Happy Monday! I would like to say that spring has sprung, but we are still dealing with frigid temperatures here in the midwest. I took most of my runs to the treadmill this past week, which is fine by me. I joined Deborah‘s March into Fitness challenge on RunBet, and it has done wonders for my motivation. Is it the accountability to the group, or is it the risk of losing money? In either case, it’s kept me moving.
Here’s how the week went down:
Monday: A chilly 3 mile walk around the neighborhood
Tuesday: 5.1 mile run/walk intervals outside on our one-and-only decent-weather day of the week
Wednesday: 3.1 mile run/walk intervals on the treadmill
Thursday: 5 mile run/walk intervals on the treadmill
Friday: work/travel day
Saturday: 2 mile run/walk intervals on the treadmill + upper body weights
Sunday: 3.5 mile run/walk intervals on the treadmill
As I mentioned in a recent post, I’ve decided to use 4 minute run/1 minute walk intervals for the London next month (though as of yesterday, that plot may have thickened – more on that as we get closer to the date). I finally figured out how to set my Garmin for these intervals for both indoor and outdoor runs (God forbid I should read the instructions); now to be able to do them for an entire marathon distance! As you know, speed doesn’t matter to me. My only goal ever is to finish, and with a generous 8-hour cutoff, there’s no doubt I will achieve that goal.
I had the entire week off of work at my ‘regular’ job since my youngest son was home for spring break. That made it easier to get my runs done. On Sunday all the boys and my daughter-in-law were over and spent the night. We played lots of games, drank a bit too much wine, and a good time was had by all!

On Thursday I flew to St. Louis to teach a full-day class there on Friday. I thought I would save my run for when I arrived in town, but at the last minute I decided to do a treadmill run before leaving for the airport instead. That worked out great, since the torrential rain and wind in Chicago delayed my flight by almost three hours. I didn’t arrive at my hotel in St. Louis until almost 8:00 p.m., so I wound up just grabbing something quick for dinner and hitting the sack early.
I’m on weather watch this week and am still contemplating signing up for the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago on Sunday. Yesterday rain was predicted, but as of this morning the rain forecast has been pushed to Monday. This 8K is the unofficial start to the racing season in Chicago. This will be the 40th anniversary year, and I have yet to run this race! If you are local and are thinking about signing up, use discount code 2019SSBIBRAVE for $10 off of your registration fee!
Other races I have on my calendar (so far) this year:
April 7: Cherry Blossom 10-miler in Washington, DC
April 28: Virgin Money London Marathon
May 19: Byline Chicago Spring Half Marathon (use code BRCHISPRING19 for $10 off the half/$5 off the 10K)
July 21: Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon
August 4: Naperville Sprint Triathlon
October 13: Bank of America Chicago Marathon
November 17: RnR Las Vegas Half Marathon (registration will open soon – use code 19RNRBRP16 for $16 off the half/full marathon or $6 off the 5K/10K)
How was your week? I’m linking up Kim at Running on the Fly and Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner for the Weekly Run Down.Be sure to visit their blogs, and check out a few of the other linkers while you’re there. You may just find a few new friends to follow!
I will be running the London Marathon on April 28th, raising funds for Whizz-Kidz, an organization that provides wheelchairs and mobility devices for children and young adults. If you’d like to contribute to my fundraising efforts, you can do so by clicking on the link below. Any donation, big or small, will help and is greatly appreciated!
Click here or on the picture to get to my fundraising page!
Run/walk intervals sound like to way to go! What a great plan you have for yourself. Also, so many good races on your calendar. Can’t wait to follow your training!
To date the only race I’ve ever run in its entirety is my very first race – a full marathon in 2013. I’ve been haphazard about the intervals so I am hoping having my watch programmed to set intervals will help.
Sounds like you had a great week and you to spend the week with your son, that’s a win-win!
I haven’t done a RunBet yet but I’ve done a few StepBet games. It really does wonders for motivation. I’m cheap and never want to lose my money, lol.
I will have to check StepBet out. My kids told me they’ve heard of GymBet as well. What a great idea!
You have some good races planned. So far I just have one in June. If that goes well and my injuries are still feeling better I’ll be doing a half in August.
Fingers crossed hoping you will stay injury-free!
Jeffing rules, I might well use it for Liverpool RnR having just found my first hot run of the year very hard going (I’m in Spain at the moment; Liverpool’s end of May)
I don’t like super-hot temperatures for races, but I definitely prefer warm over cold!
I am right there with you waiting for spring to SPRING! 8 hours? Is that what we have in London? I won’t say it’ll be a cake walk because no marathon is ever that but holy hell it’s got to be less stressful that Tokyo. I am in for the Shuffle for the first time ever. It’st the 40th anniversary after all. I think you need to join me.
Not that you would ever need anything near 8 hours, but what a wonderful way to earn your sixth star – you can run relaxed and soak it all in the entire way! I am 99% sure I am in for the Shamrock Shuffle…
I am so glad that the runbet is helping you stay motivated. You really were quite active this week. I will most likely be doing intervals for CB too.
I had never heard of RunBet until you posted the challenge. I think it’s the kick in the butt I need to stay motivated!
You have quite the race schedule ahead! Looking forward to following your progress and tips for handling that load!
Thanks! There are so many great races out there and I sometimes feel like I want to do them all!
Way to go on staying active 😉 Even though I do take my (running) rest days seriously, I still try to get in a good 20-30 minutes of walking, preferably first thing in the morning. Excited to see your smiling face in person soon!!!!!
I need to incorporate 2 mile morning walks on my ‘rest’ days. There’s no reason not to get moving every. single. day.
You are my hero: running on the “dreadmill” has always been my nightmare. When I had to follow a program for the marathon I preferred to run under the rain instead of using it.
You have many good races planned: good luck!
I honestly don’t mind the treadmill at all. I have historically watched TV during my treadmill runs, but I have gotten into listening to podcasts in recent months and I am loving it!
check you out with all your mileage!!! whoo hoo! what a difference from a few weeks ago, right? I’m glad you have found a group that helps you with your motivation – so important to have. I mean we’d all love to have the motivation come from deep within but hey it’s not always possible to keep that up all by yourself!
I think doing intervals is perfect – I don’t think anyone is less of a runner because of intervals. I know people who DO judge and I may or may not throw the proverbial middle finger up at them…
Still haven’t decided if I will run one more race this weekend before surgery or if I’m done. I guess I better make that decision soon…
Good luck with your upcoming surgery, Renée. I am cheering you on for a quick and easy recovery!
We are just heading into Spring Break now. i hope yours was amazing.
Sounds like you have an awesome plan down for London and you are going to be amazing! I can tell it!
I’ve got two big 10Ks in my sights, and I hope I will be able to run both of them. This may be the year of the bucket list runs!
I’ll be excited to see which runs you choose! Enjoy your spring break!
You have a great lineup for races and that includes my favorite – London. It is seriously the best race ever. Even trumps NYCM for me.
I’ve heard from so many people that London is the best of them. I can’t wait!