Gearing up for Marathon Training

And just like that, it's almost time to train for the Chicago Marathon again! One of the perks to doing a spring race is that I already have a great base under my belt so I feel as if this might be the most prepared I have ever been going into marathon training.

Last year I started this blog to detail my training for the 2016 Chicago marathon and it's amazing that I have stuck with it, and appreciate all those that have stuck with me too. It is hard to believe that one year later I am training for another Chicago marathon which is pretty fantastic. I am once again running for Team PAWS Chicago. I had such a great experience with the team last year and after 4 years of running for animal welfare, I can't imagine running a race without doing it for a great cause. 

The easy part was choosing what charity to run for. The hard part was choosing a plan. There are a million plans out there, yet I have been struggling with choosing the right one. Last year I followed the Hansons plan for the marathon and I had success with the plan. I ran the marathon 6 minutes faster than my previous marathon and felt prepared for the race. So why not do it again? Honestly....I wasn't feeling it. The thought of going through the training cycle again was not appealing, and I wanted to listen to what my general inclination was. While I enjoyed the plan and felt that it prepared me well, I am not in the same life spot as I was a year ago. I wasn't looking forward to 6 days of running, with little time for strength training or yoga. I wasn't looking forward to the rigid structure of what runs fall on certain days of the week. I need something with more flexibility where I could move around runs based upon my work and life schedule. I want fewer days of running so I could devote more time to rest and active recovery. I really enjoyed the focus on core and strength work while training for the ultra. I also want longer runs than 16 miles, not because I don't believe that is all you need to run to prepare for a marathon, but because after months of long runs training for my ultra, I found them to be something I enjoyed. I also want my long runs to fall on Saturday instead of Sunday.

With one week to go before training officially starts, I am still on the fence between two plans. One I feel may challenge me as much as Hansons, while the other may be better suited for work-life balance. Until I make a final decision and reveal what I chose, here was what my week looked like:

Sunday: 5 miles easy

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 3 miles easy

Wednesday: 30 min of strength training

Thursday: 4 mile progression run, 15 min of strength training

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 12 miles long, Jasyoga- Cool It

The last time I ran a progression run was in January, among the snow and ice. After doing this week's run in 93 degree heat, I would gladly take the snow again! After doing speedwork for so many weeks, I have been struggling to slow down, so I started the progression run extremely slow and was able to finish with negative splits and my last mile as the fastest, just as expected. I find I benefit from these runs more than any other because pacing is so important when running an endurance race.

Sunday was my birthday - I turned 35 and ran 5 miles in honor of my special day.

35 years young...and in a new race age group!

I also got a treadmill for my birthday...something I didn't think I would ever want, but now has become a necessity with early morning runs.

Welcome home

Saturday's long run was pretty brutal. While the actual temperature was not as hot as previous days, the humidity was zapping my energy. I stayed hydrated as much as I could, but it was hard to breathe and the last mile took all my mental and physical energy to get through. It's nice to know I am not alone with suffering in this heat, but it still makes it hard to get out and run in sometimes.

smiling in the wind tunnel

Highlights/Observations of the Week

• My easy running pace has changed due to the 4 weeks of Daniels Blue Plan speedwork! This is pretty cool to reflect on
• Running in the heat sucks. I am adapting, and 80 degrees doesn't feel so bad, but 90 does.
• I still despise morning running, but now there are lots of other runners out and with the sun coming up pretty early, they are bearable (except when it is already 80 degrees out at 5 am!)
• Continuing to focus on hydration and fuel after a run has really helped my recovery after long runs

So here we go friends, next week is the week where it all begins! If you are training for a marathon, let me know how it is going! What plans have you used and which are your favorite?