Week 4 - Chicago Marathon Training

Oh em gee it's almost time to taper! Are you guys tired of hearing about my training yet? Because I sure am. This training cycle has been so far from good it's unbelievable, but you know what? I'm running a marathon in less than 30 days and there's not a whole lot I can do to change that. While my running may not go as planned, there are a few things I will be doing over the next 4 weeks to make an improvement in my overall health:

• Diet - This means 7 days a week (I usually do really well 5 days of the week and give myself leeway on the weekends). I'm going to cut out sugar in processed form with no cheat days (ice cream on Saturday nights post long run) until after my race.
• Fueling - I have 2 long runs left (a 20 miler and a 15 or 16 miler) to test out 2 more fueling options. I'm sticking with a gel form because I can't really get used to carrying anything else in this time frame. Likely Huma Gels, Glukos or Hammer Gels, and whichever ones goes best will be my winner. I'll be testing out Tailwind Nutrition and other natural sources during my next cycle.
• Sleep - I will get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. No more staying up to watch one more episode of Narcos, which btw I'm so addicted to! Lights out at 9.
• No drinking....? I think having a beer or two on the weekend because I'm going to keep my diet in check are ok, but I really can do without drinking for the next 4 weeks. I'll hopefully be celebrating with loads of champagne on race day.

That's a lot of things that I can change that aren't running related. I think it will help when I maybe miss my paces or a hard workout because I can control these things much more.

Week 4 Schedule:

Monday: Yoga (after a super tough half marathon this past Saturday - recap coming soon - I'm pushing my workouts back by a day to allow proper recovery)
Tuesday: 7 aerobic miles + weights
Wednesday: 9 miles total with 6 x 800 at 3:15 or better (400 recovery jogs between sets)
Thursday: 10 miles with 2 x 3 miles at threshold pace + yoga
Friday: 6 recovery miles
Saturday: 20 miles + yoga
Sunday: Yoga

I'm so ready for this week and am especially excited because I get to register for Boston on Friday!!!! Good luck to everyone applying - the field continues to get better and I hope I am accepted!

Anyone else registering for Boston this week?

J