Hello hello from taper land! We are less than one week away from Chicago and I couldn’t be more excited. The miles are getting shorter, the forecast looks incredible (high of 62 with a low of 48 overnight!), the anal packing list has been started, and I’m focusing in on staying super hydrated and getting lots of rest.
This past week I topped out at 27.3 miles, which felt like a lot for a taper week but actually was my lowest mileage week since early June. As I mentioned last week, all of my runs at this point are highly specific and coach-approved, basically consisting of lower mileage with some very calculated speedwork targeted at getting me really comfortable and familiar with my marathon goal pace (MGP) of 8:00/mile. I ended the week with a 9.8 miler with one of the track ladies, where we averaged exactly 8:00s! I’ll be posting about my race-specific plans and goals later on this week, but as I have alluded to in the past, I think this is my year to quality for Boston. This will mean aiming for a 3:30 finish, although anything under 3:32 should do the trick. More to come on that 🙂
Oddly enough, this was actually the first really rainy week of the whole training cycle (I guess the only good thing about the drought?) so I modified my schedule a little bit to avoid any running in the rain blister issues. Also, while my appetite is generally pretty ragey during marathon training, it was out of control this week. I think some added stress at work probably fueled the fire, but I’m listening to my body and making sure I have lots of healthy snacks at the ready.
To wrap up, here’s a quick list of Chicago things I am so excited for: seeing my college bestie and her lovely bf, eating lots of amazing delicious gluten-free things, SEEING HAMILTON, staying and playing in one of my favorite cities, and oh yeah… seeing all of the benefits of my hard work and training pay off on Sunday!
Week 17:
- Monday: 5.6 miles
- Tuesday: 3 miles at MGP + 6 x strides, 7:32 average
- Wednesday: OFF
- Thursday: Solo track! 4.3 miles total, details here.
- Friday: 4 MGP (plus) miles, 7:48 average
- Saturday: 90 minute yoga/OFF
- Sunday: 9.8 miles, 8:00 average
Linking up with The Weekly Wrap and Tuesdays on the Run!
Shorter and Faster 
Woo hoo! You will do great in Chicago! I ran it last year and am having major FOMO reading everyone’s blogs getting ready to run it this year. Have a great race week and I can’t wait to read your recap!
Aw thanks so much–I can’t wait!!
Best of luck xx
Thank you!
I ran every step outside in my training cycle and ran in ZERO rain! I’m actually a little surprised by that. I’ve heard so many great things about Hamilton. That sounds be fun. Good luck at the race. You’ve worked hard and I know that qualifying time is going to happen for you. Enjoy your remaining taper days. Thanks for linking!
It is almost here! Have you been stalking the weather every hour? lol. Sounds like your going to have an amazing time with your friends! See you on the flip side!