Marine Corps Marathon Training – Week 11 (SoulCycle, Labor Day weekend at the beach)

I wish I could say last week’s training rocked, but it didn’t, so I can’t.

It was another busy week—I spent part of it at a conference in Virginia, and had a couple of other things going on. But, I am proud to share that I finally tried SoulCycle (my x-training activity for the week). I’ve never done a spin class, and I hardly ever bike (though I wish I could more often, but that would maybe require getting a bike…), so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

My first SoulCycle class was awesome. It was like being at the club (but on a bike). The room was nearly pitch-black, and the music was deafening. The instructor at the front of the room was not only spinning, but leading some dance moves as well. It was a great workout, one that I would definitely do again.

Only downside is it’s a bit pricey. For first-timers, it’s $20 per class, plus complementary shoe rentals. After that, it’s $30 per class, plus $3 for shoe rentals. There are packages you can purchase that lower the cost per class, but the savings isn’t much.

As for running… well, I only ran a few times last week, and I didn’t do my 20-mile long run because I went out of town for the weekend.

MCM Training – Week 11

Monday, Aug. 31 – off

Tuesday, Sept. 1 – 10 miles – treadmill

Wednesday, Sept. 2 – SoulCycle

Thursday, Sept. 3 – 10 miles – treadmill

Friday, Sept. 4 – 10 miles – treadmill

Saturday, Sept. 5 – off

Sunday, Sept. 6 – off

Total: 30 miles
X-training: SoulCycle

Goals for this week: I’m supposed to dial back the miles this week, but since I failed to meet my weekly mileage goals the past two weeks, I’m aiming to hit at least 40 miles and complete the 20-mile long run I skipped last Saturday. Wish me luck.

—

So instead of running 20 miles, I was at the beach. I thought about running at the beach… but thinking about it was as far as I got.

For the past eight years (!!), my friends and I have gone up to Bethany Beach for Labor Day weekend. The first year, there were four of us. As the years went on, our Labor Day group grew to include significant others, new friends, and in recent years, babies and toddlers. A couple of years ago, we packed the house with 15 people! It’s always crazy, fun times.

I was on Snapchat most of the weekend instead of Instagram (trying to keep up with what the kids these days are using), so as a result I have limited photos to share. Sorry. I don’t even have one of the actual beach. Shameful, I know. I do have a couple of food photos from our dinner at Oyster House. It was amazing. I had a burger with fried oysters on top.

Hope you had a great holiday weekend.