10 Things Tuesday- Long Weekend Recap

1.  I hope everyone had a fantastic long weekend, I know we did, it was crazy super busy, but so fun!

2. Saturday John and I headed to Gainesville for the first Florida football game of the season. It actually started as a beautiful morning weather wise, but the 90+ temps quickly set in leaving me sweating as if I had just run 20 miles. The Gators managed a very ugly win, but I suppose a win is a win. The highlight of our Gainesville trip was a stop at my Beloved Pita Pit for lunch, Heavenly!

3. After the game we said goodbye to Ms. Peach, grabbed our third passenger and hit the road for Atlanta. We managed to make great time, and made it up there about 45 minutes earlier than anticipated. Once there we grabbed some pizza, watched more football and hung out with everyone before calling it a night after midnight- waaay past my bedtime!

4.  Sunday morning I woke up to set out for a run on my all time favorite route. There is a big 5 mile loop through my parents neighborhood, and despite the ample amount of HUGE hills, I was so excited to run this route again. Even better, it was 58* when I started my run just a little after 7am, I was so happy to be getting real fall weather after dying in the summer heat the day before.

5.  I assume it was my great mood and the weather, but I absolutely rocked my run on Sunday! I beat my 5 mile PR time and that was including running all the hills- I credit the perfect weather, but it seriously made me want to move back to ATL and set up shop running there permanently. While the hills definitely got my heart rate way up, it never felt torturous like it did when I did the same loop about 3 months ago.
5.04 Miles- 43:48, avg pace 8:42, average HR 178 (you can see where the hills took their toll)
Mile 1-  8:50
Mile 2-  8:51
Mile 3-  8:49
Mile 4-  8:36 <---- This is where the biggest of the 7 hills was, and I just kept pushing even as my HR hit 190, I knew there would be a nice downhill on the other side.
Mile 5-  8:19
Last .01-  :20  (7:57 pace)

So maybe this is a sign that I am supposed to be running in hills and cooler weather, something to think about


6.  After the run John and I grabbed breakfast and a Pumpkin Spice Latte to celebrate the beautiful fall weather and headed up the road to meet up with everyone else. We managed to get some errands done and had lunch before heading back to house to relax and get ready for the evening.

7. Sunday night was the wedding we went up to ATL for, and you really could not have asked for a more perfect evening. The weather was great, low humidity, plenty of sunshine, and it made the outdoor ceremony and reception very enjoyable. The ceremony seemed to go by super quick, and we headed upstairs for the reception. I spent most of the night chatting, but managed to sneak in some food, wine, and wedding cake. We left earlier than the rest of the family, but John and I were both tired and ready to head home.

8.  After what was not nearly enough sleep we woke up Sunday, packed up, and headed home. I had hoped to squeeze in one more run before we left, but I was sleep deprived, dehydrated, and starving, and I knew the run would have not been great, so we grabbed breakfast and hit the road. I thought the drive went pretty quick since John and I each drove half, and before I knew it we were back to pick up Peachie. She was so happy to see us, and immediately jumped in the car.

9.  Once we were home, the dog got a bath, I hit the grocery store, cleaned, unpacked, did all those things you do when you get back from being gone for 3 days. I kept telling myself I would go up to the gym to run on the treadmill, but by the time I finally stopped and got ready it was 8pm. I knew it would be a pretty sucky run, and I had to run this morning so I opted out and got in bed early in attempts to make today great and feel well rested.

10. So today, Tuesday, I wake up and go out to run- I had 7 miles to do, I decided to start easy and would pick it up once I woke up...yeah, that never happened. I felt like a zombie running this morning. At first my legs were not working right, well they woke up after 2 miles- my brain did not. I did manage to make it a "progression run" but the progress was so MINIMAL that it really doesn't count.

7 Miles-  1:06:53, 9:33 pace
Mile 1-  9:45
Mile 2-  9:38
Mile 3-  9:34
Mile 4-  9:31
Mile 5-  9:29
Mile 6-  9:30
Mile 7-  9:26


I am pretty pissed at myself for starting what was to be a very important running week, off really crappy. I am actually planning to do doubles both today and tomorrow to get my legs and brain back to functioning and make sure I get some intensity into my runs. I have my first 20 to run on Friday, so I better pick it up.