Unwise

So, last week, I relished sleeping in in the mornings and taking it easy in the evenings.  However, by the end of the week, I was itching to go for a run.  Fall is my absolute FAVORITE time of year to run and there’s also another 26.2 I have coming up in the not so distant future…!

So, Friday morning I went for an easy 5 miles– just from my apartment, partway over the Q’boro Bridge, and back.  It felt glorious.  Friday night, I went to Flywheel for a nice 45 minute session.

Saturday morning I ran over the bridge and to my old ‘hood, the UES, (about 4.5 miles) where I picked up my bib and tee-shirt and then hurtled myself down Fifth Ave for a mile.  Then I watched some other runners dominate the other heats, which was a lot of fun!

Ah yes. Gorgeous, as always.

My time was 6:34 and I guess that is cool, considering I didn’t feel like barfing at the end and really did it for the easy 9+1 point?

Saturday early evening, T and I went out with my good friend and her fiancee in the East Village, where I downed some delicious Lagunitas IPAs.  Then we called it an early night, since I had a race the next morning.  However, on our way to grab a cab, we passed Lunasa, the site of our joint birthday party 2 years ago, so we had to stop in for a beer.  As a waitress walked by with a tray of shots, T told her to bring us a round.  Um, what?  In other words, I am a really responsible runner.  (Of course I did the shot.)

The next morning, I got up at 5:30 and just missed the 6 AM N/Q train at Broadway, so I had to cab it to 102nd Street and the park, where I met up with Lori, got my bib, and took off for the NYRR 18 mile tune-up.

And this is where I learned a valuable lesson.  Running 18 miles just 8 days post-marathon and preceded by a run + spin day and another run day is… not fun or easy.

I considered throwing in the towel every mile, post about mile 13, but I stuck it out like a stubborn little b*tch.  Was it pretty?  No.  Was it fun?  Nah.  Did I take 2 walk breaks?  You bet your a$$ I did!

I kept reminding myself that I would have punched my mother in the face (love you, mom!) for the opportunity to run a mere 3 months ago when I was dealing with the dreaded PF.  I kept telling myself that the weather could not have been more perfect for a run (true).  But, the bottom line is that it was hard as hell.  Everything hurt.

But I finished it —  in just under 2:49 (a 9:23 pace.)  Fine.

OMG MAKE THIS END

It’s a little over 5 weeks until NYCM and I have to admit that Sunday’s brutal run kinda freaked me out, but then again, I will actually TAPER for NYCM… so that should help.

In other news, I currently have my nails painted in Essie’s new “Marathin” shade and it’s purty.

I’m not sure why it’s called “marathin” and not “marathon,” but I like it anyway.

I hope your days are filled with running, pumpkin beers, and other delicious fall goodies!