So, June is halfway over. Let that sink in for a minute. That means school starts again in less than two months. Summer is going crazy-fast, but at least it’s been enjoyable so far!
Training went well this week. We’ve had some cooler weather for mid-June — I was actually a little chilly on a few runs — which makes for great training weather. Here’s how the training went this week:
Monday:
AM: 9 miles easy
PM: 45 minutes full-body strength, including the core work from Megan’s The Lyons Share Ab Challenge mixed with some of the moves from Greg McMillan’s core workout. Every time I say “core work” for the next month, it’s probably safe to assume that I’m doing some combination of these moves.
Tuesday:
AM: 10.2 miles easy
PM: 30 minutes core work and stretching while watching The Bachelorette. Since I only watch 30 minutes at a time, I’m way behind, so don’t spoil it for me. 🙂 Here’s a way-too-close photo of my plank face. I get bored planking.
Wednesday:
AM: 6.1 recovery miles. Sometimes I am as proud of myself for keeping recovery miles slow as I am for hitting my speedwork paces. And I took a picture of my feet post-run, because that’s what running bloggers do.
PM: The same as Tuesday: core and stretching and Bachelorette-ing.
Thursday:
AM: I needed to run cruise intervals, which means longish intervals fairly fast with short recoveries. I also wanted to run the interval portions downhill to prep for this downhill race. I debated my options: Drive out to the hills (but I was short on time since my summer course started this week), run on a long-enough-but-not-steep decline closer to home (but I’d have to have equal recoveries so the intervals could be all downhill), or use the incline trainer at the gym (which only goes to -3% decline, but would allow for appropriately short recoveries). I chose the incline trainer, so I ran to the gym as a warm-up, did 7.5 miles of downhill cruise intervals, and ran home as a cool-down for a total of 10 miles. I could definitely feel the decline’s effect in my quads the next day, which I’m taking as a good sign.
PM: Back to the gym for 45 minutes of strength training.
Friday:
AM: 5.2 recovery miles
PM: Again with the core and stretching. I also spent some QT with the foam roller. I did not like it. 
Ouch.
Saturday:
18-mile long run. I ran the hilliest route I can run from my house… which is clearly not that hilly compared to what I’d like to be running, but sometimes you’ve just got to do the best you can with what you have.
I enjoyed this run quite a bit. It was nice out — actually getting hot by the time I finished, but the sun felt good!
Sunday:
Rest day. I did Megan’s Five Minutes to Flat Abs workout as part of the abs challenge, and that was it. We went to a wedding last night and I was up way past my usual bedtime, so I didn’t mind taking a rest day today. I also did not take any pictures of J and me all dressed up, so you’ll just have to take my word that I do occasionally wear a dress and make-up despite what the pictures on this blog suggest.
Totals: 58.6 miles running, 3ish hours strength/stretching
Now that the second week of training is in the books, I feel like I’m getting my marathon mojo back. I realize how dumb that sounds, but I don’t really care. Have a great week, friends!
How was your week?
Been to any cool weddings lately?
Rural Running Redhead 
Your weeks always make mine sound so lazy! You are an amazing runner and my inspiration when I am tired.
Haha… Your weeks are anything but lazy!!
Yea for getting your foam roller back!
Way to go preparing for the downhill. I am sure your quads will appreciate it race day.
I sure hope so!
Thank you, you just inspired me to hit the gym for some strength training today! I was doing it 4 times a week while I was injured, but now that I can actually run, I’ve bumped it down to 2 days a week… but I want it to be 3 days! So anyway, thanks for motivating!
I’ve found that when I’m marathon training, 2 days is just so much more manageable for me. I always think I’ll do 3 days, but…no. I’m glad you were motivated!
Hehe love the close up during planks….I have a few of those too hahah! Nothing wrong with that, and YES foam rolling huuuurrrttts!!!! I went to a friends wedding on Saturday, and it was beautiful, in every way! so much fun 🙂
I’m glad I’m not the only one who takes plank pictures to entertain myself. 🙂 I hope you’re having fun in California!
Great week! I confess to not planking because I don’t do well when I start getting bored. Looks like a pretty hilly long run to me, I like hilly long runs too, I think they really help.
I think they do, too. This is the route I ran when I was training for Boston and the Estes Park Marathon, so it’s done okay for me so far. 🙂
18 miles is getting your mojo back? You are amazing!
My school goes back on July 29. That is way too soon!
Whoa… that is crazy early! And didn’t you just get out a couple of weeks ago?
Is there a reason you only watch 30 minutes of Bachelorette at a time? Too much to handle? 😉 I can’t believe you are running ~60 miles in your second week of training! Crazy crazy crazy. So now that you have two and a half months until school starts again, what are you going to do with all of your free time aside from train? I am always curious what other teachers do during their breaks!
I only watch it if I’m doing core work, stretching, etc., which is about 30 minutes at a time. This summer, I’m teaching a summer class and trying to catch up on all the stuff I set aside to “do later” during the school year. 🙂
I am still a bit sore from the marathon but now I want to go for a good long run and workout after this post! I am sTILL not on summer vacation. Less than 2 weeks!!!