially after being a baby this morning. Plus I had to try out my new shoes.

So, I ran. The program said 4 miles and that's what I set out for. I felt fairly average. Tired after a day at work, my stomach was achy (balancing eating enough to not be hungry and not so much that I couldn't run - tricky!), the path was crowded. I got to my 2 mile turn-around area and listened for the watch beep. It came and I headed back home, cursing myself for not getting up in the morning.

End of run and I look at my watch: 38:56.

Um, excuse me. I don't run sub-10:00 minute miles when I'm on an easy run (I barely run sub-10:00 when I'm trying to race). But every mile was sub-10:00.

I considered what the possible cause might be:

1. Afternoon run
2. I ate a banana today
3. New shoes
4. I've 'levelled up' in my running (you know, I've now logged enough miles that I automatically get a new running power - increased speed)
5. Lower humidity

I've concluded it must be the shoes. The other options have a lot going for them but I don't have tricky photos for them so they had to be discounted.

I think they might be jet powered

On a serious note, the adidas were comfortable to run in, have a nice bounce to them and felt good on my foot. Of course, I'll need to test them out over a longer distance too.

******

Now, on an even more serious note, a quick rant.

During my run this afternoon I had another encounter on the path with disrespectful males. This time it was a graphic and personal comment made to me. It makes me so mad, frustrated and disappointed that this happens and that in many circumstances it's just accepted. That we live in a society where we just take it for granted that this is going to happen and you have to ignore it and move on.

I read an article today titled "Have a look at yourself"in the Herald Sun, a Victorian (Australia) newspaper that is on this exact issue. It was written by the Victoria Police Chief Commissioner. I think it's a great article and I'm happy that it's being widely shared around Australia. But it's also a sad reflection on the world we live in that this is such a wide spread problem.

End of rant.

******

On a scale of 1 to 10, how nerdy would I be if I actually designed an experiment to see whether I'm running faster in my new shoes? I do actually have a background in science and have studied experimental design and statistics but gave it all up for the glitz and glamour of the accounting world.

Chicago Marathon Training Week #7

Monday

AM: 4 miles (6.45km) - 41:01

Four recovery miles at a not so recovery pace. I was feeling the effects of the RnR Chicago Half for the first mile and then it all just magically went away (why couldn't that have happened during the race?). Unfortunately, my head was still feeling wonky but it was manageable for 4 miles.

Tuesday

AM: 7 miles (11.3km) - 1:12:45

It's a during-the-week-mileage increase week. My first 7 miler before work. Caught a sweet looking sunrise at Belmont that was worth stopping for.

Wednesday

AM: 5 miles (8km) - 51:49

This run was hard work. There was a bit of wind which in addition to making running a little more difficult left the lake looking pretty cool with all the waves being kicked up. Kept myself focused by thinking about my upcoming rest day.

Thursday

Rest day!! I think I say this every week but I needed this day off.

PM: Strength session - 20:00

Friday

AM: 7 miles (11.3km) - 1:11:57

Was greeted with this at the start of my run.

Is it possible to have too many sunrise photos? I think not.

Started off a little slow. On my way back home I really focused on keeping my core stable, shortening my stride and increasing my turnover rate. It makes such a difference! The last three miles were all sub-10:00 pace (a rarity for me) but I didn't feel like I was trying to race. I am definitely going to work on this more going forward.

Saturday

AM: 14 miles (22.4km) - 2:32:16

My first run greater than half marathon distance. The weather was great for running with cool temps and cloud cover (would it be too much to ask for every run to be like that?).

I was tired at the end but that extra 0.9 miles didn't kill me ;)

However, I have worked out that I am going to have to schedule nap time in my Saturday plans going forward. Or maybe starting drinking more coffee.

Sunday

AM: Cross training - 30:00
AM: Strength session - 30:00

I spent some time on the elliptical, did a strength session and closed out my gym time with some swimming.

And then I went shopping.

My Brooks Adrenalines have more than 400 miles on them so I figured it was time to get another pair of shoes in the rotation. I had gone to Road Runner Sports in Lincoln Park the previous weekend but encountered such appalling service that I left the store without trying anything on. So today I went to Fleet Feet in Old Town (where I've never had a bad experience) with the intention of just replacing the Adrenalines with another pair of Adrenalines because I really do love the shoe. But I also love trying on new shoes, so checked out some of the new releases.

The pink ones are the adidas adistar Boost. I really liked the upper on these because it's a sort of stretchy fabric that hugs your foot. My feet like hugs. Plus, if I'm to believe the sales pitch, they will "keep every step charged with an endless supply of light, fast energy". Who can say no to that?!

The purple ones (and trust me, they are purple no matter what they look like in the photo) are Adrenalines.

I really was just going to get one pair but I quite liked the adidas and I just can not say no to a purple pair of Adrenalines. It's not like I won't use them. I'm so looking forward to running tomorrow morning and trying out my new babies!

This week's stats

• Total miles: 37 (59.2km)
• Total time: 6 hours 29 minutes 49 seconds
• Total running workouts: 5
• Total cross training workouts: 1
• Total strength workouts: 2

Goals for next week

• Fuelling - Keep practicing

I tried a few things with fuel this week and think I'm beginning to head in the right direction but need to keep working on it.

• Running form

Have started adding distance in kms so that it's easier when I share with everyone back home. It makes my head hurt with all the converting I have to do sometimes.