It’s been awhile…

I’m back!

Sorry y’all, for the silence.  I’ve been having some mental battles with running lately, and I was starting to let it take over my life/mood.  But, I’m working through it! More on that later this week 🙂

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On Saturday, I was able to get a long run in with Kevin again.  Since we were at his place in Baltimore, we decided to head out there.  Kevin mapped a run that took us to Ft McHenry, around the fort, and then back.  But sadly, by the time we got there, they were already closed for the evening. 😦

We could have been here, but it was closed. Whomp whomp.

That’s okay though! We got in a nice 7ish mile run, AND some good core work afterwards (more planks!).  I also felt motivated to start doing push-ups again!

Let's focus on the "guns" and ignore the awk duck positioning of my feet

Yay! I think it’s already working! (note: i am so freaking weak. please do not think i can help you move furniture now bc i did 20 push-ups.  i should prob admit that they were 20 girl-push-ups.  🙂 )

I was really pleased with the long run because it never felt hard, and I never felt tired.  Aside from the waves of nausea (lesson learned: no gummy worms before a run), I could have kept going. So that was super positive with 3 weeks until my 10 miler.

Sunday morning I got up bright and early to spectate the many, many, many people running the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler.  At first, I was still a bit bitter bc I wasn’t running it.  But then, I was happy, bc 7:30 is early, and I was able to roll out of bed much later than race participants.  Yay for sleeping in! (and I still got to brunch like I ran 10 miles)

After brunch, I felt slightly buzzed from mimosas motivated to get my own legs moving.  So, I decided to go out for a 5ish mile recovery run.  My watch battery died the day before, so I had neither time, nor distance.  I headed out, with the plan to run down the Mall, loop around the Washington Monument, and then head back via Constitution Ave.  About 1 mile in, I stopped at a light to stretch and realized I forgot my knee strap!  I decided to adjust, for fear that my ITBS would flare up and affect runs later this week.  I ended up doing 4.1 AND never experienced any tightness or pain in my knee!  Super pumped!

All in all it was a GREAT weekend of running, and a great way to get me motivated again.  On Sunday, I just really enjoyed my time out there on the roads.  I truly felt relaxed AND pain-free, which is quite rare.

This week I’d like to get some good speed work in (bc so far, I haven’t).  However, I’m torn between doing repeat 800’s, or doing hills.  The GW Parkway has a bunch of rolling hills, so I think it would be wise for me to throw some hill work in there.  Maybe a combo of the 2?  A few repeats of hills, and a few 800’s?

What’s a good workout you like to do to prepare for hilly races?

Right now I’m relaxing with The Voice and devouring the rest of the Bubble Up Pizza that Kevin made last night!(Recipe courtesy of Lindsay from Running the Windy City!)

Suuuuch a delicious easy dinner! And it’s also a super easy way to incorporate some leftover fresh veggies! (We made ours with chicken sausage, bell peppers, tomatoes and onions)

I’m laying out my clothes tonight in another attempt to start doing my runs in the morning! I hope I can get up! 🙂