My training is broken up into blocks. Phase 2 is a 5 week block. Phase 2 of training is also preparation for the Bridge of Flowers 10K on August 8th.

• Monday, 7/27– 45 t0 60 minute Easy Run

I ran 6.33 miles in 1:01:39 (avg pace 9:44 min/mile). Great run! I felt good. I was up early. It was hot and humid already, but not terrible because the sun wasn’t out yet.

• Tuesday, 7/28 – 60 to 75 minute Pace Booster Run: Run 20 or 30 minutes at steady state pace in the middle of the run (up Skinner Mountain for example)

I was up at the crack of dawn to get this run in before the work day. I got to the mountain by 5AM. I ended up running 6.06 miles in 1:00:08 (avg pace 9:55 min/mile). I did a 10 minute warm up then powered up the mountain. I didn’t stay long at the top because I was all business! At the bottom I continued on a flat road to do the sprint intervals.  

• Wednesday, 7/29 – Cross Train or Yoga

I biked 11.78 miles in 1:25:25. It was a refreshing change to bike early in the morning. I ended up doing a pretty hilly route and there were more cars than I expected that early in the morning. I barely made it home in time for Orlando to leave for work. 

• Thursday, 7/30 – 60-70 minute Easy Run

I ran 7.20 miles in 1:11:53 (avg pace 9:58 min/mile). Another successful early morning run. I am finally beginning to see some consistency in my 4:30 wake up time. 

• Friday, 7/31 – 50 to 70 minute Easy Run with Stride Workout: 20x 25 seconds starting at a 5K and progressing down to Mile race effort with 1 minute recovery job between

I ran 6.14 miles in 1:00:14 (avg pace 9:49 min/mile). I seriously love these workouts for some reason. I did this one in the Poconos and the change of scenery was so nice, but there are no shortage of hills in the area. Every way I went I was confronted by another hill so the striders were challenging. I felt pretty amazing at the end though.

• Saturday, 8/1 – 90 minute run (try to get on a course with some long hills and push the pace a bit more than usual)

I  could not have been in a more ideal location for this run. The Poconos seem to be one long hill after another. I ran 9.26 miles in 1:30:31 (avg pace 9:46 min/mile). Despite the humidity and the hills I felt amazing after this run. I ran in a different direction than the day before and was met with some very pretty views. 

• Sunday 8/2 – crossgrain or yoga

I  took the day off actually. Carlos and I took our time getting home. We stopped at Camelback Resort and road the mountain coaster. Then we picnicked up at the top of Mount Pocono. We did walk around a bit at the summit.

We stopped off at a lake later and Carlos took a dip.

Carlos and I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a few days in the Poconos with one of my dear friends from nursing school and her family. They were there for a short vacation and invited us to join them. It’s been ages since we have seen each other. It was such a peaceful place. Orlando would have loved it, but as I’ve mentioned his busy time at work is now.

Despite all my best intentions and actually taking the day off, I ended up working intermittently throughout Friday. I received a number of calls and had to tend to some email, etc. Work has been beyond frustrating lately. However, Friday morning my friend and I took Carlos to ride go-carts and shoot paintballs at targets. We joined him on the go-carts and had a blast!

Later in the day my friend’s husband joined us and we all spent the afternoon at Tree Ventures. They offer a ropes course up in the trees and zip lining. My friend and I proudly made it through the easiest level of the ropes course and then called it quits. I am not a huge fan of heights. My legs were like jello and my knuckles white by the time I finally finished. Her husband and Carlos had long since moved on to the second most advanced course. Here are some photos:

The photos do not adequately show how high up Carlos is in the trees. He did an incredible job and clearly has no fear. At the end all four of us zip lined. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time!

On Saturday we enjoyed a morning hike at Bushkill Falls. It was a positively gorgeous day. We wandered along, stopping here and there to take photos. After the hike Carlos and I did a mining maze where we had to find the letter GOLD hidden throughout the maze and then hole punch the letters on our card. At the end you time stamp the card to see how long it took. We laughed so much trying to beat each other. For the record I won…by about a second!

I treasure each minute I am with Carlos, but some of the best times are when we go away. I am more present in the moment and able to really enjoy the time. He’s really such a joy to spend time with and I’m grateful he enjoys spending time with me. I came across this saying later in the evening after returning home from the Poconos and it seems a perfect way to end this post.