Weekly Workouts – GCM race week!!

Glass City Marathon race week is finally here! Overall it’s been a decent training cycle for me although it had it’s issues. Started out with a pinchy hip muscle and tight back (which turned into a sore back for a few days). Then we went skiing for several weeks and I developed runner’s knee. I can still feel a tight hamstring muscle on my left side, which is the side I am always having issues with. Given that knowledge you’d think I have doubled-down on my PT and strengthening exercises to avoid more injuries. Yes, you think I would. But I haven’t. I’ll be honest, I’m just too lazy to do it! But as I type this, my body is feeling pretty good from the taper and lack of running. I don’t really have a goal for this race, but I do have a finish time in mind that would really make me happy (given my last two slower-than-normal race times). I’ve got a personal pacer this year (yeah Alan!) so I think that should help. Let’s see what happened this week….

Mon – 20 mins elliptical and PT, core exercises.   Marathon Monday! I spent a lot of my morning watching the Boston Marathon. What a finish for the mens race! All of the runners that I was tracking had a good day and the weather looked great.

Tues – 5 miles, easy run.  This is a picture from a bridge close to my house.  It’s really not a special area, but it sure does look good with all of the spring greenery!

At night we had a work GCM get together.  We have three 5-person relay teams and a few people running the half and full at GCM.  I walked a few miles with the group before we went out to dinner.  It will be fun to see my coworkers out there on race day!

Weds –  2.25 mile park walk with Mom.  We were very overdressed for this walk today!  I had my work clothes on (should have worn something short sleeve under my sweater) and my mom just picked the wrong outfit.  Despite the warm temps it was really nice to get outside and enjoy spring!

15 mile bike ride.  It was 80 degrees afterwork so we went for a bike ride.  I’m still getting used to sitting on my bike seat again, so 15 miles was the perfect distance for early in the season.

Thurs – 4 easy miles, dress rehearsal!  This is the first time in many years that I will be wearing something different than my standard Run Toledo tank top!  I chose not to reapply for the Run Toledo Ambassador program this year, but no worries, my employer provided tank tops for us (or short sleeve shirt, if that’s your preference!).  The tank felt great.  Hopefully the dark color won’t be an issue, but otherwise it’s a winner!

I spent a few hours volunteering at the race expo.  I helped set up the packet pickup area.  Note to myself, hauling boxes of shirts is probably not the best task to do a few days before the race!  But, I took the “lazy” road and did the least amount of lifting that I could to accomplish this task.

When I got home it was 80 degrees again!  Next task – wash the car!  Always a fun task in the sunshine.  Then I dug up more hostas to give to my friend.  My mom gave me a flowering bush and I found the perfect place to plant it. And then… I napped.  Hard.  Phew, I overdid it today!

Fri – Rest day!  Outside of a 2 mile walk, no more running until race day.  

Sat – Rest day!!  We volunteered at the kids “marathon” passing out medals.  The kids are always so cute.  Some were smiling and some were crying!  Most were somewhere in between, but always cracked a smile when we said “good job” and gave them a high five.  

Next was the race expo where we spent a lot of time talking to friends.  Eventually we made it home to relax for a bit.

But not for too long… we had a dinner event to attend!  Our daughter won a scholarship from our credit union and was acknowledged at the annual meeting.  It could have been a longer night but we only stayed for the presentation and dinner, but still didn’t get out of there until almost 9 pm.  It was time to get some sleep for our big day on Sunday!

Sun –  Glass City Marathon 6:30am!!  I’m going to save this for my next post, but if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you probably already know how it went!  Here’s a flat me ready for the race. One fun thing about this race is that our niece (35 yrs old) will be running with Alan and me! This will be her first marathon and we’ve been giving her tips and passing on our knowledge. She’s been having some hip pain, so I hope she has a good day and enjoys the race. The weather is looking really good (40s and low 50s with sun, no wind). Let’s do this!!

Need some more inspiration? I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Check out all of the fun blogs there!

Q: Did you watch the Boston Marathon?