Training Tuesdays: 10.11.11.

My last 20-miler is in the books and I am ready to taper.

Hallelujah and amen.

Remember back in late August when l posted on feeling the first hints of fall and reminiscing about back-to-school shopping? Back then I put together a collage of all the fall (back-to-school) items I really wanted to purchase, but I never posted it. Well here it is. And since I've had six weeks since I put it together, I can see what from my list of must-haves I now actually have.

*lace top (H&M), blouse, dress
trousers, *skirt (H&M)
clutch, *rings (H&M), necklace
leather watch, gold watch, *glasses
Oxfords (Payless), red heels, black heels, leopard heels

The funny thing is, when I wasn't working, I had time to shop but no money. Now that I'm working, I have a little pocket change, but don't feel like spending time in a store at the end of a long day. However, I have not been able to get the teal Zara dress, Asos clutch and Target leopard print heels off my mind for the past few weeks. Maybe I'll do a little online shopping this weekend.

Training Tuesdays: 10.04.11.

After a grueling few weeks that included a half marathon, a 20-miler and a 17-turned-18.5-miler, we finally had a break this past weekend. The group met in downtown DC, at the Department of the Interior building on Constitution Avenue, snapped a group picture and headed off on an easy 10-miler that included some key stretches of the marathon course. Haines Point: Miles 11 - 15. The 14th Street Bridge: Miles 20-21. And, most importantly, Arlington Cemetary to the Netherlands Carillon: Miles 25 - 26.2.

After all the pace groups crossed the finish line, the coaches said a few words and we turned around to head back to DC to have a team brunch. As we were crossing Memorial Bridge (the one beneath where it says "Water Points"), the sun came out for the first time all morning and it started pouring rain. We turned around to look back toward Virginia, and the finish line to see a huge rainbow.

I think this is a good omen.

This week I'm going to take it a little easy. I'm still not feeling gung-ho about completing my mid-week runs, but I'm getting them done. With our last 20-miler this weekend, I can see the end in sight.

Sometime around the middle of November, I'll have a weekend where I get to wake up early, but not too early, to a clean house, read a book on the couch and watch the morning light stream in through the windows. This past weekend was not that weekend. All told, I had three brunches, six trips into and out of the city, ran ten miles, walked four miles and generally spent a fantastic weekend with fantastic friends.

Training Tuesdays: 09.27.11.

I have officially hit this:

I haven't been feeling terrible at the end of my long runs. I don't bonk on my weekday runs. It usually takes me a few miles to get in a rhythm, but they've been fine. I've hit my training wall.

It happened last Friday. I came home from work and the last last last thing I wanted to do was go for an eight mile run. So I didn't. And then I dreaded and dragged my feet about our Sunday 17-miler up until the moment I stepped on the trail. Now on the other side of our last 17-miler, I feel better. But I am ready for the marathon to just be here already.

We have a fun 10-miler coming up this weekend that starts from downtown DC and covers the last 10 miles of the Marine Corps Marathon course, followed by a team brunch on the roof of the Department of the Interior building. The week after that is our last 20 and then we taper.

I am keeping my mileage low this week. Even though I think I'm out of my training funk, I don't need anything to intimidate me and keep me from my mid-week runs. This is what it looks like for this week:

Weekend Recap: Jesus, Etc.

If you've got some time, listen to the Wilco concert I went to last night here on NPR. They live-streamed the show, which was second best to being there. So I guess that makes listening now the third best option. It still means you still get to listen to songs from their unreleased (at least for the next couple hours) album The Whole World.

(via)

As for songs off the new album, I really loved Whole Love. I'm sorry, Wilco, I'm just a sucker for something catchy with a quick beat (see also Outta Mind (Outta Sight)). After standing up for the first six songs of the set, I decided to take a break and parked it on our picnic blanket for a few minutes. I zoned out listening to One Sunday Morning (Song For Jane Smiley's Boyfriend), for what felt like hours, and I was surprised when I "woke up" and they were still playing it. I figured it was just the first signs of exhaustion (from having woken up at 5am and run 18 miles that morning), but no (well, yes, but...), the song is actually 12 minutes long.

Happy Weekend: My Little Gummy Bear.

After taking down a 3 pound bag of gummy bears, I feel pretty confident this guy would be no problem.

Hope your weekend is full of things that make your stomach kind of hurt, but in a good way.