Week 2 Summary

I have a confession. I skipped my mid-week runs last week. I feel so guilty about it and I hope I never have to do it again. I had several obligations for work, which made early morning runs nearly impossible and I certainly wasn't up for running at 9 p.m.

On to the main event: the Saturday long run...7 miles. Running early in the morning has several benefits. During the summer, the benefit is to get the run in before the heat really sets in. Unfortunately, I did not start my long run until 9 a.m. By this point, the temperature was already nearing 80 degrees and the humidity was quite high. I usually stop at every water station because I know my body and I know that I need constant hydration. However, my drinks at the water stations lasted a little longer last week and I splashed my face/neck/shoulders with water every single time. I couldn't seem to cool down.

The heat was ferocious and I seriously doubted that I was going to finish the run. Around mile 5, I listened to my body and I stopped running/jogging. I slowed down to what I call a "speedy walk". I only allowed myself one-quarter mile to walk and then I picked up the pace again to finish strong. I really learned the importance of listening to my body and taking breaks when necessary. I try my best to not walk because I don't want to get in the habit of it. However, I didn't want the heat to get the best of me, so I took a little breather.

It wasn't pretty, but I finished 7 miles and was still smiling!

Week 1 Summary

I can't believe my first week of training is over! Here's a breakdown of what I ran this week:

Tuesday: 3 miles

Wednesday: 3 miles

Thursday: 3 miles

Saturday: 6 miles

TOTAL: 15 miles

Today was my first Saturday long run and to sum it up in one word--FANTASTIC! Honestly, it was great! I was out the door by 6:30 am and set out to run a 6-mile course that I plotted using Google Maps the night before. Click here to check out my running route. I ran from point A to point B back to point A.

To my surprise, I felt great after the third mile (Lake Shore Drive & Chicago Ave-right by the Hancock). At this point, I turned around and headed back north running the same route back home. Fleet Feet Chicago (a local running store) started its hydration stations today, too! Volunteers hand out water and gatorade to all patrons using the lakefront path on Saturdays. Drinking gatorade was a nice change of pace from the usual sip of water.

I tried to figure out my why I felt so great with the 6 mile run today. Maybe it's because I ate a delicious dinner filled with carbs last night (whole wheat pasta with fresh basil, garlic, feta cheese tomatoes drizzled with evoo). Perhaps it's because I drank gatorade a few times throughout the run. Another reason could be the pure excitement of doing a long run. Either way, I am very pleased with my performance during the first week of training. = )

Week 1-Midweek Recap

I hate treadmills. I hate them with a passion. However, I quickly realized that if I'm going to give marathon training 100% effort, I'm going to need to warm up to the machine. Tuesday was the first official day of the 18 week training program and I'm committed to running in the morning before work. However, when I woke up on Tuesday, it was of course--raining. Oh, Chicago. Why must you tempt me into falling off the training plan on the FIRST DAY OF TRAINING?! I sat in bed for a good minute or two contemplating if I should run that night or if I should skip my first day of training. I finally came to my senses and said, "You have a gym membership. Go use the treadmill." So, I got ready for work that morning and packed a bag to take to the gym later that night. I can't believe I did my first official day of marathon training on a freaking treadmill. It's so not glamorous at all. There's something about running along Lake Michigan that inspires me to keep running. Maybe it's the skyline or maybe it's the sound of the waves. Who knows.

Since I was going to be running on a treadmill, I decided to really push myself to see how fast I could run 3 miles. I averaged a 6 mph pace for roughly a 32 minute finishing time. This is still over a 10 minute per mile pace. I haven't really pushed myself in my pre-training, but after some advice from my husband, I decided to try it out. On my shorter runs (3-5 miles), I'm going to really push myself to improve my overall pace. On the Saturday long runs, I'm going to run at a slower pace so I can finish comfortably. Plus, that's what all the reading I've done recommends.

Alright, day two of training happened this morning. The weather was a warm 71 degrees, which made for a great sweat! I couldn't believe how fast I ran the first mile (well, first .9 mile).... 8 minutes and 30 seconds! Holy moly! This was the fastest mile I've ran since high school. I knew it was too good to be true though, because mile 2 and 3 suffered. I ran the last 2 miles at a much slower pace, but still finished strong at 35 minutes overall.

Tomorrow is a 3 mile run and then, {dun, dun, dun} a 6 mile run on Saturday. As a side note, my Nike+ chip is not working. I have to take it back to the Nike Town store on Michigan Avenue to have it checked out. Grrr.

-Tanya

Last Day of Sanity

Tomorrow is a very important day. Tomorrow I start my 18-week marathon training program.

I think I have every emotion possible running through my body right now. It's a very uneasy feeling. I feel frightened and nervous, yet excited and determined. Every time I think about the Saturday "long runs", I get a little sick feeling in my stomach. I know I'm just psyching myself out and that I'm being my own worst enemy, but it's really difficult not to think about the increasing mileage. I'm allowing myself a mini-freak out tonight, because starting tomorrow it's nothing but happy thoughts (or so I'll try).

Aside from the near nausea feeling, I also have waves of excitement! I feel good knowing that I'm not alone in this journey. Not only do I have the support of my husband (who is also training for his first Chicago Marathon), but I know there are thousands of other rookie marathoners in training. For those of you who are on Twitter, there are several hashtags I use to chat with other Twitter users or "tweeps". Here are some of the hashtags I use:

1. #cm10 - Chicago Marathon 2010

2. #runnerds - a group of runners (mostly from the Chicago land area)

To learn more about the use of hashtags, check out this You Tube video.

This is a popular sign that many people take pictures with at the expo before the marathon:

I, too, will have my picture taken with this sign at the expo held at McCormick Place in Chicago. I feel like it's all a part of the experience.

Here's to strong legs, happy feet and a healthy heart!

New Kicks

With the help of some birthday money from family, I splurged and bought a new pair of running shoes. I hardly call it splurging, because when you're training for a marathon, it's all about the shoes. On Saturday, Scott and I hit up Green City Market for some fresh produce and then walked to the Fleet Feet store on North and Wells so I could buy some new shoes. As it turned out, they were having a decent Memorial Day Weekend sale, so while Scott picked up a few shirts on clearance, I tested out a new pair of Nikes. Here is a picture of my new kicks:

Aren't they magnificent? These shoes are compatible for the Nike+ chip. Thanks to my mother & father-in-law, I am now a proud owner of the Nike+ chip. The chip tracks running workouts and logs all of your runs. It also documents your PR (personal record) for specific distances, such as a 5k, 10k, etc. I've only used it a few times, so I need to calibrate it soon to improve its accuracy. The chip fits in a carved out section of the right foot shoe, underneath the sole. Here is a picture of how it fits into the shoe:

It's kind of sad to think that by late August, I'll have to buy yet another pair of new shoes. You put on a lot of miles training for a marathon and everyone I've talked to highly recommends getting a second pair of shoes about a month or so before the race.

On a serious note, official training starts June 7. I'm scared to death. Once June 7th hits, there's no room for excuses. OMG, I'm 7 days away from hell. Pray for me.

Video Clips

This video is enough to scare a rookie marathoner!

Chicago Marathon Course in High Speed

Here are some good inspirational clips:

2008 Chicago Marathon

2009 Chicago Marathon Recap

Inspirational Clip

Personal Stories

Survey Says

I don't want to jump the gun too soon, but my early morning runs have been great! For the past two days, I've gotten up at 6 am and I'm out the door by 6:15 am. I can't believe how sunny it is at that time of day. I was expecting to run as the sun was starting to rise, but I was sorely mistaken. Not only is the sun out, but so are bikers and runners. Running in the morning is great because the lakeside path is not overcrowded. There are enough people out so you don't feel alone, but there aren't so many people that you're dodging a bullet.

Lake Michigan is so peaceful at 6 am. I think running early in the morning and soaking in the serenity really allows me to to relax before I kick off my work day. I usually get back home around 7 am and stretch my muscles in my living room while watching the morning news. What a lovely little morning, if I do say so myself.

Enjoy the comic!