Friday Thrive

Happy Friday! Friday always feel extra exciting with a holiday weekend, and that combined with the beautiful weather (no rainy runs for 10 days now!) and spring racing season means there’s a lot to celebrate this week! 

Run

I registered for the California International Marathon again this year! I loved everything about the race – the organization, course, weather, size, and crowd support. I’ve been imagining running those final miles over and over again since the race in December. Plus, Ryan and I loved soaking up California sunshine during the dreary months. 

A December marathon works well for me in terms of training. I don’t do well running in the heat, so summer is best as a off-season for me. (And yes, I realize that Seattle doesn’t get “hot” during the summer, but it’s amazing how easy it is to adapt to a cooler climate). Training won’t begin until August, so summer will be spent running in order to maintain my base, give my body a bit of a break from hard training, and enjoy running. Ryan will be running is first half early this fall, so I’ll also get to train with him on his long runs. 

Friday Thrive

I have the goal of PRing, but I don’t have a time goal in mind. Maybe I’ll break 3:30, maybe 3:25 – a lot depends on where I find my fitness to be once training starts in the fall. But for now, I’m just enjoying maintaining my mileage and running for the sake of running. 

Play

The 60-acre dog park on the Eastside may very well be one of my favorite places ever. There are just so many cute puppies there and I enjoy letting Charlie and Ollie frolic off-leash (except the one time that Ollie leaped over a fence into a restoration area and pooped before we could stop him). The pups just run and run and run! Ollie and Charlie will run in circles as if racing on a track until Charlie catches up and tackles Ollie. 

Maybe next time Ollie will conquer his fear of open water swimming!

Friday Thrive

Read

Lately, Ryan and I have started the habit of reading after our Saturday morning long run. I always want to read but never make time during the work week, but curling up with a good book after a long run is so relaxing. 

Ever since I was a child, I loved historical fiction. I probably gobbled up books on Tudor England at far too young of an age. I still love historical fiction (and historical non-fiction), especially if it doesn’t sugarcoat the narrative. Currently, I’m re-reading Shusaku Endo’s Silence, a book I read twice for classes in college. Reading for leisure brings a whole new perspective to a book – rather than analyzing I can immerse myself in the story. The book deals with a heavy, messy subject matter and includes some moments of stomach-turning violence, but it is a gripping, fascinating read. 

Friday Thrive

And yes, Charlie is almost always on my lap when I read. Ollie tries to be a lap dog also, oblivious to the fact that he weighs twice as much as Charlie. 

Throwback

I graduated from college 5 years ago – which simultaneously feels like a long time ago and very recent. I still remember how much I disliked wearing that robe – there was so much fabric and in true Indiana fashion, it was hot that day! Also – why brown? Why?

The auditorium didn’t have air conditioning and I used my diploma as a fan. I also braided my honors tassels because I needed something to do with my hands – then and now I still fidget after sitting still for too long. I look so young. But I’ll probably say that about photos from now in 5 years’ time! 

Friday Thrive

Celebrate

Many of my athletes are racing this weekend or raced last weekend and I want to take a moment to celebrate some of their accomplishments. I want to try highlighting my athletes’ accomplishments more each week in Friday Thrive, so first I want to say how proud I am of all of my runners for what they have accomplished so far this year – there have been some awesome races already in 2017! 

From this past weekend:

Jill ran a PR at the Fargo Half Marathon!

Kirstie ran a perfectly negative split half marathon and PR’ed by 7 minutes at the Fargo Half Marathon!

Leah qualified for Boston and ran a 7.5 minute marathon PR at the Sugarloaf Marathon! You can read her thoughts about coaching here.

April ran a strong race and persevered despite an unseasonably hot day at the Capitol City Half Marathon! 

Good luck to Janelle, Laura, and Jess, and everyone else who is all racing this weekend! 

[Tweet “Next marathon, celebrating PRs, and recent reads via @thisrunrecipes #runcim #fridaythrive #trrcoaching”]

What are you currently reading?
When’s your next race?
What are your plans for the weekend?

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18 Responses

  1. I think that we took all your rain for the past 10 days- the weather here has not been nice at all! I think we had 2 warm days last week but other than that its been chilly and rainy. Thinking about how I graduated from college 12 years ago is such a weird feeling! Congrats to your athletes on their races!

  2. Congrats to you and congrats to all your runners! you are an awesome coach, and so many athletes will benefit from your care. I wish I could trust Ridley at a park. She just shuts those cute little ears off and doesn’t listen. Do they make hearing aids for dogs?

    1. Thank you so much, Susie! It took a few dog park visits to train the dogs (and me) to let them be off leash and do their own thing. Hopefully Ridley will get good at it soon!

  3. ahhh I LOVED the historical romance novels from philippe Gregory!! did you ever read her books? we need to discuss. The Queen’s Fool was my favorite even though I loved The Other Bolyen Girl as well. And The Virgin’s Lover. I really need to get back to reading them.

  4. I’m currently in a race to the delivery room, but one of those slow races, like an ultra marathon that lasts a few months.

    You look so cute in that photo! I love your sassy shoes. Enjoy the long weekend!

    1. Thank you! I used to have much more tolerance for high heels. The leopard print just seemed appropriate for the drabbiest graduation gown ever. Enjoy your weekend!

  5. I’ve seriously got back into reading this year and love it…. it’s such a relaxing thing to do that also completely takes you out of the ‘here and now’ into a different world.
    I am currently reading “I’ll give you the sun” by Jandy Nelson. It has a ton of great reviews, but I am still a little torn about it….

    So awesome you’re going to run the California International Marathon again!! 🙂

  6. Yeah for Friday!!!! I love that you have a “shout out” to your athletes, too. Huge congrats to each of them and to you on continued success as a coach! Lots of running in the sunshine this weekend for me! Then cleaning up and helping my parents with their upcoming move. Next race, well, you know…. 🙂 Seattle RnR!!!

  7. First off, I can’t imagine any college graduation… or any building… without air conditioning. I was shocked that the place we stayed in Seattle didn’t have it, we really did need it one night too. Graduations are always hot even with air conditioning because everyone is so dressed up and those stupid gowns are just hot (plus you pay so much money for something to only wear once). I’m glad you’re enjoying this break before you officially start marathon training and glad you’re going back to CIM, since you seemed to do well and enjoy it last year.

    I’ve thought about marathon training in the summer, and I ran ~50mpw last summer. It honestly wasn’t too terrible but I can’t fathom the 18s and 20s in July and August here. Maybe September, but that would be pushing it.

    1. Nowhere has air conditioning out here, and the past few summers have had abnormally warm days. But most of the time a few fans do the trick! I couldn’t imagine marathon training in summers where you live…those 18 and 20 miles are sweaty enough even in the 50s!

  8. I just finished Silence last week! I’ve heard good things about the movie but don’t think I’d be able to stomach it. Since then I’ve finished Gilead and American Nations, and currently reading Four Ways to Forgiveness.

    1. I feel the same way about the movie – I am not sure if I could stomach it. But it is such a riveting story. Gilead is such a good book! It’s been years since I read it but I remember really enjoying it.

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