Okay, I know I have not been a good "blogger" and talking about the crazy road that is leading me to my first marathon in Chicago (IN 30 DAYS!!), but there has not been a ton going on. I thought I would highlight some of the stuff that has been happening
The first thing that has ruled my summer is the training. 4 - 5 days a week, interval runs, hill runs, tempo runs, easy runs, and of course the long runs. Oh the long runs. Last week was the longest run for me yet - I hit 33kms. I felt pretty good considering I worked the day before and was on my feet almost the entire day. The big challenge in the summer is certainly the heat. The key for me has been determining when is the best time to run - morning, evening - whenever. I have been running way more early mornings than in the winter and I do like it, but doing that in February might be a different story.
The other summer thing is managing your running while on vacation with the family. I never thought I would go camping and still manage to get a 27km run through the Pinery (wow that is hilly), or get my speed work in Montebello. Usually I would sleep in as I would be hungover. The times they are a changing.
I have also noticed a big difference in my tempo and interval runs. The speed is picking up for sure. We even tried the Yasso 800's where you run 800 metres 8 - 10 times. The time you average for that should be an indicator of what you should be running the marathon in. For example, if it took you 4 minutes for the 800's than you should be around a 4 hour marathon. I came in around 3 minutes and 40 seconds. I have doubts that I am a 3h40 marathoner..but we will see.
So that is basically it. A great summer of running, vacations, and trying to the best of my ability to live a clean life (not getting drunk) until Chicago.
Yes, I can taste the deep dish pizza already.
Cheers,
Steve
