This is it. Less than a week until race day!
My week 2 of taper had many highlights: (1) I ran my highest mileage at this point in taper ever; (2) I had a great meeting with my coach; and (3) my son James committed to training for and running a 10k with me on Thanksgiving. So awesomeness abounds, Salties!
Monday is my rest day.
Tuesday I had strength intervals on tap. I did a mile warm-up, then 2 x 2 miles at 7:23 pace with a mile recovery in between. I nailed my paces and was actually a bit fast. Felt great and it was an awesome confidence building workout. 7.47 miles
Wednesday – 50 minutes easy / 5.72 (8:52 pace). I also did arm weights.
Thursday – 50 minutes easy / 5.8 miles (8:34 pace). I felt awesome and my heart rate was nice and low. I also had lunch with my coach, who seemed equally optimistic about a great race for me at Chicago.
Friday – I ran my last goal marathon pace run. I ran 1 mile warmup; 6 miles at goal marathon pace (7:40); and then a cool down with striders. 8. miles / 7:54 average pace. This was a little harder than I hoped for, but for some reason the weekend pre-race I am always flat. No worries.
Saturday I had 45 minutes on tap. I was one stressed out gal when I hit the roads, but I got in about 5.2 miles (8:45 pace).
Sunday was my last long(ish) run. I ran the first 3 miles with my son at a 9:30 pace; then finished up on my own to hit just over 10 miles at 8:57 pace. Heart rate was high and I had lots of nagging aches (left achilles, hamstrings, quads, hips, both heels, lower back). Yup, it is definitely that time.
Total: 42.3 miles – Just under 6 hours.
Now I cut back significantly and get ready for Chicago! I am feeling great and completely ready!
Mint, I am so inspired by your training logs. You are going to do great at Chicago!