Chatting Over Coffee....

Shall we chat?

What's the latest and greatest in your little corner of the universe? If we were chatting over coffee, what would you tell me? Let me share a few tidbits from my recent endeavors, and then I'll gladly listen to yours. Fair enough?

First off, holy hot pants, Batman! The weather pendulum has swung to the side of extreme heat. I love the heat as much as the next runner (actually, I probably love it more than most LOL), but even I have had a few "I'm melting" moments as of late.

check out the sweat mark on the headband

Next...how is it that I'm kind of liking speedwork recently? I'm not sure when this transformation took place, but the last few weeks have had me doing some fun stuff (in a rather fast-for-me fashion). I'm a creative gal. I seldom (if ever) color inside the lines. I don't like regimented order or procedure. But let me have some creative license with speed drills, and I'm all over it. I've been fartleking, downhill sprinting, and exploring various mixed-distance intervals. I doubt I'll be setting any Olympic records at upcoming races, but I'm finally having fun "mixing-it-up" with my training.

trying new things...

Can you say DOMS? Oh my glutes, Tuesday's early morning HIIT session left my buttocks hurting like never before. I did two circuits of various squats, lunges, push-ups, and some burpees. It only took me about 25 minutes; I didn't think it was a big deal. Then later that evening, I could feel some aches and stiffness. Wednesday morning almost had me screaming. Thankfully, I was able to run my 5K race without incident, but trying to sit down (or stand up) was pure torture. The DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) hung with me all day Thursday as well, and were finally showing signs of dissipating by Thursday evening.

Here's a snippet of the workout that left my glutes hurting

The sweet taste of redemption couldn't have happened at a more perfect time. As most know, I spent a week hospitalized a year ago at this time, recovering from emergency surgery (as a result of an undiagnosed staph infection). One of the races I had to DNS (Did Not Start) was the Sully Freedom Fun Run 5K. I had run this race in 2014, 2015, and 2016....all three times finishing in 2nd place in my age group. Nothing wrong with a 2nd AG win, but it was starting to get old. After missing last year, I returned to this race on July 4th, and finally snagged a first place finish!

A first place AG finish, that was a long time coming!

And, lastly, where did all of these races come from? Somehow, a couple more races landed on my July calendar. One race is happening this coming weekend, and it's a race I had never heard of until seeing a flyer for it at my 4th of July race. How's that for a spontaneous registration? The other race is a 15K. Actually, it's a 5K immediately followed by a 10K...in the evening on Saturday, July 14th. I'm also doing the Rock'n'Roll Remix in Chicago on the July 21-22. I am not planning on "racing" any of these with a do-or-die strategy, but I am looking forward the challenge of three continuous weekends of fun. Besides, the 15K will be a perfect distance one week prior to my half marathon in Chicago, right?

just a couple more races...

Anyways, that's what I'd tell you about over coffee. 

How about you? Ever have the DOMS totally take you by surprise, and linger for longer than usual? Have you ever spontaneously registered for a race that was happening three days later?

Since it's the first weekend of the month, I'm linking with Deborah and Coco for the Ultimate Coffee Date. What would you share, if we were having coffee and chatting about life?

I'm also inking this with Meranda and Lacey and Rachel for the Friday Five 2.0.