Weekly workouts – summer bucket list

Happy Independence Day! Each year we make a bucket list of summer things to do. A lot of them are repeats every year, but they are all a lot of fun. This week we did a few things on the list, and had a really great week. My family often jokes that I schedule too much stuff for them, and maybe I do, but I think we all end having a great time 😉. This week I racked up more miles on my bike (130!) and running (a few days, 18 miles total). Little by little the sports hernia is recovering.

A quick recap of the trip to Ray’s Mountain Bike Indoor park on Sunday evening: so much fun!!  Once again, we had a great time at the bike park.  Too bad this place is a 2 hour drive or we would be there more often.  Unfortunately the place isn’t air conditioned because it’s in a huge old warehouse, so it was hot in there.  Well, not bad when we were moving, but as soon as we stopped the sweat was dripping!  Still, a ton of fun, but we were all wiped out when we left.  

Mon – 3 miles running.  Yep, a 5K for Monday!  It’s my run day again.  I went for another cautious run. This time felt different than my last two test runs, in a good way!  I decided to up the mileage to 3 miles this time. Even though I still felt “something”, the uncomfortableness of it has decreased and I probably could have run for 5 miles!  But, I’m taking it easy, so 3 miles is good enough.  It was a sweatfest.  Combined with the broken AC at our house, made for a messy looking me at work!

Tues – Double day!  AM ride: 16 miles. I was thrilled with this ride because my average pace was 16.8 mph and I wasn’t even pushing it hard (nor was I in a group, in the wind, or riding on hills).  Yeah!

PT appointment.  Ugh.  My therapist really dug into me and released my muscles. I swear he said “oh, you’re tight here!” about every part of my body.  I was cringing in pain for most of the visit.  As an example, he was digging his elbow into my butt to relax my piriformis.  OUCH!!  Not sure how I survived this visit, but I did get some more stretches and some strengthening exercises as my homework.

PM ride, 14 miles.  Ladie’s Ride Night!  Rain was in the forecast, so not many people showed up.  Due to the small size we just had one group of riders instead of three.  It was leisurely paced, 13.4 mph.  And, someone got a flat so it turned into a tire changing clinic too!  I have never changed a flat so I was glad to see how easy the process was.

Weds – 5 miles, running. YES, 5 miles!  Things felt really improved for my sports hernia. I still feel “something”, but not much.  I’m still not ready to run fast, but at a conversational pace things felt good. It was super humid and I felt out of shape, but it felt oh so wonderful. You know what I mean, right?

Thurs – 40 miles, biking.  I went in late to work today, so I took advantage of the early hours.  I started my ride at 6am, and came back 2 hrs 23 mins later!  I was going to be out for only 2 hours, but when I saw 34 miles on my watch as I neared my neighborhood, I said “screw it, I’m going for 40 miles!”  Hey, my job can wait. Haha!  

I know this is “first world problems”, but I rewarded myself with a Starbucks (of course).  Well, last week they told me they ran out of tall straws and were using paper straws.  Apparently that is still the case and my straw fell into my cup.  Ugh.  I was quite thirsty after that ride and sadly I had to look at my drink as I drove 20 mins to work.  Whomp whomp.  And another thing, where the heck was that “extra drizzle” I ordered??  Disappointment from Starbucks today.

Fri – 6 miles running.  My longest run yet after my injury.  It still feels a little different, and like there is something there, but not pain.  There were a few times I stopped and I thought for sure I would feel pain when I started back up, but nope, nothing. So that’s great news.  Also, this run was a bit faster (unintentionally) because I was wearing my favorite Endorphins.

Next, we had a great Friday planned.  First stop, Put-In-Bay!  It’s a small island in Lake Erie.  Known to be a party place with several fun bars, it’s also a family friendly location during the day.  We rented a golf cart and went all over the island.  Ate pizza, ice cream and explored.  Also, a tough game of mini golf!

After our day of exploring, we headed over to Cedar Point.  We were just in time for dinner and to ride a few rides before their new parade started.  The parade is for their 150th year anniversary, which was postponed from last year.  A really great parade!  I thought it was “Disney” quality!

Sat – 20 miles biking.  I am super happy with this ride.  I kept my watch face set to my pace, and I was able to get 17.6 mph average on this one.  Yay!  I am getting much stronger on the bike with all of these miles.  Or maybe it was my new cycling jersey 😉

Sun – 4 miles running, 40 miles biking. See a theme here? Happy 4th of July!! The run was tough – hot and sweaty, tired legs, and a minor feeling of discomfort. It wouldn’t be the 4th of July if it wasn’t hotter than the sun, right? 😉 It didn’t help that I was trying out my vest again.

Then it was out on the bike for a long ride. 40 miles, 16.3 average mph. The great thing about being a “newer” cyclist – I get lots of segment PRs and accomplishments on Strava every ride. Yay!! (Max speed of 28.5 mph, speedy!)

Finally, big kudos to my husband this week – the air conditioning stopped working. Within one day he took the thing apart, figured out what was wrong, and fixed it for $30!! Hooray for a handy hubby!!!

Need some more inspiration? I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Check out all of the fun blogs there!

Q: If you’ve been to Disney, what is your favorite park?

It’s hard to choose, but I think it’s the Magic Kingdom. I went there several times as a kid and have fond memories of the lights at night 🙂

Q: Did you go see any fireworks or fire off your own?

We are going to a display tonight. And, this year we really went all out – spent $50 at the fireworks store LOL! For me, that’s a big deal!!