Training Tuesday: Marathon Training Update--5 weeks down!

Yesterday marked the first day of Week 6 in marathon training, and the weekend marked exactly THREE MONTHS until I will be running 26.2 miles through the beautiful streets of Chicago!  Woohoo!  I am excited but still nervous, as I'm sure I will be allll summer long.  I've been logging ALMOST all of my runs, trying my best to get to yoga class (vacation definitely put that on pause, but I'm planning on getting back into my routine today!), and doing my best to foam roll.  So far, so good!

First up, check out my awesomely bright new kicks!

I snagged these in a fierce bidding war in an ebay auction that kept me up until after 1am the other night.  See, I am a HUGE fan of Brooks Pure Cadence shoes.  I have several pairs of the original Cadences, and bought a pair of the Cadence 2s this spring.  I just pulled the 2s off the shelf, took them for a run, and was completely disappointed to find I don't love them nearly as much as the originals.  In fact, they just plain felt weird.  Instead of trying to figure out a new shoe, I went on a frantic google search to see if I could track down one more pair of original Cadences in my size so I don't have to mess with a new shoe before the marathon.  I think these were the last women's 8.5 in existence!!  I ended up paying way too much for a shoe that is a year old (but new!), but it's totally worth it!

My Cadence Collection!

Saturday morning I ran 10 miles with my training group.  Deciding to run with an organized training group and program was the best decision I could have made for my training.  After spending all winter and spring training on the familiar running trails by my house, I was bored of everything--the routes, my music, training in general.  My pace group is super small compared to many of the faster other ones, but I'm loving running with some new people in a new place.  The miles pass WAY more quickly when I'm not so bored!  

The crazy thing is that after running half-marathons for the past three years, 10 miles is what I think of when I think of a really long run.  My half training typically culminated in one or two 10 milers before race day.  It is sooo strange to think that the 10 miles I pounded out on Saturday is only the START of my training!  We have so much further to go!  Yikes!  I am excited to be setting some personal distance records in the coming weeks (and grateful that next week is a step-back week in training...).

After my run Saturday, I made it home and literally collapsed on the FLOOR.  Yup, the floor.  I think I was probably planning on foam rolling, but the next thing I knew I was waking up an hour later...whoops.  After all of my long runs lately I have been craving Jimmy John's veggie subs and salt and vinegar chips.  Probably mostly for the salty chips!  I headed straight there when I woke up and couldn't even make it home before busting those chips open.  YUM!

In fundraising news, I have raised almost $2,000 for Autism Speaks!  This is my first time running a race for a charity, and nothing offers motivation like knowing you are running for something bigger than yourself!  Visit my fundraising page here if you are interested in learning more about my connection to autism and possibly donating!

My goals for this week are to get in all my midweek runs, make it to at least one yoga class, and crosstrain at least one day.  

Tell me I'm not the only one who has fallen asleep on the floor in sweaty running clothes before...sadly this was not the first time that has happened to me...

What are your post-run cravings?  I usually have a chocolate milk right after my run to refuel, but this Jimmy John's craving has been going strong for a few months now!

What are your training goals for the week?