Thank God for Weekends

My professional life has been mega crazy since January. We have been on mandatory overtime for the last few months and working 12-13 hour days has been rocking my world. This past week I finally reached my breaking point, tears and all. Thank goodness I had some fun penciled in on my calendar for the weekend, it was the only thing that got me through my final shift on Thursday night.

Friday I kicked it off with a really nice 12 miler, it was the best my legs felt since my half-mary last week.

Then I was greeted by a very special guest. We deemed the weekend operation: cardigans, coffee, cycling & college. The only thing we didn’t knock off the list was the cycling, it was a bit cold for us. I took Kimi shopping at Easton, we had lunch at Northstar, she was exposed to the amazingness of the The Book Loft in German Village, we indulged in some Jeni’s (riesling poached pear sorbet is to die for) and made a trip to Homage. Columbus, I love you.

And just when the fun was really building up, we swung back by my place, freshened up and the Mister took us to 4th Fridays in Uptown Westerville, we dined on yummy food, did some wine tasting, indulged in some adult beverages and shared so many laughs.

Muskies 4 Eva.

The party animals that we are stayed up until 10:00pm and then proceeded to get some solid shut-eye before traveling down to Muskingum Saturday morning. Kimi and I are sorority sisters and this weekend marked our sorority’s 85th Birthday. Lots of events were planned and we volunteered to help out at a 5K the club was putting on for a nice little fundraiser. It was sooo wonderful to pay a visit to the place that has impacted both of our lives so much. Words can’t even describe how much I love my Alma Mater. All Hail Muskingum.

And if my weekend wasn’t already complete, I woke up this morning feeling very well rested and excited for my final long run before the Halstead & Essex Marathon in two weeks. I wanted to get in 24 miles, as this tactic served me well before the NYC marathon. I waited until 9am to start my run, I generally like to get it in earlier but the race doesn’t start until 10:00am so I wanted to mimic a race day scenario as best as I could. I strapped on my Garmin, laced up my shoes and head to the bike path in Westerville. I wanted to run at a comfortable pace but try to be on pace for low 8:XX per mile. The miles clicked off, I felt great, my legs felt fully recovered from last weekend’s race. It was warmer than I expected and the sun was definitely beating down on me by mile 13 and never let up. I ended up drinking two 22 ounce handhelds full of lemon lime nuun, ate two mint chocolate GU’s, and never once had any stomach issues or cramps. I tried out a new pair of running shorts and wore a running hat for the first time and both worked to perfection. Everything worked to perfection. I ended the run with my fastest mile of the day: 7:38. My final stats: 24 miles in 3:09:06, overall pace of 7:53 per mile, 4 seconds slower per mile than my current marathon PR! It was the best long run I’ve ever had, I felt amazing, a comfortable pace the entire time and it was exactly what I needed going into the taper before my marathon in two weeks.

Dominating the weekend.

And if the weekend wasn’t completely perfect, I finished up with a bike ride with my favorite person on Earth, Mommaberries.

Sweet biker gang, eh.

She has had both of her knees replaced and can’t ride a regular bicycle because of her height (5 ft on a good day), and the angle at which she can bend her knees. She just scored a SWEEEET trike, and I wanted to expose her to some of my favorite parts of the bike path that she had never explored.

So basically, it was my perfect weekend, exactly what the doctor ordered.

What is your perfect weekend?

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