I will start writing a weekly recap of my training for the Chicago Marathon.  The last one I posted was this one back in June.  And it wasn’t really a recap but more of a summary.  So I hope you stick around with me for the journey.

*Week #11, July 27-August 2

Monday: Spinning and 2 miles at easy pace
This was the third time running after my spin class.  I am actually liking it.  Ran 2 miles @average pace of 11:04.  Felt tired at the beginning for half a mile but then felt OK.  Started off @10:55 and finished off @10:32.

Tuesday: OFF
It actually felt weird not to run on Tuesday.

Wednesday: 4 +/- mile fartlek run
The plan was 1 mile warm up, 3 x 10 minutes at 9:30 with 2 minutes walk in between, and walk 3-5 minutes as a cool down.  The plan was to go to the gym for this run but for some reason I was really tired.  I know that many times the hardest part is getting out the door but honestly I didn’t even have the energy to do that.  I thought that perhaps  I was getting sick again but it must have been one of those days.

Thursday: 5 miles

I was hoping to do this run with Fleet Feet Chicks’ Night.  However, I had plans to meet some friends for an early dinner and drinks and so instead I did my run in the morning.  A little tired but still felt great after my run.  Total 5.02 @average 11:09 pace.  Splits are below:
1-11:21
2-11:36
3-10:52
4-11:13
5-10:47

Friday: OFF

Saturday: 13 miles

The plan was 5 miles warm up, 5 miles at 10:45-11:00, 3 miles super easy.  I ran with a different group and ran north instead of south on the lakefront.  I had forgotten how many more people run on the northside.  I did not listen to my coach.  I ran by feel and felt really good for half of the run then got really hot and thirsty. Then I drank too much water and my stomach began to hurt. Still need to work on this hydration thing. Total 13.02 miles @average 11:06 pace. Still it was better than last week.

Mile 1: 10:31
Mile 2-10:24
Mile 3-10:28
Mile 4-10:34
Mile 5-10:18
Mile 6-10:46
Mile 7-11:20
Mile 8-12:16
Mile 9-11:03
Mile 10-11:44
Mile 11-11:34
Mile 12-11:26
Mile 13-12:04

Sunday: Yoga
I skipped it.  Don’t ask me why.

*Runs on treadmill are done on 1% incline.

Thoughts:

• Around this time last year I was already feeling burnt out.  I hated my runs and even cried after one of my long runs.  Nope, not feeling like that at all this time.  And that makes me happy.
• I noticed I mentioned the word “tired” a few times.  That cannot be good.  But it cannot be that bad either right?  I know I was tired on Monday but that’s because I had just been on  a bike for 45 minutes. Then on Thursday, well, I woke up at 5:30 am and went to bed later than usual the night before.  I need to make sure I go to bed early, especially when I have to wake up really early the next day.  I need to sleep more like my little Lola.  I swear that she sleeps about 3-4 times a day.
• Cannot believe it is August and the marathon is two months away!!!  Yikes, that makes me nervous but at the same time very excited.

Are you training for a marathon?  How is your training coming along?