It’s the most beautiful day here in DC today. Perfect weather for a Pittsburgh half marathon shake out run!
Matt and I enjoyed a nice watch-free 30ish minute run this morning before work, enjoying the sunshine and cool air.
He’s feeling ready for his first half marathon! :)
Matt and I are leaving for Pittsburgh tonight after work and the half marathon is on Sunday morning. I counted up the races on my race recap page this morning and realized that this will be my 10th half marathon! How exciting! Matt and I are going to run together, probably with my brother, too, with the general goal to do around 8:30 minute/miles. I’m so excited for him, and I’ve heard great things about the Pittsburgh half, too. Matt’s from Pittsburgh so it will be fun for him to run around his home city – and for his parents to be there to cheer us on, too! I’ll be sharing updates on Instagram and Twitter, as usual, but probably won’t post here on the blog again until Tuesday since we’re planning to take Monday off from work to make the drive back. :) Sitting in the car for 6 hours right after a half marathon didn’t sound super appealing!
As for the rest of this week’s workouts, I took things mostly easy since we have the race, but I did get in a GREAT run on Tuesday morning with my friend Sokphal!
Sokphal and I decided to set a weekly run date for Tuesday mornings to take out the guesswork of planning, and she had the idea to make them “Tempo Tuesdays”, which I loved! As you guys know I’m really working on getting my shorter distance run speed back after training for full marathons (the Richmond Marathon and then the LA Marathon) for practically a year straight, so this will be great.
We had a fabulous run, even though it was kind of drizzly and gross out on Tuesday morning. Rain, you weren’t invited to the party, but at least you’re watering these beautiful tulips. :)
I ended up covering over 7.7 miles (I didn’t turn my watch on for the 0.9-ish mile jog down to Sokphal’s apartment where we met up, so my watch shows less). Unintentionally awesome/longer run – pretty sweet for a weekday morning before work! Great splits, too.
- Mile 1: 8:03
- Mile 2: 8:14
- Mile 3: 8:24
- Mile 4: 8:25
- Mile 5: 8:34
- Mile 6: 9:22 (straight uphill)
- Mile 7: 9:16 (uphill)
Thanks for the great run, Sokphal!
As for the rest of this week’s workouts, here they are! No CrossFit this week b/c of the race, kept things lower key.
- Monday: rest day – tired from the weekend OutRun and AcroYoga workshop!
- Tuesday: 7.7 mile run with Sokphal
- Wednesday: 30 minute swim, alternating breaststroke/backstroke/freestyle
- Thursday: 75 minute Yoga 1 class @ Tranquil Space with my friend Hilary – felt great to stretch
- Friday: 30 minute shakeout run with Matt
Tomorrow will be a rest day. Fingers crossed the weather will be nice on Sunday morning in Pittsburgh for the race, and hope to see some of you out there! :)
Have a great weekend, everyone, and see you on Tuesday for a recap!
Weekend reading:
- Want to be more productive? Take a walk! –> SO true! via NY Times
- Ending the Glorification of BUSY –> absolutely love this. via Carla Birnberg
Thank you so very much for the link love.
I am really striving to remember that post and live it daily.
I have to ask, too, did you know I am from Pittsburgh?
I have been to the marathon half marathons etc. more times than I can count.
Cheering not running :-)
I didn’t know that! You won’t be there to cheer this year, will you? :)
Fantastic! You guys will have a fantastic run tomorrow. Good luck to Matt on his first half!
Those tulips are spectacular!!!
You guys got really “green” fast out there. Okc is still trying to “green up!” We are in a drought though.
Have fun Anne!! :) That’s exciting its Matt’s first half, maybe he will become addicted! :)
Good Luck on Sunday! I’ve done the Pittsburgh half and it’s a really fun race with awesome crowd support! I will be doing the Flying Pirate Half down at the Outer Banks….fingers crossed for a PR!
Nice! Good luck in OBX! :)
Yay! Excited for you this weekend! I am sure you are ready to blast it, and maybe the beautiful weather was an indicator of good things to come :)
I have my half coming up in two weeks, getting nervous now, but I think I should be ready! GOOD LUCK, but leave it all out there!
Good luck with your half too!! :)
Yay so excited for you guys. Good luck, Matt!
I’m from Pittsburgh and this Sunday’s half marathon will be my first ever, too. SO excited!
Yay! GOOD LUCK!
Good luck with the race!!! You’ll fly it I’m sure, miss speedy after tackling the longer distances!
I live in Pittsburgh & did the half last year – it was my first 13.1 ever & I had such a great time. Beware of the big hill between miles 11 & 12, but it’s smooth sailing after that. I will say you can see the finish line for a while (maybe 3/4 of a mile or so?) before you actually get there, so if you’re saving anything for a kick at the end, keep that in mind! :)
I’m running the 4th leg of the marathon relay this year on just 3 weeks of training (a friend got hurt & I’m filling in at the last minute!) so I’m pretty nervous, but hopefully all will go well. I get to run through my neighborhood actually, so I’m counting on my friends & neighbors cheering there to pull me through!
Anyway, it’s been rainy & cloudy here this week, but they’re saying it’s going to clear up in time for a wonderful day on Sunday. I hope y’all have a great time & look forward to your recap!
Hoping the weather is lovely for us on Sunday! Good luck out there and thank you for the tips! :)
Best of luck to both you and Matt on Sunday, Anne! I’m running my fourth half this Sunday, as well, in Pawtucket, RI. The forecast is for 60 degrees and rain. Fingers-crossed that the rain holds off until after the race. I haven’t run a race since October and am itching to get out and try for a new PR.
Have a great weekend!
Good luck with that PR! You can do it!
Good luck on Sunday, Anne! ENjoy!
Crush it girl! Leave everything out there! YOU (AND MATT) can do it! :)
Ahhhh, I love those tulips. I was in DC last April and passed by the same spot. So gorgeous.
Wow that’s a lot of races have fun. Those tulips are gorgeous .
Looks like it’s a beautiful time to be in the city. Have a great race!
What area do you live in in DC? I was just there and LOVED how clean and pretty it was… but I could do without all of the crazy hectic traffic. Do you live outside of the city?
We live just like one metro stop outside the city in VA. The key in the DC area is to mostly bike, walk, and metro everywhere! I hardly ever use my car. :)
Those tulips are gorgeous! As are the pics of the nice green grass and beautiful trees! Our trees are just starting to get some leaves and some trees are blossoming. Can’t wait until things are in full bloom.
Good luck to you and Matt this weekend and enjoy!
Good luck!!! I’m also running the half marathon :) it’ll be my 10th half marathon too!!!
That’s awesome! Good luck!! :)
Good luck with the half marathon! I’m excited to read your recap post.
Woohoo! Have a great race at the Pittsburgh half you three :)
Hope you had a great run! Matt has a great running partner :)