Sunday, September 28, 2014

Chicago marathon training week 11--and now, it gets real

It's really happening!!!! My Golden Ticket!

So even though I did my long run of 18 the previous week, I'm still not feeling like I'm tapering yet. I still had some longish runs and speedwork to do this week. And coming back from Charleston and boom! back to reality was tough, but the beautiful fall weather we are having helped make my landing a soft one.

Monday: I had a bike ride on the plan, but I didn't get home from the airport until 4 pm, and I was just too tired to ride. Plus I wanted to see my family! I didn't feel too guilty about missing this one, since we did so much walking and I ran 2 days in Charleston. My legs and feet were really tired and it felt good to take the day off. But it felt great to bask in the memories of our really wonderful trip together. We had a lot of laughs, particularly on our last night while we were out to dinner. Because sitting across the room from us was this infamous southern politician who shall remain nameless. You know the one. Who cheated on his wife while she was being treated for cancer? Got another woman pregnant? Let's just say he's as handsome as they say he is, and leave it at that. Taking this picture gave us fits of giggles, because that is a mirror behind me. And even thought we were laughing obnoxiously, he didn't give us even a cursory glance..yep, we're the paparazzi sisters...



Tuesday: Back to business with 8 miles before I had to work. My alarm didn't go off! Crap! I flew out of bed, fed the boys and made lunches, and flew out the door to get my run in. I knew I'd be late for work, but I didn't care. I wanted to get this one in, since I skipped my bike ride the day before. And I literally flew through those 8 miles, getting them done in 1:11:50. Funny thing, my alarm went off during my run, an hour later than I had set it for. I realized then that even though my phone was on Chicago time, my alarm stayed on Charleston time! Seriously? I showered and sped off to work, getting there only 5 minutes late. 'Cause that's how I roll..


Wednesday: yoga Wednesday. I was all set to head over to the yoga studio but my oldest son sent me a text that he hit a car in the school parking lot. Ugh. Of course, he didn't call me...but that's another story. I spent wasted an hour playing detective, trying to sort this out, on the phone with the school security officer, the insurance company, and my husband. This kid is killing me. After all that, I headed to my mat to do the Seawheeze yoga video. But I just wasn't feeling it. This was the day I searched his room, found some drug paraphernalia, and called his school guidance counselor for guidance. What a tough day. I'm grateful for all the cute babies I had on my schedule that day, because they put that smile back on my face and made me forget about my son for a while. Him, I dealt with when I got home. He, of course, denied everything. 



Thursday: Speed work aka mile repeats x4. I started out with the plan to run them about 8:15. But after mile 1, it was clear that my legs wanted to run them faster. Maybe the events of the day before took a toll, but I had a lot of tiger in my tank. I knew that if I ran them fast, I needed to run them consistently. I knew it would be tough, but I thought that might actually be good for me, mentally, if I was successful. And I was. Mile 4 was tough, but I pulled it out. This was the workout I needed, the one that convinced me that I'm ready for the marathon, that this is the real deal. I finished mile 4 and headed back to my car, grinning from ear to ear. I'm surprised someone didn't report me to the mental health authorities! What a great run! Pinch me, because I must be dreaming! After I came back down to earth, I had some CrossFit homework that Becky left for me before going out of town. I had to do 50 backward lunges to balance, which were really challenging for me, balance-wise. I can tell that I've been neglecting my hips a little bit. I also did 50 romanian deadlifts and 50 supermans. 


Friday: rest day. I was surprisingly, pleasantly sore from my CF homework the day before.

Saturday: I had 6 miles on the plan. I also had a breastfeeding conference to attend and needed to be there by 8 am. Which meant I had to run in the dark! I haven't done that since last spring. I pulled out my Petzl headlamp and headed out into the morning. It was perfect, 57 degrees! I didn't run with any plan in mind, just let my legs carry me. I mostly ran 8:55 mins/mi except miles 4 and 5 where I had a little tummy trouble. I didn't want to stop to use the bathroom, so I just sucked it up and slowed down. I made it home safely without any--umm--incidents. And headed to the conference. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am terrible at sitting for long periods of time. I could never have a desk job! My legs got really restless and my hips were talking to me the whole time. After dinner, I foam rolled and stretched for quite a while.



Sunday: My last double digit run of the marathon training plan, I had 12 to do. Like my 18 miler, I planned on running it at about 9:30 min/mi, or MP. As you can see, I absolutely succeeded on that. I had to make one pit stop at about mile 5--my tummy again--otherwise, the run was uneventful. I fueled again with Tailwind, which really went well. I had an issue with my water bottle springing a leak--I kept seeing my drink spurt out of a tiny pinhole on the side of the bottle. My hand was all sticky and wet. So I need to figure THIS out. I felt good when I finished, aside from a little toe pain--yes, it's back. And check out mile 12...I guess I was ready to be done! 


And now the real decrease in the miles begins! Gives me a chance to rehab my legs a bit and rest. Hoping for an uneventful 2 weeks until the big day! I'm still smiling!





18 comments :

  1. Your training has been textbook perfect! Now rest up, cruise into race day and you'll rock it! Love that Chi shirt!

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    1. It has been hasn't it? Now I need to knock wood or something. I don't want to jinx it!!!! :)

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  2. Beautiful even splits on the 12 miler. I find sitting is the worst thing for my legs, even though some people blame running! Ha! Happy taper!

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    1. Thank you! I am just so happy with my training. No matter how the race turns out, this has been the most fun and best training I've ever done for a race.

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  3. Good job getting over the hump of those longest runs even while you have so much else going on, you really squeezed a couple of those runs in. True commitment!

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    1. Thanks! I think that no matter what happens in my life, I always have my runs! :)

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  4. Wendy, you're doing so great!! GAH! It's almost here! I can't believe it...you are going to nail this race. Love your picture of unnamed politician - and look who he's sitting with? Who is that little peach? HA! Wow...I'm so glad you had fun in Charleston. And, yes, running late DEFINITELY counts as exercise - ha!

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    1. I know, I know...if I could get the interpersonal stress to dial down, I'd say things were just about perfect...

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  5. Woo hoo! Awesome runs this week! And great work getting all of that done in spite of what's going on in your personal life. Good luck with your taper!

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    1. That extracurricular stuff is my incentive to focus...I just have 12 more days to get through. I hope everything holds together!

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  6. Sorry about your son…kids are here to give us gray hair, to be sure. Great week of training for you, in spite of it all. I have yet to pull out my Petzl this year, even though I run in the dark almost every day. What's up with that? Maybe when I trip and fall I'll think better of it...

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    1. I use the Petzl more so the cars can see me! People aren't expecting a runner in the road in the dak...

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  7. I'm so glad your training is going so well! I can see the happiness written all over your face. It's so sad that every morning run now includes a headlamp. I miss the light!

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    1. Thanks! It has really been fun training this time. I'm going to miss it, believe it or not!

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  8. sounds like some awesome running! And Charleston... ah, I crave going back there. Wish I would have had more time when I lived over there for a year and a half. Charleston was 4 hours from Asheville and I got there several times but not enough! This picture at the top is so funny! And you look beautiful.

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    1. Thanks Amanda! I loved Charleston and want to go back. We had a wonderful weekend!

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