weekly recap: 9/7 – 9/13

It’s the second week of September and Week 12 of marathon training! I don’t know why, but it is starting to feel so incredibly near. All our ducks seem to be in a row as far as travel and the rest of the weekend are concerned, so it’s just a matter of those pesky 26.2 miles. Easy peasy.

It’s been a low-volume blog week, too. I’ve been incredibly busy with school and the PTA, we had a little weekend trip, and I got some great news. I just haven’t had time to get it all down in blog form.

Before I get to the training, I want to share the news: I was asked back as an Ambassador for the 2015 ZOOMA Florida races!

I had such a blast as an Ambassador in 2014 and am so glad to be back this year. You really can’t beat running with a group of inspiring women in gorgeous Amelia Island, with a post-race celebration at the Ritz-Carlton.

“Soak in the Florida sun and feel the sand between your toes as you enjoy a fit girls weekend getaway in awe-inspiring Amelia Island on north Florida’s Atlantic Coast.

You’ll be welcomed to the ZOOMA weekend with a Fitness Expo at the host hotel and encouraged to take in the oceanfront sunset as you drink a cocktail (or mocktail, whatever your preference) at an HONEST Tea sponsored happy hour before your pre-race meal on Friday evening.  On Saturday morning, awaken early to run a flat and scenic half marathon, 12K or 5K.  After you cross the finish line, celebrate your accomplishment with friends at an awesome after-party expo on the oceanfront lawn at The Ritz-Carlton.  Enjoy your adrenaline and wine-fueled buzz with live music, massages, shopping, recovery yoga, and lots of empowering girls weekend energy.” — ZOOMA Florida

Want to join me for this unique race experience? Click here to register and be sure to use the code JENN15 at checkout for 10% off any of the ZOOMA Florida race distances.

More on that later in the week!

Let’s get down to business.

Sunday – 3.1 miles

I started my week with 3.1 miles. It went ok, and I really loved the painted arrows on the streets, pointing me in the right direction. Even though I knew the way.

I missed the actual sunrise, but the clouds were still too pretty to ignore.

Later on, we had breakfast with Nana and Papa Bear, I started making a burlap wreath for  our front door, and we got to see some of the Dolphins’ lovely victory over New England! (The Jaguars were not so lucky).

 

Monday – rest day

I got caught up on errands and grocery shopping, in preparation for little man’s first baseball practice of the fall season. Sadly, it was rained out.

 

Tuesday – rest day

I had a meeting during the day, and at night, I headed back over to little man’s school for “open house.” We spent some time in their classrooms, getting a rundown of the curriculum for the year, as well as how his teacher runs her classroom, how they spend their days, and what she expects of them. We all absolutely adore his teacher, and he is doing very well so far. I’m excited to see how the rest of the year continues.

 

Wednesday – 3.1 miles

This time, I squeezed in my run before daylight, so that Mr PugRunner could also have a turn before little man went off to school. Sometimes, it’s hard to schedule, but I do my best to be considerate of him, especially because his knee has been bothering him so much. 🙁

After showering and getting dressed, I got little man off to school and then went to some more school meetings.

Little man had batting practice in the early evening, and Mr PugRunner took him so that I could get some things done around the house. I was planning on a long run on Thursday, and then we were leaving first thing Friday morning for a little long weekend away so I had to get a jump start on packing.

Oh, and I registered for my Virtual Run of the year.  In a few weeks, I will be taking on Frugal Beautiful’s Virtual Pug Run (the 10K edition). I wasn’t really planning on any virtual runs this year, but when this was brought to my attention (and I assure you – it was brought to my attention a lot. I clearly have the reputation of Crazy Pug Lady. Side note: I am ok with that), I couldn’t resist. For one thing, proceeds will be going to help save 26(.2) pugs at the Northern Illinois Pug Rescue. For another, I will earn this awesome pugicorn medal.

You know I couldn’t resist. Additionally, if the fundraising goal is reached, Frugal Beautiful’s fiancé plans to run the upcoming Chicago Marathon in a one-piece pug singlet. Which is pretty much as epic as it gets.

 

Thursday – 10 miles

The good news? Ten miles! Yay! The bad news? This was supposed to be 15. I have a lot of excuses. Wednesday was a hard day and I just wasn’t in the right place for 15 miles. I also made a change in my route, and that was a little bit of getting used to. It was a nice and productive run, even if it was a bit too short.

I’m still kind of ahead of my training plans, so technically, it’s ok. I’m going to give myself a pass and focus on the good things. Like the fact that I was finally under 13:00 miles!

And the fact that when I was done, I got to shower at my mom’s and she and my stepdad made me an awesome breakfast of bacon and eggs. Thanks, guys! It was just what I needed.

 

Friday – rest, travel day

I had an early morning commitment that had me out of the house before sunrise again, and when I got home, we loaded up the car and headed south to Broward County. We were spending the weekend with one of my college roommates and oldest friends, and on Saturday, we would be taking little man to his second Miami Hurricanes game. It was a long drive, which we broke up with a stop for lunch at one of our favorite wing places, and then another stop at my other college roommate’s house for little man to stretch his legs.

We had a great dinner at my friend’s house, then stayed up kind of late catching up and chatting. We all slept incredibly well that night.

 

Saturday – rest, away from home

I thought about getting up to run for a hot minute. After a 5-6 hour car ride, my hips were tight and my back was sore, so I opted against it, believing that rest would be the better choice. I stand by that decision. We were up early anyway, and little man spent the morning playing with our friends’ son, while we got packed for our trip to Sun Life Stadium.

The weather was sketchy, but we lucked out with only a tiny drizzle during our tailgate. It was a fantastic day! Can’t wait to share more details! Most importantly, the Canes won and little man loved every second of it!

 

The Marine Corps Half Marathon is almost upon me, and I think I can get in one more solid long run before then. And then race season is ON.

I’m doing ok. I’ve kind of come to peace (right now) with the fact that the marathon will be what it is and I’ll get through it one way or another. This will probably change about ten minutes after I hit “publish” on this post, but I think it will all be very day-to-day. I feel good, my legs feel good, everything is good. And I really can’t hope for more than that.

What did you do this weekend?

Are you getting ready to start the fall racing season?

Tell me something good that’s happened to you in the past week or so.

Do you ever register for and run Virtual Races?