Chicago Marathon Training: Final Week

Wow!  This summer has flown by!  The past 17 weeks have been challenging and hot but Chicago Marathon is only one week away.  I'll be sharing with you the workouts I did to prepare for this year's Chicago Marathon.  You can see my other two training updates below.

Chicago Marathon Training: Week One
Chicago Marathon Training: Week Two and Three

To say that training didn't go as planned would be a huge understatement.  I unfortunately lost a toenail in the middle of July- my first ever toenail casualty.  The pressure of my running shoes against my nail-less toe hurt on training runs greater than 4 or 5 miles.  I used a lot of Aaptiv workouts on the treadmill during my early weeks of marathon training.

After a lot of discouraging pace runs, I picked up Pure Barre at the end of July for cross training.  This has been one of the best decisions I've made in a long time.  Directly from their website, "Pure Barre is a total body workout that utilizes the ballet barre to perform small, isometric movements, which burn fat, sculpt muscles and create long, lean physiques."  Pure Barre is definitely not a replacement for running, but it complements my training schedule and doesn't require shoes!  It was a great way to workout for 55 minutes without bothering my right big toe.  I definitely already see a difference in my muscles.  I've been going to Pure Barre about five times a week and am currently participating in my studio's 30 in 45 Challenge. 

In August, the OrangeTheory Fitness studio near my house opened.  You would think I'm crazy to not only have an unlimited membership at Pure Barre, but also OrangeTheory Fitness.  The classes are so different, and I feel that they both benefit my running in various ways.  I also attend OrangeTheory Fitness 4-5 times a week (yes, that means I've done many two-a-days in August and September).  The treadmill intervals have definitely helped with my speed.  When I started OTF, my maximum all out pace was 7.0 MPH.  This week, I got up to 8.0 MPH.  I love pushing myself on the treadmill and the trainers definitely encourage me to do better. 

So with all these fitness classes, where has that left my running?  Well, I ran a Half Marathon in early September.  I toed the starting line with a "just finish" mindset and ended up beating my PR by 23 seconds.  This race was by no means a push pace.  I set out with a run/walk ratio of 4:00/1:00 and maintained it the entire 13.1 miles.  I stayed under 12:30 min/mile the entire time, but I don't know if I will be able to keep that up in Chicago.  

My goal has changed from a 12:00 pace to a 13:00 pace.  I didn't get enough long runs in this summer to feel confident enough to pull off my original goal.  I'm surprisingly OK with that, too.  There will be many other Chicago Marathons in my future.  If I get in next year, I will be running the 2018 Chicago Marathon on my 30th birthday.  This year the race happens to fall the day after my birthday so I'm just going to enjoy the weekend in The Windy City celebrating my last birthday in my 20's.  I have a feeling there will be lots of champagne and kombucha consumed this weekend and I wouldn't have it any other way! 

If you'd like to leave me a message to see at miles 13 and 26, use the link below and search "Amanda Donnelly."  I'm going to need all the on-course encouragement I can get!

Messages of Inspiration

xoxo