Taking Things Easy....

With last Saturday's 10-miler behind me, and an "easy" 5K shakeout run the following day.....my body was craving some down time. So, I did my best to listen to its plea(s) and take things easy. Sort of....

Monday was a day of slow movement. I had run the 10-miler great...not a sprint (ha! not by any means LOL),but I ran it well and came close to PR'ing. My legs felt great for the 5K shakeout run on Sunday morning. But, come Monday? OUCH.

Maybe it was a delayed case of the DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness)....delayed in that the DOMS usually show up within 24 hours after a long run or race (if they show up at all), so to have some achy muscles lingering on Monday morning took me by surprise. I decided to postpone my #nevermissaMonday run until after work instead of the usual right-out-of-bed routine. After hobbling around all day, I arrived home and the hubby asked if he could go with me on my run. Well, of course! We ran approximately 1.5 miles, and my body was ready for rest when we finished.

It's always great to run with the hubby

Tuesday, can you say, "fatigue?" Typically, I have been doing stair workouts on Tuesdays, but elected to give myself almost a complete rest day. I did some leg exercises and ab work before bed (and of course, the usual planking), but that was it.

Also, I came home from work and found a nice little mess....courtesy of our cute, little dog, Max. We usually have our garbage under the sink, inside the cabinet. On occasion, we pull it out, but he's never bothered it or ever shown any interest in it. Well, we accidentally left it out...and let's just say we will NOT be doing that again.

naughty Max!

Wednesday, my achy hammies and wonky hips felt much better.  I know better than to rock the boat, so I kept it inside and did some stair work. I did 100 flights of "double steps" and called it good. My goal was 100 flights or 20 minutes...and I finished in just under 22 minutes, including at least four hydration breaks.  Mission accomplished.

Whew! 100 flights (up AND down) left me a sweaty mess

Come Thursday, things were feeling much better. My friend, Barb, and I ran our #5at5  and I was back home, post-run selfie done, and shoes off before 6:00AM. Not a bad a way to start the day.

5 miles at 5:00AM

Friday was a day spent stalking the weather. With our scheduled departure (destination:Pennsylvania) happening over the weekend, I needed to plan out a pseudo training strategy. Rain was in the weekend's forecast for Iowa, as well as for Pennsylvania. My body was feeling better, but still not 100% recovered. I really wanted to get a long run done before our road trip, but I also rationalized that it still was pretty early in this 26.2 training cycle....in other words, a missed long run would not be deal-breaker in my training (afterall, my marathon isn't until mid-June). If I couldn't swing a long run on Saturday, I could possibly do it a few days later in Pennsylvania. Sound good?

As forecasted, Saturday was a day full of rain. The temps were in the mid-50's, which are not miserable in dry conditions, but with rain? Sorry, not happening. I love to run, but not enough to risk getting sick right before embarking on a week of travel. I decided to dust off 'Milly (my "old" friend, the treadmill). Apparently, she's overheard me talk smack about her. One mile into our 5-mile gig, she abruptly shut down. No lights. No movement. No nothing. WHAT?????  Not sure what to do, I decided to grab my rain gear and just head outside. It wasn't freezing cold, but the rain certainly was not pleasant.  

Spontaneous...heading out into the rain when the 'mill dies on you

As luck (or fate?) would have it, my phone beeped with a notification from Instagram....my gal pal, Gina (from Running Around the Boyz ) tagged me in a photo, and that prompted me to laugh at 'Milly (for what she'd just done) and face Momma N (for what she was currently doing with the wind and rain). I decided to just run three more miles and call it good. Those three miles sort of morphed into a short tempo drill....and I was a sopping wet mess when I returned home...but a satisfied runner.

Take that, Momma N and 'Milly!

And, Sunday? Well, it was a long day spent in a vehicle. This post is going live as we make our 15-hour trek across the country, en route to visit our daughter in Pennsylvania for Spring Break. And to think, some choose to head to the beach. Ha!

So, how was my week? Over all, I spent the bulk of the week feeling a bit achy. The hip flexors have been a bit argumentative lately, and this week they were pretty vocal. It might be time for new running shoes. I may have over-done things with the 5K shakeout run the morning after the 10-miler in Chicago (last weekend). None the less, I could feel my body revolting, so I kept my workouts on the down-low. It's not always easy following my own advice, but I have nothing to prove to anyone (including myself), and it would have been ever so foolish to risk further injury by "being a hero." My weekly mileage (Monday-Sunday) came in at a very conservative 11 miles (due to the shortened "long run" on Saturday and all of Sunday spent in the car). And I'm quite alright with that.

Last week's blog posts (in case you missed them):

Monumental Moments (no thanks to Momma N)

My Favorite DAM Race

Wintrust Lakefront 10-Mile Recap

In other news:

My #fashionFriday post (on my Instagram and my Twitter) reflected my love of all things cheetah (and, of course, bright colors). All of our snow is gone, and I don't think we'll be seeing any more of it until next winter. 

I love a bright tunic with leggings...and a little bit of cheetah never hurts

Several of my blogger gal pals have been chatting and scheming.....there may be some adventures and meet-ups happening later in 2017. Stay tuned.....

#busted #guiltyascharged #anotherreasontosmile

Did you know Thursday was National Puppy Day? Although our little Max is past the puppy age, he certainly has all the energy and craziness (and occasional mischief) of a young pup. We're so glad we rescued him two years ago! 

Doesn't he look like the sweetest, most well-mannered little dude?

Enough about me...how was your week? Have you ever scaled back your training, to allow for more recovery time? Do you strictly follow a training plan, or do you modify it while on vacation? Is all of your snow gone for good?

As usual, I'm linking up with Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap

and Ilka and Angela for the Sunday Fitness & Food Linkup