This week was a whirlwind. My workouts focused on speed this week and I was very happy with most of my runs. The grand finale of the week was my son’s graduation party. I’ve spent weeks planning this party, or at least thinking about it for weeks. A lot of it came together at the last minute! It has been the biggest thing on my mind lately. Even though I’m glad the party is over, it was very bittersweet as we closed the chapter on the primary/high school years and prep for college. College move in is going to happen far too fast for my liking, so I’m making the most of our time together in the next few months. Workouts this week: 36 miles running, 23 miles biking.
Mon – A “fun workout” was on my schedule! Ok, I didn’t actually workout… I frosted cookies. There were no calories burned with this workout due to my sampling.
Tues – 10 miles, negative splits, 5 4, 1. This run should have had it’s own theme music 😁 The weather was great too. It wasn’t rainy when I started, but I was soaked by the time I got home. It hasn’t rained forever, so I didn’t mind one bit. My negative splits went from 9:50 (5 miles) to 9:00 (4 miles) and finished with 8:50 (1 mile). yay!
Weds – 23 miles cycling. We rode with our local bike group, TAB. There were two groups – the fast group, and the really fast group. Ok, the fast group it is! We ended up with and average of 19.5 mph, and hit 24.7 mph for top speed! Our group consisted of 9 people, and I was the only female. I was certainly the weakest link in the group and I am always appreciative of their efforts to keep me in the peloton. My win for the night was to be able to pull for a mile at 22 mph! Considering this was my first TAB group ride of the season, this was a winner.
Thurs – 7 miles, intervals. 5 miles of 4 mins on / 3 min off. I was happy with this run. It was tiring, but satisfying! My intervals were all very similar in pace. I did need to walk a little during the rest periods. It was more humid than I expected. How it started – how it ended.
We did a lot of grad party prep today. I was feeling more confident after we secured the food, and I made some Buckeyes (in case you didn’t know… for the Ohio State Buckeyes!)
Fri – 3 easy miles. I was feeling a bit beat up from yesterday’s speedwork. My knee was a little cranky, and then I had an odd feeling in my hip. Dislike! One big LIKE was that my daughter came back from her Europe trip last night. We are so happy to have her back again!
Sat – 16 miles, long run. I like to use the phrase “set myself up for success” when I think about my workouts. Proper nutrition, rest, and planning. This run failed at most of these!! I wasn’t sure I would be able to run because my hip was feeling a bit wonky, so I didn’t have a plan. I should have woke up earlier, and mapped a route. My hip didn’t complain during my run (thankfully!) but I had far too many things going on in my head (grad party!!) and I just wanted the run to be over. It was warm, and I guess I can complain that it was humid too? I was supposed to run the mid 10 miles at race pace, but I only succeeded in 6 miles at pace, and the others were “kinda” close (within a few seconds). By the time I was down to my final miles, which were slower paced, I did walk quite a bit. Not my finest performance, but I got it done.
From that point on, I don’t think I sat down once. Party prep was underway!! If you’ve followed my blog you’ll know that hosting a party ranks very low on my favorites list. I get anxiety just thinking about it! I am super happy to report that we nailed this party. Other than the fact that my Buckeyes melted a bit (sad!), everything else was perfect. The night went by fast. Even though I thought I was taking a lot of pictures, when I look back I barely got any! Sigh.
We ate lots of delicious food. We talked. We played game. There was family. There was lots of friends. We even had two surprise guests who were the life of the party! We’ve never seen these two before so it was a fun surprise for sure. The kids were feeding them, so I’m sure they will be returning in search of more food many times this summer!
Sun – Happy Father’s Day!! We will hit the MTB trails this afternoon, and celebrate Father’s Day later this evening. I am very thankful for my husband, who is an amazing Dad. He can fix anything!! I am also happy we got to see my Dad at the grad party.
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: What is the most unique wildlife you have had in your yard?
We have seen a pair of owls fighting (mating??) which was pretty crazy. I LOVE to listen to the owls hooting at night.
Nice job on that negative split run! Enjoy having both of your kids home now.
It is great having both kids home right now. Getting to hear lots of fun stories about Europe too. Quite a trip!!
Wow that 10-mile run (in the rain)! Great job! I know what you mean about the bitter sweet experience of the final graduation party…it’s so surreal! I would be scared and intimidated to go in one of those group fast rides…I’m content on the trails, going my own speed (which isn’t always a guaranteed safe time, LOL).
There’s only been a few times I thought a riding group wasn’t working together very well. The groups that meet up for this ride is usually very supportive and quite a team. Even if I only offer a little bit to the group (in terms of “pulling” them), at least it’s something and they are helpful!
Great job on the party! I also have severe party hosting anxiety, so I get it (I think your party went better than mine usually do!) Yes, it’s bittersweet for sure. I still get teary when I think about leaving my son at college for the first time (two years ago.) Your kids seem like they want to stay nearby and come home a lot- you obviously have a very close family- so you’ll be seeing him frequently, I’m sure.
Nice job on the speed work this week! And for that long run- mental stress really contributes to fatigue so I’m not surprised that one was tough! But you got it done. Your day today sounds busy- I hope you get some time to relax.
Oh, and I think your “surprise guests” may turn into new pets, now that you’ve fed them. You’ll be seeing them plenty from now on!
I am super pleased that the party turned out well. But I’m also kicking myself I didn’t get more pictures!! There were a lot of people coming and going. Oh well.
Those darn raccoons are super cute, but not at all afraid of us. I think they need to get relocated. Not a good idea to have them so close to our house!
I can relate to what you say about hosting parties. My husband seems to love it but to me it’s just stressful! I’m glad you had a good time and a successful party.
Congrats to your great 10 mile run. And to getting your long run done considering the struggle! How frustrating about that hip though. I hope it stays calm.
I don’t think we have any particularly exciting wildlife here. I once found an insect that a friend said was rare, and when they were here, her husband saw he found lots of them in our hedge. So maybe we have some rare insects! But I haven’t seen any since then.
I need to focus some energy on my hip situation. I know it’s all connected. It’s the same side that gave me problems earlier in the year and now it moves around from the knees, to my inner leg, and now the hips! ugh.
Wow, looks like a great party! We didn’t have graduation parties for the boys–even when my youngest graduated from college, we just did a big dinner at the restaurant where he’s a bartender. I still have PTSD from their birthday parties–lol
Sorry to hear about that hip issue. I swear, I have all these little niggles and I’m doing everything to keep them from becoming big problems!
It’s no surprise that my hip issue is on the same side as the glute/hamstring issue, and recently my knee pain. I’m all wonky!
The party was nice. As I’ve been dismantling everything it’s making me more sad and melancholy. Sigh.
I got hungry reading your post. Congrats on a successful party. As Wendy said, we didn’t have a party for either of my stepsons.
Good news about the hip and your runs!!
Mac & Cheese from Gordon Foods was the game changer. That stuff was a hit, and so delicious! It was fun to see the kids just goofing around and hanging out. It was everything that I hoped it would be.
Wow, I’m impressed that you pulled 8 guys at 22 MPH for a mile – high five to you!
Congrats to your son! What an exciting time for him.
We have raccoons that live under our deck – they leave muddy footprints on it all winter. I see them walking back home across our deck in the early pre-dawn hours while I’m working out in our basement. We also have owls behind our house that we hear all night long, but we’ve only seen one at dusk once.
We do 2 lines of riders, so it’s two of us pulling at a time. My husband always gets yelled at by me because when he’s pulling he goes all out, even though it’s too fast for the group. He says he’s just keeping up, but of course the person next to him is just trying to keep up, so neither one is slowing down!! 😂 I’m pretty much just trying to not slow the group down when I pull, but the job gets much easier when the wind is blowing the right way!
What a great week! Congrats to your son and to you for pulling off such a great party. I bet even melty buckeyes taste good!
Nice negative splits on that run, and doing a 16 miler before the party – amazing!
It’s true – I would not turn down a melted Buckeye 🙂 I probably should have put some ice under them.
I don’t have kids so I don’t have to host these kinds of parties and while I am sure they’re fun, I’d be stressed about hosting, too. 🙂
Oh, you did feed the raccoons! Eek! They’ll be back for sure. We have raccoons around here, but we do NOT feed them. They’re a pest.
I am most excited the humming birds that have been frequenting our yard since I put up a hummingbird feeder, they’re so fun to watch.
Great job on the runs, esp. the negative split one in the rain! 🙂
I would not have suggested feeding the raccoons, and probably should have stopped it – one of the kids at the party did it. Yep, they have been back and wandered up to us when we were eating dinner on our patio!! Hopefully they will lose interest if we don’t feed them, and spray them with water.
We have several honeysuckle plants that feed the hummingbirds. They are so cool to watch!
Well, I guess I can understand why the kids fed them… raccoons are awfully cute 😉
Well done on the party and the running and cycling! We had a sparrowhawk just sat on our hedge once, and I managed to get a photo – it was amazing.
what a week!! Even though planning and executing the plan for a party is not your favorite thing in the world it sounds like it was amazing. and melted buckeyes are just as tasty I’m sure.
great mileage on the bike and the legs – I know what you mean about setting yourself up for success and how wrong it can go if you don’t do that..
I live in the city so the most wildlife we get are cats LOL. but my neighbor has chickens and once they escaped and 2 were found in another neighbor’s garden haha!
Congrats on the successful party! I haven’t thrown many, so they would make me anxious, too. I’m sure it felt great to have the whole family together, even if it’s bittersweet.
Your 10 miler doesn’t sound like a fail — it may not have quite hit what you planned, but you did really well.
We’ve had a few odd things wander through our neighborhood over the years. Albie (the albino squirrel) is definitely one of them and I entertained my mom with videos of him while I was there last week.
OMG BABY RACCOONS I WANT THEM RIGHT NOW!
Congratulations to your son! The party looked amazing. I used to love throwing parties but now people and cooking make me anxious. I’m trying to fix that.
Congrats on your ride! That’s awesome!
What marathon is next? I must have missed a post! Glad the injuries are staying in control. What a full week!
I am not a huge party-hoster- it’s a lot of work! Glad it was a success 🙂