The countdown is now less than three weeks until the Chicago Half Marathon and about 33 days until the Chicago Marathon. I don’t know if I am ready for the races, but I am sure ready to be done with training!
Monday: 1 hour of standup paddleboarding with my friend Rachael. It had rained that morning and afternoon, so we weren’t sure if the social paddle would even happen, but it did! It sprinkled a bit during our paddle, but nothing dangerous. I stood up a couple of times but mostly I stayed on my knees because I was nervous. I also felt sore from previous days’ workouts. We paddled farther than I have in any other stand-up paddleboard class I have attended, which was quite a workout. I wish I had photos of our paddle, but unfortunately we lost our GoPro in January and I won’t be replacing it until GoPro comes out with a new model, per Graham’s request.
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Week’s mileage: 22
2016 mileage so far: 377.08
Reflections:
I was nervous about the 18-miler because I had cut my previous long run short. I felt good during most of it, although afterward I had to rest on the couch most of the day. My back was also a bit achy.
I am disappointed that I went a week without Orangetheory because I should be doing more strength training, and because I might end up wasting classes this month if I don’t go five times this week. I wish classes would roll over to the next month — I paid for them!
I also wish I had more profound reflections to share this week, but I am mentally and physically exhausted, which is the norm these days. Work and my workouts are taking up most of my bandwidth.
Previous training recaps:
Current running favorites:

Marette Flora is the founder of Floradise blog and personalized gift shop. Marette is a passionate storyteller and creator. She attended the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication.
She is passionate about creating helpful and meaningful things.