weekly recap: 9/21 – 9/27

Who’s been neglecting this blog? Who has?

:raises hand:

I apologize for my absence. It has been a hectic and somewhat difficult week. Fortunately, everything has been resolved, but there were a few days of seriously distracting frustration and, dare I say, anger, that pretty much completely derailed me from many things. Especially from writing.

But, I’m back, with a weekly recap, and several other things to share later in the week.

This is Week 14 of marathon training. My mojo has taken a rather inconvenient hike, and I decided that I am ok with that. Rather than forcing in a planned long run, I decided that I will wait until my half marathon next week and use that 13.1 mile distance as a springboard for a full 17. It will be a split-up run, but the point is to conquer the distance.

That didn’t let me off the hook for running this week, though. Despite not wanting to get up with the alarm ever (the sunrises are getting later and later and it’s tougher and tougher getting up in the dark), I stuck with four days of running, including one day with a buddy.

 

Sunday – 3 miles

I got brave and agreed to meet up with two moms from our local MRTT group. One of the women had to cancel, but I got to meet the really sweet chapter leader, and we had a rather lovely run together.  Even nicer? Check out the temperatures:

We went a little slower than my usual pace but I didn’t mind at all. Of course, we also had lovely views, so that made it even more worthwhile.

 

Monday – rest

Just a regular day of errands and domestic stuff. Nothing fun. Little man had baseball practice and it was his best one yet. The season opens soon and I’m excited to see what he can do on game day.

 

Tuesday – 3.1 miles

The cooler temperatures continue, making this run pretty pleasant.

 

Wednesday – rest

I had some more errands to run,  and then Nana and Papa Bear invited us over for Rosh Hashanah dinner after little man got home from school. He did have an optional batting practice, but he had been pretty worn out, so I was in favor of skipping it, especially for some quality family time.

Nana cooked a delicious traditional meal, with matzoh ball soup, brisket and kasha. Little man, who has firmly declared that tomato soup is the only soup worth eating, is now a huge fan of Nana’s chicken broth with noodles.

We loved the special celebration and went home, stuffed and happy. <3

 

Thursday – 3.1 miles

Thursday had all the makings of a great day: I had a nice solid run

and then I planned to spend the  morning volunteering at little man’s school. However, Mr PugRunner called me regarding an issue and I had to rush home to deal with everything. Ugh. Fortunately, things got resolved the next day, but two days of phone calls, sorting out communication and syncing schedules was pretty draining. I don’t love conflict, and I also don’t like waiting for resolution, so I was pretty much done.

 

Friday – rest

This was not my favorite day. A lot of things got held up and really, the only thing I managed to accomplish was this

and an impromptu date night with Mr PugRunner, which ended early because both of us were flat-out exhausted. Sometimes, early bedtimes rule.

 

Saturday – 3.7 miles

I got up a little later than planned, and it drizzled pretty consistently on me, but I stuck with it.

 

Then we had to hop to it and get moving: we had a housewarming party during the day and a beer-themed party at night (hence the chocolate stout bundt). After getting breakfast together, Mr PugRunner went to pick up little man’s baseball uniform and cupcakes, while I selected the housewarming gift and finished the ganache for the cake. Then we were off for a day of much-needed fun with friends.

I was also quite proud of myself for breaking out of my comfort zone again. I am pretty good about trying different foods, but I have never been able to bring myself to eat an oyster. I have attempted several times, but it’s never happened. Well. There were a lot of raw oysters on ice at the housewarming, and after a while, the boys started steaming them on the grill. Once cooked, they resembled mussels, and I do enjoy mussels. So. I got some instruction on how to fix them (on a saltine with cocktail sauce and a little butter)

and down the hatch it went.

I really enjoyed it! I’m thrilled that these are something I can now order from menus in the future! Yay for new things!

 

This week, I need to focus on the Marine Corps Half Marathon. I’m kind of dreading it, to be honest, even though I’m going to be surrounded by some good friends. This is the first time I really haven’t been excited about a race, and I hate the feeling. Hopefully I overcome it as the week goes by.

I’m also starting my Halloween planning. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and this year, it’s on a Friday! It’s going to be great for trick-or-treating and a fun, themed meal. I can’t wait.

 

How did your week of training go? 

Have you ever dreaded an upcoming race or event? How did you get over it?

What’s something new you tried that you were surprised to find you loved?