As we near our impending empty nest situation, we have added a few new creatures to nurture… kittens!! That’s right, my home is now filled with 3 tiny foster kittens in addition to the 3 monarch chrysalis and 5 fat caterpillars. [funny story – we found one of the fat caterpillars roaming on our kitchen floor, far away from their “cage”. How he got there I will never know!!] More about the kittens later…
This week started the first week of my actual training plan, which is the Hal Higdon “Senior” plan. I picked that plan because it was low mileage and was an 8 week plan! It has 3 days of running, but I added in just a few miles on Monday also because I love a Monday run! It’s a funny plan because it says things like “you can do speedwork if you’d like, or don’t do it. You know what you need, this isn’t your first marathon.” And, I am choosing NOT to do speedwork. 😁 I firmly believe that consistent training is key to successful running, so I’m doing my best to do what I can and get the miles done. Chicago Marathon is now 7 weeks away!
Mon – 3.3 mile, run/walk… happy Monday! It’s hard to wake up when it’s dark out, but I have been greeted with a lovely sunrise so it’s a great start to the day and week.
Tues – 4 mile, run/walk. I’ve noticed that my left glute/hamstring gets a bit angrier when I run on the road due to the slope of the street, so I ran on the level sidewalk instead and that helped avoid some of that pain/tight feeling. I usually run in the street due to several sidewalk tripping incidents in the past!
We stole our son away from college living for a few days since classes haven’t started yet and enjoyed the day at Put-In-Bay, a small island in Lake Erie. The weather wasn’t the best because it drizzled for a little bit, but we rode around on a golf cart which protected us from the rain. Then we finished up the evening at Cedar Point for dinner and few rides. Yep, that is the 3rd time I’ve been to Cedar Point in the last week!! Getting my money’s worth out of our season pass.
Weds – Rest day! Nothing to say here other than an 8 min core workout. I’ve been using an app that gives me a different ab workout every day, and so far I’m on a 7 day streak. I enjoy having something new and it’s only 8 mins. I lack the attention span to do a long workout video! haha. Today we also moved our son back to campus (again) and said our final goodbyes until parent’s weekend. [insert tears of sadness here!]
Thurs – 8 mile run/walk. This was an OK run, but still lacking endurance to run continuously and it solidified the fact that I need some help from physical therapy to get this glute/hammy pain knocked out!! I will be visiting my PT next week. yay!!
Fri – Rest day! Cross training was an hour walk with my friend. It was a much needed catch-up with her. An added bonus of my daughter still being home is that has been making crepes for us. Yum! Also, she never says No to a trip to the ice cream shop, even if it’s chilly outside. Pomegranate Dole Whip for the win!
At 5:15 pm I got “the call” from the Humane Society. They had 3 kittens that were in great need of a foster home! Much to my surprise the kittens didn’t even require any medications (which is very typical). I call this group the “variety pack”. They are about a month old and are very little. They still have their baby blue eyes and stumble around quite a bit! Oh, and they “mew” a lot!! The only time I can get a good picture is when they are asleep, so here you go! Sassy, Bobby and Midnight (until I change their names again. I can’t decide!)
Sat – 12 miles, long run. The cooler weather has finally arrived! Well, at least for a few days. It was only 51 degrees when I started my run and there was a chill in the air. It felt so good that I was able to run the first 4 miles continuously! But then, I thought I should probably not be too aggressive, so I did run/walk intervals again. My excitement was all gone by the time I was around 9 miles into this run and I was exhausted! That last mile was pretty bad. But once again, it’s another checkmark in my training plan. Long run done! I am looking forward to seeing my physical therapist next week for sure.
Sun – going for a bike ride with my husband. Enjoying some pool time too!
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: Any suggestions for a black cat name??
AAAHHHH!!!! I’ll be right there to pick up that orange and white one- I want an orange tabby so badly. I always think black cats should be named “Sparky” because that was the name of our black cat growing up. Most people don’t agree with me on that, though (ha ha.) The black cat we have now is named Charlotte, but that probably doesn’t help you much either.
Well… at least you get to see your son at parent’s weekend- we won’t see ours till Thanksgiving. But it’s a sad transition no matter what. No matter how often you get to see them, they’re no longer living at home, and that’s hard. I’m glad your daughter is there a little longer.
I want your weather! Runs in the 50s sound amazing. I hope the PT can help you with that lingering pain. Congrats on the 12 miler, even if that last mile was hard. You got it done!
Those 50 degree temps really did feel amazing! It’s been a long time since I’ve worn a t-shirt vs a tank top!
I’m already filling our calendar with all sorts of empty nester fun things to do. Hopefully it won’t be too bad, but I will really miss them both a lot. Plan for the worst and hope for the best, right?
We had a black cat and named him Spooky.
Those kitties are too cute
Hope you hamstring starts to behave. My body is loving those run walk intervals that my friends use. 12 miles felt like nothing.
I really thought 12 miles would seem like nothing, but maybe it was the hill in the middle of the run, or more likely that I’m just not “fit” enough yet. It ended in a struggle! The silver lining is that it will feel rewarding when I am feeling better and my pace improves. (fingers crossed that time will happen soon!)
Glad you got in with the PT! I tend to try to avoid sidewalks (we don’t have many, actually) because it’s just so hard. Sometimes when something’s off I run on the other side of the road, but my neighborhood is relatively safe.
The cuteness of the kittens! No meds for them really is great.
I’ve never had a black cat . . . nothing’s coming to mind.
I don’t think we’ve ever had any foster kittens that weren’t on a round of meds when we first received them! It has been fun to cuddle with them. They are cuties!
I like human names for pets, like Bobby 🙂 And Ruth & Matilda, ha! They are very cute. Good to have the house “full” as you deal with being an empty nester! Sounds like a fun-filled week, and glad you have a doable plan for Chicago- great job on the 12 miler!
Chicago certainly won’t be the race I thought it would be, but I’m going to make the most of it! And, kittens are always the answer when you’re feeling a bit down 🙂
You are getting your money’s worth at Cedar Point. I have not been but my kids went with their summer camp years ago. Nice you got to sneak away for more family time before school starts. Sounds like you have a good plan for Chicago. Take care!
When I was a kid we went to Cedar Point with a school group in the summer. It was amazing to have the freedom to roam the park and ride those coasters! It’s always been a happy place for us.
OMG, the kittens! I’ll take any or all – haha. (I want a kitten, but our rental doesn’t allow pets. I’ll live vicariously through your updates.)
It sounds like you had a good plan in place for your marathon training. You know your body best and should train accordingly.
I’ve noticed that the days are getting shorter. This will impact my running schedule very soon as I don’t run outside by myself when it’s dark.
In an ideal world I would be running 5 days a week because I love getting out there, but I’ll stick with the 3 days, plus a little bonus day for now. I’m with you – running in the dark isn’t my favorite!
Those kittens! OMG!! 😍 So cute, I want to hug them all!
It’s so hard to name pets. For a black one, hmm…I do think Midnight is a great name though.
It’s good to hear you’re getting physical therapy. And well done with your running and walking, and finding ways to run more pain free. And the 12 miler! That’s good work!
The Humane Society does name them, and they are August, Fearless and Midnight, but I do like to find a name that really suits them. As you can imagine, they name A LOT of animals each year so they have to be creative with it!
Well, I am NOT a cat person, but those little kittens are adorable 😉 That is so generous of you to foster so many of them; they’re lucky to have you. Wow, seven weeks out from Chicago! That’s gonna fly by!
We do have a trip planned so we hadn’t planned on fostering right now, but they needed help and the kittens will be gone just in time, so it all worked out. Especially since these kittens have required such little work (so far!) and it’s always nice when there are multiples so they will all play together!
Good idea to go to the PT, hope it goes well. I’m off to my physio in a minute on my monthly maintenance plan so I hope she’s still pleased with me … Cute kitties, what a variety pack indeed!
I hope it went well at your appointment!
It did, thank you – she’s happy with me, I have a new exercise and a very useful step in the house I can do it on, and I’m staying on the maintenance programme every 5-6 weeks with the all-clear to increase run and weekly distance a bit more. Phew!
Omg those kitties are irresistible! So sweet! I love the advice in the Senior plan. Hal knows what he’s talking about! Haha! I’ve been to Put-In-Bay! Fun!
I do appreciate Hal’s comments too!
Put-in-Bay is always a fun time. We always try to head out of Put-In-Bay before it gets rowdy… and it sure can get rowdy!
Those kitties are so cute, and love the escaping caterpillar!
I absolutely add a Monday run to Hal too.
I’m just glad I didn’t step on the roaming caterpillar!! So crazy. I’m still clueless on how he got all the way across the room. What a big adventure he had! 😆
Congrats on completing your long run and listening to your body while doing so. Sounds smart to avoid running on the road if the camber is bothering your glute/hamstring.
Those kittens are so cute and how wonderful that they’re healthy!
We had the most amazing black cat named Pandora. If I had a black cat right now, I might name it Void, or Cheese. I don’t know why but I love obnoxious names for animals!