Chicago Marathon Training Week 3
Greetings from Vegas! While this post was written prior to my departure, I still wanted to capture most of what my training week 3 looked like.
One of my favorite Coach's notes from this week was this: Ultimately, running is deeply personal. That's why it's so important to us. At its core, it's you vs you & there's huge value in this challenge.
I had a dream this week that I was running the Chicago Marathon and came into the finish over an hour before my goal time. It was an amazing feeling, not so much because of how fast I was running, but because of how I felt. In the dream I was running effortlessly and confident and while it was a struggle to get to the finish, I still had enough left in me to do it. I hope to finish with that feeling, and while I would love to beat my previous time (probably not by an hour!), I want more than anything to run my best race. That is why I think the quote was perfect for this week.
Sunday: 5 miles easy, Jasyoga - Couch Reset
Monday: 3 miles easy, strength training
Tuesday: 5 mile progression run
Wednesday: 4 miles easy, strength training
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Rest - Vegas!
Saturday: Rest - Vegas!
Total: 17 miles
Obviously not a high mileage week - it's actually a step back, but with my 10 mile trail race coming up, I can consider it a little bit of a taper while I enjoy Vegas. I feel a tad guilty for missing my long run, but I know I'll be fine for the race next week.
Wednesday's progression run was a bit interesting in that my Garmin decided to die that day, and I was uncertain of how to proceed with the run. If it was an easy or long run, I wouldn't have even paused as I am pretty aware of mile markers around my house since I run so often. However, a run where I need to focus on pace is a bit different in that I refer to my watch a lot to make sure my pace is on point and that I am indeed increasing my pace each mile. I decided to just go for the run and run by feel. I tried to focus on Coach Jenny's running in color that I've mentioned before, which is running by effort. It ended up being an amazing run, and when I came home and reviewed my Samsung health app, it did indicate that I had run each mile faster than the last. This run proved me to that I can run by feel, and that I have it in me to properly pace. This is not to say that I haven't bought a new watch (of course I did), but it does show the importance of watch-less runs and how we should test ourselves from time to time.
Week 4 coming up is an "easy" week, as the McMillan plan works in cycles, similar to my ultra training plan. There are three hard weeks, with an easier week during the fourth week. While I am still in the early, easy phase of the plan, this actually falls quite nicely with my race prep, so I don't have to worry too much about tiring myself doing progression or speedwork right before a race.
One of my favorite Coach's notes from this week was this: Ultimately, running is deeply personal. That's why it's so important to us. At its core, it's you vs you & there's huge value in this challenge.
I had a dream this week that I was running the Chicago Marathon and came into the finish over an hour before my goal time. It was an amazing feeling, not so much because of how fast I was running, but because of how I felt. In the dream I was running effortlessly and confident and while it was a struggle to get to the finish, I still had enough left in me to do it. I hope to finish with that feeling, and while I would love to beat my previous time (probably not by an hour!), I want more than anything to run my best race. That is why I think the quote was perfect for this week.
Sunday: 5 miles easy, Jasyoga - Couch Reset
Monday: 3 miles easy, strength training
Tuesday: 5 mile progression run
Wednesday: 4 miles easy, strength training
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Rest - Vegas!
Saturday: Rest - Vegas!
Total: 17 miles
Obviously not a high mileage week - it's actually a step back, but with my 10 mile trail race coming up, I can consider it a little bit of a taper while I enjoy Vegas. I feel a tad guilty for missing my long run, but I know I'll be fine for the race next week.
Wednesday's progression run was a bit interesting in that my Garmin decided to die that day, and I was uncertain of how to proceed with the run. If it was an easy or long run, I wouldn't have even paused as I am pretty aware of mile markers around my house since I run so often. However, a run where I need to focus on pace is a bit different in that I refer to my watch a lot to make sure my pace is on point and that I am indeed increasing my pace each mile. I decided to just go for the run and run by feel. I tried to focus on Coach Jenny's running in color that I've mentioned before, which is running by effort. It ended up being an amazing run, and when I came home and reviewed my Samsung health app, it did indicate that I had run each mile faster than the last. This run proved me to that I can run by feel, and that I have it in me to properly pace. This is not to say that I haven't bought a new watch (of course I did), but it does show the importance of watch-less runs and how we should test ourselves from time to time.
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| Missing something? |
Week 4 coming up is an "easy" week, as the McMillan plan works in cycles, similar to my ultra training plan. There are three hard weeks, with an easier week during the fourth week. While I am still in the early, easy phase of the plan, this actually falls quite nicely with my race prep, so I don't have to worry too much about tiring myself doing progression or speedwork right before a race.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Independence day here in the US!
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