Chicago Marathon Training: Week 6 Recap

We are officially 1/3 of the way through training!!

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Monday was my usual 45 minutes on the bike. I did some core strength training after but nothing too exciting.

I did double duty on Tuesday though, meeting up with the 5 at 5 crew in the morning and then with a local running store group in the evening.

The morning run was a double whammy of heat and humidity. Seriously, it was 5 in the freaking morning!! But I was still able to pull off negative splits and that made me really happy. Especially that last mile–8:49! I’ve been seeing a few 8s as of late and it’s making me do happy dances like whoa.

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In the evening I was back at it for a quick 3 miler. And it was quick as my splits ended up being 9:40, 8:59, 8:48–again, those 8s!! πŸ˜€

It was Newton demo night and I tried on a pair of Kismets for this run. I actually liked them and am very much intrigued. Anyone run in Newtons? Tell me everything.

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Wednesday morning found me doing some more core strength training and then I hit the track in the evening for some speed work.

It was Christmas in July and I wasn’t sure which direction on the track I should go….

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The plan called for 6x800s again and this time I was able to complete all of them with no allergy attack interruptions.

4:02, 4:05, 4:00, 3:59, 4:00, 3:58

I am very, very happy with these times.

I was starting to feel the fatigue of the double on Tuesday and the evening speed work on Wednesday that waking up for the 5 at 5 Thursday morning took all the energy and convincing…yet I somehow managed to crawl out of bed and get my butt on the road.

A friend (riding the struggle bus with me) and I decided we’d do 4 instead of 5 and it was the best decision ever. We decided to take it super easy too at a 10:26 average. Both of us had plans to run again later that evening, meeting up with the rest of our run club for that month’s Road Runner Adventure Run.

The theme was beach/pool:

I'm the one modestly trying to cover my coconuts ha!

I’m the one modestly trying to cover my coconuts ha!

We ran a little over 2 miles in our get up and rode the water slide again πŸ˜€

We didn’t win anything in the raffle but we had a blast nonetheless.

Friday was a major rest day. Two double runs in one week–I needed it, especially because

Saturday was Breakfast Burrito Day!!!

I was very close to reaching my #TeamRMHC charity goal so I decided to hold a fundraiser to get me over my goal amount. One of my friends in my run club had several ideas for me and ultimately I decided anything related to food would be best.

My run club has several hundred members in it, with about 80-100 really active ones. I posted on our Facebook page that I would be holding a burrito sale after our Saturday morning run and that I’d be taking pre-orders. Holy macaroni do people like their burritos!! I had 40 pre-orders on that post!!

I met up with them at 5 to see how far people were going (to gauge burrito delivery). Most were doing 8+ so I had plenty of time to get to burrito making.

My husband had ran 15 miles but started at crazy o’clock so he could help and my mom was manning the kitchen and together we cooked and rolled burritos. The tortillas were on the small side so we decided to make two smaller burritos for each order. In all, we ended making over 120 burritos!! We had a blast and kept saying how much fun this was lol!

My run club brought chairs and plopped themselves in the parking lot to eat their breakfast after their run and we ended up having a burrito tailgate party.

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We raised over 400 dollars!!! Burrito sale success!!!

Since I was on burrito duty Saturday, I had to move my long run to Sunday. I had 15 on the schedule and knew I had to get an early start. I decided I’d meet up with my MRTT ladies and ran 3 miles to our meet up location. Then, with my buddy Jennifer @We’reRunningAMarathon?, I ran another 7. And finally, I ran a 5 mile route back home. It was an interesting run as I had several stops within, but I felt good the entire way and managed to stay in my 10:00/mile long run pace.

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This was my biggest weekly mileage at 32.36. Luckily, I’m feeling pretty good and not fatigued with the increase in mileage…yet, ja! πŸ™‚

How was your week? I hope you have a great Monday!! ❀ , helly

–How do you handle heat and/or humidity?
–Do you like doing two-a-day runs?
–Are you a breakfast burrito fan?

 

 

51 responses

  1. Awesome week of training!! I am so bad with running in humidity… I don’t mind the heat, but the second my sweat is no longer evaporating, I’m hiding inside on the treadmill. Haha. I like doing two-a-day runs to get in more milage throughout the week, although I usually only do it once a week. And 99% sure I could live on breakfast burritos… Have a fabulous Monday : )

  2. Awesome week! Lots of fun running activities in your area. I run in newtons, I’m on pair number 5 and love them, the gravity is my favorite! I think they work well for me because I’m more of a midfoot striker, and they have those lugs under the midfoot. They’re on the expensive side, but they hold up well so it balances out (at least in my experience).

  3. Omg that unicorn meme has me dying over here! Too funny!!! But based on your week, I’d say you ARE one badass unicorn! Amazing job, Helly! Your long run pace is so consistent – I don’t know how you do it!

    The heat and humidity though…definitely not a fan. Unless I’m running with other people, I’ve been opting for the treadmill most days.

  4. Great week – look at that high mileage! Awesome, lady! I saw you asked about Newtons. Love love love! But break them in slowly. I run in the Distance. They have a 2 mm heel toe drop so they are pretty tough on your calves, achilles, feet if you aren’t used to it. I started with running one mile in them, now I’m up to 5. I have run marathons in them but I stopped wearing them last summer to let a calf injury heal. I regret doing that because now I have to break them in again, and I miss them! Definitely give them a shot!!!

      • No, I think it was that I wasn’t fully recovered from a marathon and I jumped back into training too aggressively. When it wasn’t healing, I tried new shoes with more of a drop but honestly, Newtons always felt best. It feels so good to be back in them!

  5. Woo! Nice job this week!
    It’s so exciting to see a lower number in front of your mile times- and consistent speed intervals, I’m glad your hard work is paying off =)
    Holy cow! $400 at your fundraiser! That’s amazing!

  6. Great job on your increased mileage this week! I think anyone who ran in the scorching temps this week deserves a medal… though with you being in Phoenix does that mean you’re used to it?? πŸ™‚ I don’t do two a day runs or workouts. I like to get it all done when my mo jo is flowing in the morning. Running after work just doesn’t work for me. My legs always feel like lead!

  7. TWO DOUBLE RUN DAYS?!?!? And Christmas? And Hula Skirts? And BREAKFAST ‘RITOS?!?!? *faints* I’m telling you, between you and Scott, I’m not sure who’s running group I want to join! Helly you are tearing this shit up! Go 8s!!! Well done, Lady! xoxo

    I normally run in Newton Gravity’s (which I adore but do take some getting used to) but with all of this obscene mileage, I’m actually loving Hokas. They seem to be saving my legs. πŸ™‚

  8. Lookatchew! Crushing it!!! Way to stick to your schedule, even when exhausted. Looks like your group runs are just as fun (or more) as mine!!! Love the xmas in July idea. And stop, you had me at breakfast burrito! Is it too late to order?

  9. Way to go girl, you are totally killing those runs!! I can’t believe you are 1/3 of the way in, I’m only on week 3 of my training! Great idea with the buritos too! Hope you made some good cash!!