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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

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!


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?

17 comments:

  1. Throughout the week, I typically train with one other person (I have a few training partners so it varies every time) but on Sundays a group of us lift together and it's so fun! Definitely the highlight of my training week :) The best thing about training is ALWAYS the eating!! haha

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    1. I have never weight trained with a group, but I see a lot of the guys at the gym training together. The girls don't really train together... maybe because there aren't many girls that lift at my gym! (It is Planet Fitness after all haha)

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  2. That is wonderful that you are back at it again like pre-surgery days!

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    1. It feels great, I hope I continue to improve!

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  3. Those are two awesome runs. Way to turn up the speed, you were flying. I had a great 5k race on Sat, hit my goal and got a new PR. I always turn my runs into speed work or progressive runs lol in pretty bad about it. No we don't have a running group but we are looking for one. Haven't found one that fits our schedule.

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    1. Congrats on your PR! I'm going to hop over to your blog today and catch up on your race!

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  4. Your splits from Sunday are so beautiful. Can I have them for Christmas? :D

    I wish I had a running group. There is this club called Black Girls on the Run that always does their group run at the same time as me. I want to join them, but I'm not sure I would be allowed? lol I should look that up!

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    1. LOL YOU ARE HILARIOUS!!!!!! Please let me know if they let you join them!

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  5. Your splits are magnificent! We need to run together one day. Come back to California!

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    1. Hey, if you let me stay with you, I promise to run with you every day!!!

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  6. Totally relate to you on all this! Plus looks like we run at very similar various paces and I always have my last mile as the fastest. Very cool!

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    1. It is a fun thing to do! Especially if it is a shorter run. Though that was very tough for me. So glad I could do it, though!

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  7. i don't think i've ever accidentally fell into a speed workout, but i can imagine that it would be an amazing feeling! congratulations on feeling better and getting back to all the things that you love :)

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  8. Wow---fantastic job on your runs! So glad you are recovered :D I'm on my way ;)

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  9. Awesome weekend! Glad things are getting better and you are feeling like yourself!!!!

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