(Triple Digit) Week in Review

100 (!!) miles
4 doubles
20 mile long run
18 boxes unpacked

Wow, what a difference a week makes! Last Friday I was coughing and staggering through a brutal 50-minute run on the Mall, convinced my odds of collapsing prostrate next to Mr. Washington's monument were as good as not. This week, my ailing leg magically repaired and the remaining vestiges of illness slowly leaving my body, I felt like a completely new runner. I haven't finished up morning runs feeling this crisp and strong since before the Trials. There's no logical explanation for it, but I'm certainly not complaining!

Sipping a glass of vino at Jordan's favorite spot in our new hood on Friday night (which, incidentally, is also where I'm typing this blog--clearly we're well on our way to becoming regulars), I approached the weekend with 66 miles under my belt but still planning to top out in the upper 80s or low 90s as indicated in my most recent post. We planned to meet Brett, Teresa and a few other BAA girls at Battle Road on Saturday morning for a long run, during which Brett planned to log 20 miles. Buoyed by my weekday success but with memories of countless recent labored runs still fresh in my mind, I was cautiously optimistic that I could hang on for two hours. For where I'm at right now, that would be big. But once we settled into a comfortable clip on the fantastic shaded dirt trails, I watched in amazement as an hour ticked by on my watch, then two, with no ill effects. My body felt just as fresh and strong at the end of our two-and-a-half hour jaunt as it had at the beginning, despite temperatures rising into the mid-80s with the sun beating down. Yet again, I found myself at once utterly baffled and supremely grateful.

You know where this is headed. 86 miles down, one day remaining...of course I had to reach for the triple digits. Jordan and I slept in, not stepping outside until well after 9am. Just like Saturday, it was already 85 degrees and blindingly bright. (Allow me to clarify that I am not complaining. The objective here isn't to incite comments about how it is "xx degrees hotter in Charlotte/Dallas/DC/Atlanta right now." I'm well aware. My point is not to illustrate how super badass tough I am for running in 85-degree weather, but rather to note how surprisingly easily I find my body adapting to it. I guess all those summers I spent wilting in the South did yield some benefits!) By halfway through the run around the familiar terrain of the Marblehead Neck (which, thankfully, is still running distance away from our new place in Salem--albeit long running distance) I could feel the week's accumulated mileage, neatly punctuated by yesterday's longest effort since February, descending full force upon my legs. The final 30 minutes weren't my most impressive, but I hung in and successfully finished the run--and the 100-mile week. I can't describe to you what an exhilarating, relieving feeling it is to have my old familiar legs back under me after struggling for almost a month and a half.

One week down, eight to go in the Summer of Malmo!