Sunday, June 5, 2016

Chicago Marathon training - week 1

Today marks the completion of week one of "I'm not even sure how many weeks", and it went pretty well. Not great, because I didn't get as much crosstraning in as I'd like, and I was a day late on my long run. That was thanks to one too many martinis after a lovely night out with some of my favorite women. When I woke up on Saturday at 5:00 a.m. I just knew that long run wasn't going to happen.

I'm following the run/walk virtual training plan created by our Team RMHC Coach Brendan. This week was pretty tame - I had two midweek run days along with my long run, and I am happy that I got all of them in! However, other than a walk yesterday I haven't done any other exercise - not good! I know there are areas I really need to work on, like my core and hip strength. So this week I'm committed to getting to the gym three times for strength training and conditioning. 

Today my plan called for 5 miles, but I was taking it slow and easy and felt great so I stretched it to a 10K. The weather was wonderful, even though I didn't get out until this afternoon. It was about 80 degrees, with a nice breeze and low humidity. With the heat coming this weekend I took full advantage of being able to run later in the day today. 

Since this will most likely be my last marathon, I am more focused and committed to train strong, train smart, and eat well. It's going to take a lot of willpower and determination, but I'm ready to tackle this challenge.