Hansons Week 17 and September Recap

ONE WEEK! I don't know if it has quite hit me yet that this time next week, assuming all goes well, I will have finished the Chicago Marathon. All of the weeks of training have finally come down to this final week.


It's a new month and I could not be happier. September was not a great month in my life and I am happy to move on. I love fall running so this happens to be my favorite time of the year to run. Here was my plan for the week:

Monday: 7 miles easy
Tuesday: Strength 6 X 1 miles with 400m recovery
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 10 miles Tempo
Friday: 6 miles easy Rest
Saturday: 6 miles easy
Sunday: 8 miles easy

Finally, the last two strength and tempo runs! I missed Friday's run since it was my last day at work. It was an emotional day full of tears and by the time I headed home I was emotionally spent. The hay is in the barn so to speak, so missing a run at this point is not going to determine my fate during the marathon.

Last SOS Runs:

I am truly glad to see the end of the strength and tempo runs. I finished both workouts feeling strong and with a huge sense of accomplishment. 17 weeks ago I remember looking at the last 10 mile tempo and thinking, will I ever get there? More than anything, the strength runs have provided a little spice to my weeks and the tempo runs have helped me develop a sense of pace that will guide me during the marathon to not go out too fast. The last tempo run also signaled that I was officially tapering.

Last tempo run!

Easy Runs:

I actually enjoyed my easy runs this week. Instead of feeling pressure, I ran them nice and slow and just enjoyed being out on the trail. On Saturday's run, I stopped and took a few pictures of the fall splendor and did not worry about pace or time. It felt really great to enjoy the run for what it was and remember why I love doing this. 

I love October!

September Recap:

My total mileage for September was 165.43 which is a new high for me! That is 20 more miles in September than August. Mentally and emotionally September was a hard month. I started to feel unfocused and unmotivated after I lost my job, but physically I made it through some of my most difficult runs. Recently an email came out with tips for marathons, and one of them was to avoid major life stress a month before the marathon. Well I really wish I could have controlled that, but life had other plans for me. I think I handled the stress the best I could and while it may have taken a toll and some fun out of training, I think I am more focused now than ever. October is a month to celebrate my weeks of training, rest, and hopefully find a new path in life that is much better than the one I was on before.

Fatigue Level:

With decreased mileage this week I am feeling fairly good. Without a long run, my legs felt much better after the SOS workouts and I am actually enjoying the taper so far. Normally I hate it because I feel like I am doing nothing, but I actually like Hansons taper, or lack of, in that I am still running quite a bit, but it is much less than before. I plan to take this next week as it comes and decide how many of the runs I want to complete because I do want to feel rested on race day, but I also do not want to feel sluggish or have "Hansons legs" on Sunday.

Mental & Emotional Strength:

Emotionally I had a rough week. I was actually looking forward to my last day at work because 3 weeks of transitioning was difficult and mentally I felt that I had started to move on. As I said goodbye to people I have worked with for 10 years, I let myself feel sad and grieve, but once I arrived home it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Sure I have the burden of finding a job, but now I am also free of a place that was not good for me. Many of us likened the office to an abusive relationship in that we knew it was a bad place but could not walk away. I am feeling very positive about the future, and this positivism has helped me focus more on the race and less on things that are stressing me out. I think the last few weeks have strengthened me mentally and I am more prepared for the mental aspect of the marathon than ever before.

Nutrition:

Nutrition has been on point this week. I finally cracked open my Run Fast, Eat Slow cookbook and tried a recipe, the penne with roasted butternut squash and sage brown butter. I made it with rigatoni since I had that on hand, and we roasted the squash in the smoker. It was delicious and filling. The sage brown butter really made the dish as the sauce was rich and satisfying. I need to give the rest of the recipes in the book a chance.

Rigatoni with smoked butternut squash and sage brown butter

I am starting to plan my meals for this last week leading up to the marathon. My last race I followed Matt Fitzgerald's New Rules for Marathon Nutrition and I firmly believe that led to my success on race day. I plan to stick to what I was doing for my last race as I adequately "carb loaded" but did not feel heavy or sluggish. Over the past week I have dropped a few pounds to get to a lower racing weight, and now I can focus on additional carbs without worrying so much about weight gain since I will drop weight during the race. I typically cut out most sugars so when I fuel during the race, the sugar really hits me and gives me that extra boost. Unlike most, I actually have a hard time carb loading and getting enough carbs since I am mostly plant based for my diet, so I typically spend a lot of time planning my meals before race day to ensure I get the proper ratio for my weight and activity level. For me, that is 317.5 g of carbs, or about 1270 calories from carbs a day. That is about 90% carbs which is insane, but necessary. 

There you have it...week 17. Time to continue with the taper, get some rest, fuel, and prepare for the marathon!