This was a really tough week for me. Call (which I would rate as 7/10 on the “call week toughness” scale) + a kid with pneumonia was just a lot. But it’s almost over and while I let some things go (strength training, reading, really any other life ‘extras’ and nonessential things) I am glad I got my runs in.
(I did zero strength training, but I also did zero Reddit-scrolling!! So I will call that a win.)
All that said, I’m kind of liking this “lower” mileage. I think ~50 is a nice sweet spot for me when not close to a marathon or goal race.
M: Super gentle run — I had done the mile track stuff the day before and was bemoaning the lack of my usual Sunday rest day. 6 mi @ 9:55/mi.
T: Progression run! Was supposed to be 2 easy / 2 easy/moderate / 2 moderate / 2 moderate/hard. The below diagram looks good BUTTTTT I had to stop midway through the last 2 miles and breathe so I consider this a bit of a fail. I was overheated and just felt like I couldn’t breathe — in retrospect should have hydrated more aggressively.
W: Lots of neighborhood loops, 7 mi @ 9:24/mi
R: Half square run with strides, 9 mi @ 9:36/mi ave while listening to Olympic trials recaps
F: 7 @ 9:00/mi ave. Not sure I was fueled by energy or anxiety, but felt decent.
S: 14 mi @ 8:55/mi ave. 5 easy (ave ~9:05/mi), 4 MP effort (ave ~8:01/mi), 5 easy (ave ~9:25/mi). I drank a lot and didn’t fall apart in the heat (78-82F, 91% humidity), so that was good. This felt much easier than the 8 miler on Tuesday (and it was actually slightly hotter) and I was happy about that.
Reading
I picked up an awesome stack of books from our local library and then proceeded to . . . not really read any fiction for the week. I miss it!
I did make a big dent in this book, which the lovely Dr. Kathleen Smith sent to me (she was a BOBW guest and I think listener as well!).
I find psychology so interesting. (I wanted to be a psychiatrist at one point – here is proof — though I am mystified at the mention of Fiona Apple tickets. I never went, and I wonder what happened!). I am confident that I made the right choice for my own strengths and weaknesses, but I would have loved the learning aspects of it.
This means I am approaching the halfway point of 2024 having read 25 books. I am so predictable!!! Although seeing that nonfiction (13) is ahead of fiction (12), maybe I’ll try to binge-finish the rest of The Sicilian Inheritance today 🙂
6 Comments
Just dropping in because I know you’ve been really into the running trials and if you haven’t given the Ali on the Run podcast a listen you should!
I too work in medicine and don’t get very concerned about my kids being sick but lately they have some things that have made me so worried!! I’m so glad A is feeling better.
I love Ali on the run!! I just listened to her Dakotah Lindwurm/annie Frisby interview!!
Oof, that sounds like a tough week. Hopefully you got some rest and relaxation. We started the week with a sick kid, and I felt like I never hit my groove workwise. I’m also in a reading slump, nothing is calling out to me?
Combined with some end of school year (finally!) angst. We reset a bit this weekend, and T and I managed a 7 mile cycle ride together and I continued on for another 10 so we are both feeling very chuffed with ourselves.
T has a day off with my husband tomorrow, 2 days of camp, and we leave for my parents on Thursday and I’m looking forward to a proper rest once the UK election and reactions are done.
17 mile bike!!!! That’s awesome. Reading slumps are so frustrating!! I hope you (and I) get out soon!!
Great work on your mileage! I did my longest run in a long time – 7 miles. I’m training for a 10 mile. My pace was SLOW but I am not trying to run the race at a certain pace – goal is to finish and have fun.
I updated my reading tracker for the year. I have read 52 and 20% is NF. I just finished ‘the wives’ which is a memoir written by the wife of a man who is in a special ops unit of the army. I bought it for my sister who is also a military wife so read it so we could eventually discuss it. It was very well written and gave me a better appreciation and understanding of my sister’s life, although luckily her husband has only deployed once. Now I’m reading Sandwich by Catherine Newman which I am enjoying.
Josh got me a subscription to the Parnassus Book Club (Ann Patchett selects a book a month) as a bday gift and this month is Sandwich!! It just came and I’m excited to read it.