A Good Week to Be A Runner

Yes, indeed! It was a great week to be a runner, at least for this runner. On Sunday, I ran my first road half marathon in over a year. It wasn't pretty, but it was fun! And we celebrated Global Running Day on Wednesday this week. While I wasn't able to celebrate with my Brooks RHT teammates at Fleet Feet in the evening--I work late on Wednesdays--I did celebrate with Erica by doing a Go Run Tour.  

It's always good to be a runner, but wouldn't you agree that it's better when you get to celebrate with other runners?

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: Chicago 13.1 half marathon

Monday: Yoga with Adriene

Tuesday: Pool Running

Wednesday: Global Running Day! 4 miles

Thursday: Strength training

Friday: run 6 miles

Saturday: waterskiing

Running

On Sunday, I was out the door by 5 am to head into the city for the Chicago 13.1 half marathon.  I didn't sleep well the night before, and even my Garmin expressed concern about my stress level. After meeting up with Erica and her crew, I held back, trying to avoid getting caught up in the start line push. My legs were stiff and I struggled with the heat from the beginning. There was no way I was going to DNF. Fortunately, there were a lot of friendly folks on the course giving me support. At mile 11, I caught up to one of my fellow Brooks Team members, and we ran those last 2 miles together, crossing the finish time in a somewhat disappointing 2:25:58. Overall, this was a really beautiful course in a part of the city most people never get to see. I shared more in the recap!

Wednesday was Global Running Day! Erica posted a Go Run Tour meetup along the Chicago Lakefront and since I was still in recovery mode, I signed up! Since we were meeting at 6:30, I had to hit the road early, which helped me avoid most of the construction and rush hour traffic. It was a beautiful morning with temperatures in the mid-60s. Erica led us along the lakefront from Belmont to Fullerton, with plenty of stops in between. She shared info and trivia about some of the statues and parks in the area. She also took us through the AIDS garden and around the Caldwell Lily Pond, a hidden gem that I never knew about! After the run, she and I went out for a cup of coffee. It was a really nice morning and for me, the perfect way to celebrate this unofficial holiday! You can see more on my IG.

Friday morning was cool--55F-- and I was excited about that! This was another very nicely paced run. My legs were tired on the back half but I dug deep and ran the whole thing. Where was this weather at last weekend's half?

Pool Running

On Tuesday, it was back to the dive well for some Fluid Running! The water felt great on my tired legs. I did a class called 'Back on Track', which was just perfect for recovery. Not too easy, there were a lot of long cross-country segments, which is my favorite way to move and stretch in the water, along with tabatas, sprints, and ups. I shared my corner of the pool with the 2 chatty runners, but I just turned up the volume on my freshly charged earbuds to drown them out, lol.

Strength Training

I took a pass on CrossFit this week--I thought it might be a bit much after my race. But on Thursday, I met with SJ for strength training. She had planned for more upper body work this week to let my legs continue to recover. I started out with dumbbell (25# each hand) bench presses, sets of 10. I alternated those with barbell rows (65#) sets of 8. Both of these movements were heavier than I had done in the past, so she only had me do 3 sets. After that, we worked on handstand push-up prep. I did sets of 8 with my knees on a box and in a pike position, pushed my head forward to touch a pad, and then back towards the box (see the setup below). The goal is to do them with my toes on the box but it is hard and it is scary! I'm going to continue to build towards that goal, tho. I alternated 3 sets of those with 3 sets of 12 RDLs using a resistance band. I finished up with knees to chest on the bar--I'm working towards toes to bar and dare I say I am getting closer?

Off the Road

Of course, we took a ride up to the lake on Saturday! The hubs and I wanted to go strawberry picking first thing and we picked 10 lbs of these red beauties! There's just no comparison to the store-bought strawberries. We'll be making all kinds of tasty treats in the upcoming weeks. 

I also got some time on my pretty pink ski! The water conditions were perfect. The air and the water were much warmer than a few weeks ago. Summer is short and I need to get out there as much as I can!

How was your week? Have you been experiencing issues with the smoke from the Canadian wildfires? How did you celebrate Global Running Day? What is your favorite way to recover from a hard race?

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown.