Weekly Workouts and the NYRR Pride Run

Happy Monday to one and all, and hope your weekends were sufficiently summery and filled with family, friends, fun, and food. Mine certainly was, from my volunteer shift at New York Road Runners on Friday afternoon, through my Saturday morning NYRR 5-Mile Pride Run race and a relaxing dinner with family back in Connecticut. But first, a recap of my weekly workouts!

 

Harlem Meer on my long run day

 

Monday: Rest day (much needed after last week’s mileage)

Tuesday: 7 miles

Wednesday: 30 minutes of yoga + 5 mile walk (I typically mention walking as a workout only when it’s a dedicated walk like this, since I walk so much)

Thursday: 9 miles 

Friday: Rest day – NYRR Volunteer Shift

Saturday: 7 miles (5M race + 1 mile jog to and from)

Sunday: 4 miles 

 

I’m feeling better and better about running multiple days in a row, something I’ve been hesitant about ever since my injury last summer. I didn’t run two days in a row after my return to running last September for a very long time – I’m pretty sure I made it through both the Disney Half Marathon and NYC Half in March without doing so, and only started up again in April! Since then I’ve made it a point to run back-to-back days at least once every other week, because I need to be prepared for the Dumbo Double Dare in August. Last week I did it twice, and this weekend once again. I’d like to get up to three-in-a-row by August so I’m really prepared for two days of racing, but we’ll see what feels good. Meanwhile, for the back-to-backs and long runs, the snazzy new signs up in the park are keeping me motivated.

 

 

 

I did my long run Thursday knowing Friday would automatically be a rest day, because I was racing Saturday morning and volunteering at New York Road Runners headquarters that afternoon to hand out bibs for the weekend race as my volunteer commitment for the 9+1 program. I got 9 miles in and the stars aligned as Taylor Swift came onto my iPod when I passed by this:

 

 

 

My volunteer shift. turned out to be more eventful than expected. The Saturday morning race I ran was the NYRR-FrontRunners LGBT Pride race, and on Friday the Supreme Court handed down its ruling guaranteeing marriage equality. This was a huge cause for celebration among my law school classmates who were taking the day off of bar studying, and also among a lot of the people running the race Saturday, so they were particularly excited and chatty during bib pickup! The three hours went by, and I was able to claim my +1 credit. When I was getting a little tired of standing there, I drew inspiration from SCOTUS 🙂 I was rewarded with a beautiful afternoon to walk home through the park – while it was cloudy when I arrived at headquarters, the sun was shining when I left.

 

 

 

Saturday morning was cloudy again, and in fact it started drizzling around Mile 3, but it was a welcome burst of droplets since it was rather humid. Thankfully, it didn’t turn into more than a drizzle – that’s when it becomes an issue! There was a lot of energy during the race and afterwards, maybe because in honor of the theme they gave out rainbow snacks. Rainbow Popsicles, that is. Perfect for a summer morning race when the heat takes it out of you and you need a refresher!

 

 

 

I took it easy during the race anyway, treating it like a regular run and finishing in 49:37 for a pace of 9:56/mile. I literally ran into another November Project friend right after Mile 1, and we ran about half the race together, which was nice – she’s a little faster than me, so I had to let her dash off around Cat Hill! It was more about celebrating the momentous SCOTUS decision with lots of other runners, enjoying a run in the park since I’ve mostly been in Connecticut, and taking another step in my quest for 9+1. I’ve now completed 6 + 1, so I only have three NYRR races to go to qualify for the New York City Marathon in 2016. 

 

 

 

When I got home, I whipped up a twist on my Cookie Dough Oatmeal Cake since I figured it was one of the last days it would be gray and chilly enough to crave one for awhile. I added peanut butter, and it tasted just like a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. Basically, I ate dessert all morning. 

 

 

 

Saturday afternoon, I returned to Connecticut, where I will be parked at my dining room table for the next month until the bar exam (when I’m not running, walking Sasha, snacking in the kitchen, or generally procrastinating otherwise). I spent the rest of the weekend doing all those things.

 

What were you up to this weekend?

 

 

 

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