Chicago Marathon Training Week 14
Two weeks!! I am both excited and relieved to be over with the heaviest portion of training. It feels really great to be in the "taper" phase. There is no doubt that the warmer weather has brought about a lot of struggles in training, but I have my fingers crossed that it will be nice and cool on race day. While my overall mileage hasn't dropped significantly, I did make several adjustments to the plan to accommodate the Ragnar Trail Relay I was participating in.
Here was what the week looked like:
Sunday: 3 easy miles, Jasyoga - Sunday Reset
Monday: 5 easy miles, strength training, Jasyoga - 5 min Foot Reset
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Progression Run
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Ragnar Trail Relay - 3.29 miles
Saturday: Ragnar Trail Relay - 12.11 miles
Total: 29.41 miles
Monday called for either a Fartlek run or an easy run depending on how I felt after the weekend's 20 miler. While Sunday's easy run felt pretty great considering, I clearly pushed myself and on Monday I knew it wasn't smart to attempt any sort of speedwork. I was experiencing some left foot pain that only worsened during my easy run, so it wasn't quite the quality run I hoped for. Originally I had planned for a few miles on Tuesday but I decided that rest was the best option.
The rest worked fairly well for my foot, and I was ready for the tempo run on Wednesday. The weather wasn't...it was a fantastic 90 degrees and the run felt extremely hot and challenging, but I was able to hold to tempo pace. This progression run consisted of easy running for 25 minutes followed by tempo pace for 25 minutes, and then a 20 minute cool down. Tempo pace still seems challenging, but it's encouraging to know that it is doable.
Friday and Saturday were quite an experience. Originally the plan called for a 16 mile fast finish long run, but I wasn't going to turn down an opportunity to experience a Ragnar trail relay. 7 friends and I headed off to the Northwoods of WI for a two day camping and running adventure. The weather was a steamy 90 degrees for the entire trip so it made for one sweaty and stinky relay. The Ragnar trail series is pretty awesome, and I really enjoyed the three trails that made up each runner's relay leg. I ran the green loop on Friday and took quite a fall, but I finished with blood running down my leg in true badass form. The fall did shake my confidence quite a bit seeing as it was the easiest of all trails, so I decided against taking an extra leg since we were one teammate down and I didn't want to injure myself before the marathon. I started my second leg on the hardest of trails at 3:30 am Saturday morning. It was quite an experience. I've never run on such a technical trail, nevermind on no sleep in the middle of the night, but it is one I will never forget. I was very thankful to run the yellow trail on Saturday afternoon and finally experience the trail during the day, and one that I found to be the most fun. I would definitely do a relay like this again. It was challenging, but in the best ways, and I certainly learned a lot about myself and memories to hold with me during challenging moments in other races.
I am looking forward to a bit of rest and a lighter training week as we head into October for race day. I feel as if I ran a marathon since the trail beat me up a bit, but I cant wait to celebrate all my training on race day!
Here was what the week looked like:
Sunday: 3 easy miles, Jasyoga - Sunday Reset
Monday: 5 easy miles, strength training, Jasyoga - 5 min Foot Reset
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Progression Run
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Ragnar Trail Relay - 3.29 miles
Saturday: Ragnar Trail Relay - 12.11 miles
Total: 29.41 miles
Monday called for either a Fartlek run or an easy run depending on how I felt after the weekend's 20 miler. While Sunday's easy run felt pretty great considering, I clearly pushed myself and on Monday I knew it wasn't smart to attempt any sort of speedwork. I was experiencing some left foot pain that only worsened during my easy run, so it wasn't quite the quality run I hoped for. Originally I had planned for a few miles on Tuesday but I decided that rest was the best option.
The rest worked fairly well for my foot, and I was ready for the tempo run on Wednesday. The weather wasn't...it was a fantastic 90 degrees and the run felt extremely hot and challenging, but I was able to hold to tempo pace. This progression run consisted of easy running for 25 minutes followed by tempo pace for 25 minutes, and then a 20 minute cool down. Tempo pace still seems challenging, but it's encouraging to know that it is doable.
Friday and Saturday were quite an experience. Originally the plan called for a 16 mile fast finish long run, but I wasn't going to turn down an opportunity to experience a Ragnar trail relay. 7 friends and I headed off to the Northwoods of WI for a two day camping and running adventure. The weather was a steamy 90 degrees for the entire trip so it made for one sweaty and stinky relay. The Ragnar trail series is pretty awesome, and I really enjoyed the three trails that made up each runner's relay leg. I ran the green loop on Friday and took quite a fall, but I finished with blood running down my leg in true badass form. The fall did shake my confidence quite a bit seeing as it was the easiest of all trails, so I decided against taking an extra leg since we were one teammate down and I didn't want to injure myself before the marathon. I started my second leg on the hardest of trails at 3:30 am Saturday morning. It was quite an experience. I've never run on such a technical trail, nevermind on no sleep in the middle of the night, but it is one I will never forget. I was very thankful to run the yellow trail on Saturday afternoon and finally experience the trail during the day, and one that I found to be the most fun. I would definitely do a relay like this again. It was challenging, but in the best ways, and I certainly learned a lot about myself and memories to hold with me during challenging moments in other races.
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| Ragnar Oiselle Badass Lady Gang |
I am looking forward to a bit of rest and a lighter training week as we head into October for race day. I feel as if I ran a marathon since the trail beat me up a bit, but I cant wait to celebrate all my training on race day!
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| Ragnar start and finish |
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