So here we go...
Week 3 of Chicago Marathon Training
Monday: Normally I teach spinning on Monday and do some weights and core before and after class. But Hunter and I had an business meeting we needed to take that morning, so I subbed out my spin class and saved my workout for lunch time. When I was finally free, I headed over to Planet Fitness to get a quick full body workout. Everything was going well until my Achilles started bothering me during the posterior lunges. I had injured it last Fall, and have not had any problems with it until about two weeks ago when it started bothering me a little after a sled workout. So I have been a little conservative lately not to re-injure it. As soon as it flared up that day, I decided to pull back on those and any other leg exercises for the rest of the workout. By the evening, my calf and Achilles were both pretty tight and I was getting a little worried.
Tuesday: My alarm goes off just before 5am so I can head downstairs for my speed work. Fortunately all the stretching and rest I had done for my calf and Achilles the night before seemed to have helped and was not experiencing any discomfort. I was able to push through 5 miles of speed work and felt pretty strong. I spent a good amount of the rest of the day stretching so it wouldn't get too tight on me again.
Wednesday: Summer time at The Athlete Factory, the performance gym my husband and I own and operate, is very busy and hectic. Obviously we appreciate the business, and it is certainly fun when the gym is rocking with all of our athletes getting after it. But it definitely makes it a tricky time of year for Hunter and I to get in our own workouts. Wednesday was proof of that and was another late afternoon lunch time lift. Though it may not be my ideal time of day to workout, I prefer early mornings, I am grateful I am able to still make it happen during the busy day. I got in a good little upper body lift and it was back to work. After coaching at the gym, I picked up the kiddos and we headed over to LA Fitness so I can teach the evening yoga class. Before class, I spent several moments stretching and rolling my calf. It wsooooooooo tight. This made me realize this is going to be quite a battle for me this training cycle. I am going to have to be very vigilant about this issue not to let it get out of control like it did last Fall.
Thursday: An early morning easy 5 miler for me. It was supposed to be a tempo run with some 10k race pace miles. But with my tight calf and sore Achilles, I figured it would be best to go a little slower and get in the miles that I can. I held around an 8 min mile pace for 5 miles and luckily, my Achilles didn't seem to bother me too much, but the soreness is definitely there. More stretching and foam rolling then it was time to get the day started!
Friday: This is usually my "accessory day" where I work shoulders, biceps, triceps and of course core. I had a pretty good little workout, my arms were definitely feeling it. I threw in some calf and soleus stretches as well as some ankle mobility exercises. I had 8 planned the next morning so I definitely wanted to stay on top of any tightness, soreness or pain before the longer runs. After that, I had a super fun day, having lunch with the hubster then taking the kiddos to the pool.
Saturday: We had a little too much fun at the pool the night before so our family decided we could really use some extra sleep. I ended up missing my trail run group, which stinks because I miss my girls, but I was glad for a little extra and much needed rest. Waking up every day before 5am definitely gets old. Also, with my Achilles concern, I figured the treadmill may be a little "safer" than the trail. Hunter went to get his workout in and work, so me and the kids headed over to LA Fitness so I could run. It started off well, Achilles was definitely a little tight but not painful. But when I pushed it a little more with the speed, I could feel some discomfort, so I would pull back. I settled into a comfortable pace to finish out the 8 miles. Though it was slower than I would have liked at around 7:41min/mile, I was happy to be running relatively pain free. After my run, I did a lot of stretching, foam rolling and some more ankle mobility exercises. Then it was time to spend the rest of the weekend with the family and celebrate Father's Day!
Sunday: When I went to bed Saturday evening, there really wasn't much pain and when I woke up Sunday, it seemed to be nonexistent. All the stretching and rolling really seem to be helping and I hope that continues to be the case. Sunday's are my off days and it was also Father's Day, so we had a fun filled day planned out for daddy. After our busy exciting day, we settled in at home and watched game 7 of the NBA Finals, way to go Cavs, and got ready for our busy week ahead.
Final Thoughts on Week 3
This Achilles thing is seemingly going to be a constant battle, but if I can stay on top of it, it hopefully will not be a major issue that hinders my performance.
Summer time is definitely a challenging time to get my workouts in, but skipping them is not an option so just gotta make it work when I can!
I could use some work on my mental and not head to dark places at the slightest discomfort.
It is going to be a warm summer of training, which will hopefully make me stronger both physically and mentally come race day!
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