Saturday = Long Run Day
For the past ~14 months or so, I have been doing long runs on Saturday. Unless a) on vacation b) injured or c) in major taper mode, I have run double digit runs basically every Saturday.
I am used to these runs, and I LOVE these runs. I love the alone time, I love the challenge, and I love wearing supershoes — I only break them out for long runs and speedwork, and find them so much fun to run in.
So: here we go! This Saturday long run was a little bit special because it was 20 miles, the first of 3 in a row before my race.
4:30 Up, read, plan the day a bit (and update last night’s time log!)
5:30 HEAD OUT!!! WhatsApp chat with Coco before I leave (she is 12 hours ahead so winding down her days as I start mine!)
I stay in the neighborhood since J is with C in Naples for his tournament. A is ready to help G out if/when she wakes up. Temps are just okay (low 70s, 71-73) but it is not humid, which is great (and unusual!). 3 running podcasts and an hour of Taylor Swift later, I am home!
I know others carry water but I HATE it!
(I also drank a bunch before leaving and when I got back, but never felt super dehydrated or thirsty)
8:30 HOME. I shower, drink a Core Power, and eat breakfast (oatmeal / pb / dried cherries) despite not being all that hungry yet. G theoretically has tennis at 9, but I ask her if she’d do gymnastics makeup at 10 instead (this was self-serving but also sort of made sense since she has an “in-house meet” next weekend). Thankfully she is fine with that plan.
9:45 Take girls to gymnastics, write yesterday’s DITL post, read some blogs, answer some emails. Also spent 20 min chatting on the phone with someone I work with (she called about a potential recruit to our division. Any ped endo reading this want to move to South FL?).
11:30 A/G are done and requesting Bahia Bowls for lunch (smoothie / açaí bowl / sandwich place).
We pick up smoothies for the girls and a wrap for them to share. The owner gives us all sample PB energy bites and so obviously I have to buy more (they are delicious).
12:30 I am feeling REAAAALLY tired (obvious reasons) and inform girls they can entertain themselves while I take a nap.
1:30 Up!! Quick lunch (Amy’s burrito / string cheese / carrots) and take G to piano
2:00 G has piano; I read Covenant of Water
2:30 We stop at the library on the way home and I pick up some holds;
3:00 FINISH THIS BOOK!!!!!!!! (Are you tired of seeing it in my reading recaps? Finally done!)
Part 2: Off to Naples!
Pack for Naples!! The girls and I are joining C for the rest of his tournament. I pack for G and myself, A packs for herself. It’s just for one night, why does it feel harder than it should? Ha. I wrap a bday gift for G’s friend who will be in Naples.
4:00 Drive to Naples! It’s about 90 minutes so I decide to play The Tortured Poet’s Department from the top. We make it 23 tracks in and arrive in Naples. Girls watch TV on their own iPads so . . .it was peaceful.
5:30 Make beeline to pool. We give the birthday gift and then G jumps in and starts playing with the other soccer siblings (they have really gotten to know each other this year, it’s very cute!!). Josh and I sit on chairs and feel grateful that everyone can now swim.
6:45 Realize that we do not have dinner reservations (I had assumed the team would do dinner, but they actually did lunch instead). I pull up OpenTable and look for available tables for a family of 5. We find one at Deep Lagoon. Drag G/C out of pool (A was hanging out in the room); C showers and G gets a quick bath.
7:15 Head out to dinner! I am finally hungry after that long run. I drink a glass of sauv blanc and we enjoy rolls with cinnamon butter, conch fritters and then seafood (I had fish with a Mediterranean style sauce, mashed potatoes, and broccoli). Kids had stuff from the kids’ menu and everyone was happy.
9:15 Back at hotel. I help G get ready for bed and tell her she can watch something with C for a few minutes (we have a 2-bedroom suite; C/G are in one room, A is on a sofa bed, and Josh and I had our own room + bed). I watch some Dance Moms with A again.
9:45 Tell G/C to turn off the TV and go to sleep. They are TIRED I think and go to bed.
10:00 I pass out.
Reading: ~30 pages to FINISH Covenant of Water
Screen Time: 166 min (some was music + maps though)
Sleep: Only 6 hrs 40 minutes the night before but thankfully an hour(ish) nap
11 Comments
Ooh, what a day! I feel the same way about long runs- I love them. I always look forward to them, i pick out a podcast (or a couple) to listen to and I also have special long run playlist for the end. But I do carry water! It took me a while to get used to it, but now I love it- I don’t have to plan my routes around water fountains or hidden water bottles (although it sounds like you method was perfect for this particular run.) Oh, and those Gu liquid gels always make me choke for some reason. Lately I’ve been drinking Tailwind.
AND, I love that tired feeling for the rest of the day- it just feels so good knowing you did that run! I’m definitely glad you got a nap before driving over to Naples. I hope you got to sleep in today- I know Sundays are usually your day for that.
Nice work on the long run. I’m guessing you’re hungry today :). At least that’s the way it works for me. I’m so excited to cheer for you during your marathon. You are going to kill it!
We just finished up at the World’s Most Dangerous Birthday Party. Giant water slide with rough kids (including mine – my 6 year old knocked out a baby front tooth on his first trip down. “It’s not my fault! My friends told me to go down head first!”). Trampoline on slippery pavers with no net. Lots of alcohol. I’m glad we all survived!
These are fun to read. Thanks for posting them. You inspired me to do another DITL post with pictures.
I remember having blog friends on a text chain. Those were the days. We even met in Boulder one summer to run a half marathon! Now I only keep in touch with one. She comments on my blog and we text here and there. I’m glad you have that. It’s so good!
The cadence of your weekends feels similar to mine, except you have three kids to juggle and I feel overwhelmed with just two! I hope the rest of your weekend was nice and that you can start the week feeling rejuvenated.
I’m so impressed that you did so much after 20 miles run. I usually schedule nothing for the day and depending how good/bad I feel, I can decide what to do with the family. Our Sunday is free day so my long runs are on Sunday, less stress for me.
I love 20 milers so much too, especially once past 10 miles, I feel like I’m getting warm up, and then struggle a bit in the last couples miles to “train” my mind. Love it. I had 3 20 milers last cycle and it worked well.
I also don’t feel hungry post- long run, for the rest of the day usually, until Monday, suddenly awake that hunger.
I would totally do that if I could but it wouldn’t work for our lifestyle!! Kids always have stuff. And I guess I’ve gotten used to it. Love getting in an hour nap if I can though!! It definitely helps.
A while back you spoke about frustrating weight gain while training. Have you found a way to combat that or did you just accept it? Asking because I am in the same frustrating place. Thanks!
I’m going to not dwell on wondering if the pictures in this post look bad 😝 I have thankfully not had that issue this training cycle. I do feel like my body comp could be better (due to lack of strength training) but the scale has been stable in a place where I feel good. I have paid more attention to protein and generally hunger levels and it has worked out ok this round. I hope I can continue to strike a balance here!
PS what are you training for?
Definitely has nothing to do with the photos! #1 I never noticed any change in how you looked in the first place (I suspect we are all more aware of our 5-10# weight variations than anyone else) and #2 I have been wondering about a follow up for a while and if the protein focus was helping. I have been training for 5K PRs and a 10k so not major distance. I am glad it leveled out for you. I think I need to start paying a little more attention.
These DITL posts are fun — thanks for sharing! At what planning stage (monthly, weekly, daily) are you determining logistics such as the travel soccer tournament? One area where I struggle is figuring out how everything will get done, even when I have a good handle on everything that needs to be done.
Hmmm- continuously? lol. But usually Thursdays I do some logistics check and look at week ahead, and during the weekend I do our whiteboard and that forces me to confirm stuff.
(Naples didn’t take much work – just booked the hotel the team told us to and asked Josh to go for the first part that I could take A and G to their stuff Saturday)