Summer temps came to screaming halt this past week. Jackets and arm warmers made an appearance and my swimming days are over. I can’t complain too much, but it did seem a bit drastic. I am getting settled in to my empty nest and feeling productive by tackling some projects that have been waiting too long (hello weeds in my yard, I’m coming for you!). Training went quite well this week with 45 miles run. I completed some key workouts this week. Only 16 miles of biking. As the weather gets cooler and the days shorter, my biking miles will be cutting way back, which is sad! This wraps up 7 more weeks to go until Columbus Marathon and only 3 more weeks until Garmin half. Here’s what went down this week…
Mon – 9 miles, speedwork. Workout was alternating miles at marathon pace and tempo pace. Originally I thought I’d use 9:15 for MP, but the stars were aligning on this run! I’m sure using my Endorphin Pros (race shoes) had something to do with it, but I easily used 9:00 for MP miles and 8:30 for tempo miles, resulting in an overall pace of 8:52 for the 9 miles. Woohoo!
It always feels great when I see an 8:xx. It was a huge confidence boost! Strava was quite complimentary – why thank you!
The rest of the day was spent at our happy place, Cedar Point! With most kids back in school the park attendance was on the low side and we didn’t have to wait long at all for rides. We were on the big rides in 30 mins and walked right on to several others. It was chilly out and I wore a light jacket for most of the day. We even got to ride in the front row of Siren’s Curse, the new drop coaster!
Tues – 7 easy miles. After that demanding workout on Monday I was a little apprehensive about running 7 miles this morning. Not to mention it was a work day so I had to get up extra early to get it done! I couldn’t face getting up at 5:15, so I set my alarm for 5:30. It took some efficiency but I did make it out the door, with freshly washed and styled hair by 7:40. Seen on my run – planets (I think) and stars! And how about the tar on the street which looks like someone crawling towards me??
Also, the glow from greenhouse lights almost 20 miles away is always an interesting sight!
It wasn’t until lunch time that I noticed I crammed two mismatched black shoes in my bag for my park walk with my Mom! I had to wear my work shoes instead (dress shoes) and I got a blister after 45 mins of walking. Whomp whomp.
The night finished up with Ladies Ride. The last official one of the season! I rode to the group ride and arrived at the last second for the group pic. That’s me on the far left, rolling in. 😆
After the ride a party was held at a new distillery. We celebrated a 30th wedding anniversary and a 60th birthday for the bike shop/climbing gym owners. Great people – cheers to them and their contributions to our community! I’m not sure I’ve ever had bourbon before, but it was delish 🙂
Weds – Rest day! An afternoon walk with my friend was my activity today. Always nice to catch up with her! I needed a long walk since it was also food truck day at work and I didn’t hold back. The street corn was delish!
Thurs – 6 miles, “track” workout. Today’s workout was 3 x 1600m, with 2 min rest, plus warm up and cool down. This run turned out pretty good. Miles were 8:04, 7:58 and 8:14. A little slow on the last one but not too bad. I tried out a Gatorade patch I had from race swag. I should have used it during the summer when I was really sweaty, but none the less it was interesting because it sucked up my sweat (the colored line) and then an app told me info about my perspiration (did I sweat enough, need more electrolytes, etc). An interesting concept!
Thursday night was a late one. We went to see Billy Idol! Joan Jett was the opening band.
What made this concert really special is that we went to see Billy Idol 35 YEARS ago when we were first dating! Yes, that’s my concert ticket from back then and my Swatch which was in my ticket stash 🙂 It was at the same venue too! It was a great show and we had fun.
Fri – 5 easy miles. After sleeping in quite late I didn’t get out for my “morning” run until 11:00 am! Sleeping in sure does make the day fly by a lot faster (in a bad way). I did make it to the gym also.
Sat – 18 miles long run. I’m getting to the “big girl” miles now! The past few weeks of long runs have been interrupted by water bottle refills, a potty break and a few weeks ago I had to rest in the shade. But not today! The goal was continuous running. But then… oh look, it’s foggy! Wow, look at the sunrise. What?? A kitten on my path?! And then the deer were so close on the trail I probably could have touched them! Finally, I thought I saw a bald eagle. LOL!! It’s always something!
The weather was PERFECT. It started out a little chilly (49 degrees) and I needed arm warmers, but it ended with 57 degrees. My last mile was my fastest mile (9:04) and my sprint to the finish was 8:37 pace. Yay!! It’s great to see progress since I started my training plan this cycle.
Sun – some kayaking and a picnic is on tap for today. Gotta take advantage of the beautiful weather! Also, scuba “refresher” course for an upcoming trip. The countdown is on!!
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: Do you remember the Swatch?? Did you own one?
The band on mine was strawberry, although I swear I also had the banana scented one, and it broke.
Q: Would you have worn two left shoes, or walked in dress shoes?
Maybe I should have tried the two left shoes!
Oh wow, you’re really rocking it with your running! When is your next race? (I’m sorry I’m so hopelessly out of the loop) That Gatorade patch sounds very clever! Interesting concept indeed.
Walking in dress shoes sounds excruciating. But two left shoes wouldn’t be great either, lol! When we were in Italy and we were going for a hike, my husband had put on two different shoes. Would have been fine on the trail but maybe not afterwards while having coffee at the bar!
Oh yes, I can relate to the two different shoes. I have a few pairs that are so similar but clearly not the same!
I had a few Swatches back in the day. I read somewhere that they are coming back, but I have yet to see any evidence of that!
I wouldn’t have worn 2 left shoes or the dress shoes, lol! But it looks like the blisters didn’t keep you from doing any workouts going forward!
Hmmm, I haven’t seen any Swatches around these days either but I’m all for it. They were so fun and so unique!
I think if I glanced up and saw that “figure crawling toward me” I would have freaked out! Was that little kitten near a house? Poor little guy!
Yes, I had a white Swatch, but I don’t remember it being scented.
A scuba refresher course – I’m looking forward to seeing where you’re going next!
I stand corrected – apparently it was a raspberry scented Swatch band, but I swear it was strawberry. Close enough! Ok, my husband didn’t really see the figure in that road squiggle. I’m glad you agree!! The kitten was on the trail along the river. I hope someone has captured him. He was so cute!
OMG – Billy Idol and Joan Jett! I was just reminiscing about my Billy Idol days.
I’m intrigued by that Gatorade patch. I haven’t heard of it before.
That’s a huge turnout for the group ride — glad you made it in time for the photo!
The Gatorade patch was interesting. Just fascinating to watch my collected sweat move back and forth inside the tubes on the patch. Haha! The Billy Idol concert was a lot of fun. I highly recommend going to see him if you get the chance!
YOU are rocking those long runs! Long distance and great paces, way to get it done! I never had a Swatch, but a guy friend (in college) let me borrow his a few times, LOL. The left shoe fail…too funny! I got a nasty blister from a pair of sandals a week ago…the strap broke, so I had to super glue it, and glued the strap too tight. UGH!
I have a lot of sandals that I haven’t worn in a long time. I wouldn’t be surprised if half of them broke next time I wear them! I need to purge some pairs. It’s hard to resist a pretty pair of shoes though… which is quite evident from my large collection of running shoes!
YES! I had a swatch. Mine was the one that was clear and you could see all the gears and innards.
Kittens and deer so close? Yes, please! That’s awesome!
And great mileage and workouts! I love that you’re really getting into the heart of things now!
It’s so funny because my watches never had markings on them so I could never really figure out what time it was!! But they did look cool 🙂
The cooler temps make a big difference!Looks like you had a great week of running
The cooler weather really has made a huge difference. I hope race day for the Garmin series will be just as nice!
Woohoo. It sounds like a great week with some awesome paces (go you!) and a Billy Idol concert at the end. Heck yeah. That must have been so cool.
Cooler temps are still ways off here, but I think we need to start thinking about fall. It’s September!
It’s so fun to see concerts. I don’t do it often enough! Billy Idol sounded great, just as I remembered him.
So happy your running has been feeling good and no injuries! You’re set up for success!
I hope that kitty on the path had a home! Poor little guy.
You had a very busy week but still managed some incredible workouts, well done!
The kitten kept running away from me when I tried to approach it. Hopefully someone catches it and it becomes someone’s pet!
Training going well, so far! Fingers crossed!