Chicago Training #5 - Hold on for one more week

The 2014 Chicago Marathon is only a week away now! In the upcoming week, I'll post a full summary of all the training leading up to this race, as well as my goals for October 12th.

Previous Chicago training posts:

Chicago Training #1 (July 27)

Chicago Training #2 (August 20)

Chicago Training #3 (September 7)

Chicago Training #4 (September 14)

I felt pretty good coming off my biggest volume week of the buildup, then ran the TOU Marathon in a controlled 2:28:14. I was able to keep my mileage up during that stretch, and despite the first two wave workouts not being extremely fast (4x1K/2K, 5x1K/2K), I was feeling confident it would all come together once I finally backed off the mileage.

However, during this same time, my right hamstring started to get a little cranky. This has been an on and off issue for me since the 2012 TOU Marathon. This time around, it seemed manageable as long as I didn't push the pace too close the 5:00 threshold.

The day after my 5x1K/1K session on October 2nd, something felt "off" in that leg - weakness, aching - so I ended up having to take two days off and started to wonder whether I'd even be able to race in Chicago. On Sunday I felt better (not 100% though) and got in an easy 20 miler. That run boosted my confidence that I'd be able to run in Chicago next weekend.

So after a solid summer of training, the last couple weeks haven't gone exactly as planned. It's not ideal, but it's not the end of the world either. The marathon is more about your body of work over 3 months, not the last 3 workouts.

I'm hoping I'll feel OK over the next few days and will head to Chicago with a healthy body and mind next weekend!

Here's the calendar for the last weeks leading up to race week...