4 Weeks Until the Dublin Marathon

Hi friends! Thanks for following along with my training for the Dublin marathon (and recap of life in London as an American!) Here’s how this past week went:

Monday: I had thought about using Monday as a rest day after a big week (60 miles!) the week before, but my friend from the Mornington Chasers run club reached out about joining her and another friend for some easy miles, so I decided to join them.

7.3 miles easy, great company. Core and upper body strength after work.

Tuesday: Rest day from running! Snoozed in a bit and enjoyed it. I still got in plenty of steps with dogs walks and commuting but otherwise enjoyed the rest.

Wednesday: Run commute 4.5 miles + social 5k with the office group for 7.5 miles total. Lower body and core strength after work.

The sunrise on my run commute was absolutely incredible. This is in Primrose park.

Thursday: Workout Thursday! Warm-up, 15 minutes tempo, then 5×3 minutes hard for 8.5 miles total.

That evening, Dustin and I went to the Union Chapel in Islington for the Moth Story Hour; I listen to this podcast occasionally and enjoyed the live show. Essentially each story teller has 10-12 minutes to tell a personal true story, no notes. They were all really good! Union Chapel was a neat venue as well.

Friday: Early long run, 10 miles with Susan from the Mornington Chasers, 2 miles on my own, 4 with Ruth through the Heath on trails for 16 miles, all before starting a normal work day. Whew!

Towards the end of the run with Ruth, I was sort of looping around in the Heath near our place trying to get the right mileage, and we jogged up to Ricky Gervais (the comedian, from shows like the British version of The Office, After Life, Derek.)

I said, “Oh, hey Ruth, want to say hi to Ricky Gervais?” and he stopped to greet her and give her all the pets and said “she’s a very happy dog, isn’t she?” She sure is!

Of course, she jumped up and smooched him in the face, ha! He was very chatty and friendly. I had run past him once before but never stopped to talk. He lives in Hampstead, and though he doesn’t have a dog of his own, he loves dogs. Such an exciting morning!

That evening, Dustin had a high school friend & his wife in town on holiday, so they came over to our place and then we showed them around Hampstead, with a stroll through the Heath, a pint at the Flask pub, and then dinner at 28 Church Row.

Saturday: Recovery 6 miles with Ruth; I found an amazing new cleaning person, but she only has availability on Saturday mornings, so I wanted to wait to get her sorted for the first visit before I ran. Fortunately it wasn’t too hot of a morning, so starting at 10 am wasn’t terrible. And I came back from the run to a spotlessly clean house! Love it.

Sunday: Early morning flight from Heathrow to Inverness, Scotland!

My younger sister Laurie, her husband, and his sister/husband (they visited us last October in London) were in Edinburgh for a few days, and then we are meeting them in Skye for hiking and sight-seeing. Stay tuned for more pictures from this trip!

Dustin and I are arriving via flight several hours before my sister & the group on the train, so we plan to explore Inverness with a 5 mile run along the river. Will be back with pics!

For now, here’s a few pics of the pups enjoying the fall weather.

And one more thing about London- yes, it rains a lot, and when it does, the slugs come out! In the U.S., at least in the midwest, earthworms would come out after rain, but here it is the slugs! They’re so creepy, aren’t they? Some of them are quite large too.

That’s a wrap! Hoping to still get in some good runs on the Isle of Skye as well as hikes. TBD!

Summary: 50 miles of running (assuming we run in Inverness), 2 days of strength training, attempt at daily core.

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!