Blog (Page 13)

I can’t believe the Chicago Marathon is just two weeks away! As always, my training has been consistently inconsistent. With the weeks winding down, I’ve gotten a couple of long runs in, and now it’s time to taper. It has been unseasonably hot and humid in Chicago this past week and I am so hoping this heat wave will break before the big day. My stats for the week: Sunday, 9/17:  Post-wedding relaxation and Cubs game with the bride and groom and 30 of their friends and family! Monday, 9/18:  A much needed rest day! Tuesday, 9/19: 45 minute strength training Wednesday, 9/20:  15 mileRead More →

Welcome to my recap of the end of Week 12 of training, AKA a thinly veiled recap of my son’s wedding this past weekend! For those of you who have been following along, I’ve been sharing some of my excitement as the weeks have gone by, and we were not disappointed with the final celebration. It was an absolutely perfect weekend, but first, a little bit of training: Sunday, 9/10:  45 minute strength training followed by a 5 mile run Monday, 9/11:  12-hour work day Tuesday, 9/12:  Rest day Wednesday, 9/13:  Rest day Thursday, 9/14:  45 minute strength training Friday, 9/15:  35 minute cardio/10 minute strengthRead More →

The end of Week 11, and it’s time for the weekly recap.  I’m not gonna lie; it ain’t pretty.  I really thought I did more than I apparently did, but the Strava don’t lie! The (lack of) stats: Sunday, 9/3: 12-hour work day Monday, 9/4:  12-hour work day Tuesday, 9/5:  Unplanned rest day Wednesday, 9/6:  8-hour work day Thursday, 9/7:  I got nuthin’ Friday, 9/8:  45 minute strength training Saturday, 9/10:  35 minute cardio/10 minute strength training Oh well, take it all in stride and move on. This coming week will be lackluster as well with my son’s wedding coming up in just five (five!) days.Read More →

Wow! Double-digits in weeks of training for these marathons! While I’ve slacked in recent weeks, I tried to kick it up a notch this week and fit what I could into a busy week. The stats: Sunday, 8/27:  45 minutes of strength training Monday, 8/28:  Rest day Tuesday, 8/29:  5.1 mile run Wednesday, 8/30:  45 minutes of strength training/35 minutes of cardio/10 minutes of strength training Thursday, 8/31:  12-hour work day Friday, 9/15:  12-hour work day Saturday, 9/2:  10 mile run   I had to do some workouts at home, so I decided to pull out some of my old workout videos. Don’t laugh! These babiesRead More →

My, oh, my where has the time gone? Fall is in the air and it’s time for the August installment of Let’s Wine! So grab a glass of your favorite varietal (or any other libation of your choosing), and let’s reflect together on this past month! Some quick stats as I close out the month: Walking/Running:  32.4 miles Biking:  40.5 miles Gym Workouts:  2 strength training sessions, 1 cardio Wine Consumption:  Oh, how I love me a good pinot noir! You would never guess I have a marathon coming up in less than six weeks, with another to follow two weeks later, seeing as I walked/ran one third of the miles I did theRead More →

It’s crunch time! Just six weeks to go before the Chicago Marathon. With my increased work hours in the past few weeks it’s been difficult to get my runs in, so they have been short and sweet. I somehow have it in my mind that if I can get three 5-mile runs done in a week, I will do okay (remember, I run/walk/run/walk/run and all I ever want to do is finish!) As much as I’m sorry to see the summer end, I am happy for this cool fall-like weather. I’ve knocked off about a minute/mile with the decrease in heat and humidity. I alsoRead More →

It’s the last Friday of the month and that means…Runfessions…or so I hear! I must runfess, I’m a little intimidated by the whole thing. I’ve loved reading these posts on everyone’s sites for a number of months, but I wasn’t exactly sure what to do or how to participate. So here goes nothing! I’m linking up with Marcia’s Healthy Slice as I make this first attempt. I runfess I have been quite lax in my marathon training the past few weeks, as any of you who have been reading my weekly recaps knows. Much of the time I’ve had some pretty legitimate reasons for not getting my runs in,Read More →

Week 8 of (pseudo)training is in the books! My logged miles this week are way (way, way) down due to knee replacement surgery. Say what?! Ha! Not mine! There are just four people in my work group (two of which are part-time), and one of the full-timers had knee replacement surgery last week. That means the rest of us have had to cover her shifts. For me that meant TRIPLING my work hours last week. With a wedding, college tuition, and property taxes all coming up next month, I am happy for the extra hours. But as far as marathon training goes? Not so much.Read More →

I can’t believe I am almost halfway through my marathon training! It goes by fast, that’s for sure. And the closer I get to these two marathons, the further my training is getting away from me! Looking at my week below, it looks like I am on the every-other-day training plan. Hey, whatever works, right? Here is my week in review: Sunday, 8/6:  Rest day Monday, 8/7:  5.1 mile run Tuesday, 8/8:  12-hour work day; ’nuff said Wednesday, 8/9:  25.2 mile bike ride                                            Read More →

This week’s marathon training recap covers two weeks for two reasons. For one, last Monday was the last day of July, which meant a Let’s Wine installment was due on the blog. Second, the past two weeks of marathon training have been lacking in, um, how should I say it? Oh yeah—marathon training. Between lots of work hours, lots going on at the home front, and lots of poor excuses, I managed only a few runs in the past two weeks. Looking back, Week 5 wasn’t horrible, though I didn’t hit all of my marks. Week 6 was nothing less than pathetic. So rather thanRead More →