This afternoon, I had 6 miles on my training plan. Even though I told my coach that I thought 6 was a particularly soul-crushing distance, I can’t always get out of them. Fine.

I had an interview this morning and didn’t feel like rushing to get the run in before the interview, so when Rebecca asked last night if I wanted to run 6, I was more than happy to hold off until this afternoon.

By the time I got out of my interview, I was famished, and I stopped at City Chow to pick up lunch. (This is actually a recycled picture; picture broccoli where the Brussels sprouts were.) It was around 1:30 by the time I sat down to eat, and I was meeting Rebecca at 4:45. I had a hunch this might not end well, but hoped for the best.

I ran 1.5 miles crosstown to meet her on the East Side and we took off down the path along the East River. It’s been renovated since I last ran down that way, but I still prefer the West Side. After Saturday’s long run, my legs felt tight, but by the time I met up with Rebecca, they’d loosened up.

We began running, and by 1.5 miles into our planned 4.5 together, I started feeling terrible. I’m no stranger to stomach issues, but I also felt like I was going to puke, a feeling that still hasn’t gone away. We ended up stopping quite a few times to walk (thank you, Rebecca!) but we eventually finished, and I walked the 1.5 miles back home, hoping it would settle my stomach.

No dice, and I felt so crappy that I ended up skipping the Guster/Jack’s Mannequin concert I bought tickets for months ago.

I laid down for awhile and thought about what would be easy on my stomach for dinner.

I finally decided on another turkey burger, on a sandwich thin.

And a really good smoothie: coconut milk, spinach, frozen mixed berries, frozen mango and vanilla protein powder.

Nope. Still too much. I’m going to sleep and hoping to wake up feeling better tomorrow.

I may have had the best run of my life yesterday (and an awesome run-up to my run.)

Friday night, I didn’t have any plans. I was sort of bored but really wanted to get to sleep early for my run, so I didn’t feel like making plans with anyone. So I went and got a drink at a neighborhood bar all by myself. And what do you know? Within two minutes, a guy started making conversation with me. (I wasn’t interested, but he wasn’t creepy, so it worked out okay.) I’ve gone to bars alone while traveling but never done it at home. It was sort of empowering to just walk into a bar alone, I’m not going to lie.

I came back and made broccoli rabe with sausage, with spinach instead of broccoli rabe, as my pre-long run carb loading. It was a little blander than last time, but it didn’t irritate my stomach, so it was a winner and will likely be consumed before quite a few long runs. I was in bed by 11, and it was amazing.

I woke up early to get my run on. When I tried to wake this one up, I got some serious side-eye.

“But Mom! Why do you need to keep waking me up early?”

Because I value not coming home to dog pee.

After taking him for a walk, I made my way to Niketown for their run club.

I. LOVE. IT. All these other runners going out for their long runs. There was so much excitement in the air.

I was also excited to see a familiar face. (So, maybe I talked her into to joining me so I wouldn’t have to go alone?)

We ran Summer Streets, which means Park Ave was closed down to traffic and we got to run down it. And I got to run past Ali and other friends.

I started off with the 10:00 pace group, since that’s the general pace I’m trying to keep at for my long runs, but the pace group leaders weren’t great at, well, pacing, so we ended up wayyyy closer to 9:00 miles for the first 6-7 miles. (For New Yorkers: we ran down Park until it turned into 4th Ave, then Lafayette, then Centre to the Brooklyn Bridge and back.) I met the AWESOME Gia and we ran and chatted the entire time. She had twins nine months ago and her last marathon before that was in the 3:50 range. Whoa. So much inspiration there.

I know this is probably the worst picture in the history of blogging, but what my watch says is 13.1 miles in 1:58! As in, I finally busted my half-marathon goal time! Now, to just do that in an actual race. Like, maybe that little race in Portland next weekend?

Running with Gia really pushed me, and my pace for the entire 15 miles ended up being 9:15. At this time last year, I was running around an 11:00 pace for my long runs. I was really proud of myself when I got home from my run.

After such a tough run, I figured I probably needed an ice bath, so I followed Emily’s ice bath instructions, and it wasn’t too bad.

Once I bundled up and started drinking some hot water.

I usually don’t move from my couch after a long run, but I had a fun day after my run yesterday. Including an 80s-themed party.

What about you? Park on the couch after a long run or tough workout or do stuff?