Fired Up

Hey guys!

There has been a lot going on over here in MobileBayRunner’s world (see what I did there). It has been a really good week! Lots of fun running and non-running activities going on. Let me tell you about it …

I started the week off with an easy 5 miles on the treadmill before work. I was pretty sore after my half marathon Sunday and so Monday was all about some (active) recovery. My legs actually felt pretty good once I got starting running and I worked some of the soreness out. Work was a little bit crazy this week with our last big tax deadline for the year on Thursday, October 15th (the individual returns that are extended in April are due in October). Going into Monday morning, I was a tad bit concerned that the returns were not going to get done, but thankfully several clients sent their remaining information in over the weekend and I was able to wrap up several returns that day. I felt much better about things by the end of the day Monday.

Monday evening after work I went to yoga. Man was that painful. I don’t think I would specifically recommend doing yoga the day after racing a half marathon. I could hardly do any of the poses, but then again I’m sure that the stretching was actually good for my tired, sore muscles (it just hurt a little bit). I came home Monday evening to find that Daniel had bought me some flowers “just because.” Those are the best!

Tuesday morning I did another easy 5 miles on the treadmill before work. I usually do a longer run in the morning and then go to RW for a shorter run with the group Tuesday evening, but I decided to reverse that this week and do my longer run later. I did 10 miles with Jessica (one of the girls in my training group) that evening. That worked out really well because they had 10 miles to do that day and she was going to have to start super early to get that in before work. I got a little bit of extra recovery time and felt pretty good by that evening.

Wednesday was the day before our deadline at work and by the time I left Wednesday evening, we had pretty much wrapped up all of our returns. It was a great feeling to leave work knowing that another “tax season” was done and that we have a little downtime ahead of us. I will be going back to my non-tax season schedule this coming up week, so that’ll be really nice. Daniel and I did 5 miles after work that evening.

Thursday morning I met Rebecca and Lizzie for 8 miles before work. We got all the last-minute details finalized and I was able to leave a little bit early! It was so nice. I even got a little nap in before Daniel got home.

Friday morning Daniel and I did 8 miles before work. We had a moving day at work and we rearranged some offices and just did some “housekeeping” type of things. Another early dismissal day! Friday evening we had a get together to celebrate the end of a successful tax season. We sat around the fire and ate some chilli, hotdogs and s’mores. It was a really fun, relaxing evening. Speaking of fire, apparently our county is actually under a burn ban until October 31st. We didn’t realize this. Oops. Also speaking of fire, my dad is pretty much the best fire builder ever. He and my mom were in town this weekend and so he helped us set up the fire for my work party (and by helped us I mean that he built the whole thing for us).

He has been splitting wood and building fires for as long as I can remember. He loves it. Friday evening I decided that I wanted to try to help him cut some of the wood. I need some practice, but I kind of loved it. It’s pretty therapeutic to swing a maul as hard as you can and *try to* split some wood. It’s also a great upper body workout (which I hate doing otherwise). My aim definitely needs some work (as you can see below).

The fire was perfect.

It was a tad warm out at first, but once the sun went down it got chilly and we enjoyed sitting out by the fire. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t had a s’more in quite some time and I do not remember them being so incredibly delicious … but they most definitely are! I didn’t even get a good picture of them (blogger fail), but that was probably because they were consumed rather quickly. There is definitely an art to getting the right degree of toastiness to your marshmallow. I think we pretty much mastered that by the end of the night. The kids definitely had fun!

Saturday morning my training group had their longest run of the training cycle! 21 miles (a couple of over-achievers even did 22)! I ran 13 miles with them and then hopped in the car to support them the rest of the way (with encouragement and hydration). I was biking with them some, but I am not a skilled biker and that was pretty much a disaster on wheels. I fell one time and the other times my legs were pretty sore the next day (when I was attempting to do my own long runs). I’m pretty sure that I need to consider doing some cross-training if riding the bike 10 miles is making me sore … I might do that, but definitely not until after the marathon. For now, the car will have to do.

My mom came and met me at the store after everyone got done with the run (they all did awesome) and we headed out to do our virtual race. I had already run some with the group, so we decided to walk the 10K. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed catching up over a nice, long walk along the bay.

While we did that, Daniel also did the virtual race (running, not walking).

We got home and watched some football for a little while and then got ready for my cousin Erin’s wedding. She and her (now) husband live in Austin, but they got married here on the bay. It was a perfect day for a wedding and she was a gorgeous bride. Erin and I have been close over the years. Time, distance and some crappy family circumstances keep us from seeing each other much these days, but I am so glad that we were able to be there for her big day.

This morning I met Rebecca and Lizzie for my last 20 miler of the training cycle. I’m pretty sure that I told you guys last week that my run last Sunday was my last 20 miler … well, that wasn’t true (but I thought it was). Coach pulled a sneaky one on me and changed my schedule up this week. I thought I was supposed to do 16 today (I even wrote that down in my planner), but when I looked at my schedule this week, all of a sudden it said 20. I definitely trust his judgement and if he thought I needed to run another 20 miler, then I was most definitely going to run another 20 miler. We all survived. The weather was perfect and the company was even better.

When we got home (after coffee of course), I decided to settle the unfinished business I had with that pesky log I tried to split Friday evening. Yes, I brought the log home with me and yes, I am stubborn (it’s one of my most lovable qualities). Daniel recently bought a maul so that he could help my dad split wood, so we got that out and I went to work. It took me a little while, but I finally got it! Before …

And after …

Just call me Paul(ette) Bunyan. Btw, I don’t actually recommend chopping wood in sandals. I was being very careful. My toes leave a lot to be desired though (#runnerproblems), so if one went missing it wouldn’t be all that tragic. Anyways …

Now that it is officially taper time, I am planning to add in a couple more yoga sessions this week. I decided to buy the Runner’s World Yoga for Runners DVD set and it just came last week, so I am excited to try that out! It comes with a 50 -minute active-recovery workout that is supposed to ease tight, stiff muscles and prepare you for your next workout and also comes with three 30-minute workouts: yoga for beginners, yoga for recovery and yoga for core strength.

I love the class that I go to at RW on Monday evenings, but I have been wanting to add in another day (or two) of yoga during the week. I also really like the idea of being able to do it at home, because usually by the time we get to the savasana at the end of class I am just ready to go to sleep on my mat. If I am at home I can actually do that (assuming that Brooks is cooperative).

Speaking of Brooks … today is his birthday! He is four years old. I really can’t believe that, probably because he still acts like he is two. In doggie years, now he is as old as Daniel. Ha. We love him so much (I mean really, it’s a little ridiculous). He is the best dog though. Happy Birthday Brookser!

So, you know how I said that I had really been wanting to watch You’ve Got Mail? No? Well, I said it at some point in a previous post. My sweet mom found it for me. I plan to cuddle up on the couch later and watch it this afternoon and get excited about our trip to NYC (in less than two weeks)! To quote Joe Fox (in the movie), “Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies.”

That’s all I’ve got for now. Stay tuned this week for a post about safety tips for runners. I’ve been wanting to write that one for a while, but honestly I am having a hard time writing it. The words aren’t coming to me like I want them to, but it is a really important subject and now y’all can hold me accountable to actually get it done.