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My training plan lists week 12 as a recovery week. That means the weekend long run was “only” 12 miles. I signed up for the Hamptons Half because I figured 13.1 was close enough to 12 and using the water stations that a race provides would be good practice. The race is something of a tradition in my little group of friends. Here’s a recap of the race in 2014 and this is a recap of when I ran the Hamptons 5K in 2015 post-ankle injury. (I skipped it in 2016 to participate in Dare to Bare.)

After running 15 miles and 16 miles the last two weekends, I think it’s safe to say I took for granted how tough a half marathon can be. While I didn’t race the distance, 13 miles is still freaking far.

This half marathon course (and full marathon course) runs through Southampton and we had a warm, sunshine-filled, blue sky day, which for runners, can be terrible. I prefer a little cloud cover, maybe a nice chill in the air? Light rain would be agreeable, too. This sport can bring out the vampire in you.

Hamptons half course map

Hamptons course map

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Good morning! When you travel, do you visit the hotel gym?

I found this list from PopSugar featuring their Favorite Healthy Hotels and Resorts. They all look pretty incredible. I’ve never been to Yosemite, but it’s high on my list and maybe more so now that I know about the  The Majestic Yosemite Hotel. It looks fabulous. Men’s Fitness listed all the major chains making fitness a core offering, which I found helpful for planning stays for work trips when I tend to stay in chain hotels. Have you stayed at a hotel that put health or fitness in the forefront?  I’d love to read about it, so please share in the comments. 

For more on working out while away from home, not along ago I shared some tips for staying fit while you travel and wrote a dedicated post on how to squeeze in a workout when you travel for work.

wedding Bermuda

a little snap from the wedding in Bermuda last weekend

In other news,  I’m officially more than half-way through the marathon training plan (for reference, I’m following a 16-week plan), but I still have the bulk of miles ahead of me.  Like, way more than I’ve already run.

Here’s what went down last week:

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This Sunday, I ran the Guido’s Gr8t Road Race in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

I signed up for this small town race in March, a testament to my neurosis that I felt the need to commit to a race that most definitely wouldn’t sell out (fewer than 90 people ran it) five months in advance. The first 75 sign ups were promised a tech-t, and I love a good race shirt. I was #3 to sign up. Awkward? 

Guido's Gr8t-T

Guido’s Gr8t-T

This 8-mile race was run by the Berkshire Running Center, a sneaker store in Pittsfield, Massachusetts that I’ve never been to.  It started and ended at Guido’s, at high-end supermarket that I love in Great Barrington, not too far from Matt’s parents’ house.
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Happy Sunday!

Thanks for your marathon advice last week on Facebook and elsewhere!  I’m three weeks into marathon training, so you know, just 15 more to go. So far I am loving it. Life is getting very busy and these runs serve as a sanity check that I don’t know that I would otherwise take. The weather – for anyone reading outside the eastern seaboard – has been brutal. Hot, humid and just a sweaty mess. I downloaded the AccuWeather app last month so we could check the weather for our wedding weekend from a 10th source and now I get bright orange HEAT ADVISORY alerts three times a day.

Like everyone else, I probably should drink more water before/during/after runs but please add that to the list next to stretching of easy advice I’m not taking.

Here’s what went down last week:

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