This past week I enjoyed my last week of freedom before marathon training starts. That translated into doing whatever workout I felt like doing when I got home from work, or no workout at all. I chose to do so knowing that for the next 18 weeks a piece of paper will dictate what I do from one day to the next. That’s not always a bad thing, and I definitely benefit from a training plan, but it’s nice to go with the flow every now and then.

Monday- Cross training: 30 minutes of abs/core work. My legs and shoulders were really sore still from Saturday’s race and the subsequent driving afterwards. So I figured the best thing to do after taking a rest day on Sunday was to make my abs and core as sore as the rest of me. 🙂

Then Barry and I watched the USA take on Ghana in the FIFA World Cup. It was really exciting! Not a bad first match, if I do say so myself.

Tuesday- Cross training: Jillian Michaels No More Trouble Zones workout (55 min.).

Wednesday- A little over 4.5 miles miles back at the Draper Mountain Bike Trails. I got to do some more exploring on these new trails and ran three new-to-me trails. I started out going up TNT, which apparently is “the most fun.” After having “the most fun” (the trail was tough, but fun at times) I got on Lollypop which took me up to the landing.

From the landing I got on a trail called “Draper Drop” that would take me the rest of the way up Draper Mountain to the overlook. This trail was very, very rocky at times and I had to be careful not to roll an ankle!

It was a tough climb to the top, but as always the view was worth it. It was kind of neat to pop up at the Draper Mountain overlook, because there were other people up there. It’s a popular place to stop as you drive over the mountain and the other people that were up there had driven. So they had impressed looks on their faces when I came running out of the woods covered in sweat (did I mention it was really hot and humid?), which made me feel kind of cool. The view from the top:

Then it was time to head back down the mountain. The Draper Drop trail was as tough at times going down as it was going up, because of the rocks. I had a few major trips, but luckily I never fell!

Thursday- Rest day. Instead of working out, Barry and I went out and picked up some hanging baskets for the porch this summer. This year I decided to go with Impatiens.

Friday- Rest day. I had actually planned on cross training, but then I ended up taking a rest day. I figured I may as well enjoy the freedom of going with the flow before I have to buckle down for marathon training. Plus I knew I had a full weekend of exercise planned, with two runs on Saturday and a bike ride on Sunday.

Saturday- My running buddy wanted to run on Saturday morning, and I also had a 5K race on Saturday evening. It was a great opportunity to practice for the DC Ragnar Relay this September!

AM: 5 mile run with Kim on the Dora Trail. It was only in the low-70’s while we were running, but it was already very humid outside. At least the sun wasn’t beating down on us, too! My legs felt a bit tired and heavy, but I think that was actually from the two previous rest days in a row.

PM: Downtown Sundown 5K race at 8:30 PM! I ended up having a good race. My finish time wasn’t fast compared to many of you speedsters, but it was fast for me. And I’m proud of how strong I ran. It was a little confidence boost for me. Full recap coming tomorrow morning!

Sunday- Rest day. I wasn’t set on a rest day for Sunday. We even had tentative plans to go on an afternoon bike ride on the trail. But it didn’t happen, and I don’t mind. I think my heart and lungs still got a pretty good workout during the USA game against Portugal!

Good grief.

Total Miles: 13 miles