I celebrated National Running Day with my friend, Daffodil by running 5 miles on the 5^th at 5:00 a.m. I liked all the fives, but it was a very sticky, humid run.  It was great to spend time running with Daffodil and catching up with her.  I would totally run five humid miles with her again.  I miss running with her!

For the rest of the day and most of Thursday, we had to contend with Tropical Storm Andrea, so I couldn’t run or go anywhere due to the nasty tornadoes happening around our area.  I really wanted to run a couple of miles with my kids for National Running Day, but TS Andrea had other plans.

Friday, I returned to Pura for a spin class with LuAnne and I brought Maribel along for the ride.  It’s been a while since I’ve been to Pura.  With our hectic school routine, I found it difficult to juggle the class with getting the kids out the door for school.  Now that summer is here, I plan to spin at Pura again at least once a week.  LuAnne made us sprint and pushed us over hills.  It felt great and Maribel loved it too.  Thankfully, my legs weren’t too sore for Rap River Run the next day.  I guess that means I will have to push it harder next time!

Saturday, I ran the Rap River Run 5K.  I’ll have a full recap tomorrow, but I’ll give you a sneak peek.  I didn’t PR but I made the top ten for my age group.  I felt pretty great about that!

But with heat and trying to push myself to PR, I was pretty shattered.  I didn’t ride, swim or run for two days.  I guess my body needed the break.

Speaking of breaks, I decided to take a break from intervals.  My Boston Strong friend, Marcia, advised me not to give up on them but shorten them during the summer with 4 x 400 repeats.  That’s pretty good advice, but I’m feeling a bit burned out with the sprints and I feel like I need a break.  With everyone being so sick in May due to allergies and chest infections, I just fell out of routine and struggling to find a way to fit it back in, but I’m having fun with other sports and I really need to find a time to fit in my swim.  I’m also really bored with my runs right now and I need to change things up a bit.  Maybe I could sprint on the way to the pool?

I’ve also heard great things about a few track programs in the area, particularly Progressive Running.  They meet at University of Tampa on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 6:00 p.m. and there is even a kids practice, which my girls need.  Since school and running club ended, they’ve been slacking on the running.  This will help and keep them on track for the Lutz Independence Day 5K.  I think we all need something a little more to keep us motivated and moving.

As for the break from running this week, I made up for the two days of rest today with Jackie’s Body Combat class at the YMCA this morning.  Since the kids and I are there for swim lessons, I decided to take advantage of the group fitness classes.  That Body Combat was just what I needed!  Nothing like a few undercuts and kicks to chase the summer runner blues away!

Tonight is the Dunedin DishCrawl and I’m so excited about it!  Rumor has it we’ll visit the Dunedin Smokehouse and the Dunedin Brewery.  Yum!  If you want to join me, register here and use the coupon code 20percentoff for a last minute discount.

The NYC marathon lottery was held last week and for the third year in a row, I was not selected but that’s all right because next year I am guaranteed an entry.  I encouraged my friend, Mica, to enter the lottery drawing.  With all the Hurricane Sandy deferrals from last year’s marathon, we honestly thought the likely of anyone being selected was so slim.  Ironically Mica was selected with only $11 and a dream.  What is it with these first-time non-marathon runners being selected?!  How does that happen?!  Seriously, what are the odds?!   With luck like that, I advised Mica to buy a lottery ticket.

After freaking out and wondering what I had roped her into, Mica deferred her application so we could run it together next year.  After all, now we are both guaranteed a spot.  I am so excited to share the experience and NYC with a good friend!

As a start to Mica’s marathon training and to mentally prepare her for the experience of a lifetime, we will see tomorrow’s screening of the Spirit of the Marathon II.  The movie is showing for only one night in theaters around the country.

About the film: “From the producers of the award-winning documentary Spirit of the Marathon (2008), this highly-anticipated sequel follows seven runners from around the world as they journey to the starting line of the 2012 Rome Marathon. Spirit of the Marathon II weaves the compelling stories of each runner – the trials and the triumphs – that paved their road to Rome. The documentary also features insightful interviews with marathon greats such as Stefano Baldini, Paula Radcliffe, Frank Shorter, and many others, as they offer perspective and insight into this legendary race. In addition, immediately following the presentation, movie theater audiences will be treated to an exclusive featurette with never-before-seen interviews, deleted scenes and memorable outtakes from the filming of the documentary.”

I’ve never watched the Spirit of the Marathon but I suppose I should in preparation for the sequel and since the Chicago Marathon is on my race bucket list.  As for Wednesday night’s screening of the Spirit of the Marathon II, I will be live tweeting and instagramming before the movie, so stay tuned on all the social media channels.

Have you ever seen Spirit of the Marathon?  How are you battling the summertime training blues?  What races are on your race bucket list?

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