With a break in my race schedule, yes, that means 6 weeks until my next race (Bay to Breakers) and 8 weeks until my next full (RnRSD), I decided to take mini break last week. I, of course ran, but nothing that I felt I HAD to run… more of a just run as the opportunities presented themselves.

Monday

I took Monday off as a rest day after Rock n Roll San Francisco (photo recap here). Knee was feeling ok, but taking the day off after a race is usually a good move for me.

Tuesday

5.18 mile #runch. Nice and comfortable pace. It was the home opener for the San Francisco Giants, so I was able to do a lap around the ball park and hear the national anthem, see some fireworks and of course, take a selfie. Not bad for a Tuesday.

Wednesday

I decided to wake up early and join the November Project peeps in Alamo Square. If you are unfamiliar with the November Project, check out the story here. Pretty cool. San Francisco is one of the larger tribes and I’m run-friends with many of them. Shout out to @KineticFix, hey look, I made it. The workout was a combination of running a lap, then doing pushups/burpees/something or anothers — it had a name, but it was 6:30 in the morning and my brain was not functioning due to lack of sleep. Either way, it was fun and a 30 minute workout that included 1.34 miles and some cross training.

Thursday

5.1 mile #runch with #teamigotyaback. I met a couple members on Sunday and I’ve run into them several times during lunch runs. I decided to put out a message and see if we wanted to get in a mini-organized run and that’s just what we did. It was a lap around the ball park and got a chance to FINALLY officially run with some SF runners doing their thing. Gotta love the running community.

Left to right: @runwithnikeplus, @runnermoni, @run_lena, (Me).

Friday

Back at it with November Project SF. I was enticed with the idea of “an amazing sunrise” view from Corona Heights that ended up getting covered by fog. But we all ate hills for breakfast and they were delicious. I run a lot, but I don’t often go chasing hills on purpose, so it was a good way for me to mix things up. It ended up being 2.05 miles and below is the elevation. Great group and I even got to stand up in front of everyone and get called out on my Twitter following… awkward. But ya gotta love doing hills while everyone is still sleeping. Sense of accomplishment sticks with you throughout the day. There will be more NPSF mornings in the future.

Saturday

Decided to sleep in and spend the whole day with the family. There was a small carnival in town raising money for charity, so we packed lunches and made our way over. The day included spending money on games to win stuffed animals, discovering that I cannot throw a ball to knock down milk jugs three feet in front of me, going on a carousel, spinning around in tea cups, deciding against a $4.50 corn dog and lots of smiles. We then headed over to the park for more playing and some ice cream. I had my Polar watch on and it was about 7k steps before dinner. I forgot to check how much the total day included, but I was glad to have a great day with the family.

Sunday

On Friday, I had penciled Sunday for a 10 mile run in the morning, but I knew Saturday night that I would rather sleep in. I didn’t set the alarm and I was ok with it. I knew this week was a chill week and decided that more time with the family would be better. I got up and made pancakes then we all headed over to the Farmer’s Market to pick up some fruits and veggies. We also had lunch outside and spent some time running around in circles around a fountain. That seemed to tire out the First Lady, so I took advantage and grabbed a power nap on the couch. What’s that rule again? When they sleep, you sleep… I’ll take it. Oh ya, on Saturday we also planted some squash, onions and strawberries in the backyard. We checked on them and made sure they were well hydrated. We also offered some encouragement for them to “grow.”

Recap:

As you can see, pretty low key running week. I was able to get in a workout on 4 of the 7 days, but nothing that lasted over an hour and less than 15 miles total for the week. I was happy that I spent some quality time with the family. I get caught up in racing all the time and waking up early to get my runs in, that it’s nice to just take things as they come.

I’ll be back at it this week and looking to build some strength and confidence in my running legs. I haven’t decided how I’m planning on approaching Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego, but I’ll be doing the full marathon again this year. I don’t think it will be a PR race, but I would definitely like to run it stronger than I did last year. More on that as it gets closer.

How do you take a mini-break from your workout schedule?