5 weeks! And 3 of those will essentially be the taper, so just 2 big weeks of training left before marathon #43!
And this was a big week; here’s how it all worked out:
Monday: REST. Much needed. I still ended up walking about 5 miles between commuting and dog walks. I did some core but otherwise fully embraced the rest day.
Our new place overlooks the Hampstead ponds- the baby swans are not babies anymore!
Tuesday: Tempo Tuesday! Warm-up, 3×10 minutes at tempo with 2 minute jog in between, then 5 minute jog, then ended with 5×1 minute hard. I did the 5×1 minute on the cinder track outside of Regent’s Park. 10 miles total. I got ready for work in the quickest amount of time ever, as I had to walk over to our old flat to let in the “end-of-tenancy” cleaners and then still make it to work at a reasonable time. Whew! Full day before the day began, ha!
Wednesday: 7 hilly miles before work. Upper body and core after work.
I love our new place in London, but there are four flights of wooden stairs in it; it’s a mid-century modern place, narrow, but lots of stairs. As the stairs are wooden, they don’t have any grip on them. I was wearing running socks while working from home, and slipped and fell quite dramatically midday on these stairs. At first, I was worried I had dislocated my shoulder or something worse, but after a few minutes of regrouping and assessing, I realized I was fine, just really sore…I guess I need to wear shoes in the house from now on! It did freak me out a bit as you realize when you have a fall like that just how quickly things can go wrong! Since we’re renting, there isn’t a lot we can add that wouldn’t damage the (beautiful but slippery) stairs…
Thursday: Run commute, 4.5 miles, then a social 5k with my colleagues for 7.5 miles total. Great morning.
After work I did a bit of core and a long walk with the dogs.
Friday: 7.4 mile run with Ruth and Dustin (we were both working from home) with 4×5 minutes moderate in there (though my runs are almost always slightly faster with Dustin.) We took Ruth through the Frieze Sculptures and she did NOT trust the statue called “sleepwalker!” No way, bad vibes (check out her instagram for more.)
After work, I did a 20 minute full body strength workout and some core.
Saturday: 20 miler! I often try to explore new parts of London on long runs like this, but I decided to keep things simple and stick to the Royal parks.
Around mile 12, Dustin found me around Hyde Park; he must have been a little lonely on his own as he decided to slow things down and run the next 8 with me. I was happy for the company!
A generally low-key Saturday after the 20 miler, other than a walk with the pups and a much needed haircut!
Sunday: We started the day watching the Berlin marathon on TV- holy moly, Tigst Assefa and the new world record! Incredible.
Feeling all kinds of inspired, Dustin, Ruth, and I ran 7.75 miles.
Summary: 60 miles of running! First 60 mile week in quite some time; this is high for me. I will be taking a nap later today. Ha!
I finally added upcoming races to Garmin Connect, so now my Garmin gives me some fun data about upcoming races. I like those average race day temps for Dublin! (Yes, I know I need to convert to Celsius. I’m trying!)
This week will be a cutback before a busy and big last week before the taper.
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!
Oh that fall sounds scary! My heart just drops when I slip on stairs. Congrats on the solid training week!
Mine definitely did, and I am wearing shoes with traction inside now 🙂
Um, I would not trust that sculpture either — freaky!
Yikes on the stairs. I am glad you’re OK. Definitely be careful!
So is Dustin feeling better from his running injury?
Yes, he took a full two weeks off, no running, and then built back- he’s feeling pretty good, but being diligent with his PT. He’s still nervous about adding speed, which is probably why he’s more likely to run with me lately.
Ouch on the fall down the stairs! Glad you are ok. Sounds like a nice place aside from that. That statue is pretty creeepy!
The statue was so creepy!
I wouldn’t trust that sculpture either!! I didn’t realise you were moving and hope that has gone smoothly. But please at least wear slipper socks with the little pads on the feet to stop you slipping!
Yep! We moved about two weeks ago. Love the new place! But wearing shoes with traction inside now 🙂
60 miles, damn! That’s in the vicinity of my monthly mileage sometimes, LOL! That would be very scary falling on the stairway like you did…glad you weren’t seriously injured!
60 is high for me, but there’s runners (non-elites I know) who are regularly in the 80’s- 100’s! Eeks. I suppose they are faster so that’s less overall time spent running…
Congrats on knocking out a big week of training! Love the sound of that tempo Tuesday workout. Your 20-mile tour of the parks sounds amazing too, how nice to find Dustin! Dublin is coming up so quickly!
So sorry about the slip on the stairs. Very scary and I’m glad you’re ok. When we lived in Birmingham we rented a renovated old schoolhouse that had the ground floor then 2 stories up, all with crazy wooden stairs. We had to climb up to the “crow’s nest” to sleep. Haha!
It definitely is a commitment to climb to the 4th floor to go to bed! And when the dogs need to go potty right away in the morning, one of us definitely has to commit to letting them and trekking all the way back down to the garden level, but it’s all worth it, I still love the place, it’s unique!
We’re renting too and we have slippery wooden stairs… you can get stair runners (cut to size) from the hardware store. They help tremendously and are “non-permanent”. I feel much better since we got them. I was so afraid of slipping on these stairs.
We may have to try these stair runners….our older dog needs the extra traction too, to be honest. Not a bad idea!
Great week of running, as usual, but ouch to the fall down the stairs. Glad you are ok.
Who would put a sculpture like that in a park? I guess art is definitely a personal choice, lol. Cocoa would be growling at it.
It’s all part of this “Frieze” festival going on, most of the art is a bit more standard sculpture park type stuff, but this one stands out! Ruth did not trust him, ha!
Great week! Yes, that fall is scary- just a reminder of how quickly things could go drastically wrong. Glad you’re okay! I hope it’s 48 degrees for your race, that would be amazing. I’m getting excited for you- it’s coming up soon!
Thanks Jenny! 48 would be fab 🙂
Glad you’re okay after that fall on the stairs. That sounds scary!
How fun that you and Dustin found each other during your long run and you had company for the final miles. Yay for almost taper time!
When I saw Ruth looking at the sleep walking statue on IG, I thought maybe it was live art. The statue is creepy, but a live art version would be much worse!
I was certain it was live performance art as I approached it the first time. I could have sworn he moved, but apparently not!
Aw! Poor Ruth!
That new record was just unreal! So fast!
The views from your new place looks amazing. And I love that you and Dustin get to enjoy your running adventures together like that.
Thanks Jenn! We are enjoying the new place and I always enjoy having company on my runs.
Ruth was NOT a fan of modern art…at least not that one!
I’m so glad that you didn’t get hurt with that fall! How are the dogs dealing with it?
I had no idea about getting temp info on your Garmin. Now if I ever run a race again . . . Those temps look perfect! I hope that’s what you get. Great job on your 20 miler & love your haircut.
Poor Ruth . . . I think I agree with her. A bit odd!
I missed the fact that you moved. How exciting! So I’ve got Chicago added on my Garmin and it went from 4:19 as my first prediction, and today it’s gone down to 4:10 (although yesterday I thought it was 4:09 hmmmm). I’ll take it!! I love having all of these cool new data points and tips on my watch.
And woah, that fall sounds scary!! I’m glad you are OK!