I’m so sad to say goodbye to my favorite month. October was (mostly) a blast; running felt so great too! Hopefully November isn’t too hard on us weather-wise here in Minneapolis, as I have 3 more weeks until my next marathon, the Route 66 marathon in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which will be my 37th full (hopefully!)
Here’s how training went this past week:
Monday: Very early 9 miler (back to alarms going off in the 4:XX’s!). I was pretty anxious Sunday night about getting up so early and fitting in 9 miles before my first full day back in the office, but I covered the miles, got “ready” ready, and made it there by 7:30 am, with coffee, snacks, and lunch all packed!
I’m literally only 5 miles from my office, but there isn’t an efficient way to drive there, and I’m not ready to go back to riding public transportation yet (still have some covid anxiety!)
After work, I made my way through more of the Strength for Runners classes with three 10-minute classes (Becs, Matt, & Robin) after work, 30 minutes total.
Tuesday: Another early early run, but this time my friend Isabelle joined me (she’s back in the office at her job a few days a week as well.) 7 miles, 9 min/mile average. Dark the whole run!
Wednesday: Workout Wednesday and I brought Ruth along for her longest run (9.1 miles!) 3 miles easy, 5x(3 min at marathon pace, 1 min jog, 2 minutes at tempo pace, 2 min jog), cool-down. Ruth helped me nail this workout, 9.1 miles at an 8:10 min/mile average.
After work, we walked to Wooden Ship Brewery to catch up with our friends from the summer bocce league. It was a perfect fall evening for sitting outside with a pint.
Thursday: 7 rain recovery miles with Christie and Sarah, 9:24 min/mile average. It was raining the whole time, but not pouring. We didn’t melt.
I did a random stack of classes on Peloton : 10 min core with Andy, 10 min Arms & Light Weights with Hannah, 20 min Arms & Shoulder Strength with Jess Sims, and another 10 min core class with Emma for 50 minutes total.
Friday: Rest from running! I did do 10 min Glutes & Leg Strength with Matty, 20 min Glutes & Legs Strength with Rebecca, and 15 min Core for Runners (thanks Cari for the recommendation) with Becs for 45 minutes of strength.
Saturday: Long run day and for a rare special treat, Dustin did my long run with me! He’s considering running Tulsa with me; he’s run two marathons with me (Phoenix in 2016 and Big Cottonwood Canyon in 2016– my PR!)
It’s been awhile since we ran one together and I am not in PR shape, so I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. He had a strong Idaho marathon (2:59) but a crappy Boston (3:33), so he would rather run with me so close to Boston. But I know that having him with me might push me faster than I’m in shape for…especially on a tough course like Tulsa. TBD on whether we run it together! I know that it’s really special that its even an option to run them together, but I think it might work best to have him push me when I’m going for a PR, which won’t be Oklahoma- maybe the next one instead.
Anyways, he joined me for my long run with a workout- 30 minutes easy, 6x(10 min at marathon pace, 3 min jog in between sets), cool-down to 16. When we hit 16, we were still about a mile from home, so we agreed to just walk it home, which was kinda nice.
16 miles, 8:34 min/mile average. The workout went well, with the 10 minute set paces being 8:16, 8:12, 8:05, 8:08, 8:14, 8:15. He definitely keeps me on track!
It was a gorgeous sunny fall day; I actually dropped my long sleeve and ran most of it in a sports bra I got so warm! (I definitely ‘run hot,’ as it was only 40 degrees.)
Sunday: 9 miles- 7 with Dustin and Ruth and then 2 at the end on my own, 8:45 min/mile average. My coach isn’t having me go back up to 20 miles between the Fargo marathon (at the end of September) and Tulsa (in 3 weeks), but rather is having me do a lot of longer weekday runs (i.e. 9 miles)Another gorgeous fall day in Minnesota.
I followed the run up with a 10 min Strength for Runners, 10 min arms & light weights, and 10 min core for runners class on the Peloton app for 30 minutes total.
And of course, halloween today! Our neighborhood does trick-or-treating tonight (I know some held it last night), so Ruth & Matilda will have the excitement of lots of doorbell ringing. 🙂
I have way too many dog costumes, so I went through some old ones to see what still fits Ruth and Matilda. The lion one is my favorite!
Summary: 58 miles of running, a random array of strength on the Peloton app (it’s my primary source of strength right now!)
I’m linking up with Running on the Fly and Confessions of a Mother Runner as part of their Weekly Rundown. Check it out!
It’s great that your dogs are willing to dress in costume…Max will not allow it LOL I know what you mean about all those dark runs…that’s my reality right now (even on my Saturday run this weekend). My biking friend is joining my for a 5:30 run tomorrow morning…I think I may have recruited another crazy friend to join my o’dark thirty crew 😉
Ha, I wouldn’t say the dogs are all that willing, but they will tolerate the costumes for treats 🙂
Good luck with your new recruit Kim!
Those are some great dog costumes. The banana split is great, but the lion is pretty realistic! I didn’t have the mojo to run in the dark this week so I opted for the treadmill. Traffic is still light enough that I can do my workout at home and make it in on time, but that may change this month, as I expect more people to be going back to the office.
Happy Halloween!
It’s a tough adjustment to the dark, but it should be a little better for a bit with DST, right? But glad you have the option of the treadmill! Hopefully traffic stays quieter!
Kudos to you for getting back into the swing of things so quickly! I know going back to the office full time has to be a huge adjustment. I also feel the same way about public transportation. I took the train into NYC a few weeks ago and I looked at my watch to see my heart rate was pretty elevated – I was so nervous/anxious! I don’t know if Ruth and Matilda like all of their Halloween costumes but I sure do, lol! They look so cute. We do trick or treating tonight here in my city too so… Read more »
I don’t know if I’m in the swing of things, it is most definitely an adjustment! I was in twice this week and its technically supposed to be “the majority of the time” or at least 3 days..I’m easing back into it 🙂
Being around crowds – like on public transport- is quite an adjustment! Definitely stressful to me.
what cute dog costumes! Do they get any candy? 🙂 Hope you have a fun Halloween. It is nice that you have so many friends to run with during the week as well. Nice job this week and thanks for linking
They get lots of “dog” candy as bribery to behave when the doorbell rings!
So how does it feel to be back at the office? And I wasn’t sure how you are getting there–are you running to and from?
Ruth and Matilda are such good sports! Although I draw the line at the skunk costume… just the sight of those black and white stripes gives me the chills. We have so many skunks around here!
I am not yet back to run commuting! I should have noted that, I’m currently driving. It will take a bit more planning to get back to run commuting (even though I loved it) as it was made easier because Dustin worked in the same building so I put stuff in his car to grab when I got there vs. carrying it all, but he’s not back in the office until 2022!
Ha! I have never actually encountered a real skunk! Maybe that would change my opinion about that costume 🙂
Omg that lion costume…. so funny.
I can’t even believe your Monday morning. You got up, ran nine miles, and got to the office by 7:30 WITH YOUR LUNCH. You deserve a medal for that day alone. Sounds like things are going really well for you. Yes, I hope you have a mild November. I love that picture of you in the yellow shirt!
Well I definitely packed mg lunch and bag the night before!
Thanks Jenny!
Love the round shades! Great week of running. I’ve been (voluntarily) going back to the office 2-3 times per week, and I like it. Masks required when not at your desk, and we are enforcing a vaccine mandate starting in November so the risk level feels acceptably low.
Thanks Eric, just another pair of Goodrs!
My office doesn’t require masks though I am wearing one, doesn’t feel right especially in an elevator!
It’s so hard adjusting to being back in the office! And the early morning wake ups still feel harder now after having some flexibility for so long. I don’t think I would feel comfortable taking public transportation either. Looks like a strong week of running for you!
Soo hard…how did I do this for 5 days a week for years??
love the dog costumes.
You are very lucky that your hubby is your running partner.
Wow…so many marathons… you will do great. You are so prepared.
It is hard enough to fit in the miles for a half…only one full but maybe another someday. Who knows?
Maybe another full in your future!! Halves are just as fun though!
Oh, man, an alarm in the 4s! Oof! I hope the return to the office has been smooth – and that you get some wfh days each week, too. Love the doggo costumes! We tried the lion mane on our Vs and it lasted about 14 seconds… ha!
Hahah Tilda was somewhat tolerant of the lion mane, Ruth was not!
The dogs look unimpressed by their costumes, LOL! Ours never even like their jackets or sweaters, so we never did that to them. And we just shelter in place on Halloween & turn off all the lights. 🙂
It’s a tough call whether or not to run with a faster runner, sometimes. Sometimes it’s really good, other times not so much. But yes, definitely really nice to have that option!
Yes, they tolerated the costumes, but were anxious to get them off!
Look at the girls! They are so cute! Luna was a rainbow, and she was pretty peeved about it. Oops.
I love that you have the chance to run together. It never works out for me and Mr PugRunner, but it’s nice that the option is there!
Luna’s rainbow costume was adorable!
You had a great week of workouts! How exciting that you’ve got another marathon just around the corner.
I like the lion costume, but I also like the banana split! So cute!
Thanks Debbie!
Those costumes are all so cute! Omg the lion! I really admire how motivated you continue to be throughout all of your training. I think your coach made a very wise call to not have you do another 20 between Tulsa and Fargo. I’m a little sad to see October slip away as well. Time to get in the holiday spirit I guess!
Thanksgiving will be here before we know it!
I love the dog costumes, and I think your running coach is so sensible. So do you run to work? I have got a few buses here and there but caught a train at the weekend and it wasn’t fun. Will have to do a train journey if I want to see my cousins later in the month, however, so best to practise on a shorter journey first. In other news, I managed to go for a run this morning, the first after my fall on Oct 17. I felt OK though I was very aware of the pavement and… Read more »
I haven’t return to my run commute yet, I drove. It just takes longer than it should when I’m only five miles away! Well, everything takes longer than my commute within my house that I’ve had for the past year and a half 🙂
Glad your run felt okay. Now you know how I feel any time its somewhat slippery outside. I get SOOO nervous!
This whole Halloween on different nights is so weird. Where I grew up we always went out on Halloween, even if it was a weeknight, although the parade was always an adjacent Saturday.
Congrats on another solid week. That’s awesome that you and Dustin can run together, even if it doesn’t necessarily make sense to race together.
I remember going out on 10/31 no matter what day of the week it was as well!