Run, Eat, Olympics, Run, Eat, Olympics, Run....

Run, eat, Olympics.  Run, eat, Olympics, run...that is how my weekend went!  It was the kind of weekend that you dream of all week where you get plenty of rest, run a gazillion miles and eat like a queen.  I live for this stuff!

Friday night after work I had an 8 mile tempo run on the books.  I headed to the gym to get this one done since I really needed to change up scenery.  Silly people, I canceled my membership and they still let me in!  Not sure how long that's going to last, but I'll take it!  After a one mile warm up, I did a progression run from miles 2-7, starting at 7:51 for the first mile and ending finally at 6:58 for the final.  I was tired from this one, but it felt good to get my legs turning over quickly. 
8 miles 1:00:31  7:34/mi pace

After that I ran home, showered and headed out to a new restaurant with my girl friends.  Two bottles of wine later we were finally on our way home where I had to jump into bed so that I could get up early to meet Sarah!  6:30 came early on Saturday!  Both of us later admitted that the thought had crossed our minds to call one another and call the run off!  But we didn't and at 7:30 we hit the trails together for Sarah's first 7 mile run - her longest distance ever!

The beautiful trail we went on

The weather was perfect, about 48-50 degrees when we started

Getting ready to hit the trail!

Sarah had 7 miles on the books for the day but in the back of my mind I really wanted to see if she could do 8.  I had mentioned it to her on Friday and she was actually thinking about it herself.  So when we got to the 3.5 mile turn around I asked her if she thought she had another mile in her.  She said yes!  And we plugged on for another 1/2 mile before turning around. 

Sarah lookin' good! (sorry peeps, for some reason it won't put this in the center!!)

At the 4 mile turn around - can you see the giant power plant in the background? Yeah, that can't be good to run by too often! :)

At the turn around I asked her how she was doing but I already knew - she was holding strong!  We picked up the pace a little bit on the back and the last quarter mile we really picked it up brining the pace down to 9:15/mi!  Whoo hoo!  She finished strong and hit an all time new high mileage mark!  I am so proud of her.  And at every mile her so after 6.2 we kept high fiving each other for her new distance record!  So proud of this girl.  When we finished up we headed home for some coffee, bagels and doughnuts.  I love running with my girl Sarah and am so proud of her!  Awesome job girly!

8 miles 1:22:25  10:18/mi pace

After I left Sarah I went home to tackle another 6 miles on my own to bring my total for the day to 14.  I did them on the treadmill at home as I watched the Olympics.  It's hard to stop running, get in the car, and then start running again.  So I took the miles easy and finished up the day tired but not too drained.
6 miles 50:14  8:21/mi pace.

The rest of Saturday I carbed up and drank tons of water while we sat on the couch and enjoyed the Olympics.  I haven't just sat on the couch all day in ages and it felt so decadent!  We had my favorite Indian food for dinner to get ready for Sunday's long run and just enjoyed being home. 

Sunday we got up around 7 and were on the trail by 8.  I went back to the same trail Sarah and I did as it is quite hilly and a good workout in prep for Boston.  My legs were tired.  But a good tired and after about five miles they felt like that had some spring in their step again.  I kept it easy this week, as it was a cutback week and just enjoyed the light rain and the cool weather.
18 miles 2:32:24  8:28/mi pace

My legs were done by the end.  I did have some good miles in between from about 8-14 where I was hitting my 7:45-7:55/mi range.  But after that I just let my legs cruise and enjoy the run.  I had a difficult week of running from Monday through Thursday but that all went away with the weekend.  It's amazing what your legs can do when you don't have the job monkey on your back! 

After my ice bath, giant coffee and nap we finished off the weekend with birthday shopping for my little sis and watching the USA beat Canada in the hockey game.  That was an awesome game!  I really felt like if I wasn't running, we were stuffing our faces on the couch as we watched the Olympics.  It was the perfect weekend, the kind that rejuvenates your soul and gets you ready for the next week.  I finished out the week with 49 miles, not too much of a cutback week, but enough to get me ready for the next few as I have some high mileage weeks ahead of me again.

Today is my sister Erin's 21st birthday.  I am so excited for her and can't wait to celebrate her!  We're taking her out to dinner and the obligatory night at the bars!  Whoo hoo!  So, as I have shared most of my fav pics of her and I together, I will leave you again with my fav. 

I'm off to catch up on race reports and bloggs!  Hope you all have an a great Monday!

Happy Running and Happy Monday peeps!!