Chicago Marathon Training: Week 11 Recap

Posted by hellyontherun in Marathon Training and tagged with Chicago Marathon, Early Morning Runs, Long Run, Marathon Training, Team RMHC August 28, 2015

I know this is late, but can I still get some credit for this?

Oh boy, to say it’s been tough adjusting is an understatement. Going back to work, two toddlers, and a traveling husband has made training that much harder lol! I still try to be productive though, so there’s that. 🙂

Monday I took the day off. I should’ve gotten on the bike….but I didn’t.

Tuesday I met up with some friends for a run. Most though, did 3 miles, but I added another for funsies. It was a hot one at 102 degrees but I managed a good pace of 9:29 and that pleased me.

Wednesdays are track days and these have been tough. I get so caught up socializing that by the time I actually start my workout, the hour is almost up and I gotta go home. I managed 2 miles of speed work and I had to go.

It was another 102 degree run on Thursday for my 5 miler but again, I was still able to maintain a great pace of 9:24 and I was happy. I started my run an hour later than usual and I really feel that helped–not having the sun hovering that is.

Friday was my usual rest day and it was spent thinking about

my long run Saturday. I had a 2:45 a.m. alarm wake-up. Yes, you read that right. I was gonna be meeting up with other crazies at 3:30 for an 18 miler. The plan was to run 8 by 5 o’clock to meet up with the rest of our run club.

Those 8 miles went by without a hitch and I was feeling good. It was humid as all hell but I managed to get by and still maintain a good long, slow distance pace.

Temp stats at 3:30 in the morning

I reached the meet-up spot just before 5 a.m. where I stopped to wait for everyone to arrive. It was about a 10 minute or so break and I wondered how this would affect the rest of my run. I had felt that I was on a roll (despite the last 3 miles being on the slower end of my LSD pace) and was warmed up.

It wasn’t too long before we got going but sure enough, I could feel the break messing with my mojo and I struggled the first few miles.

It helped having my crew though. I had convinced 3 of my buddies to run 10 miles with me (none of them are training for anything!) and keep me company. They were amazing at keeping me going after that rough start.

I got back in my groove when we headed turned around after the 5 mile mark (mile 13 for me) and the last 5 of my 18 felt great. This made me so happy since it was at the end of my run and then Runner Jenny even convinced me to run my last mile fast–Mile 18, 9:32!! Boo-yah!!

I was on cloud nine especially when I thought about last week’s awful 12 miler. This one was such a confidence booster! I took no breaks the first 8 miles I ran solo and in the 10 miles following, I stopped twice– once for a potty break and once to fuel (the other times I fueled, I did it on the run). It was important for me to not stop a lot as I want to practice running continuously. So I’ve been training fueling on the run and preparing myself mentally to minimize any stopping.

Crazy is running at 3:30 in the morning.

When I got home, my husband had a fabulous ice bath ready for me and luckily, I didn’t feel too bad the rest of the day. I was even able to squeeze in a 2 mile run the following day, Sunday.

Overall, it was a great week (31.16 miles) and one I really needed after a previous week on the struggle bus. Now, I’m almost done with Week 12 and Chicago is getting closer and closer! Eeeep!!!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!! Who’s long running? Who’s racing?? ❤ , helly

–Do you take stop breaks during long runs?

–What’s the earliest you’ve woken up to go run?

Chicago Marathon Training: Week 10 Recap

Posted by hellyontherun in Marathon Training and tagged with Chicago Marathon Training, Heat Training, Long Run, Team RMHC August 18, 2015

Yeah, so this work thing…

It has been pretty crazy having started work and trying to fit in marathon training, kids, and life….can I go back to summer vacation please??

Last week I was still able to squeeze in a few runs despite my new, busy schedule.

I replaced my bike cross training on Monday and picked up a 5 miler with a buddy. It was a scorcher (it was only 100 degrees but felt waaay worse) and my legs were still a little tired from the Humphreys Hike but we gotter done.

Tuesday I met up with a local group for a quick 3 miler that was way tougher than usual. It coulda been the Nikes I tested–it was Nike demo night. They. felt. AWFUL. Despite the throbbing I felt, I still managed to average a sub 9 pace. But yeah, Nikes will def remain fashion footwear only.

Chalking these up as a big, fat NO.

Despite feeling the back to school fatigue, I made it out to track on Wednesday for some more Yasso’s. I wanted to increase my sets as I’d been doing 6x800s and wanted to go 8. I did a mile warm up (which I hadn’t been doing other times) and got started. It was another ridiculously hot day

and it honestly felt worse than on last week’s excessive heat warning days. These were by far the hardest Yassos I’d done to date. They weren’t pretty at all.

4:00, 4:02, 3:56, 4:01, 4:04, 4:06, 4:01

and I missed the 8th. Total TMI but I had to use the restroom.

I was bummed because I really wanted 8 and I also really wanted to do a mile cool down but when you gotta go, you gotta go (and I wanted to go at home.)

The plan was to bike on Thursday since I moved my run to Monday but by the time Thursday came, I was over everything. It was record breaking heat at 117 degrees and there was no way in hell I was going outside.

Since 2013….2 years ago…

Fridays are my typical rest days and I relished it. It was another scorcher.

I had 12 on the schedule Saturday with 3 miles at Marathon Goal Pace (which I still haven’t fully decided what that is). I set my alarm for 3:30 a.m. so I can meet up with other crazies at 4.

I ran 5 miles with them and felt pretty good but when we met up with the five o’clock crew, I started going downhill. I don’t know if it was stopping mid-run like that or if the heat was getting to me (it was 88 degrees at 4 in the morning!!), but I was not feeling the run anymore. At all.

Mile 6 was a get-it-together mile before my MGP would start and I didn’t hit the mark with any of them at 9:18, 9:30, 9:18. I had been shooting for a 9:15 so I was technically close with two miles but they were major struggle buses. In fact, after those three miles, it was just a make it back to the car run at that point. I registered two 10:30s and an 11 minuter getting my butt back. It was awful.

So awful that when I was done, I sat down on the curb and shed a few tears. I think I was just tired and overwhelmed from life, work, and training and quite frankly, I think I just needed a good cry. I felt a lot better afterward (and after a good convo with friends).

I had a big day the next day, Sunday morning, with my Moms Run This Town group which I’ll detail later. I didn’t run but it was a very fun, eventful day. Just what I needed after my previous tough long run.

And that was my week– 24.5 miles. Despite the bad long run, I was very pleased I was able to get some good runs in my first week back at work. I knew that it was going to be tougher; I just need to make sure I carry the momentum of a long summer of hard work.

#igotthis

–How was your running week? Ever run in 117 degree weather (not me!)?

–Ever cried after a run/race?

–How do you recover after a less than stellar run?

I hope everyone has a great week!! ❤ , helly

Chicago Marathon Training: Week 6 Recap

Posted by hellyontherun in Marathon Training, Running and tagged with Chicago Marathon, Fundraising, Marathon Training, Team RMHC July 20, 2015

We are officially 1/3 of the way through training!!

Monday was my usual 45 minutes on the bike. I did some core strength training after but nothing too exciting.

I did double duty on Tuesday though, meeting up with the 5 at 5 crew in the morning and then with a local running store group in the evening.

The morning run was a double whammy of heat and humidity. Seriously, it was 5 in the freaking morning!! But I was still able to pull off negative splits and that made me really happy. Especially that last mile–8:49! I’ve been seeing a few 8s as of late and it’s making me do happy dances like whoa.

In the evening I was back at it for a quick 3 miler. And it was quick as my splits ended up being 9:40, 8:59, 8:48–again, those 8s!! 😀

It was Newton demo night and I tried on a pair of Kismets for this run. I actually liked them and am very much intrigued. Anyone run in Newtons? Tell me everything.

Wednesday morning found me doing some more core strength training and then I hit the track in the evening for some speed work.

It was Christmas in July and I wasn’t sure which direction on the track I should go….

The plan called for 6x800s again and this time I was able to complete all of them with no allergy attack interruptions.

4:02, 4:05, 4:00, 3:59, 4:00, 3:58

I am very, very happy with these times.

I was starting to feel the fatigue of the double on Tuesday and the evening speed work on Wednesday that waking up for the 5 at 5 Thursday morning took all the energy and convincing…yet I somehow managed to crawl out of bed and get my butt on the road.

A friend (riding the struggle bus with me) and I decided we’d do 4 instead of 5 and it was the best decision ever. We decided to take it super easy too at a 10:26 average. Both of us had plans to run again later that evening, meeting up with the rest of our run club for that month’s Road Runner Adventure Run.

The theme was beach/pool:

I’m the one modestly trying to cover my coconuts ha!

We ran a little over 2 miles in our get up and rode the water slide again 😀

We didn’t win anything in the raffle but we had a blast nonetheless.

Friday was a major rest day. Two double runs in one week–I needed it, especially because

Saturday was Breakfast Burrito Day!!!

I was very close to reaching my #TeamRMHC charity goal so I decided to hold a fundraiser to get me over my goal amount. One of my friends in my run club had several ideas for me and ultimately I decided anything related to food would be best.

My run club has several hundred members in it, with about 80-100 really active ones. I posted on our Facebook page that I would be holding a burrito sale after our Saturday morning run and that I’d be taking pre-orders. Holy macaroni do people like their burritos!! I had 40 pre-orders on that post!!

I met up with them at 5 to see how far people were going (to gauge burrito delivery). Most were doing 8+ so I had plenty of time to get to burrito making.

My husband had ran 15 miles but started at crazy o’clock so he could help and my mom was manning the kitchen and together we cooked and rolled burritos. The tortillas were on the small side so we decided to make two smaller burritos for each order. In all, we ended making over 120 burritos!! We had a blast and kept saying how much fun this was lol!

My run club brought chairs and plopped themselves in the parking lot to eat their breakfast after their run and we ended up having a burrito tailgate party.

We raised over 400 dollars!!! Burrito sale success!!!

Since I was on burrito duty Saturday, I had to move my long run to Sunday. I had 15 on the schedule and knew I had to get an early start. I decided I’d meet up with my MRTT ladies and ran 3 miles to our meet up location. Then, with my buddy Jennifer @We’reRunningAMarathon?, I ran another 7. And finally, I ran a 5 mile route back home. It was an interesting run as I had several stops within, but I felt good the entire way and managed to stay in my 10:00/mile long run pace.

This was my biggest weekly mileage at 32.36. Luckily, I’m feeling pretty good and not fatigued with the increase in mileage…yet, ja! 🙂

How was your week? I hope you have a great Monday!! ❤ , helly

–How do you handle heat and/or humidity?
–Do you like doing two-a-day runs?
–Are you a breakfast burrito fan?