Weekly Recap: 5 Weeks Until the Cape Town Marathon & Back in the U.S.!

Hi friends! Its time for my weekly recap of training for the Cape Town marathon and life in London! Though this week, I was not actually in London much, I was back in the U.S.!

Monday: In NYC for a few days, so of course, I had a morning run in Central Park, 7 miles.

I was out there running before sunrise, but there were lots of other runners – and dogs! I believe certain parts of Central Park allow dogs off lead before 9 am. Even saw a vizsla! It was nice crisp fall-like morning, great for a run.

Then it was a full day in the office. I don’t feel jet lagged going from Europe to US, only going US to Europe…so I felt fine the whole day, though it didn’t hurt that I had a lot of coffee catch-ups with colleagues.

Tuesday: Another Central Park run, this time about 8.7 miles with some goal marathon pace miles in there. My workout was meant to be closer to 10, but I ran short on time.

I did have a chance to meet up with Cari before work! Her office is close to office, so it was lovely to see her. First Tromsø (Norway), then London, now New York City! I’ve been seeing her all over the world. Where to next, Cari?

It was really sweet of her to stop by to chat, and she even gave me a “In my Kamala Era” bracelet. Love it!

I was in the New York office until around 3:30, when I took an uber to JFK to catch a 6 pm flight to Minneapolis.  I arrived in Minneapolis late; I was staying at a hotel right by the office, which was kind of a treat. Its not common for me to stay a hotel in Minneapolis, where I lived for 22 years of my life, and it was a really lovely hotel in a nice location for running along the river and walking to the office. 

Wow, 22 years? That sounds so long! I went to the University of Minnesota from 2000-2004, starting working right after graduation, met Dustin when I was 24, got married when I was 28 and stayed there until 2022, at which time I became a London gal for the past 2.5 years!

So many Minneapolis memories, both good and bad…! A lot happened in those 22 years.

Wednesday: Minneapolis running, just like the olden days! I ran 6 miles along the river road, since I was staying downtown. It was so lovely! Another crisp cool morning, even though Minneapolis was in a bit of heat wave, with temps nearly 90F/30C during the day!

Wednesday evening, I had an amazing work dinner at Snack Bar in the North Loop. Very good! It was really nice to spend time with my Minneapolis colleagues in person.

Thursday: Another Mississippi river run! This time just 5 miles, with a jaunt through the University of Minnesota campus, to reminisce on my Golden Gopher days!

After work, I went to check on our house and then did a 3-mile bonus jog to meet my friend’s new dog! She was fostering this little cutie before they decided to adopt him. Name is Jasper!

Friday:  Minneapolis Chain of Lakes long run! I ran to meet up with my friend Vicki for some miles, then dropped her off and ran to my friend Mason’s house and joined him for some more miles! I ended with a few solo miles for 15 miles total on the morning, with lots of time on Lake Harriet and a bit of time on Bde Maka Ska, just like the old days!

It wasn’t too long after a shower, some lunch, a bit of work, before I had to pack up and head to the airport for my return flight to London.

Friday night flight from Minneapolis back to Heathrow, landing at 7 am local time at Heathrow.

Saturday: I thought about running a few miles to shake off the airplane fatigue, but after I unpacked and took a shower, I fell asleep for 3 hours! I know a nap is not the best way to combat jet lag…Even though I did have the benefit of flying first class (for work), I still didn’t sleep that well on the flight and really was just tired from a busy week. I find it much easier to go from Europe to the U.S. than U.S. to Europe! It hits me harder on this direction. Anyone else?

Eventually Dustin and I went out for pizzas and a few beers in the Hackney Wick area of London, to Crate and then Beer Merchant’s Tap. A fun welcome back to London!

Sunday: My coach added a secondary long-ish run to my schedule, with some marathon pace effort in there; warm-up, 2×5 miles at marathon pace with 1/2 jog in between, for 12.5 miles total. On my slow jog up Haverstock hill at the end, I must have been more tired than I realized, as I tripped on the sidewalk- on nothing!- and took a comically bad fall. I’m fine, just some road rash on my hands and knees. Two different cars stopped to see if it was okay, which was very nice of them. I’m just fine, thankfully.

I quickly showered and then took the Northern line to London Bridge, where the WMN Run group hosted a strength training for runner’s session at Gym Nation. The trainer was great, she really focused on safety and form, while explaining all the moves and why we were doing them. I don’t lift heavy very much and could definitely tell. I’m weak! The whole session, with warm-up, mobility drills, the strength training and cooldown was about 90 minutes. I’m knackered now!

Summary: About 58 miles of running, which I’m proud of, considering multiple cities and flights and jet lag this week, though I didn’t fit in any strength training or even core work (other than the session today).

Next week, I will do better! It’s a big week of training too for Cape Town, probably one of the peak weeks, so I’ll be focused on all the rest and hydration as well as hopefully fitting in some more strength.

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!