(the shorts and bra that I wear for every race, shoes that feel too good to be true that were well represented on Saturday ha)
We had a race! Because our coach doesn’t want us to take a bunch of time to recover from racing hard, she had an awesome workout put together for us instead (w/u and c/d outside of the 13.1-mile race to hit a total of 18 miles for the day).
The goal of the day: 3-mile w/u, 3 miles @ goal marathon pace, 1 mile easy, 3 miles @ aerobic threshold pace, 1 mile easy, 2 miles @ aerobic threshold, 1 mile easy, 2 miles @ marathon pace, 2-mile c/d. Luckily, we had each other to remember this one… I should have written it on my arm though, ha. The main goal was the first 3 miles @ marathon pace and the first 3 miles @ aerobic threshold pace. The rest was extra credit, and if our bodies weren’t feeling it, we were told to just run easy the rest of the way. She didn’t want us to risk messing up next week by going too hard on Saturday.
The run views down this canyon are goals! Fun fact, Connor and Clayton run up this canyon every training cycle and they run UP the hills faster than I could even dream of running DOWN the hills.
Doing a workout within a race is kind of the best. You get course support, it’s a fun dress rehearsal for your goal race with the busses/routine, and you still get to be part of the social scene of a race… Running communities are my favorite communities.
It doesn’t matter how many marathons I train for; I always forget some basic things towards the beginning. This last weekend I was reminded how important it is that I WATCH what I eat the day before a long run/race/hard effort. My gut was off! The day before a big run, I have to keep things simpler to feel good the next morning.
How things went (downhill, rolling hills, flat course)… our legs felt pretty good so we did the entire workout. We didn’t end up having time for a 3 mile warmup so we did 2 and added on one at the end.
I started a new yearly tradition. Me + the girls + Park City for 24 hours of eating, shopping, and swimming. I kept having this feeling all summer that we needed to go do something like this (call it intuition or call it me just wanting a really fun time, ha), and the bonding was just what we needed.
We stayed at a hotel (Newpark Resort) near the outlets and the girls said at least a dozen times it is their new favorite hotel. I think the candy store located in the hotel is a big reason why they felt this way:
We roamed the art festival all along Main Street.
I ate the most beautiful avocado toast with beets on it and I’ll be craving this often from The Bridge Cafe.
Also, this ice cream with caramel and toffee from Java Cow Coffee & Ice Cream… I need this again.
We rode the chairlift up to take the alpine slide down, and Skye gave me a heart attack by going way too fast.
We all agreed that the best food we had was from Cortona. The lasagna was out of this world good. If you are ever in Park City and go here, order the lasagna but go earlier on in the evening because it sells out fast.
Swimming, a Taylor Swift dance party, living in our robes, and exploring… It was a very successful 24 hours and now I need to recover more from this than from the running;)
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Who has been to Park City? Any favorites?
Highlights from your weekend?
What’s the best thing you’ve eaten lately?
Ever use a race as part of your training for a longer race?
