Weekly Recap: 2 Weeks Until the Amsterdam Marathon

Look at that gorgeous sunrise in the Marylebone neighborhood, from my morning run around Regent’s Park. London is so pretty.

So, marathon #40 will be here soon. I realized too late that I could be running my 40th full in my 40th year, but I actually turn 41 two days before Amsterdam. Oh well, I’ll definitely run my 41st marathon in my 41st year!

Monday: Rest day from running! After 68+ miles of running the week before (peak week), it felt great to sleep in a bit and rest. I did do some core and body weight strength on Peloton, but otherwise a lovely rest day.

Tuesday: Back at it! 3 miles easy, 2 x (2 miles at marathon effort, 2 min jog, 1 mile faster, 2 min jog). This felt great until the 2nd faster mile, as of course I was going up Haverstock Hill, my nemesis, so it was not faster than marathon pace! But it felt hard, that’s for sure. 10 miles total on the day.

Tuesday was a very exciting day for us- our furniture arrived from the US! The movers just kept bringing stuff in and it was a bit overwhelming as we realized we just do not have space for all of it. We’ll have to get creative to make it all work in our space.

Yes, that is our front door in the below picture; they had to remove it to get our couch in!

We didn’t pack much artwork or decor, which I regret, but I did pack these photos that my friend Christie gave me. It’s nice to have some reminders of home!

Wednesday: Run commute. I made it to the office in just over 5 miles, so I now have the most direct route, but I needed 7 miles for the day, so I kept looping around Green Park for a few more.

I love running through the Frieze sculpture park within Regent’s; almost just like the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden at home!

There were some rainy days this week, but rainy days sometimes lead to rainbows. Here’s a picture from my walk into the office.

Thursday: Wfh day. I ran 7.3 miles before doing 30 minutes of upper body on Peloton and 10 min of core. So happy to have my weights again (they arrived with our furniture and other stuff on Tuesday), but I don’t want to do too much when I’m only two weeks out from a marathon. I’ll stick to some easy upper body and core for now.

Thursday night, Dustin and I met up with a friend I’d only met over social media; she and her husband were on their way back from holiday in Ireland. We met up for dinner at The Orange in Belgravia, which was a cute little pub/restaurant.

It’s fun when virtual friends become real life friends!

She was so sweet, she brought me two huge jars of peanut butter! We’re all set with our pre-long run pb/toast for awhile now. Thank you!

Friday: Ruth and I ran 5 trail miles in the Heath before I did a 10 min upper body class + 10 min core on Peloton.

That evening, we went to a little Oktoberfest party at the Bermondsey Bierkeller. It was pouring rain that night, plus I don’t usually do much on a Friday (since we long-run on Saturday morning). And I wouldn’t normally just have steins of beer and half a pretzel before a long run…But one piece of advice many people told me before we moved is to say yes to most everything in order to make friends. So I “said yes” to the invitation, even though it might have been a nice night to put on sweatpants and stay in! And its true that I may not have been fueled well for my long run, but I’m still glad I went. Live a little, right?

Saturday: Dustin decided to join me at my pace for my long run. We did 15 miles together on a lovely sunny Saturday in London.

We followed up the run with lots of time at the Heath for Ruth and Matilda to get in their zoomies before I headed to get my hair cut and colored for the first time since moving here. The salon was lovely, though at the end, the stylist asked me if I “wanted the tongs” and for the life of me, I could not figure out what she was asking. It wasn’t until she went to grab the curling iron that I realized she was asking me if I wanted her to curl my hair too. Ha!

That evening, we had an amazing meal at 28 Church Row right in Hampstead followed by a pint at the Holly Bush, the cutest Hampstead pub. A pretty nice Saturday evening.

Sunday: Dustin, Ruth, and I ran 5 miles through the Heath before we hopped on the tube to go cheer for the London marathon. The London marathon is normally in April; next year it will be held on April 23. But due to a pandemic carryover, it was held today, October 2nd.

It was a great day for spectating! Watching the race inspired me and pumped me up for Amsterdam in two weeks.

Summary: 50 miles of running, some core and strength on Peloton

I’m linking up with Running on the Fly and Confessions of a Mother Runner; check out their blogs to connect with other fitness bloggers for workout ideas and inspiration!