Chicago marathon: week four
It’s truly memorable the difference a week can make in marathon training.
We mentioned last week that we went into full on freak out mode about the possibility of developing planters fasciitis. We spent everyday rolling and stretching like a crazy person! We were bound and determined to get our legs and feet back on the right track. Well, we're keeping our fingers crossed, but we think we are healing. Our calf’s don’t feel nearly as tight and our feet are wayyyy less tender. Hopefully things will turn around because the thought of not being able to run Chicago makes us want to cry! And cue recap… Chicago Marathon Training Recap: Week Four Monday: Rest. Tuesday: 3 miles – we switched up two things on this run. The first, shoes. During our training for the Big D last year, we bought a pair of running shoes that were a half size bigger than our regular shoe size. The running Gods tell you to buy a half size bigger because your feet swell and need more room to move. Well, we wore them for a bit, but eventually gave them up because they felt like clown shoes. However, out of sheer desperation, we decided to put on the clown shoes and give them a go. OMG. The padding felt memorable on the ol’ feet. Clearly, we need to buy new running shoes ASAP. The second thing we switched up, running route. Mr. B told us to venture to a path that is less hilly. Apparently we have been running up hill on all of our short runs! No wonder our feet and calfs are angry. We don’t know if both of these changes are going to help in the long run, but for now, it seems to be working.
Wednesday: 4 miles – Phew. No sprinting required at kickball because the other team forfeited, which meant, our legs were nice and rested for this run. The only problem we ran into, we couldn’t run fast enough. Mentally that is. We were leaving for Kansas City and had a zillion things to do before our flight. Other than that, our legs and feet felt great! Oh, and we were reminded to always say…. Thursday: Rest. Friday: 9 miles – Whoa. This run was absolute bananas. We switched up our long run because we had a wedding to attend on Friday evening and there was no way we would have gotten up at 6am on Saturday to run. That would just be crazy. Anyways, Jamie was kind enough to run with us even though she is fast! For the record, it was 80 degrees at 6am with humidity, which yours truly here is not used too. The first 3.5 miles we felt strong and was able to stay at a decent pace. Thankfully the Trolley Trail is flat and mostly dirt. After we turned around, the sun started cooking. We had already gone through 70% of our camelbak and knew dehydration was a concern. We definitely stopped to walk and stretch to keep cramping at bay. We are not exactly sure what happened over the next 2 miles, but somehow we kept chugging along. The last mile was brutal. We had .4 left to go and we wussed out and had to walk .2 of that iddy biddy distance. Major lame. Jamie was a great running partner and kept saying we’re almost there! We finished and chugged 9 barrels of water afterwards. Running in heat sucks balls. Period.
Saturday: 3 miles – After Friday’s run, we knew we wanted to run indoors. Enter, Woodside’s inside track. We almost kissed the tracked when we walked in the door. We have never been more excited to run on a flat surface. Plus, the air conditioning never felt so good. We knocked out three miles in no time without over heating. It was fantastic.
Sunday: Cross Train – Rest. We had to travel back to Denver leaving no time time for a bike ride or yoga. We need to work on not skipping this part of our training. Total Miles: 19 Catching up: Week One Week Two Week Three
