13 Weeks Until the Dingle Marathon

It was a busy week over here. but not because of marathon training…lots of other activities were pulling for my time and energy!

Here’s how training went this past week.

Monday: Short speed session: 2 x (4-3-2-1) minutes with 2 min jog in between, 8 miles total.

Dustin brought some clothes back that I had left in Minneapolis- including this “OPE Running” tank; it was a local Minneapolis brand that sadly went out of business, but I still can embrace my Minnesota “ope!” Ha!

Tuesday: 6.4 miles before work; saw a foxy friend up close.

Personal training session over lunch (loving these!)

Beyoncé concert after work! So fun.

Wednesday: Rest day! My mother-in-law had arrived the day before, but since I already had Beyonce tickets, Dustin and she spent her first evening with a walk around Hampstead and dinner at a local place (Zara). Unfortunately, on her first evening, she had a collision with a girl on a scooter, and was knocked down. She’s fine, though it definitely shook her up and made her a bit nervous navigating the crowds of London. I don’t even think about how busy London is, or how uneven the sidewalks are, or how much walking/stairs there is, but it’s tough on someone a bit older. We really did try to limit the walking as much as we could.

Anyways, we took things slowly, but still were able to do a fair amount of exploring. We started at Big Ben/ Parliament, then walked to Buckingham Palace through Green Park (and saw some pelicans!). We also saw the Queen Consort being escorted to the palace for an event for the Trooping the Colours.

We stopped at Fortnum & Mason’s for some shopping (a great place for tourists) and strolled through Piccadilly.

Then we went to Claridge’s for a high tea which she really enjoyed.

A high tea ends up being quite a bit of food: sandwiches, scones, and pastries, with lots of tea of course and a glass of champagne. We ended up skipping dinner and instead went for a walk up Parliament Hill in the Heath.

Thursday: I was up early to run with Dustin and Ruth, 6.5 miles. Then our day of touring began in East London where Dustin showed his mom where he works (parents love that!) before walking past the Tower of London to Tower Bridge. We got lucky and saw Tower Bridge being raised for “The Dixie Queen” boat; always a treat to see the drawbridge go up!

We walked to Borough market for some of the viral chocolate covered strawberries and then had lunch at a French cafe nearby. We built in a bit more relaxing time after that before dinner at the Arlington and then Phantom of the Opera which was lovely.

Friday: Another early run with Ruth, 7 miles with 4×4 min intervals. Then I worked for a few hours before heading to Westminster for a Thames boat ride for work, brilliant weather, sunny and 80F/27C.

It worked out perfectly as Dustin booked a Thames river cruise with his mom, though ours went to the west first and theirs went to Greenwich. They toured the Queen’s House. saw the Cutty Sark, and then took a boat back. A boat ride is a great way to see the sites without as much walking!

My work boat cruise was a lot of fun; they had a historian on board to answer any questions, point out various sites. etc. She was incredible! I love history and ended up speaking with her quite a bit; she gave me some really unique ideas for historical sites to visit. I booked a few already!

Recognize this building? It’s the MI15 headquarters. which you may know from James Bond.

It was a brilliant event and the weather definitely cooperated.

Then evening, I met up with Dustin and his mom for dinner at Trishna, a beautiful Indian restaurant in Marylebone.

Saturday: A short trail run with Ruth and Dustin through the Heath (5 miles); the swans in the pond behind our house have had their babies! Just four this year, but they are so cute.

We then took Dustin’s mom to Harrods, then walked through Chelsea to Sloan Square, where we had lunch at Granger & Co. before heading to Liberty for a bit more shopping.

That was a full day, so then we went back to our neighborhood to relax a bit before our last dinner together at the Holly Bush, a charming Hampstead pub!

We walked by these two cuties at the Flask after dinner; you don’t often see Bull terriers, let alone two of them!

Sunday: I said my goodbyes to Dustin’s mom (she had a midday flight back to the US) and then headed out for my long run, 12 miles with my friend Kelly. I am also booked in for Heartcore pilates tonight. I’ll admit I’m knackered from this week and may need to fit in a nap too!

Summary: 45 miles of running, 2 pilates classes, 1 personal training session

In global news, I’m completely gutted by the terrible news out of Minnesota; I had friends who had to shelter in place as they search for this murderer, and his list of targets hits very close to home with my loved ones. My heart goes out to everyone affected and am so saddened by news like this in my home state. So very tragic and scary.

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!