Chicago Marathon Training Week 13

...and that's a wrap on Week 13, the highest mileage week of Chicago marathon training. There are only three weeks to go, and that means it is finally time to ease into a taper. I can't believe I used to hate tapers.
Week 16 was comprised of mostly easy runs, especially after my half marathon on Sunday, followed by the second 20 miler of the plan:

Sunday: 13.1 race!
Monday: 3 miles easy, Jasyoga - Recovery Boost for Runners
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 4 easy miles, strength training, Sports Massage!!!
Thursday: Strength training
Friday: Jasoga - Quad Reset
Saturday: 20 miles long, Jasyoga - Cool It
Total: 40.33 miles

Originally the McMillan plan called for a 12 mile run on Sunday, with 10 miles at race pace, so my decision to run a half marathon was pretty darn close to what I had scheduled anyways. While it is true that I ran much faster than race pace (see my previous post for race details), I felt surprisingly good afterwards and recovery was fairly quick. I thank the soft trails for this.



Some easy miles and lots of rest really helped ease me into the 20 miler. Because my last one was on the trails, I forced myself to run this one on pavement. It also happened to be a hot day (in the 80's) which only reminded me of the first year I trained for a marathon and my first 20 miler coincided with one of the hottest days of training. I think I have bad luck for 20 milers! I started the run once the sun came up, but it quickly warmed up to 80 degrees by 8 am. I felt great for about 14 miles but then the heat really got to me. I fought some nausea around mile 16 and 17 for the remainder of the run. I was glad to finish and cool off, but I was also pleasantly surprised to find my average pace was still 5 minutes per mile faster than my goal pace. What I took away from this run is that it is ok to struggle and have some really horrible miles, but the good miles will more than make up for it. I told myself multiple times during the run that just because I was feeling poorly, it didn't mean the run was a "bad" one. If I experience this exact scenario on race day (and I sure hope I don't!!!), I will still finish well on pace.

Still smiling at mile 18

I also really enjoyed seeing everyone out this morning also running their 20 milers or longest runs. I felt as if I was in a race at times, with everyone high-fiving, cheering, and giving the thumbs up. I never felt alone, and it was nice to smile at someone and receive the same knowing smile that we were both experiencing the same thing. It is true what the say about marathons...we run them to be with others. Today felt just like those moments in a race when you might be struggling, but someone smiles at your or says "good job!" and it suddenly turns things around for you. So many people did that for me today, and I tried my best to reciprocate in case I was one of those people that could help someone else who was struggling. This is what I love most about the running community....it is a community. It didn't matter how fast any of us were running, our age, gender, ethnicity, whether it was our first marathon or 20th....we were there to support each other through one of our hardest training runs (if not hardest). 

Yep, I laid on the floor for 20 minutes after my run to cool off

For a high mileage week, it did not feel as bad as the previous peak week given there were no speedwork or tempo days. It feels good to have gotten to this point in training. I am tired and worn down, but I feel like I am ready. The next few weeks are merely there for maintenance, and I know most of the hay is in the barn.

Next week I embark on a trail relay so there will be some shifting in my plan to accommodate this. As I've said in the past, if this was my first marathon I wouldn't be so quick to shift my plan or adjust my training. But I am also not someone that freaks out if I don't follow the plan sometimes. I see a lot of people on message boards that ask questions about missing runs because they are moving or some other major life event has happened, and it's hard for me to really think that running is and should be more important. Don't get me wrong, I love running, but I also know when to draw the limit. Plans are not individual and one-size fits all. You have to make them your own, and sometimes that means making changes. In this case, I would much rather get to experience an awesome trail relay adventure that I've never been able to do before than to stay home and pound the pavement for 16 miles. But that's just me....

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

McMillan Running 50k Plan Review

Year of Running 2016

Miles vs Time