Chicago Marathon Training Week 8

Finally, a great solid week of training! This past Tuesday marked 2 months until marathon day, and I was happy to start this week rested and ready to take on training. I finally recovered from my "fun" food poisoning adventure, and with the extra rest days during my camping trip, I have never felt more physically or mentally ready.

Here is what the week looked like:

Sunday: Rest

Monday: 10 mile race pace run, Jasyoga - Booty Lock Mitigation

Tuesday: 3 easy miles, strength training

Wednesday: Strength training

Thursday: 3 easy miles, Jasyoga - Recovery boost for runners

Friday: Jasyoga - Reclined Upper Body Reset

Saturday: 16 miles long

Total: 32.10 miles

Monday brought my first race pace run, which was 8 miles at marathon goal pace with a 1 mile warm-up and cool-down mile. In looking at my goal pace, I was worried I would try to run this too fast as it seemed slow, but I really slowed myself down and held to a controlled easy pace. The miles passed by quickly, and my average pace was about 10 seconds faster than my goal pace. I was really pleased with how this run went. It seemed "easy", but when I reminded myself that I have to hold this for 16 more miles during the marathon, it seemed difficult but doable. During my route, I was reminded of all of the tempo (goal pace) runs I did last fall with the Hansons plan, and how often I felt like those runs were almost impossible. This really built my confidence that I have a more realistic pace in mind for this year. 

I haven't done a run longer than 14 miles since April, so I'll admit, I felt the usual nervousness at starting a long run again, but I had a great 16 miler. While I give the beautiful weather some of the credit in contributing to this, I also think I handle the long runs much better than I did in past years. During ultra training I became so used to long runs every weekend that I almost missed them when training was over. Somewhere over the past year I started looking forward to them more and more, as it was time for me to be along outdoors doing something I enjoy. I got to thinking of some long run tips during my hours outdoors, so here are a few that I have found to make a long run enjoyable:

• Make sure you have the time. I find that when I am pressed for time or trying to get the run over so I can do something else, I rush myself too much and don't enjoy it. Allow yourself to accept that you will be running for a few hours and try to enjoy it.
• Slow down. This seems obvious, and I still start long runs too fast myself, but the slower you start, the more enjoyable the run will be and the less likely you will be finishing in a death march. I used to think that if I ran my long run slower than race pace, I wouldn't be able to run that fast during the marathon. This is completely incorrect. While long runs are great test runs for things like fuel and hydration, running them slowly does not mean you will run too slow on race day.
• Focus on what's around you. While I do spend time checking in with myself - my form, my breathing, cadence, etc., I also try to focus on what's around me. I run similar routes from week to week, and I enjoy noticing the little things, like how the river is running low, what birds are out, new flowers that have popped up. These are the little things that people fail to notice when they are too busy going from place to place, and I feel lucky that I see them. 
• Distract yourself. I'll usually start off listening to an interesting podcast or audio book to past most of the miles, but if I find I am losing interest along the way, I'll switch to music to help me get a rhythm going again or to help me feel motivated. Do whatever you need to in order to keep moving.
• Explore. Find new trails or paths you've never run on. Focus less on your watch and pace, and discover things you've never seen or experienced before.

Explore!

I still have hard long runs from time to time like everyone else, but I truly believe it is my mental attitude that helps make a run successful. Even if I start a run and don't feel great, I stay positive and know there are a lot of miles to turn things around....and usually they do.

The rest of the training weeks from here on out remain pretty challenging, and my Saturday mornings will now be full of 18 and 20 milers, but race day is fast approaching, and I am finally feeling more excited.