We’re in the last few days of August?! How did this happen so quickly? This has been a great month and I’m happy to have had another strong week of training for the Philly Marathon coming up in November! Keep reading to find out how it went!
I’m sharing my recap with the Weekly Wrap hosted by Tricia and Holly! It’s a great space for motivation from other fitness-minded women!
[bctt tweet=”Recapping beach days in Ocean City and my latest week of marathon training for the #weeklywrap” username=”Janelle_RWNR”]
Weekly Wrap: Ocean City, MD Beach Trip
Beautiful sunrise from our roomBoth my sister and I share August birthdays about 2 weeks apart, so this year we thought it would be fun to just spend a couple days in Ocean City, Maryland for some beach time! This past weekend fell between both of our birthdays so we thought it’d be a great way to celebrate!
I haven’t been to the beach ALL SUMMER so I needed this day! I’d only been to Ocean City once a few years ago with some girlfriends. We both drove down on Friday morning and it took me over 3.5 hours to get there…ugh! What was the highlight of the drive? Listening to my Girl Power running playlist on Spotify! But as soon as we could, we made it to the beach and hung out for hours!
It was a great time for just the two of us to bond. I know I talk about my sister all the time on the blog, and we’re very close, but we don’t really get to spend that much time together, so this was a special treat. Surprisingly, the ocean was pretty rough! I got knocked out by a few waves in the process, so I didn’t stay in the water too long…it really caught me off guard! On Friday night, we went to dinner and an excellent meal featuring lots of seafood! I had the grilled monkfish and it was amazing! My sister even got us matching necklaces to show off our birthday status. I wish I had the picture but trust me, we looked good!
Delicious dinner!On Saturday, we got up and from our room where we were able to see SEVERAL dolphins swimming in the Atlantic! It was unbelievable! I tried to get a picture but it didn’t come out…I guess they were getting in their morning swim before the beach got busy! Eventually, we made our way back to the beach for a little more quality time before we checked out of the hotel, had brunch, and headed out separate ways.
The trip ended up being super relaxing and a lot of fun. And of course, I have a new golden tan to show off, haha!
Week 4 Training Recap:
Monday 8/22: I was still really sore from the City Fit Girls FitRetreat, so I didn’t do any workouts! PS, the recap will be up this Wednesday!
Tuesday 8/23: Speed work! It was my first time running fast on an outdoor track since high school. Unfortunately, my Nike+ watch was doing some crazy things so I’m not really sure what my pace was for the 6x400m’s, but they felt really, really fast! The goal was to run them at 8:50 so I probably went too fast. The biggest problem was that I was wearing different running shoes (the Mizunos) and my shins started to feel sore during the run. I got in a total of 5 miles running.
Wednesday 8/24: Rest day!
Thursday 8/25: I went to yoga class at my local studio. It was a pretty good workout, but I didn’t zone out as well as I usually do in yoga – I was too distracted. I do love how friendly everyone is and that now I almost feel like I’m becoming a “regular” to the studio.
Friday 8/26: No running, but plenty of walking on the beach in Ocean City!
Saturday 8/27: I didn’t pack any running clothes, so I went for my 3-mile run as soon as I got home from Ocean City. It was pretty straightforward but I saw a deer galloping in the forest while I was on the trail and it really freaked me out!
Sunday 8/28: Time for the 12-mile long run! This actually went really well, and I ran all 12 miles solo! Everything felt pretty good through the course of the run, minus some minor aches and pains. As you would probably expect, I took a nice nap as soon as I could to kickstart my recovery!
Week 4 Report Card:
This was a great week of training for me! I’m really happy with my performance in all of my runs. The track always gives me weird memories because when I ran in high school, I didn’t have support from the coach and never felt like a valued member of the team. I always wanted to do more but never got the chance. The good news is that getting back on the track now is helping me to no longer associate the track with negativity – it’s exciting to be out there!
The long run felt super strong and even though there was still a good amount of heat and humidity (aka I was a sweaty MESS) – I was able to get it done. My breathing was fine and my energy stayed level, so the fueling plan seems to be working, even though the Honey Stinger Chews are much sweeter than I expected.
So I’m going to give Week 4 of training an A! Next week I’m hitting the 14-miler so I’m nervous but excited to reach a new milestone!
How was your week of workouts? Do you have any beach trips planned for Labor Day?
No beach for me, but my dad’s coming into town. I’m taking a day off work next week, so I have a 3-day weekend, then a one-day break in the middle of the week.
I hope you had a great time!
The sister trip to the beach sounds wonderful! I love that beach photo, it looks so empty. I would have thought it would have been packed at this time of the year.
I was pleasantly surprised that we were able to get such good spots on the beach. There were a decent amount of people but I’m glad it was pretty peaceful!
Sounds like you had a great week of training ! If I am not perfectly warmed up, and run fast, it bothers my shins. They tighten right up and take forever to loosen up. As I get older, my warm up time gets longer to avoid that.
Beautiful picture of you & your sister, you guys look so much alike. I think any change in scenery is like a mini vacation. Glad you got to enjoy the beach.
Thanks, Karen! I usually do a pretty good warmup before my runs, but I think I just overdid it on the track due to the excitement. I’ll be sure not to make that mistake again because shin pain is the worst!
I’m so glad I got in that beach time, so relaxing!
It sounds like you had a great time with your sister – family time is always so important!
Great job on your long run this weekend! 🙂
How wonderful that you got to have a beach get-away with your sister! Looks like you had a great week of training! Happy Birthday 🙂
Thanks, Michelle! It was a nice trip and we really had a fun time!
Great job with the workouts and looks like a fun trip to the beach! I have actually never been to Ocean City, but that’s where everyone seems to go from Baltimore.
Thanks, Lisa! It was my second time going to that beach, but I hadn’t been in 3 or 4 years. I like it!
Awesome week! Looks like you’re running really strong and having fun at the same time! We are pretty close on our schedules because I’m running the New York City Marathon the first weekend in November. Keep it up girl!
Thanks a lot, Lindsay! NYC sounds awesome, I really need to think about that for next year, maybe…lol!
I love that you had that trip with your sister! I get mine in September. We’re going to Austin Texas! So fun!
Nothing like that sister bond, right? I hope you have a great time!
Any week with time at the beach gets an A+ in my book! We usually go to Rehoboth (when we go) and they also get dolphins in the morning!
Oh that sounds so nice! I think next time we’ll meet in the middle and go to one of the Delaware beaches…love the dolphins!
Sister weekends are the best! I’ll be having one of those in October. We were planning to go to the beach over Labor Day but have changed our minds. Hopefully, they’ll be a lake involved though. 😉 Great job with your training this week. I run all those long miles solo. It’s not so bad. I enjoy the solitude. Good luck this weekend with that milestone distance! Thanks for linking, Janelle!
That sounds like a really fun time, HoHo! And thanks, I’m appreciating the longer solo runs a lot more now!
I love that you and your sister got to spend a great weekend together! Beautiful picture too! Thanks Janelle for linking up!
Thanks so much, Tricia!