Mile Markers: Memorial Day Weekend 2016

Memorial Day Weekend 2016

Hi everyone! How was your Memorial Day weekend?

Ryan, Charlie, and I spent the four day weekend (yes, we took Friday off as well) camping, running, hiking, watching movies, relaxing, and generally ignoring any and all work related duties and blogging. 

On Friday we caught an early ferry over to the Olympic Peninsula and claimed one of the last open campsites at Fairholm campground along Lake Crescent. We finished some work before leaving cell reception, on the eastern side of Lake Crescent that was sunny, warm, and serene. 

Memorial Day Weekend 2016

The side of Lake Crescent with the campground is located in a true rainforest. The entire western side of the lake was buried in a thick fog and was rainy, damp, windy, and cold.

Memorial Day Weekend 2016

We spent the first day relaxing by the lake and enjoying leisurely walks since you can’t take dogs on most of the hiking trails in the Olympic National Park. 

Memorial Day Weekend 2016

When the weather turned worst and the lake became choppy on Saturday, we decided to head home since we couldn’t canoe or kayak, and camping in the cold rain is less than ideal. But before we left, we stopped by the Lake Crescent Lodge for an incredibly delicious brunch of coffee, smoked salmon filets, toasted bagels, and way more cream cheese than I could actually eat. 

Memorial Day Weekend 2016

Saturday night we saw X-Men: Apocalypse (so entertaining!) and Sunday we didn’t do much because it was still cold and rainy. But by Monday the rain stopped and the temperatures reached into the high 60s, so Ryan, Charlie, and I spent the day trail running, doing a training hike on a nearby trail, and picnicking. 

Memorial Day Weekend 2016

Yes, trail running and hiking! I was cleared last Monday to ease back into activity, so I’ve been doing a few short runs (as you’ll see below) and moderate hiking as feels comfortable. I decided to not run the Jack and Jill Marathon; if my foot feels better and I’m not worried about respraining it on a downhill race on a gravel/dirt trail, I may run the half. 

It’s not that disappointing to have to drop out of the Jack and Jill Marathon, however, since on Wednesday I registered for the California International Marathon! Sacramento is only a 1 hour 45 minute and fairly cheap flight away from Seattle and the time of year is ideal for me. I didn’t want to face the challenging hills of the Seattle Marathon just yet and California International is supposed to be the fastest marathon on the West Coast with the best crowd support. Honestly, I had been eyeing CIM for a while now and it appeals to me so much more than big races back east like Chicago, New York, or even Boston. CIM small compared to big city races, only about 7000 runners! Ryan and I decided a December Marathon was ideal for allowing optimal recovery and for separating marathon training from peak hiking and camping season (I start training in August). 

Plus, since Sacramento is only just over 2 hours outside of Yosemite, we plan on extending our trip to enjoy some vacation there! Needless to say, I’m super excited about how this worked out! 

Memorial Day Weekend 2016

Monday: 20 minutes Pilates

I decided to lay off any cardio again because of a podiatrist appointment, but since my foot was healing well the doctor didn’t need to manipulate the bone back anymore. Another round of tape and I was cleared to run! 

Tuesday: AM: 3 mile run, 9:20/mile avg pace; PM: 30 minutes strength training

Running again felt both good and a little hard. I kept the run short and slow to test out my foot.

Wednesday: 4 mile run, 8:20/mile avg pace

It was good to run back at my normal pace! I let myself run on the faster end of easy unless my foot hurt, but the only time I felt anything was when I ran down a quarter mile hill. 

Thursday: AM: 60 minutes/8 miles elliptical; PM: 30 minutes strength training. 

Since I’m cautious when coming back from injury, I opted to do a longer workout on the elliptical. My foot doesn’t hurt, but it certainly still feels sensitive and tender. After listening to this week’s Runner’s Connect podcast on strength training, I increased the weights I lifted and focused on less reps. I followed this routine from Runner’s World and actually quite enjoyed it! 

Friday: Rest day

We walked some while camping, but nothing significant because of the cold weather and restrictions on pets on the trails. 

Saturday: Rest day

An extra rest day never hurts during injury recovery – and sometimes it just feels mentally good to rest and hit a reset button. 

Sunday: 20 minutes elliptical/2.8 miles + 5 mile progression run on the treadmill, 8:30/mile avg pace

I used to prefer Sundays as a rest day, but now I love Ryan’s and my routine of running together after church. Having a running buddy on the treadmill next to you makes those miles easier!

[Tweet “Memorial Day camping and weekly workouts via @thisrunrecipes #sweatpink #optoutside”]

Linking up for Weekly Wrap!

How was your Memorial Day weekend? What did you do?
Best thing you ate this weekend?
Which marathon or other race is your dream race?

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22 Responses

  1. Im so glad you have been able to run again this week! And CIM sounds like a great plan! I go back and forth between Sunday rest days. Sometimes its nice to take the day off, other times it feels good to run and then take off another day during the week.

    1. Thank you! It was so nice to unplug – and then funny enough, once we got back to Seattle, AT&T cell signal was out because of the wind so we had extra unplugged time!

  2. Sounds like it all worked out! I ate so many good things this weekend. I need to remember the quantity of good things that I ate, lol. But hey, gotta fuel my bod, right? Love going along on your adventures!

    1. Thank you! The place was so beautiful to camp, so we’ll just go back when there’s actually summer weather 🙂 CIM is supposed to be such a good one – the more I read about it, the better it sounds!

  3. Crappy about the weather for you guys! Our trip was pretty rainy too, and not just a few sprinkles; it was bouncing off the car. I’ve always wanted to run CIM. I should check flights!

    1. I know! It barely felt like Memorial Day with all that wind and rain! Bummer you guys had it on your trip alos. Oh well, still prefer it over super hot and humid weather. You should run CIM! Flights there from Seattle are cheap and Sacramento itself isn’t to pricy for hotels compared to other big cities.

  4. Happy to see you’re back running! I hope your foot behaves. Also sounds like you had a fantastic weekend. Mine was pretty busy- my parents are renovating so we spent all day Saturday and Sunday doing demo. Then Monday was spent cleaning out my old apartment so we can turn in the keys! Busy, busy.

  5. Glad you had a nice weekend away and you’re able to run again. I don’t blame you to not run Jack and Jill and to wait and see on the half. It’s better to stay injury-free than risk it for a race, but you have a strong base and might still be able to do the half (especially if you were registered and they let you switch, rather than losing the money?).

    I ate a ton of good food this weekend too and those bagels look delish!

    1. Thank you! I definitely agree – no race is ever worth an injury. The bagels were delish – perfectly toasted! Glad you had a good weekend full of good food! 🙂

    1. Thank you! I am super excited for this one – great course, great spectators, ideal weather, and a beer tent at the end. Yosemite makes it even better, especially since we were planning on going there this year. 🙂

  6. So happy to hear you are able to ease back into some running. Sounds like you made the best of the weekend even with the in climate weather. Thought about you Saturday when it was pretty icky outside.

    Had plans to hike Saturday with the kiddo, but he hurt his foot in PE Friday. I was (maybe) a little overly concerned that night and took him to urgent care. Good grief, my child can be dramatic but he seemed to be in a bit more pain than usual. Luckily x-rays ruled out any fracture (my primary concern) and ruled the injury as a sprain. He was running around as usual last night at baseball so I think he will be fine (although he did say it still hurt a little). Overall our weekend was pretty laid back.

    1. Thank you! That’s stinks about your son’s foot, at least it wasn’t a fracture! Better to check that out than worry about it. Even sprains hurt really bad (both Ryan and I can attest to that after how April went for both of us). Glad you enjoyed a laid back weekend!

  7. I’m glad to hear your foot is healing well! I think the CIM sounds fantastic. I like smaller races too, although I’ve done my share of bigger ones. I am slated to run Chicago this year. My favorite races are usually the very scenic, off-the-beaten path kind. It’s hard to imagine the weather you had when we were roasting here in the South. That looks like a beautiful place to camp, though. Too bad your dog couldn’t accompany you on all the trails. Thanks for linking with us Laura!

    1. Thank you so much! CIM sounds big for the marathons in this area – usually 5000-6500 runners – but that’s only a fraction of the size of races like Chicago. It’s hard for me to imagine the heat and humidity you must have in the south, although summer arrived out of nowhere with temperatures really high into even the 80s this coming weekend! Thank you for hosting!

  8. I love the beautiful pictures you captured from your camping trip! I’m just sorry it was so cold and rainy and you couldn’t enjoy canoeing or kayaking. Glad you could get back to some running this week! CIM sounds like a great plan! I look forward to following your training,

    1. Thank you! It’s almost otherworldly in the rainforest and on the lake. I’m very excited for CIM and start training in August although I wish it was sooner because I’m so excited- thanks for the kind words of encouragement and support!

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