Sunday, September 1, 2019

Welcome to the Dark Side


Welcome to the dark side.

Let me clarify...this dark side is in reference to daylight (or lack thereof), not running. Ugh. Just like that, the early morning daylight has dwindled down to the barest of minimums. It's not a crisis, nor will it keep me from doing my early-morning thing (usually outdoors, none the less), but it is a buzzkill.

But first things first...

Welcome to the Weekly Run Down! I am so excited to host this link-up with Deborah (from Confessions of a Mother Runner). If you write a fitness-based blog, you're invited to join the party. The link-up opens at 1:00 (EST) on Sundays and remains open through noon on Monday. We love reading about everyone's weekly fitness endeavors, training highlights (or low lights) and race recaps. We ask that you link back to both hosts, and we encourage you to read/comment on the other linked blogs as well...please don't link-drop & dash ;-)

Here's the latest happenings in terms of the Weekly Run Down:

Monday - #nevermissaMonday...in the dark 
Typically, I'm not a creature of habit, at least regarding my workouts. I like variety, and mixing things up is beneficial because it keeps the body guessing. That said, I've been doing these Monday 5K runs (with surges) for the past couple months, and they are now a staple in my regimen. They're quick, they're easy, and they have just an itsy bitsy amount of speed in them to give me a good workout without overdoing it.
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another #nevermissaMonday in the books 
Tuesday - walking and biking and strength work, oh my!
The temps were kind of icky (and the air was damp), but due to be very warm by afternoon. I decided to go for a walk (and save the bike ride for after work). Gosh, I walkfess that I have been neglecting those early morning walks for the past several weeks (and have been biking instead). Oops. My bad.
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runners walk, too
Later, I saddled up Gustavas for a 10-mile post-workday bike ride. Look closely....I was so eager to get out on the bike that I forgot to remove the workday necklace LOL (Don't you hate it when that happens?). At least it coordinated with my tank top, so there's that. I also did an intense 20-minutes of upper-body strength work before lights out.
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Wednesday - speedwork under the lamp posts
Wednesday morning, I headed to my designated "speedway" on campus. It's a sidewalk that's the length of two city blocks, but with no intersecting streets to cross. I did five sets of intervals: sprinting one direction, then running/jogging back as a recovery. With the warm-up run there (and cool-down back home), total distance for the morning was three miles. And the intervals? Negative splits for the last three. Nailed it!
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fist bump for the great workout
Thursday - #5at5 before the sunrise
Barb and I met for our weekly early-morning 5-miler. We'd been noticing the 5:00a.m. runs had been getting darker and darker (as the sun was rising later and later), but this week we were in almost total darkness until the final few minutes. Why, oh why, does summer have to end?
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here comes the sun...as I'm headed back home LOL
Friday - biking with the hubby
It's gotten too dark for the early morning rides out to the lake (don't worry, those rides will still be happening, just during daylight hours on the weekend instead). I decided to ride a simple 10 miles in town, and kept the route near the college campus so there would be plenty of street lights. Also, there's not much (if any) traffic at that time of day, so I was just going to go alone. Much to my surprise, the hubby asked to come along (he's not an early-riser LOL). There must have been something in the atmosphere, because the sunrise was simply amazing...all kinds of oranges and reds lit up the sky as the sun emerged.
No filter needed for this...
Saturday - how about a brick workout?
With a half marathon on tap for Sunday, I wanted to keep Saturday's miles moderate. Barb and I met up at 6:30, and knocked out six easy-paced miles in the chilly mid-50F's air. Then, after a quick water break, we mounted the bikes and took on the hilly bike trail. I should have known something was up when the first big hill (heading west) seemed easier than usual. It wasn't until we got to the lake and started back (going east) that we realized there was a crazy head wind to battle on the return trip. Holy Head Wind, Batman! Suffice it to say there was NO coasting on any of the downhills, and the uphills were even more intense than usual. This was a major victory for me, though...not only fighting the wind, but also conquering the hills in all that crazy wind. Also, it was my 10th ride out to the lake since all this biking entered my life (a mere nine weeks ago). All told, 21 total miles for the morning (6 on foot, 15 on the bike).
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that mountain bike is much heavier than it looks, just sayin'
Sunday - NewBo Half Marathon!
**updated post-race***
The big event on Sunday was my second appearance at the NewBo Run Half Marathon (I ran it last year for the first time). I was hoping for a course PR, and (if all the stars, moons and planets aligned) a sub-2:00 would be fantastic. Alas, the temps were ideal (mid-60F's and cloudy), the course was in great shape (there had been a lot of rain  last year, so there were puddles and some muddy spots on the trails), and I felt great for the entire race. Alas, the elusive sub-2:00 eluded me again...but not by much. I finished in 2:01:11, which was actually a PR for Voldy (he's the ugly scar from my surgery two years ago). It also was a 6-minute PR from last year, so I'm good with that. Stay tuned, there will be a race report in a couple days with more details.
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So, another productive week in my little world of fitness. As this post goes live (early Sunday morning), there's 30 miles of running (including the half marathon), 13 miles of walking, and 35 miles of biking. There also was an upper-body strength workout, as well as continued daily planking, leg lifts and various stretching/PT exercises for injury prevention. Knock wood, the MCM training is going well. My long run this weekend, which ideally should have been in the vicinity of 14-15 miles, got swapped out for Saturday's 6-miler and Sunday's half marathon. What can I say? I'm a strong believer in the fine art of compromise and flexibility when there's a fun race happening.

In case you missed out, here's what went down on the blog this week:
Adaptability. Flexibility. Going with the Flow.
Running with your own Sherpa
Runfessing my recent reality

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair. Don't think for a minute I'm eager for the fall season because I happen to have worn "fall" colors. I simply like the cinnamon and navy color combo. The fact that my open-toe booties are a pretty close match in color is just a bonus. As always, feel free to join the party...post a pic on Instagram, grab the hashtag (#FridayFashionFlair) and give me a tag (@runningonthefly).

August was pretty nice to me. The 109 miles in the running shoes gave me by highest monthly mileage since last fall. I was training for a marathon then, too, so the high mileage is no coincidence. We all know that biking has taken over as my preferred form of active recovery, as well as giving my non-running muscles some action on all those hills out to the lake. It's a given those 183 biking miles are also a PR of sorts. NO regrets.

And, S'mores. Usually, I'm not a big fan of the traditional bonfire treat. Friday evening, we had some friends over for a backyard bonfire. Inspired from a recent post by Marcia, I tried subbing in dark chocolate for the traditional milk chocolate....and, HoLy WoW. I may (or may not) have eaten three of them (with the pretense of carbo-loading for my weekend of running, biking and racing, of course). I'll just leave it at that.

There you have it, the latest and greatest in my world. Tell me something about your's...

...Training for a fall race? Are you keeping your runs outside (in the limited daylight) or are you taking them inside? Ever tried a S'more with dark chocolate? Would you switch a long run for two back-to-back shorter runs if you had a race on the calendar?

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39 comments:

  1. Hey Kim have an awesome race this morning!!! I love starting my Mondays with a shorter run with surges toward the end. The darkness is a bummer, I'm determined to keep running outdoors (with knuckle lights) for all of September and then I think it's going to be treadmill season.

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    1. Thank you, fortunately, the race went well! I'm determined to keep running outdoors until there's ice and sub-ZERO wind chill LOL Aren't those Monday runs, with surges, awesome?

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  2. I think that in this moment you are racing: run strong!!!!
    About the dark side: I like to run early in the morning but ... 05.00 a.m. is too early, yuo are a hero!!!
    However I made the decision to do a workout today, later, at 07.00 p.m. to enjoy the sunset while running.

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    1. Ha ha, yes, I believe your comment popped in while I was making my way across 13.1 miles ;-) A sunset run sounds nice!!

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  3. Another awesome week for you! I'm so impressed that you're doing a brick workout and half marathon this weekend!

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    1. If it's coincidence, then fine...but I think these long (hilly) bike rides are a great pre-race day strategy for me. My last three races all have had these rides before them, and all three races have gone well. Why mess with a good thing? ;-)

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  4. All of your awesome workouts are making me wish I wasn't winding down my training cycle! I hope you had a great race!

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    1. Thank you, Lisa! So far, all these workouts are feeling good, but I predict come taper time (and race day), I will be ready for some down time.

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  6. Hi near mileage twin!
    Love the helmet hair - and the Tuesday tights.
    Hope this mornig went well

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    1. Ha ha, the helmet hair was scary, but I thought I'd keep it real and show the world LOL

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  7. It's dark here in the mornings too now 🙁 I'm still out there,but there are some routes I also only do when it's light. How fun to have your husband join you - and what a great sunrise!

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    1. Same for me, I have some routes I do in the dark because they're in well-lighted places. It was fun having the hubby ride along with me ;-)

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  8. Nice work! The mornings are closing in a bit here, yes. But I'm enjoying the slightly cooler temperatures I have to say.

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    1. I don't mind the slightly cooler temps, except they are majorly cold in the early morning hours LOL

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  9. Whew you were a busy girl this week and it looks like your training is paying off BIGTIME with that sweet half finish time! Must've been the dark chocolate s'more carbload. Haha! Can't wait for the full report!

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    1. Thanks, Marcia!! Those dark chocolate s'mores served me well!

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  10. Of course I've had smores with dark chocolate. I almost never eat milk chocolate anymore! And I love them (and couldn't tell you the last time I had one).

    Very nice job on your half, Kim -- that's awesome -- congrats!

    Do I smell a duathlon somewhere in your future?

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    1. I've done one duathlon (a few years ago), and would love to do more...hard to find them, though. The dark chocolate s'mores were awesome, not sure how I'd never thought of making them before...

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  11. Congrats on your half! Looks like maybe Voldy is turning out to have magical powers for you too! Nice solid week for you.

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    1. Who would have thought Voldy would have been such a lucky charm for me? Must be the name....

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  12. Congratulations on the post-voldy/surgery PR! I'm focusing on post-broken leg PR's too :) Great job!

    The dark mornings are such a bummer :(

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    1. The dark mornings are a BUZZKILL! And, they will be my (our) reality for the next 9-10 months now....

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  13. Sounds like a solid week! I'm jealous you guys have weather in the 50s. I can't wait until we get that kind of weather. I like summer ending lol. I don't mind running in the dark but it does make for some difficult picture conditions!

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    1. The dark can be challenging for pics, no doubt! Most of my selfies-in-the-dark happen on the college campus under the numerous lamp posts ;-)

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  14. If you want a life changing s'more - sub a Reese's PB cup for the chocolate and marshmallow. SOoo good! I had my first headlamp run of the season this week. I'm not ready!

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    1. oooooh, a Reese's s'more sounds sinful ;-) I don't have a headlamp, but I use my Knuckle Lights a lot, and have been donning the Oxgear vest frequently in recent weeks. I'm not ready, either ;-(

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  15. Kim you are continuing to crush it! Looking forward to reading your race recap!

    The dark mornings are not fun - I was able to avoid them this week thanks to having some days off from work, but I'll be facing them this week. The one thing about Fall running I'm not looking forward to.

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    1. The dark mornings are tough when they first start happening. After awhile, they're just routine. Actually, I guess the bulk of my runs happen in the dark...I just get a couple months reprieve in the summer. Thanks for the kind words, Michelle ;-) I was real happy with how the race went this morning ;-)

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  16. The dark mornings really seem like they came fast this year! The only bonus is getting to see a gorgeous sunrise a the end of a run. Congrats on your race! You are so close to that sub-2!

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    1. I've had a few sub-2's but it's been a challenge to revisit that finish time LOL Oh well, at least I"m having fun trying ;-) YES, the dark mornings came much faster this summer than in the past...why?????

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  17. Maybe those s'mores were the perfect pre-race fuel? Nice job on that race.

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    1. Ha! I think I'm on to something...the long bike rides prior and now the dark chocolate s'mores. Too bad these light bulb moments didn't happen sooner, right?

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  18. It's very rare that I take my runs inside. I'm just not a treadmill kind of girl and our neighborhood gym only has limited equipment.

    Love the cinnamon and navy!

    I haven't noticed that it's been much darker. We have had to run earlier by about 30 minutes due to the earlier school start time (our middle schools start before elementary so it's a new schedule for all of us).

    You're killing it out there!

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    1. I'm not an indoor runner, either, but you probably already knew that. The morning darkness seems to just have happened in recent weeks, and rather quickly. Bummer...I really want my summer back!

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  19. Congrats on your race and your PR! I am still running outside (leaving the treadmill runs for when it is VERY, VERY COLD) and am loving the cooler weather. However, not loving that it is dark. Bummer.

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    1. I spent so much time with Milly last winter, I'm in no hurry to hang with her anytime soon....

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  20. Should we congratulate Voldy on his PR? Sounds like you more than compensated for the long run over the weekend, and had a great race too! And dark chocolate is the way to go for s'mores.

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  21. Typically, I am a creature of habit so I have to work to not be repetitive in my workouts. Like you, I'm loving biking as an additional cross training workout.

    I made s'mores after seeing Marcia's post as well. LOL I roasted our marshmallows under the oven broiler and it worked really well (I'd gotten that idea from the Hungry Runner Girl's brother). Running blogs are such a wealth of information!

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