berlin marathon training: week 6, all about that windy city

Welcome back to my Food Journal. 

..I mean Marathon Training Blog.

Monday

Lower Body
6.5 mi / 8:41 pace

Speedwork day, woo woo! Running after work means I have to be very careful how I eat throughout the day. 


Sometimes I kombucha then. I do not recommend this flavor. Stick with what you know (Lavender, looking at you)



I am fairly sure I rocked this workout because of my new rain vest. 



My intention really was to run this on the treadmill but the three treadmills at the work gym were taken...so out to the post-storm summer weather and it worked out in my favor!

Tuesday

Spinning



I brought Jenny to my favorite Cycling class and she loved it of course. And kicked butt! Like 6th place out of 20 in her first class ever? I was 14th or lower because speedwork and lower body work the day prior was probably a good idea.

Wednesday

7 mi / 9:14 pace

Well, well, well. This was supposed to be a tempo run but you know, the whole spinning the day after speedwork and lower body work was even a greater idea. I can't remember the last time I had this bad of a run..



I ate my feelings with Sunbasket - Seared albacore tuna steaks with soft boiled egg, and veggies..

Thursday

Spinning and Core

Not to overdo myself, I went to another Spinning class at a different studio the next day (free thanks to work) though this one was less intense I swear. We ended class with 15 minutes of much needed core.



Now I wasn't a big fan of this Sunbasket meal. Red rice with wilted dandelion chickpea soup.. Very healthy though and it sure tasted like it.

Friday

6 mi Bike

I drove to Chicago Friday afternoon, and got there a bit earlier than anticipated. The race expo was in kind of a terrible spot public transportation-wise so I decided to check "rent a bike in a big city" off my bucket list.



$10 for 24 hours..but this kind of flared up my ankle again... so only rode to and from dinner from the expo..but it was epic.



I have heard so much about Eataly so I decided to check it out. Basically a two story Italian grocery store with multiple restaurants, cafes, gelato, wine samples, desserts... This meal brought me back to southern Italy.


Bike ride selfie. Ok? Ok.



The sunset was gorgeous. Pitchfork Festival was going on so that was some good bike riding music.



I accidentally splurged on my hotel and was treated to lovely views from my room.

Saturday 

Yoga

In order to fulfill my weekly yoga requirement...



I found a free class in Millennium Park! It was really awesome. The instructor was goofy (I'm sure that frustrated the true yogis) and it was very upbeat fun class! There were probably 300 of us.



Afterwards I grabbed a quick bite at The Goddess and the Baker in the Loop.



Keeping it healthy with an Iron Man Omelette and Iced Coffee.



Then not healthy with lunch at the Athenian Room in the Lincoln Park area. I got a spinach pie as an appetizer and it was lovely.



I usually avoid cheese the day before a race but I could not say no to a behind the scenes tour of Eataly's Mozzarella Lab.



It's a lovely Burrata. He showed us how he made mozzarella, burrata (samples were enjoyed), and then we sampled his own rosemary champagne mushrooms, cheese dip and olives. So. Good.



I swear I went back to the hotel after this (well, after shopping). Then I came back to Eataly to eat at one of the other restaurants. This was a good dish but I wasn't as impressed..the noodles were a little too al dente for my liking. It was pretty heavy too but hey, 13.1 was calling..



It was quite the perfect summer day in Chicago.

Sunday

13.1 (ishh?) mi run / 8:22 (ishh) pace



Race recap is in the previous post... 

After the race, I met up with my college friend in the very hip Logan Square area. We brunched at Lula Cafe (trout scramble with dill above), checked out the Farmer's Market, and grabbed coffee. It was a lovely way to finish off my time in Chicago! From there, I grabbed snacks at Target to munch on the drive home.  The soreness was real but totally worth it:)