This year I decided that instead of running my favourite marathon, Chicago, I’d take on Philadelphia. I made this choice for a few reasons:

• Summer heat in DC: The hot, humid weather makes training really tough. I don’t look forward to running, I slog through my sessions, and I lose out on the joy (and the practice of running faster miles).
  
• A break from Chicago: I absolutely love the Chicago Marathon, but I need a year away from the long summer training runs. This year I’ll be volunteering during race weekend and cheering my friends on instead.
  
• Cooler autumn long runs: By running a later marathon, my longest training runs will fall in cooler weather and I know I’ll enjoy them so much more.
  
• Less crowding: Last year Chicago had more runners than ever. The lines for the portapotties were 40 minutes long, and on the course I often felt as if I might trip because it was so packed. I wanted a race where I could put my head down, focus, and run strong. I’m hoping Philly is that race!

I also decided that after a few years of self-coaching my way back to marathon fitness, I’d work with a coach this time (more on the benefits of that later). My coach, Heather, and I have been working together for just over a month. It’s still early in the cycle, but I’m really enjoying the structure, variety and focus she’s brought to my training. At the moment I’m running around 35 miles a week, and instead of endless easy miles we’re mixing in speed sessions, tempo work, strides, walk/runs, and extra strength training.

Today I ran my longest run of the cycle so far, 15 miles. My route took me down through Kalorama, along the Potomac, and up to Bethesda on the Capital Crescent Trail. I’d planned it so that I could spend as much time in the shade as possible, and pass a couple of working water fountains where I could drink and top up my handheld bottle. Nutrition-wise, I carried two Huma gels, one GU gel, and a Ketone IQ shot. I’ll admit I was influenced by Des Linden, who’s talked about using ketones on her blog. When I first tried them, I wasn’t convinced, but after using them at Big Sur in April, I found they really did help delay fatigue. Today I took one around mile 10, and it gave me that extra push to finish strong. It was really hot and humid in DC today, even early in the morning, so my run was a bit of a slog. I took it easy and then added in a couple of easy miles near the end for a faster finish. My run ended up finishing right near a Starbucks, so I went in and treated myself to a huge cold drink.

My goal for Philly is to run faster than I did in Chicago last year (3:50), which is the reason I’m working on finishing long runs at a quicker pace to build strength and confidence. I’m excited about the course; it looks reasonably flat, the scenery is meant to be great, and the crowd support, strong.  We’ve already booked our train up there, as well as our hotel, so it’s definitely happening, and I’m looking forward to also spectating the half which is on the Saturday, the day before the marathon. Both races have already sold out, which I’m sure hasn’t happened before, so it’s a popular year.

As I’ve been training, I keep thinking about all the runners gearing up for Chicago this year. If that’s you, I’d love to hear how your training’s going  – drop me a message!