Weekly Recap: 12 and 11 Weeks Until the Dingle Marathon

Hello! I missed my weekly recap last week as my sister was visiting from Chicago; we packed so much into her visit, even though, yes, she’s been here to visit multiple times, and yes, she was here right after my mother-in-law, ha!

She came specifically to see Brandi Carlile at the Royal Albert Hall (and then we filled in the rest of her time with lots of other stuff!)

Here’s how training and life went 12 weeks out from Dingle!

Monday: Rest from running, Heartcore pilates class after work

Tuesday: Run commute + office run with strides at the end, 8.5 miles. Personal training session at Nordic Balance over lunch

Wednesday: Work from home as my sister Erin arrived from the U.S. on an early morning flight; after she arrived, she wanted to shower and nap, so I fit in a pre-work run; I ran to the cinder track by Regent’s park for a short speed session: 3-2-1-2-3-2-1 minutes on with 1 min walk/jog in between for 7 miles total.

After a full day of work, Erin and I made our way to London Bridge to have dinner at Mallow, a delicious plant-based restaurant; then we walked along the Thames to SoHo to check out a piano bar that only does show tunes. I love musicals, so this was really fun! The wait staff are all trained singers so it was a good time.

Thursday: Erin, Ruth, and I did a trail run through the Heath to the Heath extension and Golders Green zoo; about 5 miles.

Then Erin and I walked up to the Highgate Cemetery for the tour. I have toured Highgate before but didn’t mind doing it again with her; the guides are all volunteers and they all seem to have different areas of interest/focus, so it was different than the last time.

It was HOT in London while she was here; like most Londoners, we don’t have air conditioning, which I generally prefer (I LOVE having the windows open and using fans to stay cool. Oddly London doesn’t have the same level of mosquitoes or bugs that come in, I am not sure why that is!) But with temps near 90F/30C, it can get a bit toasty….

Anyways, after the tour, we chilled a bit before heading to dinner at Lost Souls pizza in Camden with Dustin. Its a “vampire” pizza place that is quite unique. Charcoal pizza crust!

We did pop into our “local” on the way home (the Magdala pub) for some live music. Love London pub life!

Friday: Erin and I started the day with a run along the Thames river to jog past all the major sites.

Then we showered at my office (such a nice perk) before heading to the National Portrait Gallery. I hadn’t actually been to the National Portrait Gallery and it was lovely!

We shopped a bit at Selfridge’s (mostly for Jelly Cats for my niece!)

Then we tubed back to Hampstead, as we had a big “gig” that night- the Brandi Carlile concert at the Royal Albert Hall! So fun. An amazing performance and an iconic venue. Loved it.

Elton John was there too in the balcony to see her perform. How neat!

What a memorable, magical evening…thanks for the idea Erin!

Saturday: Even after a later night at the concert, we were up early to do the Hampstead Heath park run. and then Dustin and I went on to add another 7 miles for 10 miles total. It was VERY hot this day- we tried to take a dip in the mixed ponds in the Heath after the run, but we were too late and missed the “free flow” time (which means we needed a booking, which we hadn’t made.) Oh well…

After the run, we showered and then walked through the Heath with Ruth to Spaniard’s Inn for a pub lunch in the garden. So lovely.

(Fun fact, Harry Styles lives behind Spaniard’s Inn!)

That evening, we grabbed dinner at the Seven Dials Market before going to see “the Curious Case of Benjamin Button” musical.

It was SO good! I didn’t really know that much about it ahead of time (except that it is an F. Scott Fitzgerald book and I had seen the Brad Pitt film, but hadn’t heard much about the musical) It surpassed all expectations; even Dustin, who doesn’t really like musicals as much, really enjoyed it. Highly recommend if it comes to your city! The music is fabulous.

Sunday: Seven Sisters hike! Dustin, Ruth and I did this hike back in March, but it was totally different to do it in the summer; you can actually skip a “boring” part of the hike and swim/walk across a stream in the summer. The current of this stream is quite strong- my sister lost both of her oofos sandals and fell down- made for a good laugh. (She was fine.)

We hiked the full route (12 miles), from Seaford to Eastbourne, ending with a pint in the garden of a lovely pub and then taking the train back to London.

A really memorable experience that I was so happy to share with my sister.

Summary: A bit of a lower mileage week with my sister here, just 40 miles, 1 pilates and 1 personal training session

Here’s how training 11 weeks out from Dingle!

Monday: I was up early to run 7 miles solo before work.

It was Erin’s last day in London, but I had to work, so she explored on her own (Notting Hill, Portabello market, etc). That evening we had one last dinner together at the Bull & Last in Highgate.

Tuesday: Erin’s flight back to Chicago left early, so I went to the office early and ran from there. I had a speed session: 1×4 min on, then 10×1 min hard, then 1×4 min again for 6 miles total. I randomly ran into my friend Katy by Buckingham Palace; she was on her run commute to the office!

Personal training session at Nordic Balance over lunch and I did my first pull-up! My goal of working with a trainer is to lift heavier of course and be stronger, but I also want to be able to do pull-ups (multiple) so we work a lot on that. And it seems to be paying off! I am really enjoying the sessions, the trainer is fabulous.

Wednesday: Bonus run, even though it was meant to be a rest day, but I decided to run commute, 4 miles.

Thursday: Another speed session from the office in the morning- 10 minutes on, 7.5 min on, then 5 min on. It was a tough one! 6.5 miles total.

Friday: WFH day- Dustin and I ran 5 miles with Ruth on the trails in the Heath before a quick cooldown in the mixed ponds.

Saturday: Long muggy run, 15 miles with my friend Kate from Hampstead east to Victoria Park. Fun but challenging due to the weather!

Sunday: 6 miles with Ruth and Dustin

Summary: 50 miles of running, 1 personal training session and 1 pilates session

Long recap this week, heavy on the pics from Erin’s visit, but it was a blast. I love having my sisters visit me here and sharing “my” London with them. It’s really special. Thanks for visiting Erin!

I’m linking up with Running on the Fly and Confessions of a Mother Runner; check out their blogs to connect with other fitness bloggers for workout ideas and inspiration!