Number One Supporter

{warning: high sap content}

The Running Blog Family is a great community of blogging runners (or running bloggers) and the support we give each other is outstanding. But as good as it is, it's not the same as what I get from my biggest supporter. Of course, my parents were always great supporters of everything I did, and since my father passed away last year, my mother is still a tremendous supporter of all her kids and grandchildren (Thanks, mom! -- I know you're reading this). But she is not my biggest supporter either. My kids? When I told my daughter I was going to lose weight and run a marathon, her words were, "Yeah right, Dad." (She's a believer now.) My son says he'll go out for a run with me as soon as I can beat his high school 5K PR. (I'm gonna hold him to that.) Let me tell you about my number one supporter.

I met Anita in college; a time when, though I was interested in running, I had hardly ever run more than 2 miles at a time. Anita took a running class from Ed Coyle (now a somewhat renowned exercise physiologist). She "got it". She loved running. She ran her first race, the 15K Tucson Sun Run (5K's were almost unheard of at the time). She talked me into running it the following year. I trained by running 3 miles each day for four or five weeks. That was it. But I did the race. And I finished. And it wouldn't have happened without Anita.

My usual runs became 3 or 4 miles. One day Anita told me she was taking me on a run.

I ask, "How far?"

"Oh, about 5 miles."

"I don't know if I'm ready for that."

"You can do it. Let's go."

(40 minutes or so later)

I say, "I think we've gone about 5 miles."

"Yeah, well it's not too far back to my house."

She totally kicked my ass for 7 miles. I was duly impressed. She said she thought that someday she might do a marathon. No arguments from me. But a bicycle accident and knee surgery soon after have precluded that goal for her (so far).

We were married a couple years later, and in the years since then...

When I did my first triathlon (2K/50K/10K) in the desert heat and ended up totally drained, she was the one who walked with me the final miles of the 10K.

On my second crossing of the Grand Canyon (South rim to North rim in one day -- 20 miles), when I got badly dehydrated, she was the one who hiked down 2 miles to find me and walk with me back up to the top.

Through countless injuries (adductor pulls (twice), plantar fasciitis, groin pull (that was the worst), stress fractures (3 different times), and ITBF syndrome), she is the one who has put up with my whining, my depression, my crankiness.

As I gained more weight than I ever should have, she was the one who accepted me for who I was, as I was, and never hounded me about it.

As I lost that weight I never should have gained in the first place, she was the one who encouraged me through the whole process.

When I ran the San Diego marathon and got dehydrated (I've had this problem with hydration) and spent 40 minutes at the mile 22 medical tent and then walked the rest of the way in, she was the one who waited for me to finish my 5 1/2 hour marathon (well, actually, everyone had to wait for me on that one) and showed nothing but encouragement and concern for my well-being.

As I've trained for my races and marathons, and continue on my quest to eventually qualify for Boston, and slowly increased my weekly mileages higher and higher, and run intervals at the track on Tuesday evenings, and insisted on Sunday pancakes after a long run followed by a lot of lounging around on the sofa, and as I've obsessed over nutrition and hydration and electrolyte balance, and spent money on shoes, shorts and shirts, and jackets and gels, and energy drinks, race entry fees and airline tickets, and as I've spent time blogging about all of this, she has never complained (well, hardly ever -- airfare is expensive -- and "get off that &*#$ computer!").

And of course it's not just me. As both of our kids went through 4 years of high school cross country, she was the editor of the cross country newsletter and later president of the cross country parent booster club (it was a big program). She volunteered at the San Diego marathon and when her assignment was complete, she joined in to help some more at the finish line. One of my highlights from the Boston marathon was standing next to her and listening to her explain things about the runners and the race to the kids who happened along to watch. She is a tireless supporter of all things running.

She is my biggest supporter and I am so lucky to be married to her.

Thank you, Anita. I love you.

"Who is (are) your greatest supporter(s)?"

Like Night and Day

Mmmm. Multi-grain pancakes with blueberries after a long run. But that's getting ahead of ourselves.

After Wednesday's tempo run debacle, I was looking forward to a couple of well-prepared-for and carefully monitored medium to long runs. Thursday was a recovery day and I just did an ab workout and a little cycling. Things got interesting on Friday.

I've been reading some articles on performance and nutrition and decided to follow a particular prescribed method "by the book". I had a 12 mile run planned for Friday noon (same total distance as Wednesday's tempo run). I had a breakfast with some good complex carbs and a little protein (very low fat). Then, I ate nothing for 3 hours until I went out on the run. During the run I took in 16 ounces of energy drink (I was hoping to use Heed but my order hadn't arrived and so I used the closest thing I could find -- Cytomax) with NO sucrose, only complex carbohydrates (160 calories). Ideally I would have taken in more than the one bottle during a run this far, but I just divided it up along my first 10 miles (starting at mile #2). It was much cooler than Wednesday (high 50's to low 60's) and the results were striking: even pace all the way (9:04 for 12 miles) and several minutes faster overall than Wednesday.

OK, so this is looking really good. But what about the really long runs? Sunday would tell. Saturday was an easy recovery run - 5 miles (twice around Fresh Pond).

Sunday was a 20 miler. In keeping with the suggestions of the articles I've been reading, I got up around 6:30 to stretch and had NO breakfast. The idea is that your muscle glycogen stores are already topped off - you don't really need to add to them. Why not eat within 3 hours of a workout or race? Blood sugar elevation causes excess insulin release. This inhibits the burning of fats. It also increases the rate of carbohydrate metabolism (you burn your stored carbs faster). This disruption lasts about 3 hours. So I could have gotten up at 4:00 a.m. to eat, but the sleep was doing me more good than a small meal would have (though I may experiment with this in the future as a small meal would top off your liver [not muscle] glycogen stores). Anyway, I was out the door before 7:30.

The only problem with Sunday's run was the weather. Well, not actually the weather itself, but the weather forecast. Temperatures were in the 40's, but the forecast called for rain all day. So I put on my rain jacket (over a lightweight long-sleeve technical shirt). And did it rain? By the time I felt a couple little sprinkles, over two hours into the run, I was already drenched in sweat. So, no, I didn't need the rain jacket. Plus it just added weight and made me sweat more. Not good.

I took my 16oz bottle filled with Cytomax, and another packet of Cytomax to mix up another bottle on the run. I also took one Hammer-gel. I drank at about the same rate as I did on Friday's 12-miler. But because of my extra sweating due to the jacket, my cummulative fluid loss added up over the run and by the time I finished I had slowed somewhat (at least 30 seconds per mile slower by the end). I also definitely hit the wall on my last mile. Just ran out of energy. But I pushed on as best I could. The 20 miles took almost 3:15 to finish.

Next time? I need to consume at least 16oz of energy drink (plus 8 - 12oz of additional water, depending upon the temperature) every hour. I'll also try some electrolyte replacements on the run. Oh, I did also have the Hammer-gel around mile 16. I like that it doesn't taste as sickly sweet as some of the other gels (no sucrose), but I won't be using espresso flavor on my next run! Bleh.

And then, after a blueberries, milk and whey protein mix shake, there were pancakes. Mmmm.

Oh, one other thing. 55 miles for the week (new max for me). Racing 10K next Sunday!

C-Ya

Tempo Run Kicks My Ass

All I could think of halfway through yesterday's tempo run was, "this run is kicking my ass." My plan called for a 12 mile run with 7 miles at tempo pace. Now normally the pace would be in the 8 to 8:15 range for me, but seeing as how it was a long tempo run, I figured I'd be happy with 8:15 to 8:30. Yeah, well, that would have been nice.

Temperatures were soaring.

Actually, it was only about 72 degrees, but it felt pretty warm to me. I carried a 24 oz bottle of water with me and finished it well before the run was over. I did the first 3 miles at a (too quick for a warm-up) 9:03 pace. As I started the 7 mile tempo part of the run I felt great. First mile went by in about 8:04. In retrospect, too fast for the temperature and my lack of energy stores. I'd been drinking a fair amount of water through the day, but hadn't eaten nearly enough. The next mile was mostly a gradual uphill and I hit it in about 8:20. Again, too fast for uphill in 70+ degrees. By the third mile I was nauseus as everything was taking its toll. I was pushing myself through miles 4 and 5, not knowing how long I could hang on. At 5 and 1/2 miles I hung it up and took a half mile break. I walked briefly and then continued at a very easy pace. After a half mile recovery, I picked it up again for another mile at tempo pace. It was all I could do to manage an 8:37. The last 2 "easy" miles after that were long, difficult, and I was out of water.

Afterwards, sitting at my desk, I could see that I hadn't eaten enough prior to the run. I started the run about 2pm and had only had an apple since breakfast around 8am. Also, since I was running for more than an hour, I really should have carried energy with me - sports drink, gel, something. And of course I started out too hard.

Running continues to be a learning experience. And this is a lesson I need to learn. I've made mistakes like this before. My next marathon will be another crash and burn if I don't get the nutrition/hydration/electrolyte balance figured out. The good thing is that I have plenty of opportunities to figure this stuff out. Every week has its challenging runs. Tomorrow is another 12 miler and Sunday is a 20. My goal for those two runs is to run consistently and to not bonk.

C-Ya

Boston Marathon Report

...from Commonwealth Ave. [Pictures to come later]

No, I did not run the marathon. Yes, it is my dream to run Boston. No, I refuse to run as a bandit. Yes, I believe that those who run Boston without qualifying for it detract from the thousands of runners who spend sometimes years training to qualify for the marathon.

I left work early (very early) on Monday and went home to meet up with Anita, make some lunch to take with us, grab the cameras, and walk to the T. We took the subway to Kenmore station, near the CITGO sign. We found ourselves a nice clear spot around mile 25.4 and as I looked down the street to Kenmore Square I could see the timing clock. We arrived around 1:10 and were able to watch several of the wheelchair athletes pass. The winner of the men's wheelchair division had long passed our vantage point, but it was fascinating watching the others up close. There were not too many people there yet and we got ourselves situated, ate our lunches and pulled out our marathon guide from the Boston Globe.

It wasn't long before the first cadre of lead vehicles, a police motorcade and press trucks came into view, followed by the elite women. It was very exciting watching these amazing athletes cruising down the road in the final mile. I took pictures of the first several women as they came by and then we began the wait for the elite men. Hopefully, someday soon the American women will again fill the ranks of the top finishers.

Just after 2:00, the second cadre of vehicles, motorcycles and press trucks came into view, followed by the first runner. I could tell immediately that it wasn't Meb (dang). We quickly looked up the number to find the name "Cheruiyot" (a previous winner). The guy was really cruising. Of course it turns out that he set a new course record (by one second). It wasn't too long before number two came along. Again, no Meb, and we watched Maiyo fly by. There was a bit of a gap then before number three showed up. Meb! So the top American would take 3rd place. Still an impressive performance as there again was a gap before the next runner. What followed though was simply amazing.

As they passed us, Culpepper and Sell were in 4th and 5th (Sell would pass Culpepper before the finish). That's 3 Americans in the top 5! Then Gilmore takes 7th and Verran takes 10th, 5 Americans in the top 10!! Then Humphrey in 11th, Johnson in 15th, Lundstrom in 16th, O'Brien in 18th, Briney in 19th and Stevens in 20th; 11 Americans in the top 20!!! You could feel the electricity on the street as people were realizing what was happening. We were witness to a rebirth of American distance running.

Now the runners began coming more quickly. As the steady stream of runners swelled, so did the spectators along the course. The Red Sox had just put away the Mariners and hordes of people were swarming the sidewalks, squeezing in to get a view of the runners. The next couple hours were a blast, cheering for the runners, encouraging runners who looked like they were about to pass out, sending uplifting words to a few runners who were obviously seriously cramping (I know that pain), and of course calling out the names of runners who had them printed on their singlets, shirts, arms, etc.

Perhaps the biggest cheers went out to the Hoyt's. If you don't know their story, you should read it here. This was their 25th Boston marathon. What an inspiration.

And then in the midst of these runners came ... the "Man in a Pink Tutu". I hate those guys. As you may or may not recall, in the Arizona marathon I was passed by a "Man in a Pink Tutu" just before the finish. I'm guessing Elizabeth shares my disdain for these runners, as she was also passed by him not far from the finish. Unfortunately, I missed getting a picture of Elizabeth (now I still owe her one since she got a great picture of me in the AZ marathon). And I was all set up for a great shot, with the CITGO sign in the background. Speedy girl zipped right past me. And she did great!

After another hour or so, we began to tire of all the yelling and screaming and headed back to the T. The subway ride back was excruciatingly slow! It took us about an hour to get back to Harvard Square. People on the train were nice enough to give up their seats for any runners who got on (but apparently Elizabeth had no such luck). From there we walked home where we checked all the results from the BAA marathon website.

Lowlight from the sidelines: the smoker who looked like he was intentionally blowing smoke out onto the race course. Seriously, there's a special place in hell waiting for you.

Highlight from the sidelines: my wife, Anita, explaining things about the race and the runners to a couple of kids standing next to us. They were really eating it up (and getting excited about running, I hope). Future runners.

Do I get excited about this stuff? Does the pope wear a hat?

My dream of running Boston just burns in my mind. I will get there.

C-Ya

p.s. Tuesday was an easy 6 miles with 6 X 100m strideouts. It felt great.

Easter Weekend

What a beautiful weekend! The weather was so nice and the city was just buzzing in anticipation of the upcoming marathon.

Saturday morning I ran over to Fresh Pond and did 3 loops followed by 8 X 100m strideouts. The weather being so nice, the paths were getting almost crowded -- at least a bit crowded for doing strideouts. I was afraid some small kid or a dog would step into my path while I was running at speed. Everything turned out fine and it was an enjoyable, if a little tiring, run.

Anja and Ben were with us for Easter weekend and we spent the day doing some shopping and then cleaning up the house. We're still trying to find places to put boxes from the move (I'm not sure those 10 boxes of vinyl LPs are ever going to see the light of day in this place). We did finally finish cleaning and setting up the sun porch -- it is now quite the relaxing hangout! After all the work we did, I went to bed tired Saturday night.

I was up bright and early Easter morning for a run. Since Anja stayed up late baking bread and making a carrot cake for Easter dinner, she and Ben weren't able to join in the "fun run".

I parked the car (with my clothes in it for church) near the church and Harvard Square (got a great parking spot at 6:35 a.m.), and headed out to the Charles River. I ended up doing about 10 miles (maybe a little short) and timed it such that I arrived the start of the "Freedom Run" about 5 minutes before the start. I then joined in the pre-marathon 2.8 mile fun run with the other thousands of runners, families and friends.

The Freedom run starts in Copley Square, runs downtown and back, and finishes at the Boston Marathon finish line. I must say, running that final stretch down Boylston St. across the finish line seemed almost sacrilegious. Qualifying for, and running Boston is a dream of mine, and running that last stretch down Commonwealth Ave, to Hereford, to Boylston and the finish is an experience I look forward to savoring. If anything, now, though, it does motivate me to press ahead with a diligence to my training.

After grabbing a few post-run goodies (including Peeps!) and slamming down several bottles of water (Hey, I did run over 12 miles!), I went back over to the finish line to look for Elizabeth who was to meet up with her club for pictures. After wandering around for just a short bit, I found Elizabeth and was able to meet her sister and parents. What a wonderfully supportive family! They were very friendly and warm people and it was a pleasure to meet them. After a few pictures we all left together on the T (subway for those of you who haven't been to Boston yet) and continued chatting until I had to change to the Red Line to get back to my car in Harvard Square. I wished Elizabeth luck and headed off to church.

I had plenty of time to change before church started and was able to save space in the crowded pews for Anita, Anja and Ben who arrived just in time. It was a great Easter service, complete with the requisite piccolo trumpet and even an ensemble of period instruments (the kids were so excited that the "sackbuts" were going to be playing!).

After church we had a great Easter dinner with a couple friends from church. Good food, good conversation. An enjoyable time was had by all. After sending Anja and Ben off back to New York, Anita and I had a lovely walk along the Charles River. By the time we got back, the weather was cooling off and it was apparent that Patriots Day would provide the marathoners with near-perfect weather.

Lovely Day, Easy Run

lush verdant moss
crowds the violet crocus
...maples and oaks ready

Yes, it's beginning to look like Spring. Thursday's easy 5 mile run on the trail through the Minute Man National Park was quite nice. Temperature was in the high 60's. Smaller plant life is quite active but the larger trees are still just showing their first buds. It looks like Spring is about to explode. Easy relaxed run at about a 9:20 pace.

Friday is a day off. (This is recovery week, remember?) That's a good thing because it's also tax season and my taxes this year are just insanely complicated. (Yes, I'm a procrastinator -- even though I'm getting a refund.) A late Thursday night got them mostly completed -- still need to wrap up the multiple state filings.

I'm looking forward to a couple of medium runs this weekend (ending with the Freedom Run on Sunday morning), and hopefully meeting a few more RBF'ers. And of course I'm also looking forward to watching and cheering at the Boston Marathon on Monday. It will be interesting to see if Meb can be the first American in years to win Boston. He's got some stiff competition, but it sounds like he's in good form. It will be a good race under good weather conditions.

C-Ya

Another Recovery Week

Sweet.

I'm not really that tired from last weeks big mileage, but taking it easier (I didn't say easy, just easier) will help with the rebuilding, allowing me to continue pushing myself at this level.

Monday was a recovery day. I did an ab workout and just cycled for a few minutes to get my legs moving.

Tuesday was an easy-paced medium run -- 8 miles. Ran out to Concord and back. Since I had a conflict around lunchtime I did this run at the end of the day. The only downside to that was more traffic. But a good part of the run is on a trail next to the road so it wasn't too bad.

Wednesday (today) was my first speed workout, a "Max VO2" workout. For a very controlled environment, and due to the lack of a nearby track, I did the workout on the treadmill. After a 3 mile warm-up, I did 5 X 600m at 5K pace (7:25 - 7:30) with 90 second recovery. Cool-down was 2+ miles for a total of 8 miles. The workout felt great, and now the next couple of days will be very easy.

C-Ya

Marathon-specific Workout

Sunday's schedule called for a "marathon-specific" workout. It was a total of about 15 miles. I chose a single long loop around the Charles river down to the Longfellow bridge at the East end, and the Beacon St. bridge in Watertown at the West end (plus to and from the river). Temperatures were a bit chilly early Sunday morning - 36F according to yahoo. But since I knew it would warm up, I went without gloves - just shorts, long sleeve (heavier) technical shirt and cap. And a water bottle filled with Gatorade.

The first 3 miles were an easy warmup. I took it very easy - almost 10 minute miles. Then it was 12 miles at marathon pace. In my training for my previous marathon, I did some marathon pace training, but it was limited to maybe the last 5 miles of a long run. This was different. After a warm-up, doing 12 miles at marathon pace was a great workout. I ran very even splits. I actually sped up slightly in the second half. I did the 12 miles in 1:44:03 - 8:32 per mile (the first 6 miles were at 8:34 and the last 6.2 miles were at 8:30). It felt great. About a month from now I'll do another such workout, only longer - it will be 17 total, 15 at marathon pace.

Sunday's 15 miles made a weekly total of 47 miles. Mileage was a bit less than the previous two weeks (50 and 54) because there was a sort of "mini-taper" prior to the marathon-specific workout.

This next week is a recovery week and I'm looking forward to the break (only 43 miles) before hitting the toughest week in the schedule (a 55 mile week).

C-Ya

Cranberry Hill to Strawberry Hill

After Wednesday's snow, it was time to get out for a good solid run. I elected to stay off the trails (though I don't think they would have been too muddy). I checked out a map to find a way to extend to my normal mid-week run. I noticed a nice long remote-looking road not too far from my turn-around location and decided to check it out. It's Northwest of Concord and called Strawberry Hill Road. (I work in an area known as Cranberry Hill, hence the title of this entry. And yes, cranberries grow wild around here.) So I headed out through Concord, out past the town center on Powell Road, and then down to Strawberry Hill Road.

As soon as I got onto the road, it started climbing. OK, the name should have been a clue. But the area is quite beautiful. Apparently, a number of quite wealthy individuals have also decided it is quite beautiful and have built some very large houses on very large properties up there. It seemed as though the further up I went, the more ostentatious the houses became. By the time I reached my turn-around point, I was in front of a very large private residence that was just disgusting. This owner lives on some of the most beautiful woods around here, with stunning views, and they have to build a "Tuscan" style villa (just a bit out of place), complete with expansive perfectly manicured lawn (and workers with their damn leaf blowers keeping it all picture-perfect)!? I mean, really, you're living in the woods. Your house is out of character and you don't need a giant lawn! But I can still enjoy the views (once I get away from their leaf blowers). The return down the hill is just as lovely (and of course a bit easier).

This was the longest of all my mid-week runs -- 14 miles at a 9:15 pace. I do find it odd that I no longer consider 14 miles to be a "long" run (maybe medium-long). I remember my first 14 mile run (years ago). It seemed so long and seemed to take forever. I had to take a walk break. I've changed. Cranking out 10 to 14 miles is no big deal now - but it's taken me three marathons, logging a lot of miles, and more recently, shedding my inhibitions about running longer distances mid-week and being confident that my body can handle the stress.

Of course, rest is also a part of this; and Friday was a rest day. I did an ab workout and just cycled for a few minutes to move my legs a bit.

Saturday was another easy day as I was getting ready for an important workout on Sunday. I did 6 miles around Fresh Pond and finished with 6 X 100m strideouts. My legs felt good and I was looking forward to Sunday's workout.

Slight Change in Plans

"This year April had a blizzard
just to show she did not care
and the new dead leaves on the trees
look like children with gray hair..."
- Dar Williams

So the weather forecast called for a little rain, possibly mixed with snow.

Yeah.

After snowing most of the day (really only a few inches), I decide I better alter my running plan for the day. I was going to go out for 14 miles but decided to swap with tomorrow's scheduled easy run. I know, it's two easy runs in a row, but the weather should be much nicer tomorrow for running outside. I did the 6 miles on the treadmill. It was bearable. I don't usually listen to music while I run so I put the radio on for a change.

Strange, though, how there was no snow accumulation in Cambridge, but several inches out near Concord where I work. Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting out for a good run tomorrow. I was going to return to Walden Pond, but since it will be sort of muddy I think I'll stick to the roads. We'll see.

C-Ya

Cool and Wet

long arching branches
drip early Spring rain
where buds poise

Weather is cool and wet. I went out today for an easy 6 miles. There was a drizzle for the first couple of miles. As I crested a nearby hill, the wind picked up and was blowing a cold mist into my face. A little irritating - I could have worn a cap. But all in all, a pretty nice run. The drizzle stopped and as I turned back toward my workplace after 3 miles, it was quite nice running with the breeze.

Tomorrow is supposed to be bit colder yet and I've got a medium long run planned. My legs are only a little tired now, so I should be recovered adequately for the run.

C-Ya

Big Mileage Week

...for me anyway.

After Wednesday's great run out to Walden Pond, Thursday was a recovery day and I did an ab workout and a little cycling and rowing. Friday was a lactate threshold run of 3 miles easy, 6 miles at LT (tempo) pace, and 2 miles easy for a total of 11. It was 73 degrees (F) -- and I was dragging in the heat! You would think a former desert rat like myself could handle it no problem. I used to run mid-day in the summer in Phoenix -- 110 degrees. OK, so I was probably running half this kind of distance. Still, I seem to be de-acclimating from the heat. I might have to start doing more runs in the morning once it gets really warm.

Saturday was an easy 5 miler -- except it wasn't that easy. Friday night, Anja and Ben came up from NYC and I went and picked them up at the bus station at 1:00 a.m. Then I got up at 5:30 a.m. to get my run in so that we could head out early enough for breakfast. I had just found out about "sugaring" and as the season is just ending we thought it would be fun to drive out to one of the "sugar houses" and have some fresh maple syrup (doin' the New England tourist thing). It was great. Piles of pancakes and french toast drenched in real maple syrup. mmm. carb-loading for Sunday's long run.

And Sunday was a long run. And it was another short night. We all went to a concert Saturday night and so didn't get to bed until after 11:00pm. Then, of course it was also time to "spring forward". Great timing, 'cause I needed to get back from my long run in time for church. So I was up around 6:00am to eat, and I was out the door around 7:00am. As I was tired of doing "two-loop" long runs, I figured out a single long loop route. From the house I ran down to the Charles River (by the Elliot bridge). From there I ran all the way down to the Science Museum and around to the Boston side, and as far as the Harvard bridge. From there, I ran down to Commonwealth and then West a bit to find an overpass over the Mass. turnpike and then to the Fenway. From there it was mostly trails through the Fenway and the "Emerald Necklace" all the way to Jamaica Pond, around the Pond, and all the way back to the Harvard bridge where I continued on the Boston side of the Charles river to the Elliot bridge and then back home. Those last 4 miles along the Charles really sucked because the wind had picked up quite a bit and I was alreally quite tired. Those were a few slow miles. Total distance - 20 miles.

Total miles for the week - 54. That was my highest mileage week ever.

Today (Monday) was a (well-deserved) rest day. I did an ab workout and just cycled for 5 minutes to move my legs a bit, but other than that I'm just recovering. Looks like I'll be running in the rain a bit this week...

C-Ya