9 Weeks Until the Amsterdam Marathon

We’ve been living in London for three full weeks now. We’ve explored a lot and learned a lot, but yet we’ve barely scratched the surface.

Here’s my weekly recap of life in London and training for the Amsterdam marathon:

Monday: 7.1 miles before work; I ran farther down the Thames River path than normal to the Isles of Dogs. Did not see any dogs. Not at all as advertised! Jk.

10 min core on Peloton.

Tuesday: 3.3 mile run commute again with my colleague!

And then a 3 mile run commute home (mostly walking, crowds are insane after work!), then 10 min core + 20 min lower body on Peloton.

Wednesday: Rest day from running, about 4 miles of walking + 10 min core & 20 min upper body on Peloton.

Thursday: 10.3 mile run before work. 10 min core + 30 min lower body on Peloton. Lots of walking…that’s the norm in London.

After work, Dustin and I grabbed dinner at the Culpepper and then stopped at the Ten Bells for a pint on the walk home; the Ten Bells is a 300-year old pub, and is notorious for being the location that Jack the Ripper picked up two of his victims. Yikes!

Friday: I brought Ruth with me for a 7 mile Embankment loop run.

She hadn’t run that route with me before, so we stopped for some sight-seeing, haha!

She is so quick to snag any food/trash left behind. I had to stop multiple times to try to pry stuff from her mouth…probably my least favorite part of running with her in London, at least in the busy touristy areas- all the garbage. There are rubbish bins all around, so I don’t understand why people still litter.

Anyways, there are sometimes brides getting photos taken in front of Big Ben in the morning. I guess the light is just right!

Saturday: 18 mile long run; my first solo long run in London! Well, technically Dustin ran with me for a few miles in the beginning and then found me in Hyde Park, so we did a few more together in the middle, but I was mostly alone.

I mean, he was around just in time to take a picture of me in front of Buckingham Palace. Ha!

I explored a new route; I ran essentially the same route that I run-commute to work and then cut through St. James Park and looped Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. I ran a few loops in the parks before heading back to our temp flat for 18 miles total. The last 4 miles back along the Thames to our flat were quite crowded and a bit challenging, but the miles in the parks were lovely. There were multiple (artsy) public water fountains and a few public bathrooms. Score!

After a dog walk and grocery store walk, we took the tube out to Chelsea to do some shopping and exploring. One of my favorite non-running brands (Boden) has a store in Chelsea- so exciting! I’m used to just ordering online, it’s nice to be able to try things on.

We also wandered around Mayfair for awhile, checking out Old Bond Street and the historical arcades.

Eventually we headed back to our flat, walked the dogs again, and then walked to dinner at Gunpowder in Spitalfield’s. All in all, we walked TEN miles this day, after running 18 of them. Legs were tired!

Sunday: We were up early to do a quick 5-mile run with Ruth before a fun day trip.

We bought tickets to take the national rail train (different than the tube that I take to work) to Margate, a seaside town on the southeast coast known for its sandy beach.

We actually did still take the regular train/tube to King’s Cross station to catch the national railway to Margate, so both pups are now experienced riders. They both were pretty easy going about most of it, even when they had to be carried on the escalators.

Here’s a helpful map of where Margate is located. The high speed train takes about 90 minutes to get there.

During the summer, the main beaches are not dog-friendly, so we had to walk a few miles to a quieter one farther down. Once there, Ruth and Matilda could run in the sand and in the surf off-leash, which they enjoyed.

We had often said before we moved that this would be an opportunity for Matilda, at the age of 13, to see the ocean for the first time, and now she has. She actually drank from it at first, the way she does in Minnesota/Wisconsin lakes and then quickly changed her mind on that one!

This was the main beach when we first arrived…

This was the beach by the time we left!

There’s a 6-mile coastal walk from Margate to Broadstairs, but round trip would be a bit too long for a day (particularly for Matilda) so we just did about half of the walk and then turned back to Margate for a late lunch and an ice cream cone (even a frozen treat for the pups!) before taking the train back to London. A full day of sun and fun for us all!

Summary: 55 miles of running, over 30 miles of walking (eeks!), attempt at daily core (not perfect) and a mix of strength training on the Peloton app.

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!