Welcome to the Weekly Wrap.   This week I am recapping Berlin Marathon training week 14! I continued my return to running program after over a month off due to a hamstring and adductor injury.  5-weeks post injury and I’m feeling pretty ok.  Linking up with Holly and Wendy for this Weekly Wrap.

INJURY UPDATE:  I feel like I’m on the other side of the injury mountain.  My runs this week went really well.  Pain-free, just some soreness.  Each run was only 30 minutes – after a month off, I don’t want to jump in too fast.  It’ll take a while to get back to 100% as I can tell that my legs fatigue faster than usual, but I’m super pumped about the progress.

In case you missed it, I injured my hamstring and adductor at the beginning of July and have been rehabbing it ever since.  Check out my other weekly wrap training posts to see how I’ve progressed: Injury week, week 1 post-injury, week 2, week 3, and week 4.

Monday

Run:  Treadmill Hike + Strength.  Mountain Goat Monday continues!  I hiked for 5 miles with shorter rest intervals.  I gained more elevation than some of my ultra marathon training workouts! After, I did a quick core workout and my PT exercises.

Tuesday 8/14

Run:  Test Run Number 4.  I ran an easy 4 miles around the track while the Sprint Tuesday crew and a few other athletes I coach worked hard on their intervals.  Running on a softer surface is a good way to ease back into running.  Felt good! No pain just some soreness deep in the left glute.  But I was happy!  Jeremy even made vegan muffins to eat after the workout. I must be rubbing off on everyone.

Other:  Strength class was cancelled. I’m pretty sure my arms had just recovered from the last round, so I was ok with it, ha!  I took the opportunity to head to EDGE to check in with some athletes and make some Becca Bikes and Skookies for orders.

Wednesday 8/15

Run:  Strength + Treadmill hike.  More hiking on the treadmill! 4.6 miles total with interval crescendos.  .75mi at 6%, .75mi at 7% and .5mi at 8%.  These workouts are all about building leg strength without the impact of running.

Other:  NEW POST ALERT!  Last month on July 15th I hosted a Vegan Ice Cream Crawl of Chicago to celebrate National Ice Cream Day.  I finally got around to posting about it.  Better late than never!  Check out the places we found, and also the places we found last year.  I’m happy to say that the number of vegan ice cream options in Chicago continues to grow!

Thursday 8/16

Run: Test Run Number 5! I went to the 606 to run on the blue strip (softer than concrete).  No pain again, just going easy and making sure to have a higher cadence. I’ve missed running so much, I was in a great mood.  It helped seeing familiar faces on the run and having them shout encouragement.  “Becca, you’re running!!!”  Yes I am 🙂

Other:  In the evening, I went to Emily’s Hyper Strength class at On Your Mark.  So. Many. Pushups.

Friday 8/17

Run: NP + 2:00 pool run. The goal of this day was to bank moving time.  Typically, my peak long runs are between 2-3 hours when training for a marathon.  My legs can’t handle that yet, so I turned to the pool.  I was happy to join Erica and use a Fluid Running workout to pass the time.  I felt great and happy to have a solid training deposit.  Next week I will write more on the Fluid Running system – I’m totally loving it!

Other:  NEW POST ALERT!  Many people have been asking how I have been able to train for a marathon while injured.  While I’ve been detailing my weekly training logs for the past 5 weeks on these Weekly Wrap posts, I wrote a general training article that covers the essentials.  You can read it here.

Saturday 8/18

Run: Rest Day + Core/Arms.  Today I coached the EDGE group run and had to stay watch at the water table.  While the athletes were out running I did a quick core and arm bodyweight workout and I also brought my resistance bands.  At the end of the 15 mile run, they had 3 miles of hill repeats.  I swapped out with another coach so I could stand at the top and cheer.  They are such an inspiring group!

Other:  I went home to Highland Park to celebrate my dad’s 70th birthday with the family.  All my cousins were there (we are normally only together at Christmas) so it was nice to see the whole family.

Sunday 8/19

Run:  40 minutes plus 1:20 of pool running.  Like Friday, the goal of this “long run” was moving time.  I ran for an easy 40 minutes first (4.75 miles) and then spent 1:20 in the pool doing intervals of easy, medium and hard efforts.  Like Friday, I felt really happy to have another solid block of training time under my belt.  My only issue was fueling on this; being in the water tricked me into thinking I didn’t need to hydrate!  In the last few minutes of the pool run my calves cramped so I’ll have to remember my Nuun for next time.

Other:  In the afternoon, I went to a Chicagogrammers rooftop party to celebrate their second birthday!  It was nice seeing social media friends in real life.

And that’s a wrap!  Berlin Marathon training week 14 brought more injury recovery and progress.  I ran a total of 13 miles this week, hiked 9.6 miles, ran for 3 hours and 20 minutes in the pool, and racked up 36 miles of bike commuting. I’m excited that I have been able to build up to 30 minutes of running pain-free and that I had two solid 2 hour training days.  There are just 4 weeks until Berlin.  This time next month it’ll be over and I’ll be enjoying myself in Amsterdam with my little brother.  How crazy is that!

How was your week?  Have you ever been to Berlin or Amsterdam? Let’s stay in touch!  Follow me on Instagram or Facebook for more food/fitness related posts.  

Happy running,

Becca