Dealing With Chicago Winter Weather | Weekly Wrap

Welcome to the Weekly Wrap.  This was race week for myself and many athletes I coached.  The first race of 2019!  Most raced the F3 Half Marathon, I raced the 5k.  Chicago plunged into freezing temperatures this week, making me treadmill bound for most training runs.  However, F3 still went ahead as planned! Outside.  With negative windchills. Running through Chicago winter weather certainly keep life interesting!  Linking up with Holly and Wendy for this Weekly Wrap.

 

Chicago winter weather

 



 

Monday 1/21

Run:  Speed workout.  Usually we have the team workout first thing Monday morning.  Sadly, our coach’s dog passed away unexpectedly on Sunday evening.  The team decided to cancel the workout (the weather was also miserable) and instead, I ran on the treadmill.  The workout was a tune-up for the F3 5k on Saturday: a combination of mile, half and quarter mile repeats.  I would like to say that I executed it perfectly.  But I didn’t.  My legs (and if I’m being honest, it was really my brain) struggled to hold goal pace, and I backed off.  Not the best confidence boost before a race.

Other:  NEW RECIPE.  With last week’s vegan sloppy joes, and this week’s muffins, my kitchen has been hopping! This month’s Recipe Redux theme was to showcase a “new to you” ingredient.  Garam masala has been the king of my spice cabinet lately.  A few people reached out on Instagram and at my gym asking for more breakfast recipes, so I decided to take this spice normally reserved for cooking and add it to baked goods.  Everyone loves a warm, hearty vegan muffin, right?  Check out the recipe for garam masala spiced apricot muffins here.

 

garam masala spiced apricot muffins vegan

 

Tuesday 1/22

Run: Easy 4.5 miles.  The path was in rough shape and the temperatures were in the negatives, so I cancelled Sprint Tuesdays.  I didn’t want to risk anyone else falling or pulling a muscle doing a speed workout.  But, I still ran outside.  Hypocritical, I know, BUT I was fine with myself running outside  since I just had easy miles.  Coach logic.  The frozen lake reminded me of Canada.  Chicago winter weather indeed!

Other: Strength at OYM.  I met Britney again for the Athletic Performance class at On Your Mark.  I’m hoping this class helps me with the leg speed I need for 5k and marathon training.

 

chicago winter weather 2019

 

 

Wednesday 1/23

Run: Tempo.  With the race on Saturday, I wanted to give myself lots of space between hard workouts.  Therefore, I ran my tempo on Wednesday instead of Thursday.  And given the cold temperatures gracing us this week, I took to the treadmill again.  It was 2×1 mile builds to 10k and then a straight 2.5 mile run at tempo pace.  This one I can say, with confidence, that I nailed it.  I wore Nike Vapoyfly 4%s to test them out before the race and LOVED how light and “poppy” my legs felt.

 

 

Thursday 1/24

Run: Planned easy.  Actual, off.  I was just in a blah and unmotivated mood Thursday. Instead of running an easy 5 miles, I chose to push the run to Friday and sleep in today.  Not the smartest idea, given the freezing forecast for Friday, but sometimes you just need to hit the snooze button.

 

Friday 1/25

Run: Easy Shakeout.  The high at 6am was negative 6 degrees.  WHEN DID CHICAGO BECOME ALASKA?!?!  Another treadmill run.  What’s the record for most treadmill runs in a week?

Other: Core Class at EDGE.  Real talk.  My core muscles are weaker than they’ve been in a long time.  The OYM classes I’ve been taking lately don’t target the core as much as my previous strength classes had.  Knowing I had to run on the treadmill, I chose to tack on a core class at EDGE too.  Then I ice bathed and booted and recovered as much as possible before the 5k.

 

Saturday 1/26

Run: RACE DAY!  Time for the F3 5K!  Lydia, AJ and I ran this for the Windrunners and Liz, one of the athlete’s I coach, ran this for a training benchmark.  I will do a full recap later in the week, but in brief: COLD!  The high was 8 degrees at the start – 10:30am.  My lungs burned more than my legs.  The four of us placed 2nd through 5th – my run squad is strong!  Unfortunately, I did not run the time I hoped to, but at least it was better than on New Years Eve.

Other:  Birthday Celebrations!  In the afternoon, I drove up to Milwaukee.  My friends Sarah and Adam were hosting a co-birthday party for turning 30.  We had not seen each other since Stacie’s wedding in August.  It was lovely to see them as well as other college friends.  A mini college catch up session.

 

chicago winter weather 5k
2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place!



Sunday 1/20

Run: Trails.  I can’t believe I have not run on the trails at ALL since the start of the new year.  Unacceptable.  Even though the temperatures were in the single digits, AGAIN, Liz and I went out to the trails.  All of the usual parking lots were closed, but luckily we were able to find a small side parking lot.  The parking lots have never been closed before.  I’m wondering if the cold was the cause?  Maybe they didn’t think there were any crazy people who would want to run outside in this weather?  Regardless, we had a wonderful morning running in the snow.  The frosty eyelashes were worth it.

Other:  Yoga + Brunch.  Jill, one of my Windrunner teammates you might remember from pool running injury rehab this summer, was in town.  We went to a yoga class at EDGE and then brunch.  It was really nice catching up with her and I look forward to having her back in Chicago this summer!

 

chicago winter weather running
Frosted eyelashes are the new Winter 2019 fashion trend, didn’t you know?

 

 

And that’s a wrap! Race week meant a cutback week and I totaled 35 miles this week.  Fewer miles meant more opportunity to catch up with friends and focus on building community.  The Chicago winter weather forecast for this coming week is even COLDER – they predict the high for Wednesday as negative 9. I’m secretly hoping they cancel school.  Either way, I look forward to more miles on Frank the Woodway!  Stay tuned for the F3 5k race recap later this week too.

 

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

 

 

Happy running,

Becca

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share your thoughts below

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

11 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Marcia
5 years ago

Congrats to you and the squad for snagging 2 thru 5! Yeah it was COLD! I can’t believe how quickly our “mild winter” turned on us. Now if we can just get thru this next couple of days.

Chocolaterunsjudy
5 years ago

Great job getting it done despite the weather! And trails? In Winter? Seriously????? I mean, I now people do it, but I would definitely be afraid of falling — heck, even the roads just make me feel afraid of falling!

I did see an entire flock of what looked like robins when I finished my run yesterday — that means Spring is on the way, right? I swear they looked like robins! How crazy is that?

HoHo Runs
5 years ago

Your top picture is stunning but looks so frigid. I can’t imagine running in THAT kind of cold. But, the frosty eyelash look is definitely very trendy! Congrats to you and your run squad for doing so well in the 5k. Thanks for linking!

Deborah Brooks
5 years ago

wow the frozen eye lashes! I consider myself tough but not sure I would have run in those conditions. Congrats looks like you have a cold week ahead too

kookyrunner
5 years ago

I have no words for the weather you’re experiencing in Chicago. I know this week is going to be brutal too – I’m hoping that next week will get back to “normal Winter temps” for you!

Congratulations on your 5K! Definitely not easy to run fast in those crazy cold weather conditions so great job!

Somehow I missed your muffin post – I’m going to check it out now! 🙂

Kimberly Hatting
5 years ago

We have the same weather in Iowa. My last four runs have been on the ‘mill, and that’s four more runs than in the past 9 months LOL. I love the sun dog pic!! I have not been able to capture a pic yet; the only one I’ve seen was late afternoon as I drove home from work. It was so low in the sky, there were too many trees blocking a good view…I bet I’ll see them every day this coming week, though!

Wendy
5 years ago

Congrats on your 5k! I ran the Pettit Marathon Relay and I am so glad I didn’t sign up for F3. I actually never have because, winter in Chicago. I think we are all struggling with the conditions right now!

Jennifer
5 years ago

You know, I’ve never really felt like I needed to live in Chicago but after reading everyone’s Chicago weather posts, I’m really really really glad that I don’t! Good grief. I would never leave my house with temps like that. I’d be a popsicle in no time!

Congrats on placing in that race! Even though it wasn’t the time that you had hoped for, I think it’s pretty #beastmode that you went out and raced in those conditions. I don’t think I could have done it.