Hello! I’m here with my weekly recap of life in London and training for the Dublin marathon!
If you missed it, I shared a recap of our recent trip to the Isle of Skye in Scotland, check it out HERE! This week also included a bit of travel- trying to take advantage of seeing as much of the world as we can while living in London!
Here’s how this week went:
Monday: After a really big mileage week last week (60 miles and a very long run) I was feeling tired, but I decided to head out for a 7 mile recovery run before work and let myself go as slow as possible, which was about 10:15-10:30 min/miles. I had hoped to bank some miles earlier in the week with travel at the tail end, but after how tired I was on this run, I knew I needed rest…
Tuesday: Rest. Much, much needed. My left Achilles was tight the day before but rest really helped. I did some core and upper body strength after work as well as a long dog walk.
Wednesday. Another rest day! Two rest days in a row, who am I?
I think it was really good for me.
I know that it was really good for me.
At this point in marathon training, extra rest isn’t going to hurt me, but extra running might!
The reason for extra rest? Dustin had to be in Marrakesh, Morocco for work, so I decided to tag along and work from there Wednesday/Thursday, and then take Friday afternoon off (plus add on the weekend for more time) to explore. We had a very early flight from the Gatwick airport (which I had never flown from in London) to Marrakesh.
I logged into work right away upon arrival and spent my first day in Marrakesh working, but that was the plan!
I did, however, have an evening tour of the souks/medina with a local guide. I had read a lot about exploring the souks as a solo female and was feeling pretty intimidated, so I was really happy to have found a local female guide named Onidad (through “With Locals”). She was so great and I really enjoyed my tour with her and she gave me a lot of confidence to explore the souks on my own.
(I was encouraged to wear long sleeves and pants even thought it was 90F/32C!)
Thursday: Dustin and I decided to venture out into the Moroccan heat for a 10k exploratory run through Marrakesh. I plan to share a post on my short visit to Marrakesh separately but running in the exhaust from all the motorbikes was a little tough! It made the London air/smog feel “fresh.”
After the run, I stopped by the hotel gym to do some core and lower body strength.
I worked a full day from the hotel and then took a cab to Les Bains de Marrakech for a traditional Hammam. It was unique! Its essentially a full body scrub and bath- very similar to a traditional Turkish bath. I had never had one before.
Friday: I had found a company that does running tours in Marrakesh called “Running in Morocco.”
I scheduled a 13.1 mile tour with Jonathan Wheeler, the owner. It was a little bit pricy (well, for Morocco!), especially once Dustin decided he also wanted to participate (his meetings didn’t start on Friday until around 10 am.) But totally worth the price to do a long exploratory run of Marrakesh with a local! My favorite way to explore.
Jonathan was so great and I love that he has this company to allow tourists like me to see the city.
I worked a 1/2 day after the long run and then was picked up by a guide for a 1/2 day tour of Marrakesh.
We started in the Jardin Majorelle (i.e. the YSL gardens), then the Saadian Tombs, the Jewish Quarter of the Medina, Bahia Palace, finishing in the souks again.
It was quite hot (100F/35C) and walking around the sites in the heat was draining! But I’m glad I did the tour as I learned quite a bit about Morroco.
That evening, Dustin joined me for dinner at a restaurant called Plus61 near our hotel.
Saturday: Dustin’s conference went until Saturday morning, but we were able to fit in another short run together, 5 miles.
Then we switched hotels from the conference hotel to a traditional riad within the Medina, La Maison Arabe. I had read that staying in a riad is a must do experience in Marrakesh and it was definitely a highlight!
“A Riad is a traditional Moroccan house or palace with an indoor garden and courtyard. They are located within the old city “Medina” walls.”
After transferring hotels, we spent the rest of the day exploring Marrakesh together, with lots of wandering around through the souks (I even haggled for a few souvenirs), and went back to Bahia Palace for Dustin to see it as well.
We had a wonderful dinner at our riad- a birthday dinner for me! Yep, another year has passed me by.
Sunday: Time to head back to London! I had hoped to fit in one last Marrakesh run, but even though I was feeling more confident running there, I would have had to start before sunrise in the dark, which wasn’t ideal. Instead Dustin promised he’d run with me when we got back to London. I don’t love to run after flying home- flying can be tiring, but we did it anyways and ran 7 miles in London when we landed.
Summary: A low mileage week for me, just 39 miles, and 2 sessions of strength training. I hadn’t planned to taper quite so drastically but that’s okay!
I’m linking up with Running on the Fly and Confessions of a Mother Runner; check out their blogs to connect with other fitness bloggers for workout ideas and inspiration!
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