Running at the beach - sounds awesome, right? Let's hear about Week 7!
Sunday 9/17: Planned - Rest / Actual - 90 minutes @ Z2 + 16:23 cooldown (7 miles)
As planned, I got up early on Sunday morning and headed out to make up my long run. On our way into town I'd scoped out a likely path that would get me to a place called Market Common, which was the closest area with lots of sidewalks and even a little lake to run around! The distance looked about right, too, and so I took off around 7 to give it my best shot after rummaging through the pantry to find some good long run fuel (forgot to pack anything, whoops - had an oatmeal bar and some peanut butter, a banana, and an Oreo!). There was one small section that required me to run on the shoulder of the road, but other than that it went pretty smoothly!
The heat/humidity was up but didn't seem to be getting to me too much and I was able to stay in the shade a lot of the time. I really enjoyed running around the lake and though I don't have kids, they had some pretty neat looking playgrounds there. I also noticed that the golf cart path I used went back up into one of the nearby neighborhoods, and when I did an extra lap around the neighborhood to round out the 7 miles and noticed that there was a path behind some houses that would let me skip most of the shoulder running for Monday's run and might even connect to the other path I spotted! In conclusion, pretty run, good potential route found for the next day! Went to lunch afterwards and boy was that delicious, and much appreciated!
Monday 9/18: Planned - 35 minutes @ Z2 + 5-10 minutes cooldown / Actual - 35 minutes @ Z2 + 10:53 cooldown (3.25 miles)
Another early morning before anyone was up, and a brief pantry raid for breakfast! Had to do some last-minute maneuvering when part of the path I wanted to use was blocked by a fence, but by using a conveniently-located parking lot I was able to avoid running on the shoulder and enjoyed a pretty straightforward run up a trail/path that went along the back side of a couple different neighborhoods. Saw some folks with dogs and cyclists, and it was nice and shady. Pleased with this route and effort!
Vacation-wise, we visited a gorgeous wide sunny beach that had barely any people on it and I logged another 3ish miles of walking here, which was nice. It was so cloudy when we got there that I didn't put any sunscreen on, but ended up doing it partway through because the sun came out and I was definitely burning, including the tops of my feet! I hoped it wouldn't be a problem for my runs for the next few days.
Tuesday 9/19: Planned - Threshold run: 15 minutes @ Z2, 15 minutes @ Z4, 15 minutes @ Z2 + 5-10 minutes cooldown / Actual - 15 minutes @ Z2, 15 minutes @ Z4, 15 minutes attempting Z2 and failing + 26:23 cooldown/getting back to my car (4.47 miles?)
Before heading to the beach I'd done a little research on the Horry County Bike & Run Park, and it looked like an interesting way to shake up my routine for this new kind of run! The locals call it "The Hulk" and not without reason! I made the short drive to the park and found the small lot, portajohn, and picnic tables/shelter without any trouble. Also not trouble: that sunburn, thankfully! Checking out the map (also posted online) I figured I'd attempt the 3.75 mile loop that makes up about 3/4 of the lot. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but was hoping that as I was going pretty early on a weekday, there wouldn't be a lot of competition for the trails, since they were shared with bikes for the most part.
I only saw one other person the entire time I was there, so I guess that worked out - but boy, what an experience this was! A lot of care has been put into making this park fun and interesting, and it was certainly different from anything else I've done before. I got covered in spiderwebs, dirt, and sand, and scaled up and down all sorts of interesting terrain. My workout was officially over quite a while before I found my way back to my car, and I'm not sure how accurate my GPS really was in all that tangle since allegedly the trail is a mile shorter than what I came up with.
Also, thanks to the terrain it was basically impossible for me to get back to Z2 for that third phase of the run. I could stop for a bit (which I did, to take pictures!), or walk and get there, but as soon as I started moving any faster, my heart rate shot back up pretty high, so I just alternated running and walking and focused more on keeping my footing (only tripped on about 3 roots, and no falls!) and making sure I avoided the worst of the spiderwebs, and stayed on the trails that I hoped would eventually bring me back to my car.
And they did - eventually! I was a filthy, sweaty mess by the time I got out of there, and I basically loved every minute of it. I was sweating so much that when I got in the car, the brim of my hat was dripping sweat into my lap, and my legs were completely crusty. Long shower needed after this one, but I felt like a complete badass for having tackled it despite it being so different from my normal runs. Gorgeous run despite the wackiness of it all.
Wednesday 9/20: Planned - 40 minutes @ Z2 + 5-10 minutes cooldown / Actual - 40 minutes @ Z2 + 10:01 cooldown (3.5 miles)
A pretty, easy beach run. I woke up even earlier than usual and figured I'd get out for sunrise. It turns out we were staying on the route of the Myrtle Beach Marathon, so that was kind of cool! I ran past some resorts, some cool houses, and some really pretty public beach access. Nothing too exciting, but I think Tuesday's run was probably enough excitement for at least a couple days. And it was super pretty!
Thursday 9/21: Planned - Rest / Actual - Rest
I'm going to regret it when I give myself DOMS again next week (and right before my 10K - I should probably rearrange my week a little), but didn't feel like trying to get a gym session in, and I'm on vacation, so I didn't! Thursday was the laziest day and I spent a lot of it laying where I could hear the ocean and reading a book. It was great.
Friday 9/22: Planned - Intervals: 10 minutes warmup + (6 minutes @ Z4, 1 minutes @ Z2) x 4 + 5-10 minutes cooldown / Actual - 10 minutes warmup + (6 minutes @ Z4, 1 minutes @ Z2) x 4 + 12:29 cooldown (4.25 miles)
I didn't want to do the same out-and-back as Wednesday but also needed to be mindful of my time since we were leaving the beach by 9 that morning. So I did a little winding around the blocks in the neighborhood, which worked out nicely! There were even some almost-hills in there! I don't know if it's because my HRM strap was slipping around or what, but it was hard at points to keep my heart rate in Z4. Assuming that won't be a problem at home with the hills, but an interesting and unexpected problem to have, for sure.
Saturday 9/23: Planned - 90 minutes @ Z2, 5-10 minutes cooldown / Actual - 90 minutes @ Z2/3, 12:45 cooldown (7 miles)
Pestered Mike on my way home on Friday to join me for my long run for the week so we could catch up! I prefer running downtown for these if possible and this weekend has the added bonus of hosting the Great Race Expo (and race - 5K or 10K but I haven't run it yet because it's always the weekend we're coming back from vacation!). I won a $50 gift card to a local running store on Facebook before we left, and it had come in the mail while we were gone, so I was hoping to make use of it at the convention center instead of trekking out to their retail location. So - three birds with one stone!
Mike and I met up around 7 and meandered our way along the waterfront to the Point, over to the North Shore (where we spotted a couple different 5Ks in various stages of progress), up the river trail, and eventually across the 40th Street Bridge and back down through the Strip. I was excited to be home and we honestly went a little faster than I probably should have, but it felt good. I'll make sure to take it easier next week as by the end of the run my legs were definitely letting me know about it.
Mike couldn't stick around for the expo, but since it was open to the public I was pretty set on checking it out, and I'm super glad I did!
The running store had an awesome sale going on and I was able to snag a FuelBelt hi-viz vest and a charm from the EQT Ten Miler from their clearance bin, and got a reflective handheld water bottle (something I've been thinking about lately) on discount, plus a blinky light which just about used up my gift card perfectly!
I also got a free poncho from one of the insurance company booths, petted the greyhounds (yes!) and stopped by the swirly bread booth (and got cut off by a lady who was more determined than me to get a free sample, but they had plenty) and found some amazing t-shirts from the Run Intended booth, who basically had me yelling "shut up and take my money" when I saw their amazing merch.
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| Not pictured: Did you Fartlek? which of COURSE I had to get |
Somehow I actually found more stuff I wanted to buy in this smaller expo compared to the marathon back in May, go figure. I had to stop myself at a couple other booths, so maybe it's good there weren't too many. Overall, it was a good time in addition to an excellent long run and catch-up session! And look at this 7-day mileage total! A new record for me!
Weekly Total Time: 7:06:56 (up 4:10:20 from Week 6)
Weekly Total Distance: 29.6 (up 16.24 miles from Week 6 - dang!)
Weight Lost: I'm pretty sure I maintained, but anything other than that is kind of tough to judge right now. Let's see how the next week goes, though I'm planning on taking a couple more maintenance days before the 10K next Saturday because running is so much easier with full glycogen stores... Here are some of the amazing things I ate while on vacation, and I regret NONE of it!
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| Spinach and onion salad with candied pecans and cranberries, and grilled shrimp, plus a couple really excellent onion rings |
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| Shrimp and grits with garlic bread and tomato sauce |
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| Kouign amann with fruit (I'm a GBBO fan and couldn't resist!) |
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| We shared this platter of brisket, pork ribs, and pulled pork + mac and cheese and unpictured corn... I'm not a total glutton! |
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| Gyudon (beef bowl) |
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| The most amazing meal of the entire trip - brisket tacos of LOVE @ Atlas Tap House; I could have eaten at least three baskets of these |
Next week: Week 8 means getting back to business, normal(ish) eating, routine, and getting HALFWAY through this plan! I can't believe it! So far so good and I can't wait to see what happens next! Plus, my second 10K ever which will hopefully yield another PR!
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