Last week marked my first official week of training for the Chicago Marathon. It also marked a turning point in overcoming some of my training demons that have plagued me the past few weeks. Earlier this month, I shared some personal challenges I was experiencing in being consistent with my training. After quite a bit of reflection, I’ve come to the realization that I just want to run. Although I’m participating in some shorter distance triathlons this summer and am part of a triathlon race team this year, my heart just isn’t in it. I gave my all to half Ironman training last year and was driven by the desire to compete in all 3 sports. This season, swimming and biking feel like chores. Despite being committed to a sprint triathlon in August, I’m refocusing all my energy on preparing for the Chicago Marathon. I’m already happier and more consistent in my training since making this decision to focus on the goal I care about most. I won’t be abandoning my swimming and biking, but I will use them as cross training rather than getting in shape to compete in those sports. I’ll share more about my Chicago Marathon training plan and approach during the next week.

Here’s what last week’s training looked like:

Monday: Ran 3 miles easy

Tuesday: Ran 6 miles with 5 x 1,000 meters at 6:44/mile pace during the middle of the run with 3 minutes of slow jogging between each repeat

Wednesday: Ran 6 miles easy

Thursday: Swam 1,800 meters: 300 warm up, 10 x 100 with 5 seconds rest between each, 4 x 25 fast with 20 seconds rest between each, 4 x 25 kick only, 300 cool down

Friday: Professional Vo2 max testing on the run and bike (I’ll share more about this next week) – the test included 1.5 miles of running that got gradually faster and steeper and 3.2 miles of biking that gradually increased in resistance/gears

Saturday: Raced 3.11 miles at the Braves Country 5K at 6:55/mile average pace – You can read my race recap here.

Sunday: Ran 6.5 miles easy; later that afternoon, Mr. rUnladylike and I went paddle boarding for the first time at a lake near our house. It was a great arm workout. We spent about 2 hours out on the water exploring, including a pit stop for a picnic lunch.

26 miles of total running

This weekend, I’m headed to Seattle to spend the weekend with the Brooks Running team and the Run Happy Ambassadors to run the Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Half Marathon. This will actually be my second time running this race. I ran it back in 2010 as my second half marathon, ironically enough as a training run for the Chicago Marathon later that fall. My goal for this race is to simply have fun and enjoy the miles. I am not currently in racing/PR shape for a half marathon, and my agenda while in Seattle is so packed that I will not get adequate rest and time off my feet the day before the race to have big expectations. To make things even more interesting, I was plagued by food poisoning on Monday and Tuesday, losing 5 pounds of water weight in 24 hours and not being able to run for 2 days. Don’t worry, I’ve been carb loading ever since and am feeling back to normal.

Saturday’s race will solely be about loving the run, taking lots of awesome pictures and finishing with a smile in a city I love.

How did your training go last week? Have you ever run in Seattle?