Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you had a nice weekend. I got to spend some time with my boys, go to an ugly Christmas sweater party, do a long run, and work at the store. It was a busy weekend, as always, but a good one.
Saturday morning I delivered my cupcakes to Skinny Raven, and then Craig, Cullen, and I went to the coffee shop to hang out for a while. We definitely can’t sit and chat like we used to pre-baby, but it was still fun to be there for a while.
When we got home, Craig put Cullen down for his nap. (Craig is actually better at putting Cullen down for his nap or at bedtime than I am these days. Cullen falls asleep much more quickly for Craig. It is definitely nice that we can take turns now.) After I knew Cullen was down, I set out for my long run. Overall, my long run went okay. It didn’t go exceptionally well, but it wasn’t horrible either. I averaged 8:23 on a hilly course, which is a little slower than my usual pace, but I wanted to take the hilly route because I know it will make me stronger in the end. It was 25* F during my run, but I wasn’t very warm, and when I got back, my face was bright red from the windburn and cold air.
After the run, I foam rolled and stretched for a bit, and then we made peanut butter bars that we took to the ugly Christmas sweater party. These bars are definitely a go-to for many potlucks I’ve attended. They are super easy to make and taste incredibly. I can’t say they’re healthy though.
This was our third time attending our friend’s ugly Christmas sweater party. (I seriously cannot believe these ugly Christmas sweater parties are still going strong.) Last year Cullen was just a few weeks old.
This time he was crawling and moving around like lightening. He still isn’t walking yet, and I think it might be a few weeks yet. He still needs to hold both of my hands to walk but practically runs when he does walk. He was actually a really good baby and made it to 10 p.m.–as long as he was with me. He was such a mama’s boy and wouldn’t even go to Dad without fussing.
Sunday brought an early run before church. Seven easy miles at a slow 9:00 pace, but I got the miles in. After church I worked at the store (Skinny Raven Sports) for the afternoon into the early evening.
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This past weeks of running was an okay one. I felt like each day I would barely get my run in before the day ended. I finished up my speed block of training, and my coach said I would be very happy about this. I think the hardest things about this training block has been training in the winter and the sleep-deprivation that I’ve been in for over a year now.
Monday
8 miles, easy pace
I ended up doing this run in the evening after Craig got home from work. It went well, and it was kind of nice to run in the evening rather than the early morning.
Tuesday
8 miles with 3x600m at 5:50/mile pace
I did this workout on the treadmill. I would have loved to do it outside, but the tracks are covered in snow, and I didn’t know a good way to measure 600 meters on the road.
The 5:50 pace was fast. Holy cow! I don’t know how the elites run that pace (and faster!) for an entire marathon! But I hung on.
Wednesday
off
It was weird to have another day off after not running on Sunday, but Sunday was an unscheduled day off due to my cold.
Thursday
4 miles easy + 5 strides
Easy run before the time trial. I slept in until the last possible second, jetting out the door, and returning as late as I could before Craig had to go to work.
Friday
9.5 miles, including a 5K time trial
This didn’t go as well as I hoped it would. I thought for sure I would be able to run around 19:00, but I only managed to run 2 seconds faster than my current PR of 19:20. I maintained a 6:07 pace for the first two miles, but during the last mile, I really struggled to hang on.
Saturday
15.5 miles
I ran during the afternoon, so it was nice that it was light out while I was running.
Sunday
7 miles, easy
Slow-going. After two hard days in a row, I was feeling it!
Total: 52 miles
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Questions
- What was the highlight of your weekend?
- If you did a long run (or any run), how did it go?
- What are you looking forward to this week?
