Summer has arrived! Or at least summer weather has arrived here in Minneapolis. Right in time for a big week of training for the Idaho marathon, which I’ll be racing in just 6 weeks!
Here’s how this “big” week of training went!
Monday: 8 solo miles before work. Any combination of 2 lakes- Cedar, Bde Maka Ska, Harriet, or Lake of the Isles- is approximately a 7 mile run from my house, but Cedar always feels the farthest away! Not sure why. It was a pretty morning out there though, and I enjoyed the solo miles.
Barre class at the Bar Method after work
Tuesday: 6.2 miles before work with Sarah and Julie, beautiful sunny morning. It was 65 degrees when we ran at 6:30 am!
The Sculpture Garden was a recurring theme this week, as you’ll see from my pictures…
Wednesday: Workout Wednesday and another alternating marathon pace and “hard” workout: 3 miles easy, 4x(4 min mp, 1 min hard), recovery jog for 5 minutes, then 4x(4 min mp, 1 min hard).
So, 20 minutes of work, recover, 20 minutes of work.
The first set of 4x(4 min mp, 1 min hard) went okay, but not great. And then the second set was a complete bust. It was very humid and I didn’t bring water, so I am sure dehydration played a factor.
A disappointing workout for sure. But I won’t dwell on it; I know its just one workout and I can do better next time. (And I will definitely bring water next time!)
11 miles, 9 min/mile average. Done.
Even though I’ve backed off of Discover Strength sessions a bit, I still have a few sessions to use up. So I did a virtual 1:1 after work.
Later in the evening, we had our first bocce ball game; we joined a neighborhood league with our friends Julie and Mason at a nearby park.
Most of the other teams are made up of retirees who are much better than us at bocce. But it was still fun! We play every Wednesday until the beginning of July.
Thursday: Another hot and humid morning! I did 5 easy miles with a few friends, 9:30 min/mile average. Barre class at the Bar Method after work.
Friday: Another 5 miles before work, this time with my friend Vicki. 9:40 min/mile average. It was pouring when we met up; I thought for sure one of us would cancel, but we both showed up and got in the miles! It wasn’t too bad once we started. I was pretty drenched though!
Saturday: 21 miles. My longest long run since the Atlanta marathon in 2020!
My coach just put 3 hours & 15 minutes on my schedule, all easy, with no particular mileage goal in mind, just time on feet. I ended up with 21 miles in that time; it was a struggle though.
We started at 7 am and it was already in the 70’s and very humid!
I carried a handheld water bottle (pictured above) but I drank that so quickly…it was a lifesaver to have Christie (my running friend who is injured) out on the route with Gatorade and water for us. I planned my route to swing by where she was THREE times. I would fill my handheld each time (and drink more while I was there.) Thank you Christie! I wouldn’t have survived 21 miles in that heat/humidity without that support stop.
It was a brutal 21 miles; there were some walk breaks and of course the stops to visit Christie, etc. but I got it done. Took a lot out of me though!
Multiple visits to the Sculpture Garden on the 21 miler!
First thing I had when I got back to my house was a refreshing Daily Harvest smoothie (Use this code for $25 off: RE-YT75RVG)!
…and then a LOT of water, nuun, and plenty of food!
Sunday: 5.5 miles with Dustin and Ruth, 8:45 min/mile average, with plenty of stops for Ruth to get some water. It was another hot and humid morning and I don’t want to push her too hard.
I tested out a new Rabbit crop; the fit was okay, but I probably could have sized down to make it a bit snugger/more supportive.
Summary: 62 miles of running!!!, 2 barre classes, one virtual 1:1 strength session, lots of dog walking as usual. Full week!
Next week will be a big cutback week, as we are heading to the Boundary Waters for a few nights of camping with friends (and the pups!) I will miss next week’s recap too, but stop by later in the week for a belated recap!
That’s a wrap; I hope you had a great week in fitness, be sure to visit all the other bloggers who link up with Running on the Fly and Confessions of a Mother Runner . Check them out for workout ideas and inspiration!
I ran 6 miles this morning. It wasn’t really humid and there was cloud cover for most of it. And I drank 16 oz of water and probably could have drunk more — should’ve brought me 10 oz bottles with me!
You definitely did great this week! Nice job! And great job getting out there in the pouring rain.
The pouring rain was better than the heat/humidity on Saturday, ha!
Great job with that long run! Looks like a strong week of running. It really did warm up quickly!
Sure did! Shock to the body!
Your 21-miler sounds brutal! My 9-miler went well, but it wasn’t quite as warm here. That said, I didn’t bring water (since I “only” planned on 6-8 miles). When I got back home, I drank a bottle of Gatorade in record speed, and I don’t remember how much water. You know I love the heat, but with no acclimation period, it can really be humbling.
I love the heat but that doesn’t change that it still affects my paces! We are still human 🙂
It really got hot here too not really ready for it. It was already 85 when I finished my run today. Way to go on your 21 miler! What will be your longest run before your race?
I think that is my longest long run. I’ll have a few more in the 17-19 area but I don’t think my coach wants to do another 20+ this time.
Fun on the bocce ball! I’ve only played a few times but it’s a great game for summer evenings. Sounds like we all are getting a dose of summer – you’ve got some great tank tops though.
Thanks Coco! Bocce was more fun than I expected.
Summer came in with a vengeance this week, that’s for sure! I ran about 5 miles on Saturday morning and I’m glad I did since it was the “cooler” of the two days this weekend, but I was still dripping by the end of the run.
I always love all of your running clothes, especially the crop shirts!
Thanks Kim! I’m always dripping by the end of a summer run. Full detox I guess, ha!
Wow! Congrats on a big week and the 21 miler! Those are confidence builders for sure. Have so much fun on your camping trip! It seems to have warmed up everywhere this past week. Yikes!
Thanks Marcia! Yes getting in a 20-22 miler makes me feel a lot more prepared for 26.2!
A 62 mile week is great, as is a 21 mile long run! This time of year is so hard because people haven’t had time yet to get adjusted to the heat and humidity. Those things definitely make a difference.
Enjoy your cutback week! It sounds like a fun time.
Thanks Jenny! I’m excited to get away for a little bit.
Enjoy Boundary Waters. Can’t wait to see all your photos.
I don’t know how you do any runs without water. For me I just hate being thirsty or having a dry mouth that it’s just habit. One I should probably break but… eh
Congratulations on amazing week and so glad to see the sculpture park pics, so fun
Thank you Cari! I haven’t been to the Boundary Waters this time of year and am worried about the bugs (ticks and biting flies.) This might be a very diff experience than August when there were minimal bugs!
I need to be better about carrying water, even on weekday runs.
Awesome week Jessie! Congrats on your 21-miler! It’s so nice that your friend could provide you with course support.
It was so nice to have her help us out!
62 miles in one week! That’s like some of my months lol
I don’t drink while I run but now that’s its heating up, I loop my runs or maybe carry.
Bocce ball. How fun!! It’s good to do other things besides running.
My mah jongg games are starting up so I am excited.
It is fun to expand my hobbies a little bit outside of running with some bocce!
serious mileage Jessie! I’m sorry you had a bummer workout on Wednesday and that your 21miler was tough – you’ve got an amazing friend out there on the “course” for support though! Warmer weather is always a challenge, isn’t it??? Does it get/stay rather humid in Minneapolis?
We do have rather hot and humid summers, considering how extreme it is in the other direction in the winter/ the worst of both seasons, ha! Just kidding, it’s a great place to live, I swear 🙂
Great week and great mileage, especially in this heat!!
Thanks Erin for reading and commenting!
Great week and I’m glad you had your friend’s support on the long one. I have to have a big think about whether I can do those long runs and weeks but I have till Jan to decide whether to sign up for one last mara.
And I’m sure we had that blue rooster on our Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square at one point. Hm.
Why one last marathon Liz??
Yes, I think the blue rooster is a clone or a traveller 🙂
Why one more or why a last one?! Being so slow, the training takes sooo long and also tires me out so much for the rest of my life. So I think I’d like to go back to Reykjavik, then I think I don’t know whether to do it … argh! I don’t think I’ll do any more after that, though.
Great job with your long run and your total mileage! That was nice of Christie to be out there with water and gatorade. I have played bocce once and couldn’t figure out how to play it. I have not tried it again.
Ha! I am actually really enjoying the bocce!
Great week! I love the sculpture garden – that blue chicken is crazy!
I also love that your friend hooked you up with a hydration station! How great!
Thanks Jenn! Yes, that blue rooster is so bright!
Great workouts this week! Lots of miles for you. Race day is getting close! Technically I’m in week 1 of my fall marathon training plan, but I haven’t even plugged the workouts in my calendar yet. Oops. Life is busy here!
Fun! Which fall race are you doing?
Erie Marathon again. Registration will open June 1st!
You are so lucky to have a friend like Christie! It’s a bummer that she’s injured, but wow, to do that for you during your long run is so nice! Impressive mileage last week and yay for this week being a down week! Hope you have fun on your little getaway!
It was SO nice of her!