June 2018 – Chasing Unicorns LLC

Week 1 of Berlin Marathon training is in the books and since I’m documenting this journey chasing down my unicorn, here’s a recap of what I did last week:

Monday – 4.01 Miles @ 8:14 Pace (aerobic-pace effort) & Core Workout

Tuesday – 6.33 Miles @ 7:28 Pace (Fartlek effort with workout portion of 3 minute intervals at half marathon pace (fast)) & 1.04 Miles @ 9:57 Pace & Leg Workout

Wednesday – 3 Miles @ 9:51 Pace (recovery run with my husband on Global Running Day!)

Thursday – Complete Rest Day

Friday – 5.15 Miles @ 7:41 Pace (Aerobic Run with mid-run strides mixed in; 8×20 second strides w/ 40 seconds recovery run between) & Core Workout

Saturday – 12.0 Miles @ 8:19 Pace (Hills, hills, hills! This was an aerobic effort and it certainly pushed me hard with the heat/humidity and the hills. I wasn’t able to run until the evening with thunderstorms ruining my morning plans but I got it done and on pace.)

Sunday – 3 miles @ 10:19 Pace (Recovery run – about all my body wanted to do Sunday after Saturday’s tough long run. I slept in till 10 a.m. which never happens so I was definitely beat up after that run.)

Week 1 Total Mileage: 34.53 Miles

Summary: Week 1 was a good first week of marathon training. I hadn’t broken 30 miles since the week of April 23rd so we’re slowly building up my base again. This was always the plan so no surprise here but to think I’ll be peaking doing double this mileage is both scary and exciting! Saturday’s long run hurt me a bit mentally but I reminded myself that it was the first time I had done a hilly long run or run for that matter in a very long time. On top of that Saturday was a rough day overall with a house inspection that went poorly on a house we put an offer on so I was already mentally drained. I swear I always pick marathon training season to make big life changes (last year we moved from St. Louis to Chicago in the middle of Chicago Marathon training)! Marathon training is tough; I keep reminding myself of this. It can build you up and break you down in a second. But I love it and I’m excited to keep working towards my goals for Berlin. 1 week down, 14 to go!

It’s about 9 p.m. on Sunday night, the night before I begin marathon training for Berlin, and I can’t help but feel excited. I mean, how cool is it that I get to say I’m training for the Berlin Marathon! It’s been said that you’re not ready to run another marathon until you’ve forgotten your last one and 8 months after a disappointing Chicago Marathon, there’s a fire lit inside me and something feels different going into this training cycle. In my last post, I laid out the big goal I have for myself at Berlin this September, running a 3:25, and since putting it out in the open, there has not been one doubt in my mind that it’s possible. I realize that I’m going to have to work harder and train smarter than I ever have before, and that’s exciting to me. I love the marathon. I love the grind leading up to it, the weekend long runs where I get to run for hours, and the race itself where I get to leave everything out on the course.

Again, something feels different. I feel stronger coming off of two back to back half marathon PRs after nearly 2 years of no PR in the distance. I know a lot of this can be attributed to working with a coach who has been challenging me with different workouts that I haven’t tried before in training. Hitting the hard workouts has given me the confidence that I can do hard things and that this is within the realm of possible. During this training cycle I will hit the most mileage I’ve done in a week before, and that excites me. It will require getting enough sleep each night, eating the right foods to fuel my body, and training smart (aka running those recovery runs slow and leaving the fast running for the days it counts). I’m ready for all of it and excited to push myself hard.

I know it won’t all be easy. We’re in the middle of buying a house which will require moving (luckily just across town), I’m busy at work, I’m on the board for my running club which has been growing rapidly, and I want to make sure I’m putting my family first with a busy schedule. As the miles begin to add up, I’ll have to be more diligent about my schedule, but I chose this and I’m excited to chase another 26.2 again and hopefully walk away with not only a BQ but a big PR!

Chasing Unicorns begins tomorrow! Let’s get after it!

Month: June 2018

Berlin Marathon Training – Week 1 Recap

Here We Go Again…