Welcome to the Weekly Rundown. Recapping Chicago Marathon training week 14.  The week had it’s ups and downs, filled with my birthday, runs with friends, soaking up the last of the summer with family, but also work stress.  Buckets of work stress.  Linking up with hosts Deborah and Kim for this weekly training recap.

Monday 9/9

Run: Easy hour.  Kicked off the week with an easy hour run before work.

Other: Work stress. Last week, I mentioned how excited I was to have another coach at Work-Work.  Well, this week, due to unfortunate circumstances and timing, we are again down a coach.  Work stress through the roof, yikes.  That feeling of stress and uncertainly of how we (mostly I) would balance all the classrooms permeated the week and left me drained by the end of the day.  Not the way I wanted to start the penultimate build week for Chicago!

Tuesday 9/10

Run: Birthday Baton Workout.  I joined in on Sprint Tuesdays workout to celebrate my birthday.  The workout I planned for us was 8×400, 2×800, 1×100, to total 3.1 miles (it was my 31st birthday).  When your partner ran was your rest interval.  One of the regulars surprised me with birthday hats and a candle.  She didn’t have time to bake anything but still wanted me to blow out a candle on my birthday.  It was SO SWEET.  And yes, I wore the birthday hat for the whole workout, and invited others too as well.

Wednesday 9/11

Run: Easy.  10 easy miles before work.  I’m trying out a longer midweek run this training cycle.  The goal is to get around an hour and a half in zone two.  It allows me to get more weekly volume without taxing the legs.  This week, I explored a new route and was graced with a different perspective of the Chicago skyline (first photo).

Other:  Hips clinic.  After work, Katie and I went to a a hip clinic put on by aSweatLife in collaboration with Yoga 2.0 and The American Hip Institute.  The clinic began with a hip-opening yoga class and then a workshop where we learned about hip injuries, causes, symptoms, and what to do if a client is struggling with hip issues.  The workshop was perfect after spending the day driving around to schools for work!

Thursday 9/12

Run: Tempo.  I would like to say this felt as great as last week, but….. no.  My workout was 8x .5 miles starting at marathon pace and descending to half before resetting back to goal pace.  Basically, supposed to be a continuous ebb and flow, but I had to stop after every interval to rest before resetting.  Now, I say “had to,” but after some reflection, I am not so sure.  Mentally, this was way more challenging than it was physically.  I’m not sure if it was cumulative mental fatigue from work or lack of motivation, but I relied on the mini breaks.  Not the same confidence boost from last week.

Other: Trail Camp!  I have been planning this with Robyn for a good three months now and I am SO EXCITED to finally announce that EDGE will be hosting a trail camp at the end of October.  It will be a weekend overnight immersion in all things trail.  We will have guided runs, workshops, team building and a ton of nature time.  The camp is open to all levels of trail runners, and mileage will range from 11 – 20 total for the weekend (split up into various runs).  Accommodations and food provided too.  You can sign up here – early bird pricing through September 26th!

Friday 9/13

Run: Rest.  Whole lotta nada.  Instead, I spent over FOUR HOURS driving around to different schools – all close to the border of Indiana.  By the end, I was mentally blah and just wanted to 1) get outside and walk and 2) hermit on my couch for the evening.

Saturday 9/14

Run: 15 mile long Run.  You know the expression “woke up on the wrong side of the bed?”  That was me today.  I woke up with achy hips and low back (I blame the car time yesterday and the whole week), and lack of motivation.  The day prior, I made plans with two of the athletes I coach that I would run the first portion of their long run workout with them and then complete the rest of my workout on my own.  That was the only thing getting me out the door today.

Meeting up with them plus two of our other friends instantly lifted my spirits.  Given how my body was already feeling heavy, I decided to scrap my workout an run mostly with the group.  The chance to coach and put aside my crummy mood and body made a world of difference.  A win-win for all of us!

Other:  Cubs game.  In the afternoon, I met with my parents for another lovely afternoon at the Cubs game.

Sunday 9/15

Run:  Trails Easy.  The Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for Chicago and the surrounding suburbs as the rain poured buckets.  Jeremy and I had plans to run on trails but decided to rain-check.  Instead, I went for an easy run before yoga at EDGE.  My legs. Oh MAN were they sore!  I probably could have walked faster.  My mileage is nothing unusual, I’ve always had to drive for work, my diet is ok but has definitely been worse before… I just can’t figure out WHY my body seems to be on the struggle bus.

And that’s a wrap!  Chicago Marathon training week 14 in the books.  I totaled 53 miles for the week, but it was a slog.  The highs were my birthday, announcing Trail Camp, a long run with friends and Cubs game.  The lows were stress, driving, and subsequent harder-than-usual workouts that left my confidence a bit rattled.

Something that I preach to athletes all the time is that the body can’t differentiate between stress (ie: cortisol) from training (the good kind of stress) and stress from work/life (the bad kind of stress).  This week it seems to have caught up with me.

That being said, I don’t forsee the stress decreasing anytime soon.  Terrible timing as this coming week is peak week!  Yikes, that came up fast.  I’ll need to rely more on mediation, going for walks and limiting my screen time in order to help lower overall stress.  Hopefully I can get some nature time on trails at the end of the week too!

How was your week?  How do you balance work, life and training stress?  Let’s stay in touch!  Follow me on Instagram or Facebook for more food/fitness related posts.  

Happy running,

Becca