The Juggling Act

13 days until PDR! I'm feeling great about the race and am really looking forward to it. Can't wait to grab a beer afterward and am glad that I discovered that Sam Adams Oktoberfest is out again!

Week 10 was a challenging week for my schedule but I made it work. My normal run days are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday (or Saturday), and Sunday. This week's schedule was for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday (3-3-8-3-10). The Allentown Fair started on Tuesday and because of work, I had an event to attend on Tuesday and I had tickets to see Kelly Clarkson on Thursday. (The concert was Skylar and Jade's first!) So the schedule I devised was 4-5-8-10, Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Monday (Labor Day!) The caveat is that this now impacts week 11's schedule (4-3-7-3-11) and I have a seminar in Philly Wednesday evening so I'm going to see how this all fits together. With 11 on schedule for Sunday, I definitely need to do the Thursday tempo run on Thursday because I may do 11 on Saturday because of Brenda and Kevin's wedding on Saturday (open bar, lots of food...). I guess since I'm going by myself it won't be too hard to limit myself, but you never know.

Running four (or running any miles) on Monday was tough. I had just come off of a 10-mile run on Sunday and my legs were still sore. The run went ok with the hills being pretty easy.

Wednesday I decided to do 5 which also went pretty good. Both Monday and Wednesday runs I did along the Rose Garden Parkway and through the West End.

I gave myself Thursday and Friday off which made Saturday's speed workout that much better. The rest was well worth it. On Saturday I went to the gym to do the speed intervals so I could manage the pace and I felt like it was one of my best speed workouts. It was eight miles total - one mile warmup at 11 min/mile, two miles at 10 min/mile, two miles at 9:45 min/mile, 1/2 mile breaks between intervals, and finished with a mile at 10:50 min/mile. I did feel really tight afterward so stretching was not pleasant.

Today's 11-mile long run (I was an overachiever) went pretty well - not my best long run but definitely not my worst. I ran over to the Parkway, then back to Hamilton, through the Rose Garden Parkway and then past Muhlenberg. I discovered some new energy chews that I really liked - tasted like Gummi Bears! They were from Power Bar. I'll have to decide between them, Gu Chomps, and the old standby Luna Moons on what to take along for the race. Can't wait to leave the fuel belt at home - so annoying to wear but I need to rehydrate. Went to three bottles this week (2 water, 1 Clif electrolyte drink) and one of the bottles kept popping out.

The concert on Thursday was so fun. The girls had a great time which was what really mattered. I was impressed with her all-around show - the songs she did and the lead-ins between songs. Definitely liked the newer songs that I hadn't heard before - I'll be picking up a few on iTunes. Also found out that Logan's baptism is going to be on my birthday, adding another thing that I will be doing in these next six weekends of craziness! So that weekend will be Sarah/Andy wedding rehearsel/dinner Friday, Sarah/Andy Pennsylvania wedding and dinner Saturday, Logan baptism Sunday morning (I'll be a Godmother!) and then my 30th birthday dinner with family on Sunday night. So glad I'm now doing a golf tournament the following Friday - I'm going to need to play a round to relax a little bit before Sarah/Andy wedding 2 in New York!

All this weekend I made the rounds feeding cats! I had to stop by Carrie's for Capone on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Just Saturday and Sunday I had to run to Kutztown and feed Spunky at Mom and Dad's. Took my laundry along Sunday :)

Went to a rugby game on Saturday afternoon and the post-game social. It was pretty neat - got hot in the sun and I definitely got a little too much. Went with Julie because Jake was playing. Julie's mom and step-dad were there and they are always fun to talk to. The team was fun to hang out with afterward and the bar it was at was where my buddy from Starbucks works (because he apparently got fired from the 'Bucks). I've been making coffee at home much more often so I haven't been in there in nearly two weeks (!). The social was also funny because it was around 3:00pm on a Saturday, so it's kind of weird to be walking into a bar at that time of day. But it did make it easier to stay in and relax Saturday night. And I was able to watch a little college football :)

Fun time last night at a barbecue at my friends Rob and Megan. Hadn't seen them in a few months and tested out a Jello shot recipe that I was thinking about for Sarah's bachelorette party later this month. I've got sweet tea vodka so I figured it would go well with Lemon Jello. After telling a few people this, my friend Julie suggested I do half Lemon, half Strawberry so that it would be sweeter. The combo went over very well, just need to go a little ligher on the vodka because they were apparently a bit strong. I don't do Jello shots so I didn't taste these but trust what everyone said. Made a new friend there who is in a book club so I might be joining that group. I'm so bad with starting books, then putting them aside and starting a new one or just not reading for months at a time. I have stopped buying books! I'm using my library card or borrowing from friends. The barbecue was a fun time catching up with everyone, some who I hadn't seen since February or so.

So the juggling will continue this week, next week, and pretty much the next few weeks but it's all worth it and always fun.

Definitely out of the ordinary to post twice in less than a week (or less than a month with my consistency) but felt like going online and doing a new post tonight.

I'm in the midst of Week 10 and when I first looked at the week's training plan I was surprised. Let me begin with a recap of the long run that capped off week 9 - I ran 10 at at nice pace. It was a tougher run than the 9 two weeks prior but I finished strong. It was the perfect way to wrap up a week that took a lot of determination to do. So, week 10's training takes me to a 5-day a week schedule rather than 4 like it's been so that was my big shock. Because of the Allentown Fair, I have/had to adjust it into the normal 4-day training. So the schedule should be - 3-3-8-3-10, instead it's shaping up to be 4-5-8-10. So far I've done the 4-mile and 5-mile runs (Monday and today) and they went well. Today's was better, Monday was tough because I had done 10 the day before and 3 on Saturday so between Saturday, Sunday and Monday I'd run 17 miles - not all that smart...

So today is Wednesday and I'm giving myself tomorrow and Friday off, then picking up on Saturday morning with a speed workout of 8 miles. Since Monday is Labor Day I'm pushing my long run to then, giving me Sunday off. Not really set in stone any plans for the weekend but should be able to hang out somewhere Saturday night and then I got a picnic invite for Sunday which would be worth stopping by.

Very excited for Kelly Clarkson tomorrow night - I think it's Jade and Sklyar's first concert so I really hope they enjoy it. Not much more to muse about so maybe this could have waited till the end of the week but oh well, I'm in a typing mood.