10 Weeks To Go

With ten weeks until the Chicago Marathon my excitement level is building. I have recovered from the Midwest's 95 degree plus heat wave that lasted for the last 3 weeks, my tight calves are loosening up, and I am ready to settle into my training. I realize now that my training needs to be consistent, but not rigid. When 100 degree temp days hit I need to split my training up into 2 runs, or an early morning run with an afternoon trip to the gym. Mountain biking once a week seems to be helping me keep my hips loose, my head clear, and adds a nice break from the 8-9 runs that I do per week. This week I am staying down in the low 50s mileage wise and adding a little bit more marathon pace to the workouts. I also have decided to lower my peak mileage for this training cycle to 65 mpw. I feel that I could peak at 70, and have been steadily building towards this volume for the past 2 years but with my family obligations, and my 1 day of cross training, I run out of time. I know that higher mileage works wonders for my body, and I am hoping that 50-65 miles a week will do the trick for this training cycle. I guess I will have to work smarter if I am going to lose that extra 10k per week. Not much more to say. Looking forward to this week.