This past weekend Craig and I–along with our friends Brittany and Jake–ran the Kenai River Marathon Relay. This has been a fall tradition for me for several years now. I haven’t done it every year, but I did do it in 2009 (before I was blogging), 2010, 2011, 2014 (8 months pregnant), 2015, and now this year, which was my 6th time doing it. (In 2013 I ran the full marathon.)
We had so much fun cheering, being support crew, and running the marathon relay. Our team placed 3rd overall! (It’s a small race, so don’t think we’re speedy or anything. Ha!)
We were Team Couples Retreat (aka Couples Therapy). You see, when I registered our team, I registered us as “Couples Therapy,” but when I was making the signs, I thought our team name was “Couples Retreat,” so that’s what I wrote on the sign. Oops! You get the idea though.
Jake ran the first leg of the race, Brittany was second (and she rocked it running at 6 months pregnant), Craig ran the third leg, and I ran the last leg of the relay. My leg was 7.4 miles and nice and flat. I did a long run the day before, so I didn’t push it too hard as my legs were still tried from the mileage the day before. Despite the 23 miles the day before, I did average a 6:45 pace during those 7+ miles, so I’ll take that!
Cullen–along with Brittany and Jake’s two kids–had so much fun playing and cheering together.
The training cycle for the NYC Marathon is quickly wrapping up. I’m sad because I’ve only been training since mid-July due to my injuries earlier this summer, and this is when it gets fun! You start to see improvements in your times, and you start to feel fitter and faster each week.
I am thankful for what my body has allowed me to do. My body has been holding together really well despite a lot of injuries this spring and summer. While my glute and hamstring flare up here and there–when I’m not good about recovery!–I’m glad it has allowed me train for this marathon. This past week I hit 74 miles, which included one big track workout, a long run, a yoga session, and two weight sessions (each 45 minutes).
I did a track workout of 15 x 400 meters last Thursday. I did this same workout last year leading up to the Twin Cities Marathon, so I wanted to try it again. I was secretly hoping it would go better than last year, but I think it went about the same. The plus for this year was that my splits were 90 seconds or faster for all of my splits whereas last year I had a couple splits over 90 seconds.
I have been doing my best to stay on top of recovery because it is critical during this time of the training cycle with the high mileage and intense workouts. I can definitely tell when I am not doing my stretching/foam rolling, eating clean, ART, and most importantly sleeping enough!
This past weekend I also had three athletes racing, and they all did amazing!
Veronica’s big goal this year was to run a sub-2:20 in the half marathon, and she did it at the Smuttynose Half Marathon in Hampton Beach, NH this past weekend. She ran a 2:19 and already has her sights on a faster time. #classicrunner
Grace ran her ‘A’ goal marathon for the year at Wineglass Marathon in New York, where she crushed her ‘A’ goal of 3:45 running a 3:40!
Aimee ran the Kenai River Half Marathon and did much better than she expected!
We have been having a gorgeous fall here, and I never want it to end! The temperatures have been much warmer than I remember, and the temperature hasn’t even dipped below freezing yet!
I have been getting out with Cullen most days to a park, taking Sadie for a walk, or going for a “hike” around Anchorage. Speaking of which I am off to go pick up Cullen from preschool and get outside for another walk!
