I was a little worried that my body would be too achy for our group run today after all the physical work I did on Friday. Yesterday morning I went and did 4.80 miles on the elliptical and a couple minutes on the stair climber. Then I went to volunteer with work at the Wilder Foundation in St. Paul. I ended up raking leaves and shoveling dirt for several hours to help them reseed their grass. Luckily I got a good dose of carbs at dinner when I went to Macaroni Grill and ate some of the Chicken Over-Stuffed Ravioli. Yum! I also made sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep so that I was ready for today.
So then what better way to start out my birthday than with a warm bagel with peanut butter and run along the Mississippi? I did two loops around Heritage Trail, which is conveniently only about 4 blocks from my apartment, for a total of about 7 miles -- my farthest run yet! The best part is that even though I did feel some aches at the end, it never felt like I was close to needing to stop. I made sure to stretch a lot after the run and so I'm hoping I don't get too stiff like last weekend.
This next week I will be up in Two Harbors for work and so I will continue training on my own up there and will give you a small recap when I return. Now it's off to celebrate my birthday with some fun times in Stillwater with the nice weather!
Uncle Jeff and Me
Team Dougie
Kayley and her dad
Nike 2009 Team
The night before the race
Nike Marathon 2009
Not too happy at Mile 24, but you can see my honored teammates listed on my arm: Jeff, Doug, and Marty - it was their inspiration that got me to Mile 26.2
Nike 2007 Team
Right before we all left to start the marathon. I'm in the front next to the woman (Julie) with the rubber chicken.