Lately, I’ve been feeling a bit like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day. My weekends are pretty much the same from one week to the next and, naturally, they revolve around running. Eat, sleep, run…repeat.
Friday night
Going out on a Friday night is definitely not happening since an early morning long run beckons. Ever do a long run with little sleep or a hangover? It’s not fun. So my Friday nights go a little something like this: pizza for dinner if I’m running around 18-22 miles the next day, getting everything ready for my long run (clothes, fuel, etc.), watching House Hunters International with Matt, and a 9:00-9:30 bedtime. Whoa, that’s living life in the fast lane, folks.
Saturday morning
I generally get up around 7:00 (sadly, this is sleeping in). I get dressed and get on my way. I don’t eat before any of my runs, so I don’t have to worry about factoring time in for digestion and what not. Then I drive to my hilly long run route and hope for the best! I’m going to have to alter my routine in the next few weeks to prepare for Boston’s late start (closer to 11AM for me – eek!).
I always have chocolate milk waiting for me in the car so I can drink it while I stretch. I drive home, stretch some more, do my PT exercises, foam roll, take the longest, hottest shower, and the finally eat breakfast. By this time it’s usually 11AM. Phew!
If I am planning to go out, Saturday night is usually the night to get wild and crazy since my Sunday run is easy. If I can stay awake until 11PM, it must have been a really fun night.
Sunday morning
I “sleep in” (i.e., don’t set an alarm) and bang out an easy run just to give the old legs a good shake after Saturday’s long run. I also figure out my training schedule for the week ahead so I can do this all over again!
It’s funny how drastically different my weekends are now as compared to my 20s!
My long run this weekend was interesting. We had a wind advisory so, instead of killing myself by adhering to a certain pace, I made it a LSD run. No lie, the wind was intense.
It was nice out though – about 40 degrees and sunny. Around mile 15 the sky got dark and the temps started dropping. By mile 16 I was running in a full-on snowstorm. I couldn’t believe it. As soon as I finished running, the sun came back out and the snow stopped. Those last 2 miles were not fun.
I finished 18 miles in 2:44 – 9:07 average pace. Not bad considering the crazy wind.
Do you fall into a routine when training? Kudos to you if you can manage to have a social life too. Training and going out were much easier…when I was younger!
Did you run in the crazy wind on Saturday?