This week, I ran 41 miles.
+ 2 core workouts.

Monday:

Easy 4 miles, 8:30 pace on the treadmill. Shakeout 2 days after Hood to Coast. I’m holding on tight to delusion and denial. I wore my race shirt and drank from my Nuun bottle and pretended I was running to the next exchange. Sadly, there was no white 16-passenger van waiting there for me when I finished…

Tuesday:

Easy 6 miles, 8:20 pace. Another shakeout on the treadmill in the afternoon (escaping the heat seems to be a theme this week!). Did a full warm-up + dynamic stretches along with core routine after run. I ran a “progressive” on the low end of my easy pace range, from 8:25-8:00 just for the heck of it. My legs felt heavier today than they did on Monday, so two easy runs to start the week were definitely called for (as much as I didn’t want to see them on the calendar).

Wednesday:

REST DAY! Hip flexors were noticeably sore! (Probably from sitting in a van for so many hours last weekend.) Stretched and foam-rolled for a good 30-45 minutes in the evening to loosen up while watching one of the Nine for IX ESPN films on demand. Tuesday night tradition moved to Wednesday night this week.

Thursday:

10 miles, 7:25 average pace. 5 x 1 mile workout. I made it out of bed early enough for a longish workout this morning! Had 5 x 1 mi on the schedule. Ran 2+ mi to the lakefront, did some leg swings & such to warm-up the hip flexors, and started the 1 mi repeats. I felt creaky even through the warm-up and the legs didn’t feel fresh for some reason (sitting in a van for ~18 hours was tough on those hip flexors!) 3 min recovery between repeats, followed by 1.3 mi c/d. Chanthana and I had a perfectly executed side-5 10 seconds before my 3rd repeat and I recognized Annabelle W. too late for a side-5 a half mile later (but we got a wave in!). Splits: 6:26, 6:26, 6:26, 6:21, 6:18. It started to feel pretty tough in the middle of the 4th mile but I’m happy that I was able to keep pushing and run the last 2 repeats faster than the first 3. Starting to feel like the intensity is starting to build this cycle. 🙂

The fog was super INTENSE this morning. I couldn’t see beyond 150 m in front of me and there were plenty of people out there. It also seemed like bikers were taking extra caution, which rarely happens.

Side note: I have a furball ponytail problem following super humid runs. This has happened before and yes, I know that a braid would solve this problem BUT it didn’t even occur to me that my ponytail was turning into a furry beast of knots until I finished the workout.

See? Intense. I literally gave up trying to comb it out after using 1/4 bottle of conditioner in the shower. I put it up in a bun (which actually turned out to be pretty attractive) and gave up. I wasn’t able to comb it out until I had applied The Detangler conditioner (Paul Mitchell) & argan oil a full 24 hours after this run, and even then it took me a good 30 minutes to comb it out… This should be filed under #runnerproblems. Ok, next time? Braiding or bunning it before it becomes a problem!

Friday:

Easy 5 miles, 8:10 average pace. Yet another treadmill run this week! 95 degrees outside calls for a bit of relief inside.

Saturday:

16 miles, 7:37 average pace. Side-5s galore on the long run! Started at 6:15 am after 5ish hours of sleep (derp) so I wasn’t sure how this one was going to go. Found a rhythm and happy that the cloud cover stuck around for most of the run. Mile 4: side-5 with Charlyn C. and Luis. Mile 5: awesome, refreshing downpour. Mile 6: geese crossing. Mile 7-11: rhythm! (Had to slow myself down, 7:45 felt comfortable!) Mile 11: Side-5 with Mike M. and Marla!

I saw some other friends near mile 13 before I started the fast finish 3 miles (was that you with Corey, Erin ?) . Final 3 miles: 7:03, 6:57, 6:54 <—- that was tough! The legs didn’t feel super peppy today but they had more energy than I thought they would when I first started. Stopped at the farmer’s market on my way home for fresh lilies. Now, to spend the rest of the weekend on my feet at North Coast Music Fest. (Also, I think this might be my fastest 16 ever but I’m not sure!)

Highlights o’ The Week:

• Added to my running playlist: Roar by Katy Perry. (Come on, you know you like it!)
• On Thursday, there was a surprise concert on the rooftop of my building. Yep, you read that correctly. A friend came to the building to see a friend’s band play and she didn’t realize it was in my building until she arrived. Does a summer night get any better than a free, live concert with a view of the skyline? I think not.
• Pizza and beer at Homeslice with the running gals! Although we can’t really prove that we were there because we didn’t take any selfies.

Pictures o’ The Week:

Homeslice evidence.

Live band on the rooftop. Summer sigh

Because why can’t you have dessert for breakfast?

Cloud cover is always appreciated for long runs.

-J