Sunday, November 4, 2018

Back in Maintenance Mode



Back in maintenance mode.

Sounds rather boring, considering the past several months of non-stop action, right? Alas, "maintenance" is a step above "rallying back" (I've been there before) and certainly more desirable than "starting over." I'm good with that. Onward!

Although  I'm still riding the marathon recovery bus, I was able to bring back a few good tried & true things to my routine. Here's what had me moving and shaking this past week:

#nevermissaMonday
The temps were chilly in the pre-dawn hours, but were forecast to be much warmer by afternoon...so I did a power walk in the wee hours, and opted to do my run after work. I was rewarded with temps in the low 60's by late afternoon. How about a few miles, back in shorts? Sold!
The leaves are looking mighty colorful right now in Iowa
Typical Tuesday
Not much on tap for Tuesday...a couple miles of power walking with Max in the early hours, and some stretching.
twisty stretches are my favorite
A wiped-out Wednesday
I met up with Barb for our weekly #5at5 (five miles at 5:00 a.m.). The temps weren't bad, but boy (oh boy!), was my body a tired and achy mess. By the time I'd reached the 4-mile mark, I could barely lift my feet for each step. We're talking major shuffling. I'm lucky I didn't catch my clumsy feet on any of the pot holes in the dark. And my hamstrings/glutes were feeling pretty ornery as well. I'm just thankful I had the crisp air to keep me alert and the company of a good friend to keep me moving.
Happy Halloween!
Thursday...
It's been a new routine, in the weeks following my marathon, for Max and me to tag along with the hubby to the college workout center. The hubby heads inside and Max and I do our fasted cardio routine...namely, power walking (and stopping & sniffing at most of the lamp posts) on the walkway around the central campus. Back at the house, I did some arm and shoulder work. It had been a few weeks since I had done any focused strength work, so this gave me a good burn!
Hurts. So. Good.
Finally Friday
For some reason, this week had me feeling more tired than usual. A few extra hours at the office, Wednesday's tough 5-miler and (probably) too much sugar on Halloween all were factors in the sluggish week. Ugh. None the less, with an impending weekend getaway on tap, Barb and I decided to meet for a few miles in the early hours Friday morning. How's a #4at530 grab you? Amazingly, these four miles felt good, really good. After Wednesday's struggle fest, I was leery of going very far. I was planning to only run three miles, but things felt good, so we kept going. Redemption? Check YES!
much better!
Saturday...road trip!
The hubby and I road-tripped to West Lafayette for the Iowa vs. Purdue football game. Let me give everyone a heads-up... Iowa and Indiana aren't exactly within close proximity of each other. It was an approximate 6-hour drive, so we were up around 4:30 a.m. for our 5:20 a.m. departure (cue the yawning). We had a great time at the game and the weather was absolutely perfect (low 50F's and a clear, sunny sky). The game, however, didn't end the way we'd preferred...it was a nail-biter in the final minutes and the Boilermakers came out victorious over our Hawkeyes in the final seconds. We'd originally planned on staying in Indiana overnight, but decided to trek back home. Being on a quest for #RunningInAll50States, I did what any self-respecting runner would do....I ran a few miles around the Purdue campus after the game. Mission accomplished.
another Big Ten stadium visited, and another state added to the DONE column
Sunday, a true day of rest
After arriving back home in the (very) early Sunday hours, I took full advantage of that "extra" hour of slumber. None the less, I still awoke with a fatigued body (I blame it on the 12+ hours of car time). I suited up and headed outside for a couple of miles of power walking and returned home feeling much more refreshed and awake. The fall colors are at their prime now, at least in my area. We've waited a long time for autumn to officially arrive in Iowa...it's felt more like early winter. I love a good fasted cardio adventure, and this one was full of all kinds of thought-provoking, feels-good karma.
I'm finally loving our Iowa autumn
All in all, I am really happy with how the week played out. I'm still keeping the mileage on the low end (12+/- miles for running), but am staying consistent with lots of walking (15+/- miles). I'm excited to bring back some routine strength work as my marathon recovery winds down. I'll be phasing in some lower body strength moves in the next few weeks as well. While I have no plans of "increasing" my strength, I do want to maintain what I have and stay in peak condition. I'm also excited to bring back some HIIT workouts! Stay tuned. 

In case you missed them, there were only two posts this week:

In other news:
I have a brief #fashionfession...My #FridayFashionFlair post (on Instagram) actually featured my outfit from Thursday. It also showcased some neutral colors, which is an oddity for me. No harm, no foul. Anyways, I love this comfy cold shoulder sweater and the bulky hand-knit scarf is one of my favorites. As always, please consider joining us on Fridays...post a pic of an outfit (it does not have to be what you're actually wearing that day), grab the hashtag (#FridayFashionFlair) and drop me a tag (@runningonthefly).

With the new month comes new goals. It's been awhile since I've had monthly non-running goals (several months of focused  marathon training can do that to you). Also, since I have no major goal races on the roster (like, ZERO upcoming goal races on the roster), I'm focusing on some other things this month. I'll be doing daily push-ups (50), daily planking (5 minutes instead of the usual 2:30), daily leg lifts (100 each leg), and continued daily stretching and foam rolling.

Did you celebrate Halloween? I'm still a kid at heart, and Halloween is a fun holiday. Seriously, when else can you dress in costume and not get weird stares from people? Several of us at work dressed as hippies....not really a look I embrace for myself, but a fun (and comfy!) costume to throw together.

Finally, we have real feels-like autumn weather in Iowa! I whine a lot about missing my summer temps, but I do love all nuances of autumn (don't worry, I still prefer summer LOL). The trees have just recently started turning, the sub-freezing temps have mellowed and the daily rain has diminished. Currently, the weather is feeling pretty perfect.

And, finally, the youngest daughter had a birthday this week...can you say 19 years old? How did that happen?????

So, that's another wrap of another week. It's hard to believe we're entering the colder time of year, and all these beautiful changing leaves will be giving way to barren trees, covered in snow. I don't plan to spend these final colorful days of autumn inside...it's far too beautiful to NOT be outside.

How was your week? Autumn colors aplenty? Any upcoming races? Maintenance mode for you, too? What's the farthest you have road-tripped for a sporting event (...and did you go for a short run before driving back home?)?

I'm linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap (and also with Marcia this week). This weekly check-in is such a great place to connect with fellow fitness-minded peeps. Please join us!
WWSki-Orange

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31 comments:

  1. I guess you can say I'm in maintenance mode! Just trying to hold on to any fitness I can for now. I've been loving the fall colors lately! It also took awhile for it to start looking/feeling like fall here.

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    1. I love the fall colors, but I don't think they're gonna stick around for much longer. It's so sad to see all the leaves disappear...

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  2. I think we just past our peak colors here. They seem to be a bit later than normal but whatever. Now if we can just hang on to the 40+ degree weather so I can do as much marathon training outside as possible, I'll be grateful. Purdue is one of the schools recruiting my teenager. I sure wish she wanted to go there!

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    1. Although it got so cold here (in September!), our leaves were really late turning as well. I'm definitely staying outside as much as possible, too ;-)

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  3. Dang, look at those abs girl!!!

    This weather has me very conflicted! It's been so beautiful outside that I really want to run EVERY DAY but I need to keep my commitment to myself to stay home and get other things done. I think only 2 or 3 runs a week will suffice sine i am not training for anything. -M

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    1. I'm going to try to stick with 3-4 runs/week for now. I really have NO reason to do anything above or beyond that, and I know my body needs some down time (although my mind is thinking otherwise LOL).

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  4. I totally have ab envy for your strength training photo - you look fantastic!

    The weather has been back and forth here this week. We had some nice crisp days but then also days when it was almost 70 degrees lol

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    1. Thanks, #KimTwin ;-) I don't do much for ab work other than my daily planking, but I honestly think it's the daily fasted cardio...it's slowly (over the past year or so) whittling away some of the "softness." Our weather is very sporadic, too, making it tough to know how to dress for it.

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  5. There is nothing wrong with maintenance...we all work so hard that sometimes we need to take it easy.

    Is your hubs a Packers fan?

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    1. I agree...we all need maintenance, it just feels kind of boring at the moment in comparison to the past several months of other stuff. We don't really follow any NFL teams, but he got the Packer's jersey at Goodwill (I think?) when he needed a green outfit for one of our St. Paddy's races.

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  6. Maintenance may not be glamorous but it gets the job done. Our colors are slowly fading and we had major wind and rain yesterday so most of the leaves are gone. It's always so sad to see the bleakness.

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    1. Ha ha ha...it's definitely not glamorous LOL, but the maintenance it what my body needs for awhile. I think our leaves don't have much time left either...a little more wind and rain, and it will be barren....

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  7. Wow, that's a long road trip for a single day! I've done 8 hours roundtrip more than once...but not sure how I'd feel about 12.

    I'm enjoying your photos of the autumn colors, since ours are all but gone now.

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    1. Yes, it was insane doing all the driving in one day...but it was the hubby's idea LOL We originally planned to stay in Indiana, but decided (after I finished my run) to just hit the road and head home.

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  8. Yup, maintenance mode here too. I won't be up to 3 miles in time for the 5k, but it's given me something to get motivated for and keep my base for training next month.

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    1. I plan to keeping my 10-mile base as well. I never know when a half marathon just might appear from out of nowhere and call my name ;-)

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  9. Maintenance mode is great but you are always moving. You make me tired LOL

    I am rarely in maintenace because I stupidly sign up for races all the time.

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    1. Well, there are not a lot of races in my immediate area to choose from, or else I'd be racing more than "just" running.

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  10. Those leaves are so pretty! <3 I'm hoping to sneak in one more hike next week to hopefully check out the fall colors before all the leaves disappear!

    The longest I've ever trekked for a race was aboutttt an hour (but I've only ever done 2 races, so I don't have much to compare to, heh heh heh...).

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    1. We have a lot of rain in the forecast this week...hoping it doesn't take all the leaves with it!

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  11. Sounds like a good recovery week for you. The leaves are finally turning down here in GA now that some cooler weather has finally arrived. I ran a 5K yesterday and have one more this month and then I'm "tapering" down the run/walking during my 3rd trimester and will focus on strength & yoga more after this month.

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    1. Our leaves seemed to turn kind of late this year, which is really odd since it was so cold earlier in the season.

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  12. We were gone for five days last week and our leaves turned to their beautiful fall colors while we were gone so we were treated to gorgeousness when we returned! Unfortunately, this weekend's wind and rain are bringing a lot of them down...

    It's about 5.5 hours for us to drive to Virginia Tech; and I can't imagine driving down, watching a game, and driving home the same day. You get fan bonus points for making the trek!

    Happy birthday to your daughter!

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  13. Congrats on a great week of training! I love the cute hat in your Friday photo!! Great job with getting up so early on those mornings...!

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  14. How adorable did you look on Halloween! And I love those neutral colors for a change of pace! Very adorable!

    You guys are beasts! We are going to a Hurricanes game in a few weeks, which is maybe a 5 hour drive. There is no way Mr PugRunner could handle doing the drive, the tailgate, the game, the post party and the drive back in one day. He is already bemoaning that we are only staying over one night.

    Maintenance mode is a great place for you! Enjoy it after all your hard work!

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    1. The maintenance mode feels a little dull right now...but after I get back to some more focused strength work and HIIT workouts (and stair climbing!), I'm sure the boredom will cease.

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  15. I have been in maintenance mode for the past 2 months! I'm back at it this week with a structured program though!! ps-loving your Instagram photos!!!

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  16. Wow, you and your husband are die hard fans to drive 12 hours in a day for a game! (And impressed you fit in a short run!) I hope you could sleep in the car :)

    Fall running is the best, but I'm so anxious about what's to come :( Lots of treadmill for this girl after what happened this year!

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  17. Loving your autumn colours! I'm pleased with how my maintenance mode has set me in good stead for my next big campaign. And great goals for November - strong woman!

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