Half Marathon Thursday + Outdoor Adventures

Hello from the air on the way to Los Angeles for the CrossFit Games, which I’ll be attending as media on behalf of Reebok! I’m so excited – I’ll be back on Monday to share a recap, but until then, you can see some of the highlights on my Instagram (so obsessed lately!), Twitter, and Facebook pages!

So, you know what’s awesome about marathon training? You do things like run a half marathon on a random Thursday morning, and then feel totally bada$$ for the rest of the day. I see why training for these things is so addictive! (Although… ask me again how I feel about training when I start getting up to 20 milers… )

It was GORGEOUS weather for a run in DC yesterday morning. It felt like September, not July! My friend Kathleen and I met up on the National mall at 7 a.m. and set off, enjoying the cool breeze and the views.

What a difference 20 degrees makes for running!

Like last week, we ran down the mall and around the Tidal Basin, with some beautiful views of the Jefferson Memorial.

And the Washington Monument!

Kathleen in action:

From there, we decided to run down Hains Point! It was really nice down there in the early morning – lots of runners and cyclists and no cars. Very peaceful! Easy way to add some mileage without stoplights, too.

We headed back around the Tidal Basin after Hains Point…

Loved this view of the paddleboats all lined up with the memorial in the background:

And from there, we ran down along the water and up Rock Creek trail! We actually were planning to do 11 miles per my marathon training plan, but we got so distracted chatting that we ended up overshooting the turnaround point. By the time we got back down towards the mall, we had already hit 11 and still had about 2 miles to go! Oops.

We debated walking, but we both had to get started with work and we were feeling good, so we decided: why not keep running? So we did!

Since I knew we were going to be close to 13 miles, it obviously made sense to do an extra 0.1 just so we could say we’d run a half marathon that day. Cool! 13.1 is still my PDR (personal distance record) for running – I’m excited to get up into higher mileage because everything will be a new PDR for me!

Still haven’t gotten around to gluing my Garmin watch back together… the hair tie works for now!

The cooler weather really helped with our pace, too. Our average pace was 9:11 minute/miles, and we overall did negative splits, too.

Splits:

Mile 1: 9:07
Mile 2: 9:17
Mile 3: 9:08
Mile 4: 9:29
Mile 5: 9:18
Mile 6: 9:19
Mile 7: 9:12
Mile 8: 9:11
Mile 9: 9:13
Mile 10: 9:11
Mile 11: 9:08
Mile 12: 9:06
Mile 13: 9:03
0.1 nubbin pace: 6:58 –> sprint to the finish!

What a great run! As usual, I had an espresso Hammer gel during the run (some of it around mile 4 and the rest around mile 9), and after the run I pounded some chocolate milk. Best post-long run fuel ever – the perfect mix of carbs and protein (and deliciousness, obviously)! After showering I had a normal breakfast.

It was nice to knock out my long run for the week early – now I can enjoy a shorter run in Los Angeles and not worry about getting in anything too long. Perfect! Since I’ll be traveling a lot this summer, I’ll be doing most of my long runs on Thursdays to free up my weekends.

I’m sad to share that my original marathon training buddy Karen is officially injured! We’re both so bummed, but it’s important for her to rest up and get better. She has to take about 4 to 6 weeks off running so no marathon for her, sadly. But we’re looking forward to lots of walking and yoga dates in the meantime! I think I mayyy have Kathleen on board to run the marathon with me instead, though… we’ll see. She’s done all my long training runs with me so far just for fun, so it would make sense! Fingers crossed she decides to take the plunge. It would be her first full marathon, too!

Since the weather has been so nice this week, I enjoyed two other fun outdoor workouts – I returned to the free Dupont Circle Lululemon yoga on Wednesday night with my friend Chrissy (it’s every Wednesday from 6 to 7 during summer):

And then last night I had an adventure with Heather – kayaking! We had plans to hang out after work and when the weather ended up being so amazing, we decided an evening kayaking trip would be the perfect way to catch up, get in a little arm workout, and also enjoy the sunshine. It was wonderful!

Heather and I rented a double kayak for an hour from Key Bridge Boathouse. At only $20, it ended up being cheaper than going to a workout class together, and we had way better views, too.