By Ralph
With just six days to go until the Chicago Marathon, the countdown to race day has started. I completed my longest training run two weeks ago — a 20 miler. That’s a milestone that always feels good to hit.
I’ve backed off on the miles the last two weekends. I’ve done two 10-mile runs and have crossed trained with several long bike rides. We did a fun family run in Santa Monica last week, that included a set of stairs.
Overall, I feel ready. I had a high hamstring strain on my left side for three weeks that was bothersome, but not enough to miss workouts. I backed off my pace to help it heal, which is a small sacrifice to keep training. In the past, I’ve sometimes overdone it trying to do too much to heal it. I’ve learned through experience that I just need to be patient and dial it back a bit. That strategy definitely paid off this year.
I’m really looking forward to this year’s race in my “big city marathon” tour. It turns out both kids will be going on the trip, which is super fun. I’m excited that I’ll be able to share my birthday and the race with them and Elizabeth.
A few other pre-race logistical items we took care of included double checking all our travel arrangements, downloading the official race app, and reviewing the course map and elevation.
These last two weeks, I have focused on my diet and hydration as well as rest and recovery while keeping myself sharp. The trick is doing that while not losing fitness. I’m looking forward to getting to the starting line with a bunch of other enthusiastic runners. We’ll see how the day goes!
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