I know I'll have a "Perfect" Training Cycle - Chicago, 2011

Saw your blog bubbled to the top - great time in that race. Man, you're getting fast. Cheers to you and Martin.

Great running, Lisa! Congrats on the 5K PR--a minute is a big PR for that distance! And you look really fit in your pictures, and I'm glad to hear weight watchers is going well.

Looking strong and consistent despite traveling.

Kenny B. wrote:Nice job on the flying and running impressive!

Thanks Kenny! I kept my focus on being the snail!

Julie wrote:I think your husband misses you too! I saw he had time to visit all of our blogs while you're gone...

Good work fitting in running and a long run before taking off, that is very impressive!

Yeah, I missed him too! I hate being away from home, and it’s so nice to be back. Thanks for the props on running while away. It was actually easier than I expected!

Jack_Scaff wrote:Saw your blog bubbled to the top - great time in that race. Man, you're getting fast. Cheers to you and Martin.

Hey there Jack, thanks for stopping in. Thanks for the kudos, too! Cheers to you and Julie. We look forward to seeing you guys again!

Penelope wrote:Great running, Lisa! Congrats on the 5K PR--a minute is a big PR for that distance! And you look really fit in your pictures, and I'm glad to hear weight watchers is going well.

Thanks Penelope, I appreciate it! I have a ways to go, but I’m getting there. The thing that I’m learning is how to be better about being consistent. How are you liking Chicago?

Joel H wrote:Looking strong and consistent despite traveling.

Thanks Joel! It was easier than I thought to stay on track.

Well I'm back from AZ (thank God!) and I am happy to report that I got in all of my running while there.

Wednesday morning Martin and I went out for 15 miles together. We averaged a 9:32 pace for this run and it felt good to be out there with him. We got home and I got ready to head to the airport. When I arrived in AZ, I went straight to the hotel, checked in and changed into my running clothes. I walked over to the fitness center (that was in BFE) and got in 4 more miles. I averaged a 9:45 pace.

I had a meeting that started at 6pm, so I had enough time to head up to my room and change. The meeting went from 6 - 9:30pm (11:30pm CST) and 98% of us were falling asleep. The company had cocktails afterward, but I boogied as fast as I could out of there and headed up to my room. I requested a wake up call from the front desk for 5:45am. The next morning, I awoke at 5:45, ate part of an apple and then headed off to the fitness center. I was on the treadmill by 6:15 and knocked out 6 miles before my 8:30 meeting. I averaged a 9:08 pace.

The day was packed with meetings and when our meetings ended at 6pm, we were shuffled off to board a taxi by 6:30pm, where we were carted off to various places for dinner. The taxi was not due to pick us up until 9:30pm (we were 40 minutes away from our hotel, we thought we were going to go catch our fish for dinner). The majority of us were too tired to eat, but not me...I got a dozen oysters and a shrimp salad! I had a glass of nice red, too. There was a cocktail thing from 9:30 to 11:30 afterward at the hotel. We headed back to the hotel and I went straight up to my room. I had to wake up earlier on Friday, because the breakfast started at 7:30. I ended up getting up at 5:45 and heading to the fitness center to knock out 3 miles. I averaged a 8:48 pace.

I arrived home on Friday night and I couldn't have been more happy and excited to see my hubby! We had some pizza and chilled when we got home.

Saturday we ran 4 miles together, and I don't have the pace loaded up from Garmin yet. Sunday I was to run, however, I have a bit of tendonitis in my left leg so I decided to not run. It's no biggie and will better in a few days. Until then, I will hop on the elliptical and get the cardio in. Better to play it safe and know when to not run as opposed to pushing through it.

Thanks for reading!

Hey Lisa, way to get those runs in while away on business. As has been the case lately, your paces are looking awesome!

Take care of that tendonitis, Lisa.

yeah be careful with the leg! Glad you got your running in and welcome home!

Hey, Nice to see you on the path last week. I'll have to send you the link for the next free 312 fun run, 1 free beer and a raffle with some daaamn nice Nike gear. Not sure who they e-mail, but it's open to anyone, especially Chicago marathon participants. Toni has done them with me before. Anyway, looks like a perfect cycle so far and your 5k times are falling as an added benefit, way to go. Also, smart of you backing off to let that niggle settle down, hope it works its way out.

WOW!!! That sounded like a busy trip. I am glad to read that you got all of your runs in. It is definitely a hard thing to do. I call it dedication!!! I hope that your leg feels better and it doesn't keep you from missing any time.

How's it going this week? How many more weeks till your marathon?

Way to get in the runs while you're away. You've gotten so fast these days! Sounds like a packed business trip--who schedules meetings til 9:30 pm in any time zone, let alone mountain time? I'm sure it's good to be back.



I LOVE Chicago! Thanks for asking. I'm pretty happy here. Just need to get some boots / winter coat / good gloves.

Julie wrote:How's it going this week? How many more weeks till your marathon?

Do you have a countdown? I do weeks, not miles...

Wow girl! Nice week while traveling! Take care of that leg boo!! Miss you

I think that is one of the hardest things to do, that being getting training in when you are out of town especially on business.



Getting caught up a bit on your blog. Congrats on your PR in the 5K. And it looks like you're ramping up the training is going quite well. Progress is where it's at and you're making it happen!

Hey there everyone, thanks for the posts! I haven't posted any updates lately, because I haven't had any.

My left leg was really bothering me a bit ago and I ended up taking 2 weeks off. I have to admit, I was really frustrated; I was nailing some really consistent training and I may have done too many miles too soon? The next training cycle we're going to do 2 weeks on 1 week step back until I get to a level where my body can handle the mileage. Mentally, I'm at 80 miles a week. Physically, I at 40-45 and that's alright.

Tonight I went out for a 4 mile run and really, really enjoyed it. The weather was WONDERFUL for a run tonight!!!! I ran down a Columbus for a little bit to soak in the scene of the Chicago Marathon banners hanging on the poles, ultimately hitting up the Lakefront Path. I ran an 8:58 - 9:04 mile and had to slow down a bit because when I run fast, my left knee hurts really bad. I told myself that Chicago will be what it's going to be and the reason I'm running it is in honor of my granny and for the Alzheimer's Association. Even if it turns out to be slow because of my knee, it will be a great race.

Anyway, 4 miles tonight and I plan on running tomorrow; probably around 6 miles.

Oh, I'm also running DWD in Hell with my hubby. He's running on Tom's team and I'm running on Julio's (Dave) team. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Poto and the different trails in that area of Michigan. Funny, I lived 40 minutes from Pinckney and hardly ran those particular trails. Now that I live in Chicago, me and my hubby head to run them all the time. Haha! Should be a fun time!

Glad to hear you had a great 4 miles tonight! This weather we're having is perfect for running. Have fun at DWD!!! Tell Julio I say hello! I'm sure you'll have so much fun! Be sure to post some pictures!!

Penelope wrote:Glad to hear you had a great 4 miles tonight! This weather we're having is perfect for running. Have fun at DWD!!! Tell Julio I say hello! I'm sure you'll have so much fun! Be sure to post some pictures!!

Thanks!! I'll tell him you say hello and I will definitely post pics!

How are you liking running Chicago? It's great this time of year!!!! Wait until you're out on the Lakefront Path and the leaves are changing and there's a light drizzle and the smell of wood burning stoves in the air....my favorite!!!

GLAD TO HEAR FROM YOU!!!!!! Really - missed your postings a lot, but sorry to hear about your leg. Really, there is not a damn thing wrong with "only" running 40+ mpw. How many people honestly can even do that? Anyway, hang in there and you're missed when we don't hear from you. Enjoy the nice weather!

Glad to see you on here, Lisa! I hope you can keep your leg pain away for the rest of your training and it doesn't bother you during the marathon.

That is great you are raising $ for Alzheimer's and to honor your grandma. I worked in nursing homes quite a few years so many of my very special people had Alzheimer's disease.

Absolutely nothing wrong with 40-45 miles...nothing wrong with 30-35 miles either. We are all at different phases of our running and I bet it is hard to see your hubby out there running 100+ miles a week but remember THAT IS NOT NORMAL!! Just remember to stay focused on what you are doing and what works for you...not him. The key like your husband has said numerous times is consistency. Once you get that down then you can up the miles. It took me a while to figure that out but now that I have it makes running more enjoyable and more doable even if I am running 35-45 miles a week.



Keep your chin up and keep focused on the race ahead. You will do great.

Hey - I think I told John that I've average 40-45 mpw my whole running career with few exceptions! You'll be fine with that. And have fun in Hell as DWD is a great race - of course, they may not have told you that you really don't run on the trails except for maybe leg 2 - no instead, you run through the stream, the lake, the mud pits, up the stripper pole, and through the "Abyss". Have a great time, and please give Julio a big hug from me!

Sorry to hear about the knee. Don't stress over the time off since you seem to have built enough fitness up and resting helps rejuvenate the broken down muscles. You might surprise yourself on race day. I read about runners who suffered minor injury time off near the end of training cycles and then had breakout races. Sometimes things happen for a reason. If you have to, maybe crosstrain on an elliptical or bike up to race day and don't worry about mileage. Hoping for the best for you, see you soon.

Hi Lisa, sounds like you're ready for tapering with the way your leg was feeling. (You're not alone!)

John Kilpatrick wrote:GLAD TO HEAR FROM YOU!!!!!! Really - missed your postings a lot, but sorry to hear about your leg. Really, there is not a damn thing wrong with "only" running 40+ mpw. How many people honestly can even do that? Anyway, hang in there and you're missed when we don't hear from you. Enjoy the nice weather!

John, you are so nice! I appreciate your posts to my blog and I appreciate your kind words. I have a lot of catching up with peoples' blogs to do. Good point on the "only" 40 mpw...I suppose not a lot of people can say they do that. I just expect a lot from myself and it gets frustrating to mentally see myself somewhere else and physically not being there and then getting frustrated it isn't happening as fast as I want. Did I mention I'm extremely impatient? Haha! I am enjoying the weather, trust me! It's making for some nice runs!!

Julie wrote:Glad to see you on here, Lisa! I hope you can keep your leg pain away for the rest of your training and it doesn't bother you during the marathon.

That is great you are raising $ for Alzheimer's and to honor your grandma. I worked in nursing homes quite a few years so many of my very special people had Alzheimer's disease.

Thanks Julie! Knowing how you train gets me out the door. I am hoping the knee pay stays away during the marathon too. The last couple of runs have been better, so there's promise! Running for the Alzheimer's Association is a big deal. I, like you, worked at nursing homes when I was in high school. I was saddened by the number of people that I saw that were affected by the disease. Hoping a lot of money from all of the fundraisers is raised!

Joel H wrote:Absolutely nothing wrong with 40-45 miles...nothing wrong with 30-35 miles either. We are all at different phases of our running and I bet it is hard to see your hubby out there running 100+ miles a week but remember THAT IS NOT NORMAL!! Just remember to stay focused on what you are doing and what works for you...not him. The key like your husband has said numerous times is consistency. Once you get that down then you can up the miles. It took me a while to figure that out but now that I have it makes running more enjoyable and more doable even if I am running 35-45 miles a week.

Keep your chin up and keep focused on the race ahead. You will do great.

Joel, I can always count on you to cheer me on! You are right, it does get hard at times to see Martin knocking out 100+ miles a week with ease...and he's fast! Haha! I do have to focus on consistency. I read a really good article in this month's Running Times about a lady that found a new love of running and running consistently. Have you seen it? I think that's why I picked the song I did for my blog. The words are perfect and when I'm out running, certain lines in the song will resonate with me. I'll take the advice of focusing on the race ahead, it's just what I have to do. Thanks for the post, Joel!