week in review: 11.22 – 11.28

We are home from the Space Coast Half, and have lots of thoughts rattling around regarding the entire experience. It was a great one, and obviously I can’t wait until next year.

In the meantime, here is my last week of training.

Sunday – 7 miles

This was an awful, horrible, terrible, no good run. It was raining when I woke up, but since the weather was going to be on the cooler side, I opted to wait until late morning to go out. Mistake. I’m an early morning runner, and I could not get it together for these miles. Annoying because it was my last long run and I wanted it to be strong, but them’s the breaks. I did get to see my zebra friend and had a lovely chat with a neighbor friend who is training for her first full marathon.

After I came home, showered and ate, we hung around and watched some football, and then Mr PugRunner wanted to go out. I was kind of ok with a lazy Sunday night, but instead, we got Italian, and then went to see our city’s Night of Lights. It never disappoints and it started to put me in the holiday spirit.

Monday – body circuit, 1 hour

Little man had his multicultural feast at school, so I got up early to make mini calzones. Then it was off to body circuit, for a pretty intense class. The cooler weather meant that even the harder movement felt more reasonable and I loved it.

Then it was off to the feast!

Little man tried several new foods, including a braised pork, Spanish rice and flan (he loves creme brûlée, so it wasn’t too hard to get him to try this). Everything was delicious, and it way to celebrate without having an overkill of turkey and more traditional Thanksgiving foods in advance of the holiday.

Tuesday – 4 miles

Our group run got a little messed up due to some flooding and an injury. I was able to fit in three miles with the ladies, and then tack on another mile at home. I felt good in the new shoes, although not good enough to commit to wearing them to Sunday’s race.

Afterwards, I had work, and then started planning my cooking schedule for the next few days. Our Thanksgiving was going to be on the smaller side this year, and there didn’t seem to be as much to do.

Wednesday – rest

I made a last-minute grocery store trip, and finished this year’s holiday wreath.

I also had to finish sewing Mr PugRunner’s shirt for the Turkey Trot.

Then it was time to start organizing desserts. There were a few setbacks: the cookie gun broke and somehow, we didn’t have enough apples for pie, but I was able to get it all sorted out. Mr PugRunner took little man to karate and then out to dinner, but they were kind enough to bring me take out.

And then little man decorated turkey cookies, while I worked on pie. So festive.

Thursday – 3.72 miles

Happy Thanksgiving!

I was up and out before the sun, on my way to the Subaru Distance Classic 6K. I was feeling good, and despite the warm weather, had a fantastic race with a big PR.

I was only able to meet up with a couple of friends, before I had to head back home to the Turkey Trot in our community. Little man and Mr PugRunner were taking on the mile there, simply because it was so much later in the morning and they were able to sleep in. I was able to make it just in time to see one of my friends complete her first-ever 5K, and then see the boys run.

Perfect.

We went home for breakfast with my parents,

and then we dove into cooking.

It was a nice day, with lots of yummy things to eat.

We got in a great walk, too. All the food and fresh air really did me in, and I was more than happy to call it a night.

Friday – rest

Our Black Friday tradition is to sleep in a bit, and then go visit Santa and get lunch, when the early morning shopping crowd dies down. It’s a great plan and this year was no exception.

After lunch, little man went with my parents, and Mr PugRunner and I did a few quick errands, We would be leaving for Cocoa in the morning and needed to get the house set before the trip.

Mr PugRunner had wanted to go out for dinner, but we were both still tired, so we agreed to order pizza and rent Jurassic World at home. It was a lovely evening – nice and chill. I stayed up a little later than normal, but it was worth it.

Saturday – rest

We were on the road by 10:30. I wanted to get down to Cocoa, go to the expo, eat lunch and check into the hotel with enough time for a little nap. I don’t sleep well on race nights, and any extra little bit of sleep is always welcome.

The day ran rather smoothly. Our friends arrived at varying times and we were all able to meet at Carraba’s, as we have been doing for the past few years. As usual, the restaurant was slammed, but we were all able to share a nice meal with a glass of wine.

Our alarms were set for 3:15 AM, so we definitely turned in early.

Sunday was going to be a big day.

 

Even though I had fewer miles this week, it was an important one. Rest is a crucial part of the process, hard as it is to take it. I would have maybe liked one more body circuit class, but I did feel ok without it. I enjoyed taking some time to celebrate with my family and friends, and also knowing that the end of this training cycle was near.

How was your week in workouts?

How did you spend your weekend?