Hello my friends and happy Friday! I’m pumped because this morning I knocked out my weekly marathon training long run. 14 miles, done – and now I can relax all weekend!
Lucky for me, my track buddy Diane needed to get her long run in early as well so I had company! We met up early out in Falls Church to do the long run on the W&OD trail. It’s not shaded at all so we were lucky that it was a cloudy morning and we weren’t getting blasted by sun the whole time!
We ran out past Vienna – I’m used to biking this part of the trail, not running it – I was like “Wow, Vienna is actually pretty far from Falls Church when not on a bike!” Definitely took a little longer than I’m used to. 😉 Speaking of – we ran past the brewery that Matt and I biked to last weekend! Sadly this time there was no stopping for beer… 🙂
Diane and I had fun chatting away and took a couple stops for quick stretch/fuel breaks. Over the course of the run I had a mocha Clif shot gel – yay caffeine – and a couple Clif Margarita shot bloks. Once I start getting higher in mileage I’ll be bringing in more “real food” fuel because I get sick of gels/bloks. You’ll probably be seeing my nut butter stuffed salty dates (<—recipe) again soon! Love those – haven’t had them in too long!
Our track coaches had instructed Diane to do an acceleration from miles 12-16 (for her – she was running 17 miles so she went out and did 3 before meeting me) to about an 8:30 minute mile… for me that would be miles 9 to 13. Last weekend I crushed our acceleration but this week my legs were really not feeling it, so I told her to go on ahead and come back for me for the last mile. No worries! We did a faster pace than last week for the first 9 miles so maybe that had something to do with it.
I finished strong, though – our last mile was 8:45 pace!
14 miles, done! Solid average pace for a long run for me, too.
Thanks for getting me out there, Diane!
When I got home I pounded a peanut butter perfect bar and had some fruit and a little tart cherry juice. Then it was ice bath time – with some hot tea! The tea really helps. 🙂
I was feeling super sore right after the run and the ice bath helped a ton. These are huge for me once I get over the half marathon distance! Are you guys ice bath fans, too?
And now, time to have some lunch and then get back to work! Matt and I are leaving tonight after dinner (hopefully missing traffic) to spend the weekend at our friend’s lake house. So pumped! I will leave you with some fun links from around the web – and this photo of purple potatoes that we ate for dinner earlier this week. Aren’t they beautiful?! The color was so deep!
They were part of a Blue Apron dinner. Yum, yum! Purple potatoes taste like normal potatoes but maybe a bit starchier. Have you tried them?
Have a fabulous weekend, my friends – see you back here on Monday!
From around the web:
- Eat: What to do with fruits and veggies past their prime // 7 Tips From People Who Bring Lunch to Work // 23 Low-Stress 5-Ingredient Dinners You Need to Try // Tortilla-Crusted Feta and Broccoli Quiche // The Very Best Sardine Salad // Gluten Free Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Move: The Best of Washington DC Running in 2016 // 5 Things That Could Be Standing in the Way of Your Fitness Goals
- Think: Why I Haven’t Weighed Myself in 2.5 Years
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