Hey, hi, hello! Hope your weeks are off to an amazing start! I have lots to unpack from an eventful weekend and another 2 weeks of marathon training, so let’s jump right in:
Saturday: Favorite long run yet + Viggy’s birthday on a party trolly
The weekend started off with the usual long run. You know those days when you wake up and have absolutely no motivation to run? That was me every single day this week…a complete 180 from last week when I was super energized and excited to lace up those running shoes…
So on Saturday, I woke up NOT excited for 12 miles and just had a “let’s get this over with” attitude. After 3 miles on my usual path along the Embarcadero – which was so not stimulating at all – I knew I needed to switch things up to make it through this run. I decided to venture off on the streets (street running = running faster since I get excited being around people), all the way to Alamo Square, to Golden Gate Park, and ending on Ocean Beach.
The run ended up being my all time favorite run of the cycle so far. It was so exciting to get off of my usual route and see the diversity of SF streets/lush green tree-scape/huge waves the beach. I felt inspired and refreshed, and so grateful that my body and mind had a 180 from where it started. Running is amazingly unpredictable. You really never know when the highs or lows will come at you…which makes the good moments so gratifying. I feel like that’s a metaphor for life as well. 🙂
One more note about the run – I started doing core exercises last week and it’s amazing how much improvement I’m seeing in my running already! With the mileage I’m hitting at this point in the cycle, my form tends to collapse like an accordion when I’m tired, so having a strong core is more important than ever. My posture was much better during this run, and when my legs got tired, I engaged my core and it made all the difference!
After 12-miles, I rushed home and ate lunch, showered, and got ready for a much-anticipated event…Viggy’s birthday party!!! Viggy rented out an entire trolley that took us all around SF for the afternoon. It even included an open bar. Needless to say, our friends have been so excited for this party trolley, which has been on my personal bucket list for a while now.
A lot of the group were Viggy’s friends from work and college, and it was nice seeing some familiar acquaintes and also having the “fam” onboard. Anna, Ben and I had a blast together in the back of the trolley. We bumped up the music, sipped on our drinks, all while letting the wind blow in our hair and ooo-ing and ahh-ing at the scenic views. It was a gorgeous day and we even got to step out of the trolley at the scenic points to soak it all in.
After the tour ended, we got Viggy’s favorite food…pizza!
Afterwards, we retired at the guy’s apartment to chill a bit longer. Overall, this was one of the funnest events with the fam in a long time. It was a treat getting everyone together again, and the trolley was such a festive, unique-to-SF way to celebrate a special occasion. What a fun day and a change from the usual. Happy birthday Viggy!!
Sunday: Girl’s brunch with wedding planning
Another special activity was on the itinerary for Sunday. Janice’s wedding invitations came in and so we had a invitation-mailing brunch party with the girls! We all brought in different dishes and drinks, and we had quite the spread…we really outdid ourselves this time.
After stuffing our faces, we got to work with printing, stuffing, and sealing and the invitations. We took our time and had fun with our little “sweat shop” while sipping on bloody Mary’s and mimosas.
I’m the baby of this girl group, and so thinking about weddings seems like a really far-away concept to me right now – sometimes I feel like I’m in a completely different headspace and point in life…but nevertheless I love these girls and mostly just wanted to spend time together, even if it was mostly centered around wedding shenanigans!
After the invitations were sent out, I headed over to Kava Lounge for the rest of the evening. One of my recent friends, Josh, who’s a talented artist and fellow-kava regular, was around and we spent a few hours catching up and having our usual soul-healing conversations. Josh is one of those people who I can spill my emotions to, and in a few sentences he will completely change my perspective on a situation. He’s been a really great friend to me lately and I was so happy to wind down the weekend together.
You know how I know that Kava Lounge is home to me at this point? Whether I’m chilling with other kava peeps or at home watching Netflix, it all feels like I’m “recharging” and can completely be myself. Something about the spot makes people’s walls come down – I can’t count how many times I sat next to someone and within minutes we’re sharing our life stories. It’s why I’ve been spending so much time at kava recently – just the perfect spot to reflect, be around positive people, and feel at home. 🙂
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Marathon training log
Week 11:
Monday: 5 miles (no garmin, no music = “naked run”). Daylights savings = back to starting in pitch black but the upside was I finally saw a sunrise again! Felt super refreshed – going to try to do one naked run per week the rest of the cycle.
Tuesday: 8 miles (10:35 pace). Went onto the trails and saw a really incredible pink sunrise. Energy was strong, legs were okay.
Wednesday: REST
Thursday: 5 miles (no garmin, no music). Mind was racing with processing conversations and events from the week, and having this naked run helped clear my head.
Friday: 16 miles (10:20 pace). Really proud of this run. It was TOUGH as my legs felt like jello after a back-to-back. Last 6 miles dragged on forever but I’m really proud of my mental strength and “I will finish” attitude throughout. This run showed me that I do need to start practicing fueling on long runs.
Saturday: Hiking Muir Woods
Sunday: Foam rolling class
Week 12:
Monday: 5 miles (10:30 pace). Body did not feel great. Tired legs from long run last week.
Tuesday: REST –> I had 8 miles on the plan but woke up not having any desire to run at all. I figured a rest day would do more for my body/mind than this run.
Wednesday: REST
Thursday: 5 miles (10:12 pace). Legs are still feeling stiff…got a short tempo at the end which was refreshing.
Friday: REST
Saturday: 12 miles (9:58 pace) –> FAVORITE RUN OF THE CYCLE YET. I woke up NOT excited to run and decided to add some excitement by running on the streets > Golden Gate Park > Ocean Beach. Super energizing and changing up the scenery brought down my pace!
Sunday: REST
I Run Like A Girl 