Sunshine, Planking, and DOMS...Oh MY!

It was another successful week of action....but there was that (repeat) occurrence of DOMS. What the heck is up with my shins? I seldom ever have any issues with shin splints, but this was second consecutive long run where the shins have been angry with me.

Monday started with a spontaneous plank at lunch time...this time balanced (somewhat) on the "balance" ball (an oxymoron if there ever was).Have you ever tried to hold a plank in any manner with a balance ball?

 I also did my #nevermissaMonday run, and it was a short mile (due to the DOMS). The mile wasn't painful, thankfully, and after the first couple of blocks, I could feel the muscles loosening up...but there was no need to be a hero.

Tuesday, we had strange weather. It was dark and humid in the morning, rained in the afternoon, then cleared up and was beautiful by the time I got home from work. The DOMS were still residing in my shins, so I made a last-ditch effort to get rid of them...compression sleeves all day (for the second consecutive day), under my pants at work. Desperate times, desperate measures.

I spy with my little eye...compression sleeves!

 After work, I headed out for some hilly miles with the husband and friend. And I'm not kidding when I called them "hilly." But, alas, hills are good training, even if you don't have an upcoming race with a hilly course. Running hills (occasionally) allows for a variety of muscles to get worked...and, besides, it gets boring running flat terrain.

Wednesday? Not much to report, but I was challenged to plank with my pup.....

Seriously, it is MY yoga mat, but Max thinks otherwise

Thursday, I had a relatively small workload at the office, so I got home early for lunch and was told to call back around 2:00 (to see if they would need me to return after lunch). So....a few hours all to myself? I decided to dust off the Mongoose and go for a ride (care to read all about it? recap HERE) . We have a state park a few miles west of town, and there's a bike trail that takes us there. Let me just say, this trail is a huge challenge. It's constant hills, which is one thing when you're running them...but quite a different animal on wheels. I made the entire round trip without having to dismount or walk the bike (#victory).

Approaching for the final hill...

Later that evening, since the temps were great, I also ran a few miles. Why not? Have legs, will run!  At the risk of another oxymoron, I'm calling Thursday's stuff a "split brick." Technically, a brick is multiple forms of workouts performed back-to-back (usually for triathletes/duathletes in training...swim/bike, bike/run, run/bike/run, etc.).

Biking 15 (hilly) miles at lunch, running 3 (flat) miles in the evening

Friday was Bike to Work Day...but I forgot about that until I was half way there in my car (and already running late). I decided to ride my bike back to work after lunch, though. Holy Screaming Saddle Sores, Batman! The DOMS of my shins had nothing on the saddle sores of my booty! An advantage of small-town living is that the commute to work is not far...for me it's about a 7-mile round trip from my driveway. Thankfully, the saddle sores were manageable after the first few minutes.

Saturday brought with it a morning of volunteering at a small, local 5K. I got to hang out on one of the corners and ring my cowbell. I may have even stopped, dropped, and planked in between runners.

After the race, Barb and I met up to knock out some training miles. This was going to be our first "summer temps" run. Not an ideal situation, starting our run around 10:15AM, but both of us helped with the race, so that's how it played out. We were able to get in 10 miles, then called it a day. Barb needed to meet her daughter, and I was ready for a break. My right heel has been acting a little wonky recently. It feels fine when running, but feels a little "off" walking and standing. I didn't want to overdo it. Besides, some of us made (spontaneous) plans to meet up that evening for a Full Moon Run, so I knew I'd be getting more miles in anyways.

Later, as planned, the Full Moon Run commenced. I headed out and ran a couple miles on my own, then met the others (my husband, Barb, and another friend, Bill). The temps were heavenly (high 60's), the sky was clear, and the moon was bright! We did a fast 5K, and I was pleasantly surprised how effortless those five (total) miles felt (after having run 10 miles earlier). 

Sunday was a day of active recovery. LOTS of garden squats (in the hot sun) and some planking. Are any of you doing the #plankaday challenge? 

Planking in the sun.....life is good!

In other news:

Remember the garden we put in a week ago? We discovered some stray animal had been digging in there and eating some of the leaves off the tomato plants, and left his (or her) droppings in the grass nearby. This is what happens when the dog rolls around in droppings left from said other animal: Emergency bath pronto!

This is what happens when Max rolls in poo.....

Apparently, I have made an impression on a fast food chain. Funny, but I don't recall ever tweeting about anything Long (other than training runs), I don't know too many guys named John (and I'd much prefer to email them than tag them on social media), or Silver (I do prefer it to gold, but don't typically bring it up in conversation). Should I be flattered or insulted? (I'm going with flattered...#glasshalffull)

Earlier this week, my yellow irises bloomed! Aren't they beautiful?

How was your week? Did you get plenty of sunshine? Any cross-training? Have you ever used compression sleeves for DOMS relief?

As usual, we're linking up with Holly from HoHo Runs and Tricia from MissSippiPiddlin for the Weekly Wrap! Please head over and check out all the exciting news!