I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for their Weekly Wrap.

Hoping everyone had a good week!

WeeklyWrap

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Chicago Marathon training is here!  I am excited (and nervous) to be training using the Hansons Marathon Method.  In a nutshell, this training is based on the concept of cumulative fatigue. You train your body to run often so that you are frequently running on tired legs.  The idea is to run this way so that during the last miles of a race you are prepared to push through the final miles. These plans are 18 weeks and have you running 6 days (easy, speed/strength, tempo, and long runs) a week with one rest day. 

Week #15, September 19-25

Monday:

  • PLAN – 6 easy @10:52-12:16 pace
  • ACTUAL –6.02 miles @10:50 average pace

A great evening for a run.  Ran by feel even if it was a bit faster than I was supposed to.

Earlier in the day I got a new pair of shoes…Saucony Kinvara 7.  Aren’t they pretty?

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Tuesday:

  • PLAN – 4×1.5 miles @10:08 pace (with 1 mile w/up and c/d and 400 recovery) 
  • ACTUAL –10 miles @10:54 average pace

The first time I did this workout was on 8/23/16 @10:55 average pace.

Today it was w/up and c/d @11:07.  Recovery @13.02.  I alternated a different song with paces of 10:10, 10:00, and 9:50.  Overall, I felt great.  I wore my new shoes and had some discomfort in my right foot.  I did want to stop but I didn’t.  I did this run a little faster than in August and I am surprised my overall pace is just one second faster.  Oh well.  I got it done and I felt great and that is all that matters, right?

I have an appointment with my podiatrist on Monday.  The toes on my right foot get numb when I run. Sometimes they also get numb even when I am not running.  So weird.  I also have bad callus on my right foot and sometimes that makes it painful to run.  I finally bought an electronic foot file from Target.  My feet are smoother and it isn’t painful to run.  My toes still get numb.

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Wednesday:

  • PLAN – OFF
  • ACTUAL – OFF

Thursday:

  • PLAN – 10 tempo @10:18 pace (with 1 mile w/up and c/d)
  • ACTUAL – Did not run.

Friday: 

  • PLAN – 6 easy @10:52-12:16 pace
  • ACTUAL – Did not run.

Saturday:

  • PLAN –10 easy @10:52-12:16 pace
  • ACTUAL – 10.10 miles @11:14 average pace

I woke up EXHAUSTED.  I did not want to run but I did not want miss another run to pace my group.  It was high 60s so ideally it was perfect weather.  It was also overcast so even better.  We ran slower than our normal pace of 11:00 which was fine with me.  Towards the end I was tired and just wanted to be done with the run so I picked up the pace.  The last 5 miles were at negative splits: 11:34/11:33/11:26/11:17/10:17.

Sunday:

  • PLAN – 10 easy @10:52-12:16 pace
  • ACTUAL – Did not run.

Taper time means stay home and bond with the cat, right?

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I went to Fleet Feet for the “Breaking Through the Wall” Marathon Seminar to see Meb, Amy, and Desi. Wow!  It was great listening to them share their experience and advice.  My favorite is Desi.  There is just something about her and I adore her.

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Week 15 did not go well because I missed some runs.  However, I am not going to worry/stress about it. It is taper time and there is no madness going on here.  On of the coaches from my running group said it is “Taper Magic”.  Next week I have 6×1 mile repeats and a 10 tempo run.  We’ll see how I do.

Total mileage for the week: 26.12 miles

Total mileage for this training cycle: 599.68 miles

Total mileage for the year: 1,084.72 miles 

Here’s how training has gone so far:

17 Comments on 2016 Chicago Marathon Training Week 16

  3. You deserve a taper week for sure! Those dang callouses can be a double edged sword…without them you get blisters, but sometimes they can be painful themselves! Ugh,,,so frustrating. Hopefully the numbness will turn out to be an easy fix! Good luck with the marathon!

    Reply

    • Thanks. I went to the podiatrist on Monday and it turns out that I have a pinched nerve. She gave me a cortisone shot and I am good to go. Plus, she used a small blade to remove most of the callous and now my feet feel even better.

      Reply

  5. Oh, I like that much better! Taper Magic. I’m going to repeat that often over the next several days. Your new shoes are very pretty! How cool you got to meet those running greats. That would get me so pumped to run the marathon. We’ve worked hard this training cycle. Let’s just sit back now, rest and enjoy. I hope you’ll get an answer for your toes! Thanks for linking, Zenaida!

    Reply

    • Thank you. This has been a difficult but interesting training cycle. But meeting Meb, Desi, and Amy made me feel a bit better and excited about the marathon.

      The podiatrist told me I have a pinched nerve. She gave me a cortisone shot and I am good to go. She also used a small blade to get rid of the callous (it was a lot) and my foot is smoother too.

      I am definitely enjoying Taper Magic!!

      Reply

  6. I saw your pictures of you and Meb, Amy and Desi! Wow I couldn’t wait to read what this was! Your so lucky you have a store in a big enough town to sponsor this. How cool was it just standing next to these great running icons? Enjoy your taper!

    Reply

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