Monday Morning Marathon Meet-Up: Week 17

This weekend I did my final long run before the big race.  Had things gone as planned, I would have been in the final stretch: major tapering.  Indeed, I barely ran at all this week, opting for cycling classes instead.  This is a luxury that you have when you are only training for a half; I can go to whatever gym class I please.  It also gave the foot a rest.

Schedule mileage: 19 miles
Actual mileage: 14 miles

The final stretch would have meant something else for me too: major freak out time.  It doesn’t matter how prepared I was, I would have been freaking out about the possibility of failure.  I would have been over-analyzing everything I ate, drank and breathed.  How much I slept, what shoes I wore.  I was terrified of having a bad marathon, more so than I was first time around.  I want to end my full marathon career (if you can even call it that) on a high note, and if I had done poorly I would have felt compelled to train for another.

Instead, I’m not thinking much about the race.  I’ll follow my normal routine this week, going to gym classes as I please.  Maybe I’ll get a run in, maybe I won’t.  Maybe it will be a five-mile run instead of a tapering run.  Maybe I’ll have a few too many drinks one night this week, or a basket of fries for dinner.  I’ll try to get a healthy meal and a good night sleep on Friday night, but I’ve been known to run half marathons without doing that.  Basically, all will go on as usual.  The amazing thing about marathon training, is that a 13 mile run begins to feel short.  Before getting injured, the last weekend I didn’t run at least 13 miles was mid-December.  I do have a new goal for this weekend, however:  I want to set a half- marathon PR.

Long Run Summary:
Friday night I carb-loaded at Laura’s house, with homemade pizza, wine and macaroons.   I got up early on Saturday so that I could get my run in and get cleaned up before brunch at noon.  I wanted to get one more long run in before the race to build confidence and see how the foot felt.  It turned out to be a beautiful day, and guess what? No foot pain.

Well, that might not be entirely accurate.  I did have discomfort in my right foot.  But it wasn’t the same debilitating pain, or even in the same place.  I think it’s fair to say that my new shoes are not well-suited for distance runs, and may even be to blame for the injury.

Regardless, I ended up going the full 13 miles, and if I can keep the pace I averaged for my training run, I will set that PR on Saturday.

Post Run Treat:  Go big or go home.
That’s right.  All you can eat and drink.  (If only I were under 10, this would be an amazing deal!)

Zengo’s brunch was on my 2013 dining to do list (so far I’ve checked off four!), since Masa 14  (also Richard Sandoval) is one of my very favorite brunches, and I’ve always been impressed by Zengo’s happy hour.  Unfortunately, it just didn’t deliver.  Dish after dish came out, consistently mediocre and occasionally a bit cold.  The standouts for me were the lobster grits (although don’t expect to find chunks of lobster) and the short rib hash.

I will say that the mimosas were excellent, which is important.  My only complaint on the drink end, is that they gave us a hard time about ordering a mimosa while still finishing our sangria.  I know how to time my drinks, and I don’t want to chug my sangria and then wait around for a mimosa.  Thanks.  Overall I was underwhelmed, and will stick to Masa for this sort of thing, even if it means making a reservation a little further in advance.

Johanna