Week 6 Review

Thanks for letting me whine my little head off Monday. Feels better to just admit to myself and the 4 readers I have that I HAVE NO CONFIDENCE in marathon racing. I do plan on taking a break from marathon training after this race (no matter what happens at The Pig). But, I also realize it's easy to say that now. So... who the fuck knows?

Anyway, let's talk about Week 6, shall we?

Week 6 was actually pretty fucking great. I skipped my speed workout for the week and ended up just running 10 glorious miles in the sunshine and it was just what the doctor ordered. I am usually a slave to my training schedule, so, it felt pretty good to just ignore it and run whatever the hell I wanted. The best thing about having a totally awesome Coach, is that, while I wouldn't say she encourages me to blow off workouts, she does always encourage me to take a mental break if I need it.

I could have made up the run later in the week, but I played it smart in preparation for my long run on Saturday. I wanted to be as fresh as possible for it. My long run schedule said: 13-15 miles with 5-10 miles @ Marathon Pace. I somehow managed to coerce The KoB to do this workout with me, which always helps.

We started the run at my house and the route we took is about 2 miles downhill and then it planes off to all flat until the two miles uphill to home that always kills me. Typically, this is a fantastic way to start my run too fast. Saturday, though, my legs were just not cooperating. They felt sluggish and tired (even though I had brand new shoes on!) and cold. I had to put a lot more effort into turning my legs over to get them to actually move than I would have liked. But, by the time we started the Marathon Pace miles, my legs were feeling better and I didn't have much trouble holding onto the pace.

It helped that I convinced The KoB to do most of the talking, so I was able to just focus on the pace. I ended up running about 8.5 miles at an average of 8:25 (which is ONE second slower my marathon pace) and besides the death march uphill to run home, I felt pretty dang good.

The rest of the day we spent cruising around to different liquor stores.Weird? Maybe. Then we settled on my couch for a bit to watch some more Long Way Down (motorcycling through Africa this time with Ewan McGregor). Also, WHO KNEW ETHIOPIA is gloriously beautiful??? Holy crap.

What's that??? You think this is New Zealand?

WRONG. It's Ethiopia!!!! 

WTF??

 I mean seriously. 

Ethiopia for the motherfucking WIN.

Another highlight of the afternoon included drinking my favorite beer:

Sweet, sweet Innis & Gunn.

It's pricey as hell over here, so I don't drink it that much.

This was the restaurant in Edinburgh where I first had Innis & Gunn.

See? Bottom left corner. Sudsy, delicious Innis & Gunn.

Resting Bitch Face, obviously.

 

Here's the pic I took of the bottle so I'd remember it.

 

 The other side of the table. 

All photogenic and shit.

 

Okay, I better stop now before this becomes a whole Scotland thing.

ANYWAY, it was a good week.