Welcome to the Weekly Rundown. Recapping Chicago Marathon training week 6! It was BRUTALLY hot this week, but luckily this was a lighter week for me because I races the Rock n Roll Half Marathon on Sunday. Linking up with hosts Deborah and Kim for this weekly training recap.
Outside of running, my week was pretty low key. Even running was toned down this week since I raced on Sunday. Last week was go go go with the event on Wednesday and the crawl on Saturday, so I enjoyed this week’s relaxed vibe. Sometimes you need those weeks, ya know? It was perfect timing to lie low with temperatures in the 90s. Thank you, Training Gods.
Monday 7/15
Run: Tempo + CoreBata. Normally, I don’t do a tempo right after a long run, but everything was shifted up this week for the race. The workout was easier than previous tempos. Just twice thru one mile at half pace and a half mile at 10k pace. The purpose was to “feel” half pace in prep for Sunday. I ran everything too fast (oops) – 6:44 for both half intervals and 3:15 for the 10k intervals. Since it was a shorter workout, I wrapped up by 6am and finished with another Core Bata class. 14 exercises, 20s on, 10s off. The workout looked easy but looks can be deceiving.
Tuesday 7/16
Run: Easy Miles. Ran a quick 4 easy miles with the Windrunners before coaching Sprint Tuesday. Jill was in town and it was nice to catch up. The Sprint Tuesday group was smaller than usual, but there was a threat of storms in the morning which usually scares people off.
Wednesday 7/17
Run: Strength. Did a mini balance and core workout instead of my usual weight class. My thoughts were not to overload myself for the race and my calves have been really sore lately.
Other: NEW POST! Just in time for National Ice Cream Day, I posted the recap of my ice cream crawl from the weekend. Four stops, four delicious vegan treats. Read about it here!
Thursday 7/18
Run: Track Workout. Chicago had an excessive heat warning lasting from Wednesday evening through Saturday night. With temperatures in the 80s at 5 am and humidity just as high, I chose to do this on the treadmill and avoid outside a much as possible. It was an easy workout: 10x .25 mi, alternating half and 5k pace. Switching between 5k and half made the half pace feel like a walk in the park!
Friday 7/19
Run: Rest Day. I had an extra rest day this week so I just went to November Project and did some core and resistance band exercises. Later, I saw Justyna for a much needed massage. I looked like an octopus by the time she was through with cupping. Spent the majority of the day camped out in front of an air conditioner because holy heat!
Saturday 7/20
Run: Easy miles. Met the EDGE group in the morning to do part of their route. They had 12 but I only had 4 easy miles. It was nice to have company for at least a little bit! The humidity was brutal and by the end of the day temperatures again reached well into the nineties.
Other: Expo + Lunch! In the afternoon, I met my friends Angela and Chris for packet pickup at the Rock n Roll expo. After, we went and got lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant in the South Loop. It was lovely to catch up with both of them and chat about life, work and running.
Sunday 7/21
Run: Rock n Roll Half Marathon. I’ll write a full recap later in the week, but in short, this was pretty miserable. Hugo the Humidity Monster was out in full force. The humidity was between 95-100% and the dew point in the upper sixties. That zapped me and I got nauseous twice during the race in addition to feeling like I was running with a 20 pound backpack. Luckily, this was not a goal race, so I approached it with the intention of turning it into an interval workout. But even that felt like a struggle and I had to just scrap the workout and go easy. Ended up running the slowest half I have in almost 10 years which was kind of a blow to my mental game. Going to try to shake it off an roll into next week.
And that’s a wrap for Chicago Marathon training week 6! I totaled 34 miles for the week, finishing with a humid and rough half marathon. Even though I knew I was not going into the race to “race” it, I’m still leaving the training week on a meh note. I can take running in heat, but MAN, humidity leaves me wiped out. Please, Mother Nature, give us a break!
How was your week? How do you fare in the humidity? Let’s stay in touch! Follow me on Instagram or Facebook for more food/fitness related posts.
Happy running,
Becca
Really interesting that they cancelled the 5k, but kept th half…I’m sure a tough decision for the race directors regardless. Glad you didn’t push yourself any harder than you did. I know its easier said than done, but hopefully you can shake that race as it clearly isn’t an indication of your strong fitness!
Love your Tuesday puppy student. So cute.
Do they name all the treadmills? Certainly easier to ID hwich is having an issue vs; “3rd from left”
Sorry about your rough Half. This weather was a trash fest
Great week of training! I can only imagine how hard RnR was on Sunday – this was just a miserable weekend for running much less racing. Congrats on making it through!
Congrats on running the Chicago half in this heat/humidity. I’m so surprised they canceled the 5K and went ahead with the longer race….
good week Becca, despite the heat! I also opted for a treadmill workout instead of going outside for intervals. It’s been hot but not as bad as for you guys! I did the RnR Chicago 4 years ago and it was BRUTAL. And at the time also my slowest half ever. I remember i kept stopping at the water stations and adding ice cubes to my hydration pack as well as dumping cups of water over my head! humidity is AWFUL. We are in for a week of heat and humidity this week in the Netherlands… so excited about that.… Read more »
I can only imagine how tough it was out there today! Huge congrats to you for finishing. Last year it rained buckets the entire weekend. I think they need to move the date
I have a pretty high heat tolerance, but humidity still is a major buzzkill. I don’t have issues breathing in it (thankfully!!!), but all the sweating and all the wet clothing (from the humid air preventing adequate moisture evaporating)…yes, UGH. The two times I ran Chicago R’nR, it was brutal…2014 was major hot/humid and last year was hot and humid AND rainy LOL Oh well, it is July in the Midwest LOL
Congrats on another solid week of training! I feel like you always add a bit of fun to your workouts – something I need to do more often! I feel like the RnR Chicago race is notorious for having horrible weather! I’ve done it 3 of the past 4 years and it’s either been really hot, really humid, rainy, or a combo of all 3, lol. Don’t be too hard on yourself. You ran smart and got to the finish line which is always the goal in crazy humidity. Also I love that medal (the Jazz hotdog is making me… Read more »
Thanks, Kim. The shirt is even crazier – the saxophone playing hot dog is HUGE! One of those, “I’m not sure how much I will actually wear this” kind of shirts.
I do not do well with humidity. Most people don’t. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Funny, I was talking with someone who’d just been out to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons & she complained about the heat. Said didn’t matter if it was dry or not, hot is hot. I totally disagree. I raced in ID last summer this same week and although it was very hot, it was so dry it mostly felt great. You still have to respect heat, of course. I though I heard that RnR Chicago Half was canceled, but obviously not, must’ve read something wrong there. Probably… Read more »
They cancelled the 5k on Saturday and modified the course on Saturday to have a 7 mile option (you could turn off early and head to the finish if needed)
Ah, ok, at least I’m not completely bonkers. 🙂