Week 7 - Chicago Marathon Training
Only 7 weeks left until Chicago! After how well my workouts went this past week, I'm finally feeling excited about this marathon. It took me long enough, right? My legs have recovered quickly and I hit my paces this past week on almost every run (except for that first track workout, but whatevs). I changed my eating habits this past week as well (bye bye nightly desserts, hello protein!) and am convinced this played a large roll in how I felt during and after workouts. I'm going to continue with the eating plan I have (don't worry, there are some free days in there for some sugar) and see how this affects my overall performance. I'll report back in a few weeks.
Tuesday night track session with Peter!
Ricky and I went camping this past weekend at San Clemente State Beach. It was the first camping experience I enjoyed (all the others were during the winter and I hate being cold). We ate s'mores and chili and found a great coffee shop at San Clemente Pier that made for a nice walk each day. I was able to find a route from San Clemente to Dana Point that went right along the beach to do my 16 miler. I hit 6 miles at goal marathon pace which was HUGE for me. I felt more confident going into this run because after my back to back hard days on Tuesday and Wednesday, my legs still felt really good.
Finally had a solid long run!
On to this week's schedule. Normally, I would continue with my track workouts and get comfortable with it, but I'm switching it out for a lactate threshold run the day after my progression run.
Week 7 Schedule:
Monday: Split run - 5.5 aerobic miles (AM) + 4.5 miles of hills (PM) + weights
Tuesday: 11 mile progression run + yoga
Wednesday: 10 mile lactate threshold run - 3 mile w/u + 7 miles at 7:00 pace + kettle bell
Thursday: 5-6 recovery miles + weights + yoga
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 20 miles
Sunday: Rest
I don't have a plan yet for my 20 miler, but am thinking of doing a progression every 3-4 miles or so by 15 seconds. Starting at 8:45 and trying to end at 7:20 - 7:30 pace. I'm excited that everything finally feels like it's coming together for me. I realized my expectations for training cycles are extremely high which means I get let down by the slightest setback (i.e. not hitting my paces when the temps are in the 90s and humidity is super high). It's only taken me 6 marathon training cycles to realize it's a rough start until your body reaches it's peak to race. I still have 7 weeks to get to the top!
How has your training been going?
Do you enjoy camping?
J
