weekly recap: 7/6 – 7/12

Week 3 of marathon training? Check!

I think the most notable achievement of the week is cracking 800 miles. Who would have ever guessed?

Definitely cause for celebration!

Sunday – rest. Quite frankly, I don’t think we did anything all day. It was nice.

Monday – 3.1 miles.  This was a pretty enjoyable run. I felt good, despite the humidity, although it’s the run that got me dwelling on my pace. Finished with a smile, regardless.

Tuesday – rest Normally, this is my yoga day, but I had to take little man to camp and there was a conflict of time. It would have been nice to sleep in as well as have a day off, but what can you do? Sidenote: I greatly missed class.

Wednesday – 60 minutes sunrise yoga; 60 minutes strong vinyasa flow And we shall dub Wednesday “Double Yoga Day.” I went in for my usual class at 6:00 AM, and was grateful to be back. About twelve hours later, I was back with a runner friend for a different class with a different instructor. It was… intense. I loved it, even though I could feel my core shaking the entire time and I was dripping embarrassing amounts of sweat (yoga is all about no judgment!). I don’t know if I can fit in a third weekly yoga class, so I might end up alternating between this and my Tuesday class. Decisions, decisions.

Oh, and in between the two? I treated myself to a bit of a makeover.

I can’t remember the last time I had my hair colored or cut. Mr PugRunner and I were discussing some plans for next week, where I would have a significant chunk of time on my own and didn’t know exactly how I should spend it, so he suggested I get my hair done. I took that as a sign that perhaps I needed to pay a bit of attention to my gray roots and split ends. This was a lot of work for my stylist, but she did an awesome job. I even promised to attempt to blow dry, flat iron and wear it down. When I wasn’t running, of course.

Thursday – 3.6 mile run. This is where I increased my intervals to 2.5:1 instead of 2:1. I didn’t see any huge difference, but I guess improvements are never instantaneous.

Friday – 9.1 miles. I’m not sure I was emotionally ready for this long run, but go big or go home. I hydrated and tried to prepare myself as best I could and then headed out to my favorite bridge to get started. By the end of two hours, my distance had been logged, so mission accomplished. It wasn’t the run I had visualized, but it happens. I got a bit of a late start due to forgetting my Garmin on the way out of my neighborhood, and so that threw me mentally. I mixed up my route to keep my mind off that.

I had gotten some really great advice from a Twitter/Instagram friend of mine, Swmslo. She recommended that I break the distance into three 3-mile chunks, taking a break at the end of each for hydration and nutrition. Her reasoning is that I’m not simulating a race, but just completing the mils and so it’s ok to take some time to collect myself and recharge for a minute (or five). Brilliant. I kept my water and Honeystinger waffle in my car, and made that home base. I ran over the bridge and back, then did some flat distance before grabbing a drink and a bite. Back over the bridge and out to the boardwalk and the beach for a little sand running.

I’m going to be racing on the sand in a few weeks, so it was nice to have the practice, even if it’s not my favorite. I turned around and looped over to the pier for a bit,

and then back to my car, via the bridge, for another refuel.

This is kind of where disaster struck. I rested for a minute after my drink and nibble, but no sooner had I run three steps then my stomach revolted. I judged the distance to the nearest restroom, and even at a full sprint (or maybe especially at a full sprint), I would never make it. I actually got in my car and drove the mile to take care of things. And made a note to scratch waffles, which were always a favorite of mine, and go back to gummy bears.

After that, my energy was gone, but I wasn’t giving up. I had about 2.2 miles to go, and I was getting it done. From my new home base, I meandered around on some more boardwalk and sand, and then decided for one last go at the bridge. My energy was flat out gone (as evidenced by my pace at this point), and ironically, I was RAVENOUS. I was suddenly so hungry it hurt to breathe. I have never had that happen while running, and I can tell you I did not like it. (As luck would have it, halfway through my recovery bagel, the thought of another bite made me want to vomit, so there was clearly no winning).

Saturday – 1 mile. What? WHAT? I figure that I am going to toss in some late afternoon full-run miles to simulate conditions for the upcoming Tour De Pain. Can’t hurt to be prepared!

Oh, and on a creative note, I whipped up this medal holder for little man’s room.

I purchased an awesome double bib/medal holder for me and Mr PugRunner and will be writing about that next week, after I finish hanging it, and of course little man wanted one of his own for his room. He loves it and can’t wait to add some more bling.

How was your week? Are you racing or doing a long run this weekend?
How do you display your medals and/or bibs?