Friday Updates – November 16th Edition

Wow, its been quite awhile since I last blogged, hasn’t it?  There has just been so much going on lately that its been near impossible to find time to sit down and write.  What’s been keeping me so busy and what’s been going on?

1.  I’ve been battling a chest cold since shortly after arriving home from the Chicago Marathon.  Yes, that was 5 weeks ago!  Being sick hasn’t interfered too much with my daily routine, minus the few occasions that the chest congestion has resulted in me losing my voice.  The one afternoon that I lost my voice in the middle of class was really fun….not!

2.  Being sick has meant that I haven’t run once since Chicago.  Not once.  I have been doing some exercise, mainly in the form of cross training and strength training, but I know that my lungs have been too filled and too heavy to be able to effectively run.  I feel like I’m finally on the mend, so hopefully a run will be in my near future.  Fingers crossed!

Super sweaty during a weight training session at the gym last month

3.  Because I haven’t been able to run, I’m nowhere close to halfway with my November mileage goal, despite the fact that its now the halfway point in the month.  Because I’m so far behind with my monthly goal, and consequently my yearly mileage goal, I’m starting to doubt whether I will be able to reach 1,200 miles this year.  I suppose anything can happen, but I’m also trying to be realistic.  That doesn’t mean that I’m giving up on my goal, but I’m also just trying to be honest with myself.

4.  Yesterday, on November 15th, I had my first snow day of the season.  We saw nearly every type of precipitation possible yesterday, starting with snow, then sleet, and lastly freezing rain.

I cannot believe that this was what my deck looked like yesterday!

5.  In addition to being sick, one of the other reasons why I’ve struggled to find the time to sit down and write has been because my side business, Kathryn’s Clearance Closet, has been keeping me super busy.  I participated in my first big consignment sale last Saturday, and my online presence has been growing much faster than I could have anticipated.  Its been a good busy, its also kept me away from my blog.

All set up for my first big sale!

QOTD: What’s been going on in your world lately?  Have you seen any snow yet this season?

I’m linking up with Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Link Up.  Thanks Lacey and Meranda for hosting the link up!

November 2018 Goals

As shown by my lack of blogging during the past month, October was a whirlwind and jam packed month.  It was filled with lots of family time, running the Chicago Marathon, and spending time getting my new side business up and running.  It was a busy, but also good, month.

Although I never formally wrote out any goals for the month I did have two goals in October.

1.  Log at least 105 miles.

Grade: F

Needless to say, my motivation to workout really fizzled after Chicago.  Although I have completed some workouts since the race, I haven’t run once since the big race.  Our entire family has also been battling a bad cough over the past couple of weeks, which on some days has interfered with my ability to workout at all.

Around mile 3 of the Chicago Marathon

Not counting any miles that I log this afternoon, my October mileage total is 65.5 miles, only 62% of my monthly goal.  Surprisingly, this wasn’t my lowest mileage month of the year (May was when I logged only 54.6 miles) but it certainly was far from a great month in terms of my mileage.

2.  PR at the Chicago Marathon.

Grade: A

My official finish time was 5:20:13, which was just over 3 minutes faster than my 2017 finish time.  Mission accomplished!  And once I have time to sit down and focus on writing a recap, I cannot wait to share all of the details from the big race!

With only two months left in 2018 I am determined to finish the year out strong.  To do so, I have some pretty ambitious goals for November.

1.  Log at least 125 miles.

In order to meet my 2018 goal of 1,200 miles I need to log another 250 miles between now and the end of the year.  I’ll be honest, I’m not sure that this is realistic at this point, but if I don’t try then I will never know what I am capable of accomplishing.  Hopefully I will get rid of the nasty cough that I’m currently battling sooner than later so that I can start running again.  Until then, my cardio will consist of walking and spending time on the elliptical.

2.  Get enough sleep.

Sleep is something that I’ve really been struggling with over the past couple of weeks.  Although I don’t have any trouble falling asleep at night, I routinely wake up in the middle of the night and struggle to fall back asleep.  I’m sure this is part of why I came down with the cough that I currently have.  Whatever it takes, I need to get more sleep.

3.  Increase my shop inventory to at least 200 items.

In preparation for holiday shopping, which I hope to benefit from, I need to focus on taking more pictures of my inventory and posting more items for sale online in my Kidizen shop.  There are currently 58 items posted for sale in my shop.  I have more than enough inventory in order to reach my ambitious goal, I simply need to carve out the time in order to post more of the kids’ clothing for sale that has taken over my basement.

QOTD: What are your goals for November?  Are you on track with your yearly goals?

2018 Chicago Marathon Expo Recap

My first day of Chicago Marathon weekend was incredibly similar to last year’s first day.  It involved flying to Chicago, meeting up with my parents, going to the expo, and then having a low key dinner to end the day.

On the plane to Chicago

We landed at Chicago O’Hare shortly before 10 am, but between the rainy weather and busier than usual traffic on the ground we were put into a holding pattern on the ground.  We circled the entire airport on the ground, and almost 25 minutes later were then sent to a holding area on the far end of the airport near the international terminal.  Although our gate was open, there were too many planes in the way to be able to get to our gate.  An hour after landing we were finally parked at the gate and able to get off of the plane.

After getting our luggage from baggage claim we made the underground walk to the airport “L” station.  At the station you could already feel the excitement of race weekend, as tons of runners were there, ready to begin their trek to downtown.  It was little man’s first time riding a subway train, so you can imagine just how excited he was anticipating the ride and then during the ride itself.  About half an hour later we arrived downtown and began the 10 minute walk to our hotel.

Ready to get Chicago Marathon weekend underway!

My parents had already arrived at the hotel and checked into their room.  Given that it was already past 1:00, and not only well past little man’s lunch time but also the start of his nap time, they greeted us with food for him.  While they enjoyed time with their grandson and watched him eat his lunch, my husband and I got settled into our room, and shortly afterwards left little man with his grandparents while we grabbed food ourselves.  After a quick lunch, I headed to the expo on my own.

Just like when I walked into McCormick Place last year, I once again could immediately feel the excitement of race weekend immediately upon arrival.  After picking up my bib just outside of the expo itself I browsed some of the vendors on the expo floor as I made my way to the back wall, where all of the t-shirt and participant bag booths were set up.  Despite it being mid-afternoon on opening day of the expo, there were virtually no lines anywhere to be found, and I walked right up to retrieve the rest of my official race items.

The packet pick up area at the entrance to the expo

Bag and t-shirt booths were lined against the back wall of the expo floor.

As I continued to browse the vendors at this year’s expo, I took advantage of a number of the photo ops available on the expo floor.  Given that I am of the mindset that you can never take too many pictures, I love that Chicago Marathon offers a wide variety of photo opportunities for runners.

I was very excited to be able to run my second marathon.

One of my stops was at the Team RMHC booth, where I picked up my race morning essentials, including my bib sticker needed to access the team tent on race day, as well as wristbands for my husband and sister for race day so that they could join me in the tent.  They also receive finish line grandstand wristbands, which they were incredibly grateful for, as it allowed them to see me cross the finish line of the race.

Running with Team Ronald McDonald House Charities once again made my marathon experience an incredibly meaningful one.

One of my last stops at the expo was at the official Nike merchandise store, where I purchased a grey half zip with this year’s Chicago Marathon logo on it.  My only other purchase at the expo was some Feetures socks since I found a shop that was running a great expo promotion.

After spending just under two hours at the expo, I made my way to the bus pickup area to take the complimentary transportation back to downtown.  After being dropped off at the Nike Store on Michigan Avenue, I made the approximately 15 minute walk back to our hotel, met back up with my family, and then we headed across the street for a delicious steak dinner.  Eating steak, one of the many foods that Chicago is famous for, was a great way to end the first day of Chicago Marathon weekend.

Ready to run 26.2 miles!

Incredibly excited for the rest of marathon weekend!

QOTD: What is your favorite part about race expos?

Friday Updates – October 19th Edition

Yes, I know its been a couple of weeks since I last blogged.  As it is for most people, life has been incredibly busy lately, which has meant that blogging has had to be pushed to the back burner.  Its not what I would prefer, but it happens sometimes.

So what’s been going on recently in my world?

1.  My last blog post that I wrote was a recap of my second to last week of marathon training.  Since then I ran my second marathon.  It was an incredibly exciting weekend in Chicago, filled not only with lots of marathon related excitement but also lots of family time.  I cannot wait to finally have time to sit down and recap the entire weekend.

It was an honor to once again be able to run Chicago with Team RMHC. I’d do it again without hesitation.

2.  Since returning home I’ve been focusing a lot on family time.  Marathon training is quite time consuming, and since I am no longer “in training” I’ve been spending extra quality time with my boys.

Little man and I out on a walk last night

3.  With only two weeks left in the first quarter at school, things at school are much busier than they were at the beginning of the school year.  Its hard to believe that we’re almost a quarter of the way through the school year.  I feel like the school year just started!

4.  Even though I haven’t run since the marathon (my body was in desperate need of a break!), I have still been keeping active.  Its been nice to be able to put more time and energy into cross and strength training and to work different muscle groups than running works.

Super sweaty during a weight training session at the gym

5.  One of the biggest reasons why my blogging has been pushed to the back burner recently is due to the fact that I’ve been getting a side business going.  Yes, this is on top of my full time job as a teacher and all of my responsibilities at home as a wife and mother.  So what is my new little business?

I’ve started a children’s clothing resale shop, based entirely online through the Kidizen platform.  My shop, Kathryn’s Clearance Closet, features clearance rack purchases, all brand new with tags, for resale.  The shop will feature mostly infant and toddler clothing, but when I find a good deal on a bigger child’s article of clothing I buy that as well for the shop.

I am an avid shopper, but like most people have to stick to a budget.  I also get a thrill out of stacking coupons and discounts in order to get the best deal possible, and have been told by some friends that I have a knack for getting things for super low prices.  Its taken awhile to get my shop up and running, but I feel like I finally have a good system going and am in a good pattern with posting items for sale.  My shop inventory is still on the small side, but believe me when I say that there’s plenty in my basement right now that needs to be photographed, inventoried, and ultimately put up for sale.

This blog post isn’t meant to turn into one big promotion for my new business, but I wanted to share what’s been keeping me occupied lately.  Feel free to follow along in my new business adventure on Facebook and Instagram.

QOTD: What’s been going on in your world lately?

I’m linking up for the Friday Five 2.0 linkup.  Many thanks to the wonderful ladies at Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for hosting!

Chicago Marathon Training Log – Week 17

On October 7th I will be running the Chicago Marathon as a member of Team Ronald McDonald House Charities.  Please consider visiting my fundraising page and supporting this worthy cause.  Thanks!

With my husband out of town for work during the first half of the week, solo parenting made it a challenge to get everything in last week.  I did my best, and that’s all that I can ask of myself.  In an effort to still get my workouts in before I had to pick little man up from daycare I pushed myself out the door from school very quickly at the end of the school day, which means that my grading is piled up higher than I would like, but for my own sanity I knew that if I didn’t still get my workouts in that I’d be a grumpy Mommy.

Monday, September 24th

A very rainy day pushed me to the gym after work for my first run of the week.  After running 5 miles on the treadmill I walked an additional mile.

I was a very happy Mommy to be able to get my run in before I had to pick little man up from daycare.

Tuesday, September 25th

After work I headed back to the gym for cross and weight training.  I spent 35 minutes on the elliptical and followed that up with 30 minutes of upper and lower body weight training.

Wednesday, September 26th

Between my weekly chiropractor appointment and errands that needed to be run afterwards I didn’t have time to also get a workout in.  Mommy responsibilities were a higher priority that day.

Thursday, September 27th

More heavy rain meant that my second run of the week was also completed on the treadmill.  Certainly not ideal so close to the big race, but I wasn’t going to risk getting sick and/or slipping and getting injured by running outside in the heavy rain.

I was so happy to be able to complete another strong run so close to race day.

Friday, September 28th

I was more than happy to take a rest day the day prior to my long run.  It had been a long week and I needed the mental and physical break from trying to squeeze everything in after work.

Saturday, September 29th

After a week of soggy, rainy weather Saturday’s weather was absolutely beautiful.  It was a beautiful early fall morning and was perfect running weather for my last long run before Chicago.  I had 8 miles on tap, but felt so good that I pushed myself to 9 miles.  I really hope that this run was a sign of how I’ll feel on race day.

I felt on top of the world after my last long run of Chicago training was a strong one.

Sunday, September 30th

Although I didn’t get a formal workout in I did spend a couple of hours outside walking around at a Touch a Truck event.  I thoroughly enjoyed our family time together doing a fun activity for little man.

Who doesn’t enjoy being able to “drive” a fire truck?

Total Weekly Mileage – 23.72 miles (6.77 miles less than week 16)

Total Chicago Mileage – 454.79 miles

QOTD: Is it finally starting to feel like fall in your area?

I’m linking up with Holly from HoHo Runs and Wendy from Taking the Long Way Home for the Weekly Wrap link up.  Be sure to check out their posts as well.

Chicago Marathon Weekend is One Week Away!

One week from today, I will be on my way to Chicago where I will run my second marathon.  With only 9 days to go until the big race, I am feeling a multitude of different feelings, including happiness, excitement, and nervousness.

Part of why I’m incredibly excited is because Chicago Marathon weekend will not just be about running the race but will also be a weekend filled with family time.  In addition to my husband and son joining me in Chicago for the weekend, my parents and sister are also joining us as well.  We’re all excited about spending the long weekend together.

Some of what I’m most looking forward to next weekend includes:

1.  Spending Friday afternoon at the expo.  Most people either love or hate expos, and I’m one of those who loves them.  I always enjoy soaking in the excitement of race weekend that can be felt throughout the entire expo, browsing the merchandise that the vendors bring in, and most importantly, officially kicking off race weekend.

At last year’s expo

2.  Representing Team RMHC.  When I considered signing up for my second marathon, specifically Chicago, I didn’t think about signing up any other way than by once again joining Team Ronald McDonald House Charities.  I’m incredibly honored to represent this amazing organization for the second year in a row.  If this year’s Chicago experience is anything like last year’s was, then running with the team will make my second marathon an incredibly meaningful one.  And although I have reached my initial fundraising goal, you can still make a donation to RMHC on my fundraising page.

I’m excited to run Chicago with Team RMHC for the second year in a row.

3.  Celebrating my sister’s birthday.  Next Saturday is my sister’s birthday and the entire family is looking forward to celebrating her special day together.

4.  Seeing “Hamilton”.  Several months ago my dad asked if any of us wanted to see “Hamilton” while we are in Chicago for the weekend.  Ummmm, yes please!  We have tickets to the matinee on Saturday, and I am looking forward to seeing the musical while also resting up for the big race.

5.  Running my second marathon, which is the main reason that my entire family is headed to Chicago.  I’m excited yet also nervous about how the race will go.  And like I usually do, I have three goals for the race:

Goal A: Finish the race in under 5:08:04 (11:45 pace) – Given how my training has gone I think that running an 11:45 pace would mean that I feel great on race day, that my body is able to take full advantage of Chicago’s flat course, and that overall, the stars align for me to be able to run a strong race.

Goal B: Finish the race in under 5:14:38 (12:00 pace) – During most of my recent long runs I’ve been averaging a 12 minute pace, so reaching this goal would be very consistent with my performance during recent long runs.

Goal C: Finish the race in under 5:23:35 (12:31 pace) – This was my finish time last year and my main goal at this year’s race is to PR.

Just 0.2 miles away from crossing the finish line of my first marathon.

The final countdown to Chicago is on, and I only have a couple of more runs to complete before race day.  Just 9 days to go until I run my second marathon!  As I always do, I’ll be taking tons of pictures thoughout the entire weekend, so be sure to follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  I’ll be using the same hashtag that I did last year and that I have throughout my entire training journey this year, #KathrynRunsChicago.

QOTD: If you’ll be running Chicago, what are you most looking forward to about race weekend?

I’m linking up for the Friday Five 2.0 linkup.  Many thanks to the wonderful ladies at Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for hosting!

Chicago Marathon Training Log – Week 16

On October 7th I will be running the Chicago Marathon as a member of Team Ronald McDonald House Charities.  Please consider visiting my fundraising page and supporting this worthy cause.  Thanks!

Although I’m now in taper mode for Chicago that does not mean that I all of a sudden have extra free time.  In fact, tapering couldn’t have started at a better time given that the school year is now well underway, which means that I always have work that needs to be done for school.  In addition, life at home is busier than ever.  If anything, being in taper mode is just making it easier to balance everything, although sometimes prioritizing my family means that working out has to take a backseat.

Monday, September 17th

Despite my desire to work out there simply was not any time.  After school I had a chiropractor appointment, as well as errands that needed to be run.  After getting little man to bed I also had some work that needed to get done for school.  Some days despite the best intentions working out simply cannot be at the top of the priority list.

Tuesday, September 18th

Tuesday was the complete opposite of Monday when it came to working out.  I was able to take full advantage of the early fall weather and get in a 4.75 mile solo run before walking to and from daycare to pick up little man.  I cannot remember the last time that I logged over 7 miles on a weekday.

The stars seemed to align on Tuesday to allow me to log the number of miles that I did.

Wednesday, September 19th

After school I immediately headed to the gym with the hopes of getting in a solid workout. As I got off of the elliptical my husband informed me that he was stuck in really bad traffic due to multiple car accidents and likely wouldn’t make it to daycare in time to pick up little man.  After only 15 minutes of weight training I had to cut my workout short in order to get to daycare myself.  Mommy duties are always a much higher priority than working out is.

Thursday, September 20th

Between another solo run followed by a walking commute to daycare I was very excited to be able to log another 7 miles, especially after having my workout cut short the day before.

My legs were very tired after running and walking another 7 miles. Maybe little man can start pushing me in the stroller?!?

Friday, September 21st

My planned rest day the day before my long run allowed me to be able to run a handful of errands after work.  Active rest day for the win.

Saturday, September 22nd

Last week’s long run was one of those runs that you hope to have every week.  I felt incredibly strong throughout my entire run, and I really hope that how I felt during the run is an indication of how Chicago will go in just under two weeks.  Fingers crossed!

I felt so accomplished after last week’s 12 miler.

Sunday, September 23rd

Despite wanting to get to the gym for a good workout, especially since I barely had any time for weight training last week, running errands and spending time as a family won out.  Like I mentioned earlier, often times working out is not the top priority when you have a young child.

Total Weekly Mileage – 30.49 miles (5.32 miles less than week 15)

Total Chicago Mileage – 431.07 miles

QOTD: How do you balance your fitness and family priorities?

I’m linking up with Holly from HoHo Runs and Wendy from Taking the Long Way Home for the Weekly Wrap link up.  Be sure to check out their posts as well.

Chicago Marathon Training Log – Week 15

On October 7th I will be running the Chicago Marathon as a member of Team Ronald McDonald House Charities.  Please consider visiting my fundraising page and supporting this worthy cause.  Thanks!

Last week felt like a redemption week when it came to working out and my marathon training overall.  The timing of a “redemption week” couldn’t have been more perfect as I reached the peak of marathon training on Saturday with my running of the infamous 20 miler.  And to further add to the exciting week, I reached my minimum fundraising goal on Friday!!!  There’s certainly a lot to celebrate from last week.

Monday, September 10th

Despite the rainy and dreary weather, I was determined to get out for a run after work after being sick and not being able to workout much the week prior.  It felt great to sweat for 4.25 miles.

It felt so good to be able to workout for the first time in 5 days.

Tuesday, September 11th

After work I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical and then did 40 minutes of full body weight training.  Just like on Monday, it felt great to sweat and get a workout in after a difficult week the week prior.

Wednesday, September 12th

I headed back to the gym after work on Wednesday for a 5 mile run on the treadmill.  Due to the 100% humidity it was a very sweaty run.  After my run I completed a half mile cool down walk.

25 days out from the marathon it felt great to complete a strong run.

Thursday, September 13th

Since I was tight on time prior to picking little man up from daycare I didn’t have time to get to the gym for a workout.  So instead I did a walking commute to pick him up, and added some extra mileage to the route on the way home.  I wound up walking a total of 3.16 miles.

Friday, September 14th

Although I took a complete rest day in anticipation of my 20 miler on Saturday, Friday was still an exciting day since I reached my minimum fundraising goal mid-day.

Fundraising this year was much more challenging than it was last year, so I was incredibly excited to receive this e-mail on Friday.

Saturday, September 15th

Saturday marked the peak of marathon training with the infamous 20 miler.  It was a cool 69 degrees and cloudy when I started my run, and by the end was 79 degrees with some sunshine peeking through the clouds.  I opted to run on my go-to hilly long run route.  Although Chicago is super flat I’m hopeful that by running on all of the hills that I have that it’ll help to make me that much more prepared for race day.

Despite the hills and 100% humidity I pushed through and averaged a 12:20 pace.  This was nearly a full minute slower than my 20 miler last year.  While seeing this difference was initially discouraging, I have since reminded myself that I completed these training runs in different locations and under much different conditions.  The most important thing is that I pushed through the challenges of running on hills in very humid weather.  Despite having to slowly reduce my run interval and increase my walk interval the further that I ran, particularly in the last couple of miles, I still crossed the 20 miler finish line and am that much closer to race day.

Yay for having completed my 20 mile training run!

Sunday, September 16th

Although I didn’t complete a formal workout yesterday, I spent a good portion of the afternoon and early evening volunteering at a local consignment sale.  During the sale I wound up walking over 6 miles!

Total Weekly Mileage – 35.81 miles (21.50 miles more than week 14)

Total Chicago Mileage – 400.58 miles

QOTD: How training milestone(s) did you reach last week?

I’m linking up with Holly from HoHo Runs and Wendy from Taking the Long Way Home for the Weekly Wrap link up.  Be sure to check out their posts as well.

Friday Five – Potpourri v. 24

Since there’s quite a bit on my mind this week and a lot of different things going on I thought that a Potpourri post would be more than appropriate for today.

1.  Tomorrow marks the peak point of my marathon training, as I have my 20 mile training run on tap.  Earlier in the week I was starting to worry that Hurricane Florence would force me to have to run 20 miles on the treadmill.  Thankfully Florence’s track shifted throughout the week, and isn’t predicted to have its major impact on the DC area until early next week.  I’m incredibly thankful for many reasons, including the fact that I will not have to dig deep and find the motivation to complete my 20 miler at the gym tomorrow.

My 18 miler a couple of weeks ago was my longest training run to date for this training cycle, during which I felt great. I’m hopeful for the same to happen tomorrow during my 20 miler.

2.  You may have noticed on social media that I am in the final fundraising push.  As of this morning I am 88% of the way towards meeting my Ronald McDonald House Charities fundraising goal.  Fundraising has been nowhere near as easy this year as it was when I ran Chicago with the team last year, but since so many families benefit from RMHC’s services I refuse to give up in my efforts to raise funds for this incredible organization.  If you haven’t already, please consider making a tax deductible donation on my fundraising page.  All money donated goes directly to helping provide food, housing, and support for the families of children who are sick and in the hospital.

I’m excited to run Chicago with Team RMHC for the second year in a row.

3.  Earlier this week I saw this reminder posted on Facebook.  If you’re a long time reader of my blog then you may recall that due to some health issues I have been facing over the past year that my running pace has taken a hit.  Despite my best efforts I just haven’t been able to run at the same pace as I could in the past couple of years.  While it doesn’t normally get me down, there are those moments when I do think back to my faster days.  However, this post reminded me that getting out there and running is much better than simply sitting on the sidelines and watching everybody else.  I am running my own race.

So very true!

4.  This weekend I am participating in a local children’s consignment sale.  I participated in the organization’s Spring sale back in March, and am excited to clean a few things out of the house and make some extra cash this weekend.  I’m scheduled to volunteer at the sale on Sunday, and since I had a great time during my volunteer shift back in March I’m looking forward to the same again on Sunday.

In the midst of a sea of kids clothes during the Spring consignment sale.

5.  To all of those in the southeast that are in Hurricane Florence’s path, please stay safe.  I’m thinking about all of you and praying that Florence doesn’t beat down on all of you the way that she is predicted to.

QOTD: What is one thing on your mind this week?

I’m linking up for the Friday Five 2.0 linkup.  Many thanks to the wonderful ladies at Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for hosting!

Chicago Marathon Training Log – Week 14

On October 7th I will be running the Chicago Marathon as a member of Team Ronald McDonald House Charities.  Please consider visiting my fundraising page and supporting this worthy cause.  Thanks!

Life rarely goes as we’d like for it to, and overcoming obstacles will make us stronger in the long run.  Last week I faced just that, and although it meant that I was unable to run or otherwise train from Thursday-Sunday, and also meant that I had to skip my long run for the week, I’m trying to remain optimistic that it won’t set me back for Chicago in just under a month.

I constantly remind myself, and last week especially, that I’m running Chicago in memory of my friend Tammy who herself faced an uphill battle in her fight against cancer.  But she refused to give up, which is incredibly inspirational and a constant reminder for me in my marathon training.  Life isn’t perfect, and we’re all faced with challenges that we have to overcome, but its how we handle and respond to those challenges that is most important.

Last week my training was put to the test, but I refuse to let it stop me from doing what I need to do to get to the start line on October 7th.

Monday, September 3rd

Labor Day was an incredibly busy yet productive one at my house.  Little man and I started the day off with a 5 mile stroller run, followed by a 0.86 mile cool down walk.  That afternoon my husband and I spent a couple of hours cleaning up the garage and doing some yard work.  I was quite active during my day off from work.

I loved having my little coach yell “Go Mommy Go!” during Monday’s run. It helped distract me from the 100% humidity.

Tuesday, September 4th

After school I headed to the gym for a workout.  While there I spent 35 minutes on the elliptical and followed that up with 40 minutes of full body weight training.  I felt incredible strong as I walked out of the gym that day.

Wednesday, September 5th

Yet another afternoon with the heat index reaching over 100 degrees resulted in another afternoon run on the treadmill.  After running a strong 5 miles I completed another half mile cool down walk.  Just like I had felt on Tuesday, I felt great throughout my workout.  It had been a great confidence building run and I wish that every run could feel the way that my run on Wednesday did.

Feeling great at the end of my Wednesday evening run

Thursday, September 6th

Thursday was when my week turned completely around.  After an incredibly active three days, Thursday had been the start of not being able to work out for the rest of the week.  I wound up sick, and actually went home early from school on Thursday.  I’m usually somebody who tries to push through and tough it out when sick, so to admit that I needed to go home mid-day was a tough pill to swallow.  I spent the rest of my Thursday relaxing and napping on the couch.

Friday, September 7th-Sunday, September 9th

I was too tired and too weak the rest of the week to be able to work out.  Even though I hated the fact that I didn’t work out for four days in a row, including having to skip my long run, I know that it was the right decision.  While it means that I missed logging some critical miles just one month out from the marathon, my body was screaming for the rest, and I needed to listen to it.  Despite wanting to have pushed through working out during our recent heatwave, which included numerous days in a row of excessive heat warnings, its clear that my body was not up to that challenge.  I know that I’ll need to take it easy this week as I try to start running again, and that it will be important that I not push myself too hard too quickly if I’m going to run a marathon in a mere 28 days.

Total Weekly Mileage – 14.31 miles (4.19 miles less than week 13)

Total Chicago Mileage – 364.77 miles

QOTD: How do you overcome training setbacks?

I’m linking up with Holly from HoHo Runs and Wendy from Taking the Long Way Home for the Weekly Wrap link up.  Be sure to check out their posts as well.