3rd week of consistent training! Ahhhhh this feels good. Back to my normal RUNGRY, dedicated self again. This week, Mother Nature decided to show her true colors in Chicago for the first time this winter. Monday and Tuesday were practically unbearably cold. Luckily, that didn’t last long and it felt like we had a “heat wave”—-and by heat wave I mean like ….25 degrees? [Note: we have a high of 50 (!!!) forecasted for mid-week this week! Make.up.your.mind.mother.(f***ing)nature.]
Weekly total: 35 miles, 1 easy run, 1 strength/core session
Monday: 1 mile repeats. 6 miles total: 2 mi w/up, 3 x 1 at 6:40 (2 min recovery), and 1 mi c/d. I was that crazy girl at the gym that seems to be angry about something that she wants to run her heart out. Because the windchill was like negative “forget about it!” I rocked these on the dreadmill. It actually went by fast and I felt like I could have run 1-2 more mile repeats at that pace. Perhaps a sign that I should have run them faster but this was a confidence booster.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 3 mile tempo targeted at 7:00-7:10 (8 miles total). After a full day of work, I decided to take advantage of the relatively “warm” temperatures and head to the lake. My typical warm-up is exactly 2 miles because that’s how far my apartment is from the lake. I thought I’d run there, do my tempo, finish cooling down there, and then take the bus home. But I felt really good. I was SMILING WHILE I WAS RUNNING. I was that kind of crazy runner that is just happy to be outside and covering miles. I always laugh at people I see smile-running but now I know what it feels like…exhilarating!!! My tempo splits were 7:05, 7:08, and 6:51. I felt like I was floating so I ran the extra two miles home instead of waiting for the bus.
Thursday: lazy night at home. Felt like I was fighting off a sore throat/head cold. Womp womp. DERP.
Friday: Easy 5 on the treadmill + core and strength routines.
Saturday: Coach called for 14-16 easy miles at 8:10-8:15 pace. I ran 15.33 at 8:04 average pace (whooops-y!). It was 14 degrees when I left my apartment and honestly I thought this was just going to be no fun at all. But the sun was shining and I had no complaints. I ran with my Nathan water bottle for the 2nd time and I think I’m starting to get used to it. A little concerned with some calf/achilles soreness in the left leg but I’m going to write it off as my legs acclimating to the consistent mileage again.
Overall, a good week for me! I ran happy this week and managed to find time to be good to myself. (Now if only I could get some consistent sleep in!)
Pics ‘O The Week
The lakefront was breathtaking on Wednesday night. The snow was falling and it was so calm out there. RAVE RUN
Full commitment to training deserves a good beer (or three)
Totally necessary puppy pic. She makes it tough to leave for a run sometimes
Stocked up on Saucony gear this week!
Happy to run in the sunshine this morning 🙂 Obligatory Garmin snapshot
A post-run trip to Mariano’s Fresh Market = unnecessary drooling over everything in the store
-J
We Wander And Ponder 
That lakefront pic is like a little slice of heaven to me. Love it. Miss it. Glad your training is going well! This week was a $@!#* wasn’t it? Love winter running, but man it’s hard to make those miles quality when the temps are double digit negatives.
Keep at it girl! You’re on a roll!
I’ll try to post a lil’ slice of heaven for you each week, Britt! Think you’ll be able to head down here at some point to get a lakefront run in together? For real, this weather is just downright confusing!
The lakefront pic is absolutely beautiful! Congrats on a great week of training. I hope week 4 is just as great as week 3 for you!
We had a weird weather week in Steamboat too. It was absolutely frigid on Tuesday and then above 30 yesterday, what?! I think we will be getting back to our below zero weather shortly though. Which is fine.. it’s too early to have all the snow on the mountains melting!
Thanks Courtney! This weather is seriously bonkers/confusing. It’s 60 degrees in Chi today and it’s expected to be a high of 19 by Thursday. Why is Mother Nature doing this to us?!
Where is the pic of the chicken pot pie? 🙂
Damn it! Maybe I’ll put it in next week?
Looks like a great week of fun runs. The beer and the shoes both happened in my week as well…damn Saucony for having great clearance shoes and giving an extra percent off!
For real! Love stocking up on gear so that I don’t have to worry about it through the training cycle. What’s your favorite Saucony shoe? Kinvaras are my all-time favorite, but I just ordered some Fastwitch’s to add to my rotation.
Exactly. I bought a pair of Guide’s for long runs but I think that is a mistake because my feet and stride are fully transitioned for Kinvara’s to do long runs. In addition to multiple Kinvara’s I have a pair of the Mirage which are ok ( just not as good as the Kinvara) and on this last sale I purchased a pair of the Fastwitch as well. I have done one run in them so far and I think they will be much better than the Mirage feel but I have a feeling that I finally figured out the best all around shoe for me and its the Kinvara. It really was a good sale and I stock up as well, better safe than sorry right!
I tried the Mirage for a few runs last year and didn’t like them. Like you, it seems they were too much support for me. Hoping the Fastwitch turn into a great racing shoe for me!