Two FABULOUS weekend runs!

Prior to Boston, every single lower body workout had one purpose: Get me through Boston uninjured!!!

Now that Boston is over and I feel fully recovered from the marathon, I can slowly ease back into the fun activities I held off from doing for so long! Jumping rope, burpees, lower body weight training, speed work, Zumba... they are all in my near future! There will be a lot of "testing the waters" in these next few weeks but I am excited that I am finally ready to actually test them!

This past weekend I did something I haven't done in quite a long time. I ran both days- Saturday and Sunday. And both runs were for FUN! (Although Sunday's run sort of turned into a speed workout but I'll get to that!)

On Saturday, I met up with my running group. We call ourselves The Crispies and we meet on Saturday mornings for long runs. Sometimes we run road and sometimes we run trail. This morning, we were running road around the little town of New Cumberland. I have been MIA from Crispy runs for several months, so it was great to see old friends!

Source: Nate Bridi

I spent the first half of the run gabbing with JK-L, aka, The Trainer Who Changed My Life. We took our time and ran at a very easy pace. I unfortunately had to turn around and leave the group halfway through the run to make sure I was home by a certain time. I thought I'd follow the directions backwards, but that actually turned out to be really hard to do! Instead, I found my own way back to my car and then just did a few loops around the park, making my run an even 10 miles. The second half of the run I was doing miles in the low 8s, which is great for me at this point!

One of the things I love about logging double digits is that I get to REFUEL! I do not mind eating all the calories I burned running.

Sunday's run was supposed to just be an easy 5 miler around my neighborhood, but I kept picking up the pace as my run went along. Halfway through, I decided to purposefully pick up my pace...

That last mile... Woah Nellie. My lungs were burning, my head was pounding... It felt horrible and awesome at the same time. I missed that feeling. The feeling of pushing yourself as hard as you can. It's been awhile since I've felt like I was really pushing myself.

Obviously, I am super excited to have been able to clock a sub 7 mile. I haven't done that since January! My knee cap was sore for a day or two after, but it was worth it to prove to myself I still have some speed in me left over from before my surgery! I'm starting to feel like myself again. It is a great feeling.

Have any FABULOUS runs lately?

Ever turn a run into speed work halfway through or am I the only one with running ADD?

Do you have a running group/club you meet with regularly?