Chicago Marathon Training Week 15

ONE WEEK!! In some ways I feel like this point in training would never come, but in other ways it has flown by. Right now I am feeling good in my first week of taper, and mentally I am excited and ready for race day.

Here was how the first week of tapering went:

Sunday: Rest
Monday: 60 minute run with 20 min at temp pace
Tuesday: Strength training
Wednesday: 5 miles easy
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 3 miles easy, Jasyoga - High Mileage Reset
Saturday: 12 miles with 6 miles at race pace, Jasyoga - Post-Run Hip Reset
Total: 25.19 miles

My total September miles are 142.60.

Sunday I was still exhausted from the Ragnar Trail relay. I was really sore and really tired, but I spent the afternoon at the "Breaking Through the Wall" seminar with a panel of amazing runners: Amy Cragg, Ryan Hall, and Scott Jurek (!!!). I really wanted to sleep in, but the thought of getting to meeting Scott Jurek was enough to get me out of bed. The panel was awesome and there were some great tips from all the athletes. When I had my chance to meet Scott Jurek afterwards, I asked him about some tips for rocky trails and he gave me some good stability and mobility exercises to try on a bosu ball that I will definitely be incorporating for my upcoming trail runs.

Ultra-human Scott Jurek

My tempo run on Monday was rough. I was still sore, and experiencing some knee pain on my left knee from my fall on Friday. However, I was able to hold to the tempo pace for 20 minutes despite the soreness and heat, and it felt good to finish my last tempo run of the plan.

Ryan Hall

On Tuesday I noticed that my knee pain was worse, so I taped it up, iced it, and decided to focus on strength training my upper body and core to give it some rest. It also helped to push my run to Wednesday when the temps dropped about 20 degrees and finally there was some relief from the heat. The extra rest helped and my knee felt better. I believe this is a great example of how I have improved as a runner. In the past, I would have gone out there and pushed myself to run and may have ended up injured. At this point so close to the marathon, I would rather err on the side of caution and choose rest over runs. There is no run right now that is going to make or break my marathon and mentally I know this. Some days it is hard to hold back and tell myself to get rest or to take it easy, but I've been here before and I want to show up on race morning healthy and ready.

Saturday's 12 miles went great. I had to run 6 at race pace, so I started the run conservatively and was able to end strong. I still felt a bit stiff and my hamstrings were still bothering me from my falls during the relay, but it was a good mental strength training run as I was able to work through some of the discomfort I felt to run at race pace. It felt good to get this last long run over with so I could really enjoy my taper.

Last long run done!

I have one quality workout this week to incorporate some speed to keep my legs fresh, otherwise most runs are short and easy. I plan to focus on getting as much rest as possible and keeping my diet spot on, especially 2-3 days out from race day. Mentally I feel in a good spot. Unlike last year where I was dealing with being laid off and asked to come back, I have been able to keep stress to a minimum and stay focused on my own goals. I am really excited to see where all this takes me on race day.

Il Volee hanging out with Olympian Amy Cragg