week in review: september 15–21

Dopey Challenge Training: Week 12

Monday, September 15: rest day

Tuesday, September 16: rest day

Wednesday, September 17: 3.31 miles (30/60 run/walk intervals)

Thursday, September 18: rest day

Friday, September 19: 4.02 miles (30/60 run/walk intervals)

Saturday, September 20: 13.01 miles (start 30/120 run/walk intervals, 30/90, 60/60, finished with 45/90)

Sunday, September 21: 3.15 miles - Brookfield ZooRunRun 5k

Weekly mileage:  23.49 miles

Total mileage for Dopey Challenge Training: 188.52 miles

Well, cross training was non-existent this week. Honestly, I think I needed a few days of rest rest... I've been going non-stop for weeks and a break was pretty nice. Plus, I had some time to spend with my husband, which is always a bonus. My runs went well this week, at least. Not great paces, but I got them done and am happy to be on track with my Dopey Challenge training.

It's crazy how dark it's getting so early! I did some night running this week, and I started in daylight and ended after dusk. I brought my Knuckle Lights with me, as well as wearing bright jackets (Wednesday was my Brooks Nightlife Jacket and Friday was my Saucony Sonic Vizi Vest w/ LED lights). Anyone else use Knuckle Lights? I really like them, but have to change the batteries almost every other use. Any tips on how to make the batteries last longer? Or is it just the way it is to have such a high powered beam of light going for 30 minutes?

My trail run on Saturday was interesting. It started off slow and painful. I ran my 4 miles Friday night and woke up early Saturday to get to the trail around opening, so not much rest for my legs in between. I wanted to run Friday morning, and actually woke early to do so, but I was having issues with my iPhone update, and spent the morning restoring everything on there. Anyway... my calf and arch on my left foot were tight and sore, so I started with longer walking intervals than I was originally had planned. After about 3.5 miles, I finally felt better, so decreased my walk intervals by 30 seconds, and then another 15 seconds when I was feeling better. 

I brought my Orangemud Double Barrel HydraQuiver backpack - one bottle with water the other with Nuun Strawberry Lemonade. Storms were in the forecast, so I brought a running rain jacket and looped that through the bungee cord/lock. It stayed on the whole time, no problems. Luckily, the storms held off until after I was done with my long run. Phew. I don't mind rain, but it was supposed to be pretty severe thunderstorms, and I'd rather not be out in that. I also brought and took ENERGYbits and some Clif Shot Bloks. They helped keep me going as strong as was possible, and kept my hunger away. Though I was feeling a bit tired, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Around mile 7, I caught up to a group of people that had passed me early on the trail, and I was trying to keep in my line of sight for the first few miles. I was determined not to let them get too far ahead (it's great motivation for me). When I caught up, they were so friendly and suggested I run with them, since they were also doing intervals. It was so nice to have people to chat with and keep me motivated. They were doing 60/60 intervals, so more running than I was doing at the time, but it went ok. They stopped at their cars at the end of the loop to grab fresh water and gatorade before finishing their run (they had 16 to do that day), so I thanked them for the company and continued on my last 3 miles. I knew if I stopped I'd have a really hard time getting back into it, so just wanted to finish. Those last 3 miles were brutal. It had gotten pretty warm out, and my legs were just tired and over it. I wished I had worn my compression sleeves, but I powered through and finished the best I could. I had to do a turn around, and saw my new friends again on my way back - that was a nice push when I was feeling pretty down. 

One of the gals from the group had done Dopey this past year, so it was great to talk to someone one-on-one, in person, about the experience. She's doing Goofy this year, so we exchanged contact info in order to meet up again for some long runs (or even just a few miles together) in the future. So awesome.

After my run, I went home to shower, eat lunch, and then head to an Oktoberfest at a local brewery. I wore my compression sleeves and brought a water bottle and Nuun to stay hydrated during the day. It was a looooong one, but thankfully we were able to get seats. I drank more beer than I should have, but I made sure to keep drinking Nuun throughout the whole day.

When we got home, I got my gear ready for my race in the morning, drank some more water, and went to bed at 9 (so much earlier than my normal bed time, but I was so tired). I woke up early again on Sunday morning, out on my BibRave shirt, some shorts, grabbed all of my gear, and headed out to the zoo for my race. 

It was a bit cooler than I was anticipating - more of a breeze than I was ready for. However, once we started it was fine. It was fun to run an entire 5k in the zoo and we had the chance to see some of the animals out and about. After the race we walked around the zoo for a bit (not as long as I wanted, but we had other plans for the day). You can read my BibRave.com review here, and check back in a few weeks for a recap. I'll catch up eventually ;)

We had to get home to shower and head to a wedding shower that lasted until 4. I won a sweet prize - a bottle of wine in chalkboard paint with a corkscrew and a spa eye mask. Yay! That sounds like a great way to spend a Friday night ;) When I got home I did a little cleaning, and then my husband and I caught up with 'Boardwalk Empire' episodes. Any other fans out there? I can't believe it's already the final season! 

It was another exhausting weekend, in which I could have used one more day for house cleaning and relaxation! Oh well, it is what it is. Time to power through another week.

How was your week? Did training go well? Any races over the weekend? Let me know how it all went :)

P.S. Make sure to review your race(s) on BibRave.com!