Sunday, November 13, 2016

Can I take a bow?


Oh. My. Gosh.

My sixth marathon (technically, it's my third ultra) is happening in less than a week! Am I scared? (not really) Do I feel prepared? (yes!) Will you allow me to take a bow?

Although it was a substantial scaled-back week (regarding mileage), it still was busy. Here's what went down:

As usual, Monday called for my #nevermissaMonday routine. With my 20-miler a day prior, I spent the majority of Monday in recovery mode, and just did a simple 1-mile run to shake out the legs. I ran after work, and the run felt effortless. Mission accomplished.

Yes, I did wear the compression socks to work (incognito under my pants)
Tuesday, my friend Barb met me for our #5at5AM run (five miles at 5:00). Barb has been meeting up with me for these easy-paced runs for the past several weeks. Although, I'm not afraid doing the miles on my own (in the wee dark hours), it's always great having a friend along with me.


Wednesday, I had a 10K time trial run on the calendar (and an extra mile of warm-up/cool-down). Boy, is this time change messing with my mind. I headed out after work (just after 5:00PM), and lost daylight much sooner than I anticipated. There's a 5K loop that goes right by my house, and I planned to run the loop twice (clockwise, then counter-clockwise). This route includes a county road with very limited lighting and a couple of decent hills....not ideal in the dark. I ran the first 1.5 mile and realized it would be dark by the time I came back around to run it in reverse, so I made the command decision to reroute after that first 5K loop. Problem solved.

Yes, I"m "riding" the taper
Thursday was a day of active recovery. You know, the typical...stretching, PT exercises, and planking.

#planks4thewin
Friday, Barb and I met up at 5:00AM again. I ran an approximate mile (for warm-up) before meeting her, and we knocked out five fairly (dare I say, tempo?) fast miles before I headed back home.

43-degrees, and I left the gloves at home and felt fine without them (???)

And, let's not forget the #Fridayfashion post on Instagram


Saturday. It was my first Saturday with ZERO running on the plan in several months, but I had plenty of cross-training on tap (in the form of yard work). We have several tall pine trees in the back yard, and several tall oaks in the front yard. We raked (and raked) most of the pine needles first, then tackled all the leaves (and millions upon millions) of acorns in the front yard. Lots of core work (twisting with the rake), squatting (lifting the debris from the ground), and (what felt like) several of miles paced back and forth between the flower beds.

Got needles? Leaves? I'm your gal.
Sunday arrived with a mere 10 miles on the plan. I set the alarm for 5:20 (for our tentative 6:00) meet-up, but woke up a good hour early (wouldn't you know?). Halleluah, those 10 miles went oh-so-quick! Isn't it amazing how easy a 10-miler feels when you have spent the past several weeks running much farther?


This week clocked in with a total of 29 miles in the running shoes (and a bonus day of rest and recovery...thanks, Coach Suz!!). Yes, this taper feels oh-so-sweet!

In other news...

It's with a great deal of pride that we celebrated Veteran's Day. My husband, my father, and my late father-in-law all served our country. We owe our vets a great deal more than just a simple "thanks."

with my favorite Lt. Colonel
Oh my gosh! My Iowa Hawks pulled of a last-second field goal and beat #3-ranked Michigan! Holy cow! What a bright spot to their challenging season!

Hawkeye proud!
Yes, I voted.


And, despite my lack of political rhetoric, I tried to make light of the past 18-months of name-calling campaign ugliness.


How was you week? Any races coming up? Are there any vets in your circle of friends and family?

As usual, I'm linking with the lovely ladies, Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap. Do head over, check out their awesome blogs, and see what everyone else has been up to!



40 comments:

  1. You are so ready for your race ! I am so excited for you ! You make the training sound so effortless but it is such a huge amount of work ! You rock woman.

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    1. Ha! Thanks, Karen ;-) I feel ready, I just hope all goes well on race day....there's always so many variables....

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  2. Great week of training, I bet that extra day of rest felt lovely. I could never get up at 5 am for my workouts.

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    1. Well, the extra day of rest involved all the yard work LOL.....but it was nice to not have to set the alarm (though I still woke up early) ;-)

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  3. OMG. The amount of acorns in our front yard is always tremendous. They make the most amazing yellow/orange color when squished by car tires, though. You CAN and SHOULD take a bow. The training is the hard part. The race will be the perfect icing on the cake. I tried to stay neutral this week. We went to a function Thursday night which was all but ruined by talk from both sides. I was looking forward to a nice relaxing evening. Enjoy your final week of taper. Thanks for linking, Kim!

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    1. Our acorns are out of control this year....are they on some kind of a cycle? I don't ever remember this many of them in years past. And, politics. I do not discuss politics...too many hot buttons. I wish more people understood that some people just prefer the "avoidance" route when that topic surfaces....

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  4. What a great week of running for you! I need to get back to the 5am runs!

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    1. Sadly, my 5AM runs are coming to an end...but I may try to continue them periodically through the winter, but I won't be as committed to them

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  5. You are so ready! I love your positive attitude. We need to spend some quality time together...

    Are you going to jump into that plank challenge with me?

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    1. I need to revisit that plank challenge. My plank challenge kind of tanked....I'm still doing it, but not many people jumped on my bandwagon ;-(

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  6. Woohoo! You have had such a good training cycle you do deserve to take a bow! I know it's going to be a great race for you!

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    1. Thanks ;-) SO far, the weather is looking nice....so far...fingers crossed...

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  7. My grandfather and step-grandfather, now both resting in peace, were WWII veterans. My ex-husband (father of my sons) is full time Army National Guard. So yes, we do appreciate the Veterans and all they do for our country. I'm so impressed at your training. I faintly remember my marathon training days. Now a 5K would be a long run for me because I hardly ever run (but a 60 mile bike ride, no big deal). Good luck with your race preparations!

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    1. You're impressed with my training...well, I'm major impressed with your cycling!

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  8. My grandfathers were both veterans, my dad missed out on Vietnam barely.. his number came up and then they called it off. Looks like you had a great week. Yard work is a great workout too!

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    1. Yard work is no joke! Most people don't realize how heavy pine needles are! And acorns? It's crazy how those "little" things weigh down a garbage bag!

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  9. Take that bow girl because you owned this training cycle! Yes the darkness comes quick and early these days. Sigh. 6 more weeks and the days will start getting longer so there's that...

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    1. I'm looking forward to the next six weeks ;-) I know if I can make it to the solstice, it just gets brighter & brighter (despite the colder & colder temps).

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  10. My father is a WWII vet. So few of them left!

    I have a lot of races coming up, I turn into Darlene at this time of year. :) Because I prefer fall racing!

    10 miles will always seem long to me; I'm pretty sure.

    Have a great week & good luck this weekend!

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    1. Well, 10 miles is long! It's crazy how our perspective can change...there was a time when a 5K was a major distance for me to run. I appreciate every mile ;-)

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  11. No races for me coming up but a few fun runs in December. My brother is in the Canadian military so we always take time to be thankful and pay our respects for others.

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    1. I have no December races on the calendar....but there are a couple I might consider. Not a huge selection for those in Iowa ;-(

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  12. Yes, you should take a bow. You are going to rock this marathon. I am sure of it.

    My father was a WWII vet (he is no longer alive.)

    Love all your pics. Keep them coming!

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    1. Thanks!!! This certainly is the race I have trained the hardest for....hoping I can ride the momentum ;-)

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  13. Great job with your taper week! I can't wait to hear how your race goes! I am still slacking on my planks, sigh...I will have to just live through you!

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    1. I'm not posting every plank, but I'm doing them daily. I'm excited for your marathon, too!!

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  14. I love that you run sometimes in the morning and sometimes at night. I think this keeps your body guessing and is prepared for anything don't you think? I like my morning runs but I think it would do me good to run at other times. Loving your #Fridayfashion posts too!
    I love the confidence you have for your upcoming race and it will carry you right to that finish line lady! So excited for you and to see you accomplishment yet another one!

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    1. Absolutely, I think it's wise to keep the body guessing! And, I get bored doing the same old routine all the time.

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  15. Glad you're not going taper crazy, lol. LOVE your socks in pic number 2.

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    1. Oh no....I LOVE the taper! I don't have any guilt or misgivings about my training, but even if I did it's too late in the game to do anything about it. All is done...Ijust need that race to get here!

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  16. Looking gorgeous in that red dress! You should feel amazing you have really worked hard excited for you!

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    1. Thanks!!! It really helped having a coach...I had someone to be accountable to. I could have done a lot of this on my own, no doubt, but it was nice having someone else plan it out for me and give me new workouts/drills to consider. No regrets ;-)

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  17. Great week! I am so excited for your marathon! You are going to do great!

    It was kind of a crazy week. I stayed out of the political fray. I have my own opinions, and I am open to others, but this has just been too much.

    Congrats on your Iowa win! The Hurricanes did great and I hope to see them move up a little in the rankings.

    Thanks to your family for your husband's service. My grandfather served as a Marine in Korea and my uncle recently retired from the Army. We appreciate their and your sacrifices.

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    1. yes, last week was crazy in many aspects. Moving on, Moving forward ;-)

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  18. I love that last meme!! Way to go with your training. You're going to kick that marathon's ass!

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    1. I'm looking forward to Tulsa! It's gonna be a hilly, but fun, adventure ;-)

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  19. You sure are ready for that marathon! I loved your veteran's day pics- I know you are proud! College football was great this weekend, professional immmmm not so great! Rest up for that marathon! and good luck!

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    1. College football was a nice reprieve after last week's drama. Our Hawkeyes won, and our daughter's ISU Cyclones won (and a friend of hers even ran in a touchdown!).

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  20. Isn't taper awesome? I shake my head at the peeps who don't like that down time....

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  21. Vets deserve so much more recognition and appreciation than they receive. One day a year is most definitely not enough.

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