9 weeks until marathon #48! It was an interesting week; here’s how training went!
Monday: Rest from running, easy Pilates reformer at Ten near my office (more traditional style pilates vs. Heartcore which is dynamic; still valuable, just different!)
Tuesday: Short speed session in the morning: warm-up, 5×5 minutes moderate/hard with 2 min jog in between, cool-down.
Good morning to the King!
Personal training session at Nordic Balance over lunch, and a late Heartcore pilates class with Dustin (7:30 pm). I bought him a class package- mostly for selfish reasons as I love having him join and he doesn’t mind the workout, just isn’t something he’d buy for himself. A 3-workout day was a lot though and I was ‘knackered’ by the time I made it to the bed!
Wednesday: Easy run with friends, 8 miles. With my mileage increase, that darn tendonitis at my left ankle is reminding me to be kind to myself. I was lucky I already had a physio appt booked at Purus Health over lunch and I booked another for next week. Heartcore pilates after work
Thursday: Another session: warm-up, 2 miles at GMP, jog, 3 miles at GMP, jog, 2 miles at GMP. It wasn’t perfect and I had a chat with my coach about setting more realistic goal marathon pace (I think I just want to go under 4 hours at Dingle) so he adjusted everything. 9 miles total before work – and it was very hot for London.
I need to be more diligent about my physio exercises, so I did those after work. Part of the tendonitis is due to weak calves; apparently women over 40 start to lose muscle (of course we do) particularly in the calves! That helps to explain why this issue popped up when I didn’t feel like I changed anything else…except age! Hopefully the personal training (PT) I’m doing will help build strength.
Friday: Early jog to PT at Nordic Balance, 4.5 miles then 2nd PT session (personal training) of the week
That evening. Dustin and I went to the Hampstead EveryMan cinema to see the F1 film. I’m not as into F1 as a lot of people, but the movie was entertaining!
Saturday: Uffda, hot one! 90F/30C in London. I was scheduled to do 18 miles and I only did 12…not great but the heat is not my friend!
I even stopped to buy an ice cold Lucozade, but it didn’t help, I just didn’t have it in me.
My coach wasn’t too concerned as I still have time for the long ones but I was disappointed in myself. But I had to listen to my body. I spent a big part of the afternoon in front of a fan in one of the bedrooms in our place that’s in the garden level, which is the coolest room in the house….
That evening, my friend Tina had a garden party at her place in Kentish Town. Fun times!
Sunday: Dustin, Ruth, and I ran 7 miles and then we fit in a swim in the mixed ponds before free flow ended at 11 am. Great refresh after a hot run.
Summary: Only 48 miles this week, lower than planned since I cut the long one short. This upcoming week might be challenging as well as we have friends visiting from Minnesota from Thursday, but hopefully I can fit in the miles around hosting! These friends have never been to London, so we have a full itinerary of the traditional touristy things to do as well as a few more activities we want to show them as “locals!” They’ll only be with us Thursday-Monday (and only taking off Friday from work) before they head off to other parts of the U.K. but I’m excited to spend time with them.
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!
Ugh sorry to hear about your tendinitis! But it sounds like you’re doing what you can to get it taken care of. I turned 40 this year and am amazed at all the things that come with it – apparently age isn’t just a number? Nice mileage this week even with the cranky ankle and heat!
Thanks Melissa- I feel like this is a “niggle” that I need to just continuously stay on top of and never slack on the physio!
Interesting that we’d lose more muscle in the calves than elsewhere! But with all my squats and lunges and more, and heel raises a few times a week, I should be ok. Strength training is so important for women!
It would be hard to run in 30 degrees, especially in the city! I wonder if England gets as humid as Ireland? Here when it’s warm, it always feels much warmer than what I’m used to (from Sweden) with the same temperature. We’ve had some lovely weather this week!
London definitely feels humid to me! Some days the temp is not that bad but I’ll be soaked in sweat post run…def the humidity!
I hope your ankle stays in line! I have overly strong calves but still have to focus on stretching them! Love seeing the UK lingo in your posts. 😉
Lucky you! I definitely am working on those calf muscles.
Long runs in the heat is exhausting! I’m wondering how I’m going to make it work when my mileage increases. It’s awful! Good job getting the miles in, no matter if you had to cut it short. I bet that pond dip felt great!
I love your dress in the garden party pic. So pretty on you!
Thank you Lisa!
You know I love the heat, but I’m not cranking out the mileage you are. That said, my 2-mile full moon run (in 98% humidity) was dreadful! It was a rare occasion that I was glad to NOT have sunshine beaming down on me. I hope all goes well with your tendinitis issue, and things start to feel better!
Thank you Kim!
I feel you on the tendinitis–I’m battling that with my knee! I kneed (see what I did there) to be better about doing my PT exercises too. I did cut my run/walk intervals to 2:2 which seemed to help. It is what it is…and it’s too hot to run anyway. I’m sure you’re missing AC!
Have fun with your guests!!
Thank you Wendy! Hope your knee is feeling better.
That’s great that Dustin will join you for Pilates-my husband would never! It’s definitely a. Nice addition to any workout plan. Hope your ankle holds up for you. Summer running in the heat is always tough!
He’s generally up for any fitness and it helps that there are other men in the class. And to be perfectly honest. the instructors always pay extra attention to the men. heheh!
I think you were smart to listen to your body and shorten your long run. You’re such a strong and seasoned runner that I doubt that will affect your race performance.
I hope Dustin enjoys the pilates classes. It would be fun to have him join you. I so enjoy working out with my husband.
Thank you Debbie, I hope you’re right!
Eek. Tendonitis is no fun. I hope you can get through it quickly. So exciting for your friends to be coming. They will have the best time – you all are basically professional tour guides at this point!
The garden party is too cute!
Haha, I definitely have perfected my tour over the past three years!
Can’t wait to hear what you have planned. You are an awesome tour guide.
It is so hard to run in the heat/humidity and I’m hardly running at all.
That’s interesting about losing muscle… my ankle starting feeling tight last Sat during a 5k. I’m going to my chiro tomorrow to see what I can do about it.
Thank you Darlene! We love hosting visitors.