Weekly Recap: 9 & 8 Weeks Until Tromsø- Double Recap!

Here’s my two-week recap! Last week, I shared London marathon week (for my husband, not for me!) Today I’m wrapping up two weeks instead of one to get back on track!

Week of April 22 through April 28

Monday: Rest! I was very tired on Monday from the busy day cheering the day before at the London Marathon. Spectating a marathon and chasing your runner around the city is almost as exhausting as actually running the marathon! I took Monday as an unplanned rest day and my body was very grateful. I did squeeze in a Pilates class- a gentle one at Ten Health- but otherwise kept things low-key.

Of course, there’s always walks with the pups in the Heath!

Tuesday: Run commute with my colleague Tina, 4.8 miles, then a social 5k with the office group for 7.8 miles on the day. That evening, my work had organized a private tour of the National Gallery. The guide was quite good- and I was inspired to go more frequently as its free and steps away from our office!

Wednesday: 7 mile run with Tilly and Tina, beautiful morning.

Thursday: Another run commute with Tina, then we dropped off our bags and did a loop of Hyde Park at a faster pace. (It’s hard to go fast when carrying a backpack, no matter how much I plan ahead and leave things at the office!) 9 miles total.

Friday: Another run with Tina (it’s so great to have a running friend who lives close!) I met her and her friend Kate for 7 miles and then added on a harder mile at the track at the end (7:15 min/mile) just for fun for 8.5 miles total. That evening I took a Heartcore pilates class.

Saturday: I joined the WMN Run group for their monthly long run; they meet at the London Bridge station, so I ran there (6 miles) and did 10 miles with the group, then took the train home- well, after enjoying a delicious bun at Fabrique Bakery in Hoxton!

That evening, Dustin and I went to dinner at 40 Dean Street in SoHo and then went to see the musical Hadestown. Have you seen it? It did really well on Broadway, but apparently hasn’t resonated as well in London, but I enjoyed it. It helped that I had been listening to the music for a few weeks to prepare and reading up on the story. I would note that the audience appeared to be almost entirely Americans. I am so curious why this particular play resonates more with Americans…any ideas? It’s based on a story from ancient Greek mythology, updated to a Depression era vibe.

Sunday: After a later evening at the play, we enjoyed a “lie-in” before heading out for a 7-mile run (Dustin, Ruth, and me.) The rest of the day was chill with cleaning and baking; I often still make the superhero muffins from Shalene Flannagan’s Run Fast, East Slow cookbook. They are so great for a grab-and-go breakfast, which I need especially when I run commute!

Summary: 56 miles of running, 2 pilates reformer classes

Monday: 9 mile morning run with 3×1 mile at a harder pace mixed in there, then Heartcore in the evening.

Tuesday: Run commute with Tina, 4.5 miles, then an office 5k, 7.6 miles total. Gorgeous sunny morning in London. The sun is up and bright early now! The days are getting sooo long. I fit in a pilates class at Ten later in the day.

Wednesday: 8 miles with 4×6 minutes with 2 min recovery jog at marathon effort.

Shortly after this run, I started to feel pretty sick- all the tummy troubles and a fever. I don’t know if it was food poisoning of some sort of just a 24 hr stomach bug, but it was not good. After suffering through the day at work, I was in rough shape by evening. Through the night, I also had a fever and a headache (though I feel like the headache was from dehydration.) My Whoop device gave me a 1% for the night, which is so low! I’ve never had that low of a reading before. It makes me trust the data, as I was definitely not well and my Whoop could tell, even though I slept for many many hours!

Thursday: For the first time in a very long time, I wasn’t able to work, even from home, as I was too sick. Skipping work was one thing, but I was also disappointed as we had tickets to see a singer I like, Ocie Elliot, that evening; Dustin thought about going solo but he decided to come home to care for me instead.

By the evening, I was getting better. I was able to log onto work and catch up a bit and was feeling a bit more normal.

Friday: I was feeling much better, so I decided to give an easy run a try. I met Tina and we took things slow and my stomach was okay, but I could tell I was pretty dehydrated from the previous two days (and underfueled from not eating my normal amount of food.)

I was able to eat normal meals and drink lots of Liquid IV and Nuun and Lucozade and water through the day Friday, but honestly recovery from a stomach illness takes time, doesn’t it? Eeks.

I really wanted to feel better (I mean, who doesn’t…) as it was a long weekend in the U.K. and we had booked a dog-friendly lodge in the Cotswolds (the Lygon Arms in Broadway, which was lovely!)

Fortunately I was mostly back to normal. I ended up working a full day Friday before we left London to drive (well, Dustin drove!) to Broadway. We arrived there around 8 pm, checked in, took the pups for a late night walk, and then had a late dinner at the hotel.

My appetite was back at least, though I was still trying to get back to normal with hydration.

Saturday: We got up to take the dogs for a nice sunny early morning walk, and then left Matilda to rest as Ruth, Dustin, and I ran 6.2 miles in the English countryside. It was hilly, but it was lovely and sunny. Though I wasn’t feeling 100%, I was definitely feeling much, much better.

Later in the day, we took the pups to the Cotswolds Wildlife Park, which is a zoo of sorts, small in terms of animals, but lots of acreage, and dog-friendly! Matilda kept her cool around all the new sights and smells, but of course, Ruth lost her marbles. I’ll share pics on Instagram soon!

Sunday: I was able to run 14.5 miles in the Cotswolds, 6 solo, 6 with Ruth & Dustin, then 2 more solo. My stomach felt okay; it was rather warm, but I carried water and stopped at a petrol station for more.

Summary: 52 miles of running, 2 Pilates classes. I really hope this stomach thing is behind me now, but I can’t be too dramatic about it, as I don’t often get sick like this. But it was not fun, (as everyone knows,) and definitely messes with training plans!

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!