Geneva Half Marathon Training – Week 3

Hey gang! This morning all I could think about was getting my hands on a giant, Starbucks venti coffee. In fact, this is becoming a bit of a Monday habit.

I resisted buying coffee at Starbucks for the first 22 months in Geneva due to the ridiculous price but, once again, this Monday morning that huge cup of coffee was exactly what I craved.  As the week progresses, I should need this coffee less and less as our race week schedule includes lots of extra sleep, relaxing yoga, foam rolling and healthy eating. The extra rest combined with our pre-race excitement means the energy level will be higher than usual in our household!

Thanks to a strong few weeks of training, Bo and I are both looking forward to Sunday’s Geneva Half Marathon. Our plan for the day is to run together and really enjoy the experience. We’ve never run a half marathon together so it’s a fun thing to share. In addition, this is only his second time running a race in Europe, so I can’t wit to experience it with him. The weather isn’t looking lovely but the good news is that it’s no worse than the long run conditions we’ve endured the past four weeks.

Monday: An easy four mile run with friends is a great way to kick off the week. We chatted about our weekends and plans for the week while taking in a gorgeous Geneva sunrise. Well played, Geneva, well played.

Tuesday: I took advantage of London’s boutique fitness scene by squeezing in two different classes.  I started the morning sweating through 1Rebel’s Reshape class, which included strength & sprints, then finished the day with 60 minute open level yoga class at TriYoga.

Wednesday: Geneva’s weather last week was complete opposite from this week which meant convincing myself to run after work was EASY! It was even to convince friends to join in the fun. Mary and I ran four miles at a relaxed, 9:52 pace, during which we spotted the most adorable site along the lake.

Thursday: That gorgeous weather helped me convince Sandra to join me for her first speed session. A “new” runner who easily throws down 8:30 miles, she helped keep me motivated through the pick-up workout. After a two mile warm-up we did 1 minute hard followed by 1 minute recovery, three times. Then we headed to the toughest portion, 2 minutes hard followed by 2 minute recovery, five times. Holding a sub 8 minute pace for me is not easy, and in fact leaves me red in the face an feeling as if my lungs are going to explode. But, each of the pick-ups were under 7:50 and 4 were under 7:30.  I can’t imagine how some runners hold it for 13.1 and 26.2 miles. We finished the workout with a cool-down jog and lots of stretching.

Friday: After our yoga teacher didn’t show for class, I headed home and spent 60 minutes doing multiple JasYoga videos including comprehensive hip & hamstring reset and quad reset.

Saturday: The best way to get excited for an upcoming race is a perfect, final long run. This 10 mile run was exactly what we both needed. We followed Jess’ pace plan perfectly and finished feeling strong. (9:25, 9:21, 9:32, 8:57, 8:55, 9:33, 9:07, 8:57, 8:58, 8:48) We carried a bottle of water and took split a pack of Margarita ShotBlocks at mile 5, which seemed to be the perfect amount of fuel. Also, please note that we saw more horses than we saw runners during our 10 mile run.

Sunday: We treated ourselves to deep tissue massages and then spent the rest of the day at home relaxing with the New York Times, Wild and a few FaceTime sessions with friends and family. I finally left the couch around 5pm for some foam rolling and 2 more JasYoga videos – quick hamstring reset and quad reset.

Total Miles: 26 miles                               Total Workouts: 7