About Me

Saturday, June 17, 2023

Ready for Action!


Ready for some action? 

Me? In a heartbeat!

After a scaled-back week of running, strength work, and biking, it was time. My body (and especially my mind!) was ready to get back into a routine of daily fun and fitness. Besides, we all know I'm not good at sitting on the sidelines, with my feet up.

Movement is medicinal. Motion is lotion. And all that jazz...

Before I delve into the deets, welcome to the Weekly Run Down!

I love hosting 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 8:00AM (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 ;-)


Anyways, here's what went down this week in fitness and whatnot:

Sunday - Hitting the 1K mark!
My morning involved some strength work, via Peloton...and it wasn't just any routine workout. It was my 1,000th workout, and I made sure to include my fav Pelo gal, Tunde, for the party. We did some upper and lower-body strength work for the 1K win. I also got outside for some walking (four total miles, some in the morning; some in the evening). And, there was plenty of garden squats, you know, for good measure.


Never miss a Monday.
Nothing ground-breaking, but a simple 2-mile run in the chilly 48F early morning temps. Brrr! I also got in the usual walks at work (two total miles), a 12-mile post-workday bike ride, and two additional miles of walking in the evening.


Totally Tuesday...
Typically, I do upper-body strength work on Tuesdays. This was no exception, except for the fact it was Day-1 of the Pump Up The Volume Challenge (via Peloton). This program involves three days of upper-body strength (including core), with the classes getting tougher as the weeks progress. I added a Barre class to the mix and also did a quick 1-mile walk afterwards and a two 1-milers at work.


Another Double Workout Wednesday.
You know the drill...an early morning 5-mile run with Barb (complete with a drive-by photo bomb). Two miles walked (again) at work. And, let's not forget the post-workday hilly bike path bike ride (15 miles). Garden squats after dinner (don't be jealous).


Thankful Thursday.
The morning began with a 3-mile walk (virtually with Deb), followed by Day-2 of Pump Up The Volume (plus a short Barre class). We also got in two walks at work (two total miles).


After work, Barb and I met for a short 8.5-mile bike ride before I had to hustle off to meet one of the daughters for dinner.


A somewhat easy-peasy Fitness Friday.
My first sunrise ride of the season. I had 10 miles of open roads, chilly and breezy temps, and a bright orange/red sun (that looked golden in the pics). Back home, I did a short glutes-focused Barre workout and some light arms/shoulders strength. We got in only one walk at work (the power went out just before lunch, so the afternoon was a spontaneous "go on home" endeavor), but I snuck in a 2-mile walk after getting home. Oh, and another hour of garden squats in the evening (I swear, the weeding never ends!).


How about a triple-workout Saturday?
With busy days on both agendas, Barb and I met at 6:30 for an hour fun running and whatnot. Six miles for me (complete with ponytail swoosh on-point). After getting home, I did day-3 of Pump Up the Volume (twenty minutes of upper-body strength).

Mid-morning, Amy and Mike loaded my bike, and we headed to Bondurant. We started on the Chichaqua Valley Trail, for about eight miles, and turned onto the Gay Lea Wilson Trail, towards Ankeny. We arrived in Ankeny (14.26 miles completed), and then rode the High Trestle Trail to Slater. After a lunch break, we headed back...finishing the day with 56 total miles of biking, all of us tired from the heat, and exhausted from fighting the wind. Unfortunately, this ride was not without incident (see below).


...and what about Sunday?
Well, I will be taking things very easy, LOL. My legs need a little down-time, so I may be just a happy walker, by default. No regrets there!

So, this week was full of action, and we all know that's just the way I like it. The running was pretty conservative, all things considered, with 13 miles. Walking held its own with 21. The biking dominated, with 101 miles (and change) tallied for the week. I had four decent upper-body strength sessions (three of them being workouts for the Pump Up the Volume series).

Not much action on the blog this week:

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair. How do you feel about maxi-length dresses and skirts? They're not ideal for every body, but with my tall stature, I never have to worry about hemlines being too generous. 


...and the crash! 
I've been doing a lot of biking in recent years, and had avoided any mishaps in all that time (this is my fourth summer of serious biking). Well, that all came to a crashing halt, pun intended, at about the 21-mile mark of our ride. My bike veered off the trail, for a split second, and the 5-inch drop-off had me hitting gravel...and - BOOM! - I was down for the count. My left shoulder took the brunt of the impact, and my upper arm took most of the road rash. I have a few minor scratches and scrapes on my legs, and I think I bruised a rib or two as well. I was able to get up, though, almost immediately and laugh about it. I'm quite grateful I'd had such a long streak of injury-free cycling. I'm also thankful I did that upper-body workout Saturday after my run, because there's no way my shoulder, arm or ribs would allow for that the next morning (I had originally considered saving the workout for Sunday). Anyways, now I don't have to wonder when that first official crash will happen. And, I can now say I'm a card-carrying member Road Rash Crashers Club, LOL.


So, that's the latest and greatest! 

How are things in your world, fitness and otherwise? Does it feel like summer in your area? Any favorite workouts or fitness highlights to share? Do you consider yard work, gardening and weeding substantial workouts? Ever survived a cycling crash and were able to laugh about it?

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30 comments:

  1. Ooh sorry about the bike crash! Sounds like you were lucky and avoided any serious injury. Please take care of yourself and get some rest and recovery.

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    1. I had a very restful day, with two easy-paced walks and even a nap ;-)

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  2. I had a bad bike crash a few years ago and I've never quite embraced the bike as much since. Glad you didn't get hurt save for the road rash. Take it easy!

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    1. I'm glad my crash was on a trail and not a city street. That certainly made it much less traumatic.

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  3. I'm so sorry about the crash -- especially the bruised ribs! Ouch. Good job getting in upper body before it! Otherwise sounds like a great variety as always, Kim.

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    1. Yes the bruised ribs really threw things off balance, LOL. Things are feeling better now (about 34 hours post-crash).

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  4. Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that you crashed, but happy you're mostly okay. To answer your question, yes, I crashed my bike a few times on the gravel road on the farm as a kid. Right after we were married and moved to Utah, an irrigation head popped up and shot water in my face causing me to crash - I separated my shoulder in that one.

    Are those mulberries in your hand? I just mentioned to Bill yesterday as we rode over a bunch of patches of mashed mulberries on the road that I hadn't stopped to eat any yet this year. :-(

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    1. Yes, those are mulberries! We saw LOTS of mulberries along the trails yesterday...seems a little early for them, but no complaints!!!

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  5. Yikes! I'm glad you are OK after the crash. Note to self: I should really get a helmet.

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    1. Oh gosh, YES, you need a helmet! Thankfully, my helmet made ZERO contact with the pavement, but shoulder pads would have been nice ;-)

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  6. 48 degrees??? Do we even live on the same planet???
    Glad you're okay. Honestly, that's why I don't get on my bike much anymore- I'm afraid of crashing (or more likely, being hit by a car.) But I'm just being a huge wimp. It's great exercise, and great cross training. I hope your ribs heal up fast (ouch!)

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    1. Our streets aren't too dangerous, regarding traffic (this is Iowa, LOL) but there are still lots of distracted drivers (not paying attention due to the lack of traffic).

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  7. Congrats on reaching the comma club with your 1000 Peloton workout!
    Yikes on the bike crash. I hope you don’t feel sore for too long.

    Which Pump Up The Volume series are you doing? I started with Vol. 1 which is upper/lower/full.

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  8. So sorry about your crash! I'm glad you weren't seriously injured. Wishing you speedy healing.

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    1. I'm thankful, too! I'm already feeling better (Sunday evening) than I was 24 hours ago. Hoping the worst has passed...

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  9. great week for you Kim but yowsers on the crash! really glad you are ok! I had one pretty bad crash years ago in Cornwall (UK) when a very large dog suddenly lunched in front of my bike as I was riding about 35KM an hour downhill. Being a lover of animals I thought first about the dog and me second - I didn't want to injure him! So I had to brake pretty hard and went over the handlebars. thank goodness I was wearing a helmet because I was scratched up my my nose to my toes. The bruises were insane as well. And I ripped up my hands even though I was wearing gloves.

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    1. I can't imagine falling over the handlebars! How scary!!!

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  10. another active week... I expect no less.

    Glad you're ok after the crash.

    That's one of the reasons biking scares me.

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    1. Crashing is definitely a downside to biking...glad it doesn't happen often for most of us.

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  11. That stinks about your crash!! Once you get off the curb, there's barely any way to avoid a fall like that. Trying to get back on the curb probably would have knocked you over too! Glad your injuries were minor. Well done on the all of the miles and workouts this week!

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    1. I'm just glad I fell towards the path and NOT towards the gravel...that would have been much more nasty!

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  12. Oh my goodness, Kim, I’m so glad you didn’t get more seriously hurt! This is why I’ll do indoor biking only.
    Looks like a great week otherwise with so much walking, cycling, running, and weeding too!

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    1. Honestly, it felt pretty empowering to get back back up and back on the bike afterwards. I'm grateful my bike wasn't damaged in the crash, or I would have really been in a mess of frustration and inconvenience.

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  13. Congrats on your milestone and welcome to the comma club :) That's awesome. And so happy to hear you started the PUTV1 Program. How are you liking it so far? I just finished week 2.

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    1. I'll be starting Week-2, but my PUTV program must be different from yours? It took me forever to find it (after reading about it on your blog last week).

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  14. There are 7 PUTV programs. I started with 1, which is a mix of upper, lower and full body workouts. Looks like you started with PUTV7? (It’s the one that currently shows first under collections for whatever reason. If you scroll down, there are the others.)

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  15. Sorry for the crash, glad you didn't get hurt.
    For me a crash would be a tragedy because my bones are brittle.
    All the best.

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  16. Yikes! So sorry about your accident! I'm glad you're ok.

    I'm super jealous of your cooler mornings. The heat and humidity is just crushing here.

    And yes to maxi dresses. I have a huge stash of them for when it's just too hot to wear clothes. I am also tall and I love them.

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  17. Glad you're okay Kim! But scary crash...

    I love the flow of a long maxi, so comfortabe

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