One Week?! Eek.

Hey friends!

Can you believe that at this time next week I will have run the NYC marathon?! Holy moly. It’s almost here. I think I have been training for this marathon for about a year. Not really, just since the summer, but you know what I mean …

Also, can you believe that at this time next week we will officially know who the winners of the #RWCoverSearch will be? Holy moly X 2. The suspense is killing me. I can’t wait to find out.

This week flew by and I’m sure next week will follow suit. Let’s catch up!

I was off work Monday, so I took the opportunity to rest and catch up on some miscellaneous errands (like getting the headlight that has been out in my car for over 6 months (oops) fixed). The weather was beautiful. Mom and I took full advantage of the crisp, fall day and we decided to walk the 10K route that we did for the virtual race last weekend again. Daniel and I tried out the Runner’s World yoga for core DVD Monday evening and we both really liked it. It was challenging, but doable.

I slept in Tuesday morning and headed to Running Wild for the group run after work. It was really nice to get a little bit of extra sleep. I did 10 miles with Jessica on Tuesday evening again this week. Joy, Rebecca and Lizzie joined us for parts of the run as well. It was a good girls night group!

Daniel also came to the store to run, but he was wanting to do a workout, so he kind of did his own thing. He had a good tempo run! He had stopped at home before coming to run and he decided to make monkey bread in the crock pot. I don’t know how he comes up with these things, but they always turn out so good. This one was only a few ingredients (1 container of biscuits, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 0.25 cup of melted butter and 1 cup of brown sugar) and it was ready in just over 2 hours. Not the healthiest of recipes I reckon, but we’ll just go with it because I’m pretty sure those carbs are going to make me run super fast 🙂

Wednesday morning was my last workout of the training cycle! It was a 10 mile tempo run and it was a bit of a doozy. I did a two mile warm up and then started the tempo portion of the workout. My goal range was 6:35 to 6:40 pace. I ended up with a 6:36 average for the tempo miles, so I was really happy with that. After a one mile cool down, I was done with the workout. It was a wonderful way to wrap up an intense training cycle.

Thursday and Friday were some easy, shorter runs and some relaxing evenings at home. Brooks decided that he wanted to go for a swim Thursday evening before Daniel got home. He hadn’t been a little while and once he gets those bay eyes, it is pretty hard to stop him. Daniel does a better job of disciplining him than I do (which is probably why he knew he could get away with it). I’m pretty sure this is going to be an issue for us if kids are ever in the mix. Anyways … Brooksy enjoyed some nice play time. When he can’t find his ball, he stands up to look for it. For some reason that cracks me up. He looks like a little loch ness monster.

Saturday morning was filled with some fun running activities (shocking I know)! My group ran 16 miles with 10 miles at marathon pace. That was a tough workout for them, but everyone ran really strong. I was so proud. Since I am in taper-mode, I only ran 4.5 miles with them and then Daniel came and met me on the route in the car and we drove back and forth the rest of the way and cheered them along.

After the group got done, we walked over to watch the “Run Forrest Run” 5K prediction run downtown. I was thinking about running this race “for fun,” but I had some doubts about my ability to actually run in a race and not “race” it so I decided against that. It was much more fun spectating anyway! Rebecca and Keith ran it, so we wanted to go watch them. Rebecca pushed Savannah in the stroller and had the timing chip on Savannah’s shoe. I love it.

There were lot of fun costumes. David (top left) won the race (in khaki pants and a button down, no less). He is one of the Running Wild “elite” team members, so he usually sports the cheetah singlet, but apparently he can run in just about anything! Fun fact: Fairhope is actually the home of Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump.

After the race we headed home to split some wood (it’s kind of addicting, y’all) and then mom and I headed out for a walk. I love having her in town. It’s made the taper week much more doable, since we can still be outside and enjoy some fresh air without actually running. The rest of the afternoon was filled with football (for Daniel) and napping (for me). We are pretty predictable. I need to come up with some new blog content soon, don’t I?

Today my schedule called for 14 miles, so we got that knocked out this morning and spent some quality time at coffee loft. Again, so predictable … sorry guys.

Next week will be anything but ordinary, so please stay tuned for some NYC fun! Speaking of NYC, check out my new kicks that I will be racing in. They are the Brooks PureCadence 4. I have run in the Cadence before and I have logged a few miles on these guys now as well. They are lightweight shoes that still provide an optimal level of support. I love them!

We are caught up on the training activities now. I’m off to pack for my trip and do some reading. I am so excited about this week. It’s gonna be a good one! Be sure to follow me on instagram or facebook to stay up to date on the latest happenings of NYC Marathon weekend. I’ll leave you with a random picture (that’ll make you smile). Cat in a box. It’s a wonderful way to put those old Stitch Fix boxes to good use. She loves them!

Anyone have any good NYC tips for me (things to do, places to eat, etc.)? I need some good ideas!