Last week was an easy week--or 'taper week', as I've been calling them. A reduction in miles to give my legs a chance to rest up a bit. 4 mile runs, and cross training on non-running days (an additional rest day during these weeks, too). On Thursday, I decided to walk Greenlake--something I haven't done in a long time. I forgot how much I enjoyed that--just people watching and taking in the sights. Even though running outdoors is great, I still take in a lot more when just walking. It was a cold day, but perfect for a brisk walk. There were tons of people out, and I caught the beginning of a beautiful sunset.
I went and saw "Spirit of the Marathon" on Wednesday night. I met up with a couple of co-workers, and met some people from the running group I signed up to join. (I also hit the Sale going on at Express--I couldn't resist, and I haven't spent any money on clothes in quite awhile)! The documentary was showing at Pacific Place--a high end shopping mall right smack in the middle of downtown. About the only thing I can afford in this building is the movie theater!
The documentary was fantastic. It follows the story of two elite runners (Dena Kastor, and I can't remember the male they followed), and about 6 or 7 other people who run for various reasons. I highly reccomend this film for anyone--runner or not. It's fascinating, has some great comic moments, and very inspiring. All of the people followed in the story were training for the Chicago Marathon. It was amazing to watch the progression of all these runners at so many different levels. I am still in awe of these elite runners that hold between a 4 and 5 min/ mile pace for more than 2 hours. As they point out in the film, a standard treadmill's top speed doesn't even reach this pace. Incredible.
Sunday I met up with this group for a run. We ran about 8-ish miles. Most of the runners that showed were male, and quite a bit faster than me. My co-worker, Carol, was very kind to keep me company (she's definitely much faster than I am). There was one female that was about the same pace (as far as I could tell--not sure if she was just taking it easy or not) but she decided to take the shorter route.
We met at Coleman Park and ran along Lake WA down to Seward Park--did a loop through Seward, and then back along Lake WA. I had no idea this park system existed. It is BEAUTIFUL! I will be back for sure. Though Carol and I ended up taking a different path (we missed the path to follow the road around Seward Park), we ended up on some trails that ascend up through the middle of the Park and around. We ended up hitting quite a few hills and doing some unexpected trail running. We finally met up with the road at some point, and then started the trek back. Despite being "lost", I'm glad we found these trails. It'll be a great place to go back to!
I'll be back to join the group. It was really fun. I'm hoping that as the weather gets warmer, more people around the same pace as mine will show up. The other woman that was there that I think was about the same pace is thinking of doing the same marathon as I am in June. It'd be cool to connect with other runners doing this race!
Oh, and on a whim, Cory and I ended up with a brand-spankin'-new treadmill yesterday. Joel, Cory's brother, found this fantastic deal at Fred Meyer up in Everett. It was on sale 60% off of an already marked down ticket. $140 total. You can't beat that. I don't think I'll be able to use it early mornings because of noise, but I'm still so happy to have it, and know it will get good use. Thanks to Joel for spying such a great deal, and ESPECIALLY for helping us get it all set up! He pretty much did most of the work!
This week the mileage begins again....4 mi Tues/ 5 mi Wed/ 7 mi Thur/ 6 mi Fri/ Rest Sat/ 10 mi Sunday/ Rest Mon. I'll be in Wenatchee on Sunday--still trying to figure out how I'm going to work that 10-miler in between all that's going on. I'm going to aim for a very early morning run--we'll see what happens. I'm hoping that by some miracle, the weather will change to 40 degrees and sunny so I can hit the streets. Though, I'm not going to hold my breath.
Off to get some Japanese food!
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