18 Weeks Before the Chicago Marathon

If my calculations are correct, the Chicago Marathon is exactly 18 weeks away.  My last two marathons did not go as planned (NYC ran injured) and Boston (took the deferral).   This time, I am going to try running less training miles, but get my fitness up nonetheless.  So, I am going to have to cross train like hell.  I want to avoid running injuries if at all possible.  Right now, I am mainly running a couple of miles a day and swimming for 30 minutes every day M-F. I do yoga once every Saturday.

I may peak my weekly running mileage out at 50 miles instead of 70 or 80 as I have in the past.  We'll see how well I stick to that one!

The biggest thing holding me back from running consistently over a calendar year is the fact that I over-train.  This leads to injury.  I am going to have to err on the side of under-training over the next 18 weeks and take pleasure in finishing the marathon regardless of my finishing time.  As an added challenge, lots of eating in drinking since Boston has put on 10 lbs. which makes me slower.

If I can stay injury-free, those lbs. are coming off real soon.