Weekly workouts – new normal

Thanks for the comments last week. It was comforting to know so many of you have gone through the same feelings. Good news – I’m feeling much better this week. I still miss the heck out of my daughter, but I’m getting into the groove of a new normal and each day got a little better this week. Also planning a few getaways with my husband! It’s been a really long time since we’ve gone on a vacation just the two of us, so that will be fun and interesting. I got involved in a lot of things this week and the busyness was just what I needed. I have officially signed up for the Churchills half marathon (a local race) on Nov 13th. Activities this week were: Running – 29 miles, Biking – 59 miles, Kayaking – 1 hour!

I also took lots of walks this week as the sun was setting. I’m multitasking by walking and listening to an audiobook! (the book is the Summer Job, by Lizzy Dent. it’s good!)

Mon – 5 miles, treadmill.  It was one of those mornings where I just sleepily glanced at the calendar entry for the workout.  2 miles x 2 with 2 min rest at Tempo pace.  Yep, I kinda did that!  Went a little faster for a few miles, hopped off the treadmill to make sure my son was getting up for school, and then hopped back on.  I did feel a bit tight at the beginning (sports hernia stuff), but nothing major and this run was fine.

After work I got to lift weights with my son.  We haven’t done this in awhile due to marching band practice, and it was good to chat with him.  Afterwards he had to flex on me with his new moves.  It’s so cool that he is taking an interest in fitness these days and getting strong!!

Tues – 4 miles easy.  Today was one of those days where it all clicked.  I woke up 10 mins before my alarm, I ran outside to enjoy my audiobook, and I had a good run.  It was even less humid which meant I could finally spend the time to blow dry and straighten my hair!  Woohoo!  Heck, due to my early wake time I even made it to work 1 min early.  And yes, 7:59 means I’m early to work!! 

Ladies Ride Night! The weather was great for cycling too. 18 miles at 14.7 mph. I’m so glad my bike fits in my car! These rides will continue through September.

Weds – 6.25 miles, speedwork. Hooray for today!!  September hit today and brought all the promised feelings of “almost fall” along with it.  The weather felt amazing (63 degrees!).  It was dark, but oh so peaceful and quiet in my neighborhood.  The goal was middle miles at half marathon pace mixed with threshold pace.  Nailed it!  I even stretched out before I ran, which helped.  I need to take the time to do that.

Group ride night! 25 miles at 17.6 mph. I wanted to join the faster group again this week, but it was a bit windy and I didn’t think I could hang with them. This was a good group ride.

Thurs – Rest day!  Today I volunteered at the Solheim Cup.  It’s a big deal golf tournament and once again we worked “ecology”, which provided a large donation to the school band in exchange for us helping out.  The weather was perfect and not too much trash to gather, but it was quite busy.

With the weather feeling almost “chilly” around here, it was a nice night to enjoy our fire table.

Fri – 5 easy miles.  A beautiful day for a run.  Little bit of sun, little bit of chill. Notice I have short sleeves on!

Later we went kayaking.  An hour on the river was quite enjoyable.  My husband knew this would make me quite happy.

Sat – 9.25 mile, long run!  I hopped back on the sub coaching bus and helped out in the 9:00-10:00 pace group.  I was in the front of the group, so our long run pace was 9:45.  It was fun because several members of the group were from my pace group for Spring training!

After the run there was a “sweets and treats” contest.  There were a lot of delicious treats to taste, and someone actually brought some delicious shots!!  This entry got my vote.  The salted caramel shots were awesome!

Also, I won a prize in a random drawing.  I got a bag full of fueling items. Yay! My Starbucks drink was the new Apple Crisp Frappuccino. It didn’t sound too promising, and I was right. Not really my thing, but hey, you just never know.

Sun – 15 miles biking A quick ride before everyone else woke up at my house.

Guess what?  My daughter will be home already! 🙂 We are heading to the fair and monopolizing her time.  Yay!

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!

My sports hernia was a little picky this week. Some days it was tight when I started to run, and afterwards, and other days it was not an issue! So my goals for the half marathon are just to enjoy it and have a smart race. I don’t think fast racing would benefit me at this time.

Q: Did you enjoy some cooler weather this week?

Q: Does an Apple Crisp coffee drink sound good to you? Or would you go for the Pumpkin Spice instead?