Chicago marathon: week one
Seventeen weeks ago we signed up to run our second marathon.
Why? We're not entirely sure. We guess you can call us crazy. After we ran the Big D last year, we thought our marathon running days were over. Running for five hours straight in ninety degree heat was not exactly our happy place. In fact, we remember telling myself after that race, we would only run short distances for the rest of our life. Well…. time has a funny way of changing things. A couple of months after the Big D, Mr. B coaxed us into running the Prairie Fire Marathon in October. Clearly we were off our rocker. Our training went well for the first couple of weeks, but at the halfway point, Mr. B eventually acquired a made case of planters fasciitis. Needless to say he couldn’t complete his training. Without a running partner, we decided not to run the full. Phew. Instead, we ran the Aspen Golden Leaf Half Marathon again in September crushing our old race time by 30 minutes! Holla! After Aspen, running took a back seat. We were burnt out. We still continued to run, but even attempting three miles around Wash Park felt like we were pulling teeth in order to finish. We were not in a happy running place. So we took a break. We decided to snow ski, get back to lifting weights, and attend more body pump classes. It was a favorite decision we ever made. Even though we were burnt out and would have rather pounded dirt than run 16 miles, Listy and we started talking one night. She wanted to complete another marathon, but couldn’t decided on which one to run. In the back of our mind we always had a desire to run the Chicago Marathon, but never deemed it possible. When we lived in Chicago back in 2006, we were overweight and out of shape. We remember watching the race live and thinking these people are bonkers, and we could never run that far! Well, maybe it was fate or just good timing, but we both agreed to run Chicago together that night. No expectations. No judging. Just finish. After we agreed, we felt a huge sigh of relief. We knew this time around things would be different. Our goal for the next 18 weeks is to take care of our body, relax, and the most important, have fun! Lookout Chicago! We’re coming for ya! *** Chicago Marathon training recap: Week One Monday: 3 miles – Holy hot bananas! After work, we ran in Wash Park and about keeled over from the heat. Running at 4pm when it’s 90 degrees outside wasn’t the smartest decision we've ever made. The good news, our legs felt strong and we kept a pretty decent pace.
Tuesday: 1 mile – Mr. B and we officially started our morning running routine. Mr. B is slowly coming back after dealing with planters fasciitis and right now we are keeping his mileage low to keep it from flaring up again. Our goal is to have him running 4 miles by the end of June! We had a blast on this run because Mr. B kept us entertained. Wednesday: 3 miles – This run was the exact opposite of Monday’s three mile excursion. Sore legs, but gorgeous weather. We were still getting used to waking up early and immediately exercising. Note to self: have patience.
Thursday: 3 miles – One word to describe this run, sweaty. It had stormed the night before making it feel like a giant sauna outside. Even though we sweating buckets, we took our time on this run. The first 1.5 miles were nice and simple. We told myself to relax and enjoy the process of waking up. By the time we made it to the turn around point, we were feeling groovy. The next mile and a half zoomed by! Friday: Rest. Saturday: 6 miles – Listy and we met at Wash Park at 6:30am to beat the heat. This was our first official long run together. The first mile we chatted about expectations, pit stops, heart rates, and plans for the rest of our training. It was only after this speedy discussion we realized we were both out of breath from talking and decided to run the next mile in silence. Our pace quickened by a whole minute! We can’t tell you how memorable it feels to have a running partner. 6 miles, check. Sunday: Cross Train. Does standing in your kitchen cooking for three hours count? Yes? Sa-sweet. Total Miles: 16 miles
