Just two weeks to go until the Chicago Marathon!! It’s just around the corner and thankfully things are still going well! Here’s what I did last week from Coach Dawn‘s plan:

Monday: Plan-4 miles Aim for heart rate less than 142. I ran 4 early miles, avg. heart rate 135.

Tuesday: Plan-Fartlek. After 15 minute easy, do 6-8 X 30-40 second pickups- at moderate to hard effort.. (alternate efforts from moderate- hard) Just pick it up to a good effort, then take 90sec-2 minute recoveries. Cool down 15 minutes or up to 40-45 min. I ran the 15 min warm up and cool down. I did 8 x 40 sec pickups with 90 sec recoveries. Felt good doing this workout. My 40 sec pickup paces were: 6:53, 7:27, 6:51, 7:16, 6:36, 7:17, 6:17, 7:09.Wednesday: Plan-Warm up 1.2 miles, then 5 mile tempo at 7:47-8:02 pace. Then after you finish 10k portion, do 10-15 minutes easy. I ran my 10k virtual race from Running On the Wall. I warmed up for 1.2 miles and then did the 5 mile tempo run. My tempo splits were: 7:53, 7:57, 7:54, 7:56, and 7:55. It was tough but I was happy to hit those paces. Afterwards, I ran 1.3 miles easy. If you like running virtual races, which are great to run anywhere and anytime, check out Running On the Wall. Their kits have great swag and I’m loving the tank I got.Thursday: Plan- 3-5 miles at 9:45-10:28. Do a few drills after. I had a nice recovery run and ran 4.5 miles at 10:08 pace. I did a few drills afterwards.Friday: Plan- Rest day. Took my rest day.

Saturday: Plan-10 minutes comfortable pace, then-
1:20 at marathon pace (shoot for 8:35-8:58)
1 hour easy. Just whatever pace you settle into as “easy” pace.

I was a little nervous about this one since I had to run marathon pace for an hour and twenty minutes but I actually felt pretty good throughout the run. My marathon pace splits were: 8:44, 8:50, 8:36, 8:42, 8:39, 8:35, 8:42, 8:36, 8:34, and 8:39 for the last .2 of the hour and twenty minutes. Hopefully, I can keep up that pace range for the whole marathon.
Sunday: Plan-Rest day. Took my rest day.

Total miles = 37.73 miles. I’d say it was a terrific week of training. I’m happy with how I did on my long run. My heart rate was pretty good for that run too with an average of 154. It was nice and cool so conditions were ideal, but hopefully Chicago’s weather is nice come race time. But it’s taper time now and I’ll try to enjoy it before the big day. 🙂

As for the rest of the week I’d say the highlight was going to the Plumper Pumpkin Patch. It’s always fun to go to a pumpkin patch. The kiddos had a great time. There was lots for kids to do. We went on a hay ride and barrel ride. There were slides, a maze, animals, and even cannons to shoot apples, pumpkins, or corn.

How was your week? Will you be going to a pumpkin patch this year? I’m linking up with HoHo Runs and MissSippiPiddlin for the Weekly Wrap.

I’m also linking up with Courtney at eatprayrundc.com who has a Chicago Marathon training recap link up.