Week 12 started off different than every other week in this cycle: with a long run, on a Monday!
My office was closed for the holiday, and since I had family in town over the weekend, it made the most sense for me to complete a simulated goofy challenge between Sunday and Monday, running 13 miles Sunday and then 18 Monday.
I let myself sleep in a little bit that morning, and got moving around 10 am. It was drizzling a little when I started running, but the temperature wasn’t bad so it was manageable. I threw on a hat to keep the rain out of my face and got moving.
A few miles solo to get to Kasey’s house, and then we set out together. I left my fuel at her parents house, so we dipped by after mile 4 to grab a Gu and some water. Kasey was a bit unhappy with me at this point, but I somehow talked her out of climbing on a bike, and she agreed to keep running- so she would total 6 miles, the longest run since she ran the Star Wars half back in April.
We headed out once more, making our task an out and back route so that Kasey wouldn’t be tempted to cut it short. The air quality wasn’t great because of the high humidity, but at least the temperature staying nice. We grabbed another sip of water when we got to the halfway point- the apartment- and then left on the last leg of Kasey’s run. I was just over 8 miles. That meant 10 miles solo were ahead of me, and I needed to get my head in it. I was feeling the 13 miles from the day before, but knew that I needed to get this run done. So, I turned on an old favorite, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and let the audio book guide me through the miles.
Every few miles I dipped into my parents house for water, grabbing fuel when necessary as well. I stopped and stretched when I needed to, took one or two quick walk breaks, but slowly but surely managed to tick away the miles.
Towards the end of the run I swapped from my audio book to some music, counting off songs as they went by. Eventually I only needed two more miles, so I could start heading in the direction of the apartment.
My watch hit 18 miles, and I made it back home into the apartment and proceeded to cough for a good ten minutes- there were still a few lingering effects of the cold I had the week before. I was a bit chilly, and rewarded myself with a nice hot shower to warm up. Goofy simulation successfully completed!
Turns out, I ran 18 miles last year on Christmas Eve too, so it seems like I am establishing somewhat of a tradition with these runs.
I took Christmas Day off so that I could focus on spending time with family, and Dennis and I celebrated our first Christmas as a married couple. Den and my family spoiled me - Den got me a R8 recovery roller, and Dad got me a pair of clip in shoes for the bike!
I sadly had to head back to work the day after Christmas, and woke up feeling congested again. I had wanted to cycle in the morning, but figured it was best to not burn the candle at both ends when I’m still not 100% - I was planning on running after work, so didn’t want to start the day exhausted.
After work Kasey and I headed to the gym when I was done with work, to hop on the treadmill. I was planning on getting in a speed workout, that would total between 10-11 miles. At first I was intimidated thinking about doing speedwork again coming off of this cold, but these were paces that I realistically knew I could run. So, I got going to see how the paces were gonna feel that day.
First, a two mile warmup. I took it easy, listening to the final episode of the not real runners podcast. Once I finished two miles, I switched gears, swapping to some fast paced music to match the speed I needed to get to. Up first was 800s, three of them at a 7:30 pace, followed by .25 mi recovery. The 7:30s were hard for me to hit, but I fought for each one of them. When I rolled into the next section of my run, a 30-minute block at an 8:56 pace, it was a relief to be able to be at a relatively easier pace. As I made my way though the miles, I worked hard to talk myself into committing to the last set of repeats, which would be another set of 800s at 7:30.
Thirty minutes flew by, and before I knew it it was time to get moving again. My headphones had died, but luckily Kasey had an extra pair on her, which she loaned me. For easy paces I love running without music, but for hard efforts it is a necessary distraction. I managed to make it though the repeats one more time, and was very relieved to be finished. I slacked a little on the cooldown, doing just enough to bring me to a round 10 miles - Dennis and Rachel were preparing soup for dinner at the apartment, and I didn’t want to keep them waiting for too long!
I will say though, my legs hated me a little for that 10 miler- I woke up super sore on Thursday morning!
Thankfully, I was able to get outside to run on Thursday, with Kasey and Sophie. The weather has warmed up a little, and while I started my run with gloves on, I really didn’t need them or the jacket I was wearing. We made our way through the neighborhood loop, and when we hit the smaller of the two inclines that Kasey insists on calling “hills,” she came to a dead stop (I use the term hill very loosely here- the usual run path has about 12 ft of elevation gain when you hit both of the hills).
I’m paraphrasing here, but she said she would die if I made her run up the hill. So, we turned instead of going straight, and made it about three houses before Kasey flopped onto a strangers lawn, where she was content being left. Not that we left her- after a few moments of croaking, we wrenched her off of the grass, and accompanied her for the half mile back to her parents house. The good news is, she lived to run another day.
Sophie and I went on for about two more miles, and when we finished the run, I realized that it had accidentally been progressive- you know it’s a good feeling run with that happens! Sophie got a garmin for Christmas, so it was fun to watch her watch show us all of the new records she had just set. I called it a night after that run, knowing that I should probably run the next morning as well, as I was going out with Den’s family for dinner on Friday night.
Friday morning I woke up to a message from ProCompression on Instagram, asking if I had received an email from the the day before- I hadn’t, but upon seeing this message I was excited enough at the idea that they may select me as an ambassador, that I found the motivation I needed to get moving, and headed to the gym to get my mileage in. It was raining, so outside wasn’t an option today.
I pulled on a bright outfit to contrast the stormy sky, and headed to LA fitness. I listened to Harry Potter 7, and trotted along for five miles. It was an uneventful morning on the treadmill. But around lunch time I received an email that I hoped to get - I was invited to become a 2019 ProCompression ambassador! I excitedly accepted, happy to be offered a spot to represent a product that I love and use on almost every run.
Saturday was full of planned activities, so I had to get out before they started- we were heading into the city with Den’s family to see the pop up exhibit for Mickey’s 90th birthday.
It was windy when I got up, but I got moving eventually. My body didn’t feel like running, but I think it was just heavy with sleep. I headed away from the apartment in the first mile, telling myself that I could quit after two miles if it really sucked. Two miles came a few blocks from the apartment, and by the time I was almost home, I was just over 2.5 miles, so I figured I may as well go for three. As you can probably guess from here, once I hit three I figured I may as well try to squeeze in the full distance, 6 miles. At mile three I ran away from the apartment for a little over a mile, and miles 4 and 5 just slipped by. At this point, I was running out of time to finish the run, as I had to leave the apartment by a specified time to get into the city on schedule, so I wound up at a total of 5.5 miles. All in all, it was a good run, despite the wind. The exhibit that we went to was fun, and had a bunch of Mickey themed photo ops - if you would like to see a video of this event, let me know with a comment below!
The final run of the week, and the last long run of my training cycle, came on Sunday. I had to run a total of 16 miles, and I recruited Mike and Sophie to share some miles with me.
I headed out around 9, and got in my first 6 miles solo, while listening to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. As I approached mile 6, I made sure my route headed towards Mike’s house. He joined in on the run, and we chatted our way though the miles as usual, this time through the roads near his house, which were a bit unfamiliar to me, so I more than once took a turn that lead us right out onto a main road.
As Mike’s miles came to an end, we swung by my parents house and picked up Sophie so she could keep me company for the last few miles, and then ran Mike home.
Sophie and I opted to run near the apartment, and were both feeling stiff as we approached the end of our miles. I hit 16 right as we approached the apartment, and then we treated ourselves to some Chinese food to celebrate a job well done.
I had to spend the rest of the day preparing to host people on New Year’s Eve, but was glad that I found time to get my miles in.
Also, this week turned out to be my highest mileage week to date - 59.5 miles!