Welcome to the Weekly Rundown. Recapping Chicago Marathon training week 10.  An alternative title for the week could be: How many times will Becca coach?  This week was MUCH better than the previous weeks.  This nutrition-based hormone balancing protocol seems to be working for my mental and emotional health.  Linking up with hosts Deborah and Kim for this weekly training recap.

Monday 8/12

Run: Easy + strength.  After a hard week last week, I started this week off with an easy 5 mile run before Corebata class.

Tuesday 8/13

Run: Speed.  My workout was a one mile fartlek, then descending pyramid from 1200m to 400m, then another one mile fartlek. It was hard, and I still was not able to hit my goal paces, BUT I did feel marginally better than the previous weeks.  In order to prevent myself from becoming discouraged, I turned my watch off and ran purely on effort.  That way, I wouldn’t get in my head if I saw a “slower” pace.  It helped a LOT.  After, I coached Sprint Tuesday group, which was sadly smaller than past weeks.  I think the threat of rain kept some away.

Other: Coaching.  This week was full of coaching, tonight being the second of the day.  In the evening, I ran a few additional miles as I coached the EDGE marathon training group.  As we were in the middle of drills, it started to drizzle and thunder rumbled in the distance.  I kept my eye on the skies and worried about lightning.  Luckily, the rain stopped within ten minutes and the athletes could finish.

Wednesday 8/14

Run: Strength.  No running today, just strength. It was an EMOM-Tabata workout – three sets of a 6-minute EMOM and 6-minute tabata.

Other:  Recipe Test.  It’s been one week of the new nutrition protocol for balancing hormones.  Basically eating certain foods, at certain times of the month, in order to naturally boost hormones.  I experimented with making a pumpkin and artichoke pesto- turned out great! It was the dressing for a salad of pea shoots, arugula, mung beans, quinoa, radishes, chickpeas, and a bean-avocado mash.  The protocol has certainly made me experiment more with ingredients!  I’ll have the recipe in my newsletter this week.

Thursday 8/15

Run: Hills//Tempo.  My tempo workout was an incline sandwich.  For the first set I varied inclines, for the middle set I ran typical flat intervals, and finished with another incline set.  It was HARD.  Again, I focused on going on effort for the incline portion instead of trying to hit a pace.  Goal pace was 7:45 for the inclines, but at an 8% incline that is equivalent to a 6:05 mile.  I backed off an ran to effort instead.  For the flat portions, I was able to run true pace (6:15) and it actually seemed easier after the inclines.  My glutes and quads were SO sore for the rest of the day!

Friday 8/16

Other: Coaching.  In the morning, I taught my first ever group classes at EDGE!  I have to wait to see what my schedule will be in the school year before committing to a regular time, so for now I am just subbing.  Admittedly, I was nervous but excited.  Would the timer work right?  Would I get everyone out on time?  Do I have good taste in workout music?  The first class started at 5:30am, the second right after at 6am, so I arrived a bit before 5 to set up.  Both classes had FULL attendance and went off without any issues.  I loved every minute of it and can’t wait to teach more!

Run: Long Run.  Since I was coaching Saturday morning, I needed to fit my long run in today.  It was an exhausting week at work, PLUS all the coaching/teaching that I did outside of work, so I treated myself to a day off.  I had a 17-mile trail run on deck and created a run-venture for myself.  Could I figure out how to link Maple Lake and Swallow Cliff, my two favorite Chicago trail systems?   The answer? Sort of.  I had to run on road for a portion of it, but I did it!  Next time I think I can keep it all trail.  The run stirred up the ultra bug again….

Saturday 8/17

Run: Long Run part 2.  Man, it’s been too long since I’ve done a back-to-back long run.  In the morning, I coached the marathon training group run and ended up with 12 miles for the day.  My fifth and final coaching task for the week!  The rain held off for the first two hours, but then poured.  Luckily, most athletes were close to finished and didn’t need to spend too much time in the rain.  After the run, I had a pretty lazy day.  Initially was planning on going to an outdoor concert with friends, but we decided to nix it because of the rain.  I took the opportunity to catch up on sleep instead!

Sunday 8/18

Run: Strength.  No run scheduled for me this morning, so I just went to a strength class instead.

Other: Dad’s birthday.  Met my parents for brunch to celebrate my dad’s birthday.  We love the restaurant Blind Faith Cafe in Evanston, and it’s a good halfway point to meet.  I had not seen my parents in a while and it was nice to spend time catching up.

And that’s a wrap for Chicago Marathon training week 10! I totaled 51 miles for the week, my most in a while.  I feel TONS better than last week.  Not so much fitness-wise yet, but more emotionally and mentally balanced.  No more crying all the time, thank GOODNESS.  Digging deeper into the various foods that support hormonal balance and their timing throughout the month has been fascinating.  I hope to share some of these new recipes soon, this week was just too full of coaching and work to get to it.

How was your week?  Do you prefer trail running or road running?  Let’s stay in touch!  Follow me on Instagram or Facebook for more food/fitness related posts.  

Happy running,

Becca