Fits on the Road: Another Cabin Weekend!

By Jess in Minneapolis

I'm back from another long weekend at the cabin. These Fits on the Road At The Cabin posts are all pretty similar, I apologize. But this trip was different for a special reason: this time, we were joined by Dustin's mom and stepdad, as well as his brother, wife, and two nephews. His brother has been living in Tokyo, Japan for nearly fifteen years. He met his wife there, and they now have two little boys, age three and five.

They come back to the states a few times a year, and this summer, we were happy to be able to take a four day weekend to join them 'up north.'

Running: My long training run for Berlin was eighteen miles this weekend, and that was just too long to do on the lonely country roads. Instead, I took Friday off of work, and my friend Theresa joined me at seven am Friday morning to get our long runs out of the way. We were able to run on the Minneapolis trails with water fountains and bathrooms as necessary. It was perfect!

After the eighteen miler and a quick shower, Dustin, Matilda, and I hit the road. Matilda is really well-behaved on road trips. She usually settles right in for a nap.

We arrived at the cabin around three pm. It was so great to see Dustin's nephews. They had grown up so much since the last time we saw them!

It wasn't long after our arrival before we headed to dinner at the Enchanted Inn. I was starving from the eighteen mile run, and the thin-crust pizzas as this historic little restaurant definitely hit the spot!

Fitness at the Cabin: I was able to run six miles on Saturday morning before spending the day outside with the family. There was plenty of paddle-boarding, as usual. Even Dustin's brother gave it a try. Once he got the hang of it, he was zipping around the lake!

Dustin probably had the biggest balance challenge, with both nephews riding along on the board at the same time.  He never tipped over though!

On Sunday, Dustin and Matilda joined me again for the same six mile run. I think Matilda was definitely exhausted after running the hills, though she still had plenty of energy to protect us from the dragonflies!

Monday's training schedule called for eight to ten miles with hill repeats. I wanted to get this out of the way at the cabin rather than waiting until the evening to join the Calhoun Beach Running Club. I knew we'd be tired after the drive home, so instead, I sucked it up and got it done on the country roads. I ran the three miles into the town (on hilly country roads) and then did eight repeats of a steep-ish hill that was 1/4 mile long.  Three mile warmup, eight repeats on a 1/4 mile hill, plus three mile cool-down equals ten miles total.

Whew! It kicked my booty, that's for sure :-)

There was lots of running at the cabin but we also had plenty of time for some wine drinking, scrumptious food eating, swimming, fishing, and plenty of relaxing.

In fact, the relaxation station was back out on the lake, and Dustin's nephews loved it!

We also did some fishing during the evenings, and everyone caught a fish! At night, there were a few fireworks. Matilda did not like the fireworks at all, but she did love the fish!

It was a lovely weekend with lots of memories and good times had by all! 

Weekly Fitness Recap:

Monday: 9 miles, with 5 miles at marathon pace

Tuesday: a morning 10k with Abby

Wednesday: 1 hour bootcamp class at the YMCA with Abby and her husband, with a mix of strength and cardio

Thursday: 5.5 easy miles with Matilda

Friday: 18 miles with Theresa

Saturday: 6 miles at the cabin

Sunday: 6 miles at the cabin

Total:  over 50 miles of running, but no yoga & only one day of cross training, and zero days of complete rest..fail on two counts!