Sunday is when I tally up my total miles run for the week. When building towards a marathon, I take easy weeks on average, every three weeks. My total for this week is 40 miles. Prior to this I had run 52, 60 and 60 mile weeks. After taking an easy week, in addition to the physical break to rebuild, I find I am mentally recharged as while I look forward to the break, it doesn’t take much easing off before I begin to feel like a slacker.

Here are some of the things I did or did not do that lead to feeling this way.

• Missed a weight work session
• Missed a tempo run session
• Ran 2 miles on a day I had planned to run 5 miles
• Ran 10 miles instead of 12 miles on Saturday
• Doubled my typical caloric intake for one day with three large meals while visiting Ottawa

SO that is the point of the easy week, paradoxical though it may be, easing off  and experiencing a bit of remorse for not having made more spartan choices, makes me look forward to the next round of training .  Ultimately, I love the results of being a super-fit, 55 year old and after one week of relative ease I am chomping at the bit to “get with the program”.

Skipping the tempo run and weight workout had a lot to do with being in a rush to visit the National Art Gallery which was a 10 minute walk from the hotel.  I had a thoroughly relaxing time there and visited a number of shows, including It Is What It Is:  Recent Acquisitions of New Canadian Art

CLICK HERE FOR MORE work by Shuvinai Ashoona.

One of the most memorable pieces was a very large pencil crayon drawing by Cape Dorset artist Shuvinai Ashoona. I’m happy to know that the National Art Gallery (NAG) has purchased that drawing for their permanent collection. I was unable to find a photo of the drawing in question but did find this example of Ashoona’s work.

The gallery has recently bought and installed a stunning sculpture, One Hundred Foot Line by Roxy Paine. I stepped out onto a terrace with a “Beware of Falling Ice” warning to take the photo below. And did I mention that I set off an alarm when I tried to step out to take another photo.

In case you wonder what I consider overeating, my big day started with a large portion of eggs benedict with home fries and croissant at 7 a.m. followed by a lunch at the National Art Gallery of soup and a sandwich, then a three-course dinner with two glasses of Proseco ending with a fancy apple cake dessert.

Some may laugh at what I consider excess however the work of the easy week is done. I’m eager to run 60-65 miles this week, skip desserts and opt for less rich food, that is, until the next easy week.

Spring marathon . . . here I come!