Weekly Workouts and Updates 8/24-8/31

Good morning on this lovely Monday! It’s the last day of August, but it’s still summer in New England. The sun is shining, the leaves are still green, and I am remaining firmly in adventure mode until my new job begins in October (which is when it will both actually be autumn, and I might admit that it is time to put away the shorts). It’s time for my weekly workouts and updates, which are pretty much all about being home and getting ready to head out again for the Dumbo Double Dare.

 

Bright and blooming back home

 

 

Weekly Workouts

Monday: 13.56 miles walking around London on my last day of the Pond Hopping Adventure!

Tuesday: 4 mile run VERY early before leaving for Heathrow Airport

Wednesday: 7 mile run back in Ridgefield

Thursday: Rest day

Friday: 6 mile run

Saturday: Active rest – 3 mile morning walk, then 3 mile walk in town with Sasha (in addition to her other regular walks)

Sunday: 7.6 mile run

 

Obviously I was moving a lot when I was in England, and I wanted to give my body a chance to rest and recharge this week. But I also wanted to ensure I was in good enough shape to tackle the Dumbo Double Dare this weekend. Honestly, I can’t believe it’s crept up so quickly. Then again, I was on vacation for much of the time that would count as the peak of training. I knew that was how it would be and I’m happy I was able to fit in everything I wanted to do in this time after the bar exam, which was shockingly more than a month ago. So I did the running I could in England, walked and hiked a lot which I’m counting as good cross-training in terms of stamina, and I did some good back to back runs this week. It was nice to be back running in Ridgefield again on my familiar paths, and I’m happy this town is still embracing summer!

 

Still summer in Ridgefield

 

As for the upcoming week, I plan to run an easy 4 miles this morning, and do another easy 4-6 mile run Wednesday morning. I fly to California early on Thursday morning, and have the chance to explore Disneyland on Friday before running the 10K on Saturday and the half marathon Sunday to complete the Dumbo Double Dare. I wasn’t really sure how to taper for this set of races – since it’s two days back to back, I thought that striking a balance between rest and easy running would be better than not running at all for the week leading up, because it would preserve my stamina. I also needed to break in a new pair of shoes – I rely on my On Clouds for long runs and races, but I’ve been searching for a good shorter-distance shoe so I can mix it up. I just got two different pairs,  one each of Saucony Kinvaras and Asics Gel NoosaFast, because I wanted a lightweight shoe. I’ll see how both my running plan and shoes work out and report back after.

 

Breaking in my new Saucony Kinvaras – planning to try them out for the 10K

 

Other than running, the past week has mostly been about unpacking and unwinding from my trip to England, and figuring out the details and getting ready for California. I have about 9 days in between – I got back on Tuesday, August 25th and take off again Thursday, September 3 – but I really hadn’t planned much since most of the summer was spent focusing on the bar and not on the trip plans once I had the flights finalized! I will be in Anaheim for 4 nights, then drive down to San Diego with my friend Ashley on Monday, September 7 to stay with her for another four nights, and then drive back up to Los Angeles for a day before flying home on Saturday, September 12. So if anyone has any Disneyland-specific race tips, or suggestions of how to spend a few days in San Diego or one day in Los Angeles, I’d love to hear them.

 

But before I go – to end the week my parents had a dinner last night =in honor of my law school graduation. It was my immediate family, and a few aunts and uncles as well as one set of grandparents. We ate at Gallo, a restaurant in Ridgefield I really enjoy, and I had the branzino me alati (salt crusted branzino) with spinach in a white wine and olive oil reduction. And I also got a cake from Swoon, the awesome gluten and nut free bakery from whence my birthday cupcake came. It was my favorite Funfetti.

 

 

 

 

What’s the next race you’re running?

 

Any tips for running a Disneyland race? Any idea how it differs to Florida?

 

What are your favorite things to do in Southern California?

 

 

 

 

 

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