Chicago Spring Half Marathon Training — Week 4 Recap

This is my Chicago half marathon training week 4 recap — covering a progression run, my first 5K race of the season, a new PR, and an 8-mile long run in absolutely freezing spring temps.

Chicago half marathon training week 4 is done, and this one had everything — strength training finally checked off, a progression run on a brand new trail, my first race of the year, and a long run in temperatures that had absolutely no business being that cold in mid-March. Four runs, one PR, and a few lessons about spring weather. Let’s get into it.

Chicago Half Marathon Training Week 4: The Runs

Day	Type	Notes
Monday, Mar 16	Rest + Strength	Finally made it happen 💪
Wednesday, Mar 18	45-min Progression Run	20 easy → 10 HMP → 5 interval → 10 easy
Saturday, Mar 21	Lucky Charm 5K Race	New PR — 28:45 🏅
Sunday, Mar 22	8-Mile Easy Run	Teens temps. SPI Belt debut. Chews + electrolytes.

Monday: Strength Training — Finally

I said last week that strength training needed to actually make it onto the schedule and stay there. And this week, it did. Monday was a rest day from running coming off the race weekend, which made it the perfect window to get the strength work in without it competing with anything. It felt good to actually check that box after a few weeks of it slipping through the cracks.

Wednesday: Progression Run on a New Trail

Wednesday’s workout was a 45-minute progression run — 20 minutes easy, 10 minutes at half marathon pace, 5 minutes at interval pace, and 10 minutes easy to close it out. I ran this one outside on a brand new trail and genuinely had a great time. There is something about time-based workouts that just clicks for me. Taking the distance pressure off and just focusing on effort for a set amount of time makes the harder segments feel so much more manageable. My paces felt controlled and the structure of it kept me engaged the whole way through.

Mid-progression run on the new trail. Time-based workouts are my love language.

Saturday: Lucky Charm 5K — A New PR

Saturday was my first race of the season — the Lucky Charm 5K — and I came away with a brand new PR of 28:45 and second place in my age group. I wrote a full race recap if you want all the details, but the short version is: the speed work is paying off, the carbon-plated shoes felt incredible, and I finally broke 30 minutes in the 5K.

The hardware from Saturday. A new PR and second in my age group. 🏅

👉 Read the full Lucky Charm 5K race recap here.

Chicago Half Marathon Training Week 4: The Long Run

Sunday was 8 miles easy, and it was cold. Like, genuinely, offensively cold — temps in the teens. I had seen a video before the run where a coach said something along the lines of: “It is officially the beginning of spring, so whatever outfit you pick for the next four to six weeks — you will be wrong. You are going to be too hot or too cold.” I laughed when I watched it and then I thought about it approximately fifteen times during this run because she was absolutely right. I went out in a long sleeve and a vest and I was freezing. My fingers were frozen. It did get better as the miles piled on but those first few miles were rough.

The other big thing about this run was my fueling setup. I brought my SPI Belt with the Azarxis bottle attachment and loaded it up with Huma electrolytes. Instead of a gel I used BonkBreaker energy chews — green apple flavor — because I have been trying to teach my body to handle different carb sources rather than relying on the same gel every single time. And honestly? I handled them really well. The combination of the chews and electrolytes made a noticeable difference in the second half of the run. I felt stronger, more dialed in, and my legs had more to give than I expected after racing the day before.

The Azarxis bottle clipped to my SPI Belt — small but held exactly enough. Loved this setup.

A note on the bottle: I actually ended up with the Azarxis bottle holder rather than the official SPI Belt bottle. It had better reviews and — confirmed — it is awesome. Small, leakproof, clips right on, and holds just enough to get through a long run without feeling like you’re hauling extra weight.

The only acceptable ending to a freezing 8-miler. Pancakes and turkey bacon, earned. 🥞🥓

Honest Check-In

This was probably my best week of the training block so far. Strength training got done, the progression run felt controlled and fun, I PR’d at my first race of the season, and the long run — despite being absolutely brutal temperature-wise — gave me a lot of confidence in my fueling approach. The electrolytes and chews combo is one I will absolutely be repeating. The legs felt strong in the back half of that run in a way they haven’t always, and I think that is a direct result of finally getting the nutrition piece right.

Spring running is genuinely unpredictable and I am learning to make peace with that. You can follow along with the full training journey on my Training & Progress page.