Progress Toward Chicago - Good Long Run

The ol' training time is slowly ticking away for the Chicago Marathon.  After today's workout, there's only 5 weeks left.  But all in all I really feel like I making good progress toward a solid race.  Hopefully the training will pay off.

This was my toughest week of training yet.  After a strong Tempo Run on Monday, a solid leg workout on Tuesday, a killer Hill Run on Thursday, and then another tough leg workout yesterday morning - my legs were pretty wobbly and shaky this morning as I toe'd the line for a Fast Finish 20 at the Little Blue Trace Trail in Independence, MO. But in the end I was able to hit my splits and was fairly satisfied with the workout averaging 7:01 over the 14 marathon pace miles.

It wasn't quite as warm as it has been, but the humidity was 83%, and everything was really still with no breeze - so another really muggy run.  And as I started running, I noticed in the first mile or two that it was going to be another grind.  My legs didn't really feel heavy or dead, they just didn't have any response.  Just no bounce.  I looked down and my splits were going okay, but  nothing felt fluid or easy.  I was really having to work a little too hard to hit the times.  I could tell my body was fatigued from the good week of workouts.

At Mile 7 I began my "Marathon Pace" miles, trying to stay close to 7:00.  Which I did, for the next 12 miles, then took a mile recovery at 19, and ran the final mile at 6:59.  Looking back now those miles weren't unmanageable at all, and I definitely wasn't dying.  It just seems like they should be a little easier at this point.  But considering it was still fairly warm and muggy, and my body was pretty exhausted from the full week of workouts, I happy that I could hit and hold the splits for that long.

Beet Juice Update
This week I received "beet juice shots" from Beet It Sport.  They are lite 70ml shots of concentrated beet juice - like those little "5 Hour Energy" shots you see in stores.  So yes, I'm drinking beet juice shots before long runs.  I'm all in.   But I can tell you that I'm a believer in the science of it.  And while the shots are expensive, they keep me from drinking a full 16oz of beet juice before a long run.  I'll have a full post about Beet It Sport beet juice shots later this week, but for now, consider me a believer.

So there's another good long run in the books.  I feel like the long runs are going better this cycle in that, while my speeds are a little faster, I still feel like I have plenty of energy in the tank.  I just don't want to make the mistake of other marathons and be "the best practicer".  I really wanna make sure I train the right way and leave plenty of room for a great race at Chicago.  But so far, so so good.   Hope your training's going well too.  Have a great weekend!
... be great today!