shalane flanagan Archives - Run The Long Road Coaching

Two days away, no running, some easy hiking, some sleep, time with Matt, dinner and drinks with family, and lots of Olympics watching is exactly what I needed to snap my mind and legs out of their funk.

Matt and I headed up north this weekend to the quaint town of Milford, PA for his birthday. Never heard of it? Either did we. It’s just south of where PA, NJ, and NY meet and right near the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area so there are lots of trails to hike. And the town of Milford is very pet friendly so Hawk was able to join us.

Before we headed north on Friday, I got my long run out of the way and it wasn’t as miserable as expected given how heavy my legs felt last week. 18 miles at 10:00 average pace. Done and done.

Our weekend in pictures…

Very late on Saturday night (after many drinks) I was faced with 2 options: (1) sleep in and watch the women’s marathon once I got home (and avoid all social media on the 2+ hour trip home) or (2) get up at 6AM and watch it live. Option #2 won and it was well worth the lack of sleep.

Amazing

Also amazing

The men’s 10,000 meters wasn’t bad to watch either!

Did you watch the marathon live or sleep in? Or don’t care? Is that possible?!

Happy Sunday! I’m enjoying Day 2 of a 3-day weekend! I just got back from barre class which kicked my butt, as always. My legs were already tired from 15 miles yesterday and all the pulsing and squeezing sent them over the edge this morning.

So, the Olympic Marathon Trials?! So exciting. I cannot wait for London. I just got back from my long run in enough time to catch the Twitterfest of the finish. Meb is amazing and Shalane, Kara, and Desi are a force to be reckoned with in London.

hawk_oly — Hawk enjoyed watching the Trials as well

I wish I could say that I channeled some of that elite energy during my LR but I didn’t. 15 miles with an average pace of 9:04. I will call that a LSD run. I slept 4 hours on Friday night (random insomnia) and, beginning at mile 6, I developed a blister on my right foot (while wearing my Adrenaline 11s – yes, the ones that are supposed to feel good). I have no idea what kind of metamorphosis my right foot is undergoing but it better morph back to my old foot pronto. I’ve never had issues with blisters before. They suck and can really derail a run.

To be honest, my heart was not in this run. I was tired. It was so, so cold. The wind kept smacking me in the forehead and pissing me off. I wanted it to be OVER. I came home and I was upset. This was a slow run for me and a good 45 seconds slower than MP. Then I took out my FIRST plan and looked at what pace I was supposed to run those 15 miles (note: when it comes to long runs I generally “beat” whatever pace the FIRST plan calls for…so I never even bother to look at it pre-run). 9:08. I ran 9:04 and called it a terrible run. I stopped sulking after that.

And…I got my hair cut yesterday! I got a good 6 inches lopped off the back. It feels amazing to have less hair to deal with! It was getting to the point where my hair was in a ponytail every single day. Some pics…

haircut_1 — it may not look like a lot from the front...

Good luck to everyone running Houston today!

What did you think of the Trials?

Did you have a good long run this weekend?

Just What I Needed

Olympic Trials, Haircut, And A Long Run