About Me

Sunday, August 8, 2021

Rise & Shine, Rinse & Repeat


Sometimes, you just gotta keep rising, shining, and showing up.

Even when you're a victim of late night (Olympic) star gazing, staying on track (no pun intended) is beneficial. That said, a few aches and pains will come and go...it certainly helps having a beautiful sunrise, on occasion, to brighten one's spirits.

Such was the case this past week. 

Before I share all the bright and shining moments, 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:

Sunday Sunny Sunday
You know what they say...A hazy sunrise is still a sunrise (or maybe that's just me?). The new month, week, and morning  began with a short and easy 2-mile recovery run. I returned back to the house to find the hubby and Max waiting for me...so a 2-mile walk was next on deck. In the afternoon we spent a few hours loading (and unloading) furniture for the youngest daughter's new apartment, for the new semester, at ISU. Never a dull moment.


Never miss a Monday
I have been craving a sunrise ride, even though the temps (low 60F's) were a bit on the chilly side for riding in the early morning hours. I saddled-up Gustavas and hit the road anyways for 6-1/2 miles before work. Later, the weather was #TotalPerfection for three post-workday miles in the running shoes.


Another typical (easy-peasy)Tuesday
Nothing grandiose on tap, and my body was still feeling a bit fatigued from Saturday's 15-miler.  There's nothing like some walking, plenty of water, and warrior-posing for the (active) recovery win. Oh, and there may also have been 10 more miles with Gustavas after work. 


Double workout Wednesday
You know the drill...up and at it for the weekly #5at5 with my buddy, Barb. The sky was a bit overcast, so the delayed sunrise was more than obvious this week. Apparently, I have been in denial of the diminishing daylight hours...but it was a total buzzkill digging out the Noxgear vest after a brief summer sabbatical.


Later, I met up with Amy for our weekly hilly ride on the bike path. Although the temps were warm (it is still summer, after all), the humidity was more manageable. But that wind! At least it was a cool breeze for those 15 miles, and it wasn't a constant headwind.


Low-key Thursday
We'd had rain overnight, and it was in the forecast for most of Thursday. Fortunately, I was able to squeeze in a quick 1-mile walk in between the morning showers. By the afternoon, the rain had moved on, so I also got in two more miles of walking after work, and a short upper-body strength session before bedtime.
   

Finally Friday
After a few days of mild temps, the summer heat and humidity returned. The hubs joined me for a couple of morning miles. We may not be as fast as Usain Bolt, but we can emulate him LOL There also was some walking and more upper-body work in the evening.
 

Long Run Saturday
Let's just say I can do hard things, and I can (usually) muster a smile as I do so. These 10 miles were tough...my body was tired, my right hip/groin (vicinity?) was a little funky, and it was a humid mess outside (72F, with 92% humidity at 5:30AM, thank you very much). I ran three miles before meeting up with Barb. I was hoping to knock out 12 total miles, but called it at 10 and walked Mile 11 back home. I'm guessing all of my late-night Olympic-viewing shenanigans had finally caught up with me. But, the sun was breaking through the clouds as I finished, so there's that. Truly, though, I'm grateful for each and every run, even the tough ones. Not everyone has that privilege.
 

As for Sunday...
I might go for a short recovery run with the hubby, to see how the hip/groin thing is feeling. Then again, we have a rainy day in the forecast, so I might not. If the rain clears, there may be a late afternoon bike ride. None the less, there will be plenty of stretching, foam rolling and Theragun'ing.

 So, all in all, a decent week. Running had 21 miles, and walking saw 16. Biking took a bit of a hit with no "long" ride this week...and that's alright (though a long ride would have served me much better than the 7-hour roundtrip car ride - to a family reunion  -on Saturday). As for my training, I'm closing in on the long-long runs for my marathon, and there's 17 on deck for next weekend. Onward!

In case you missed out, here's what else went down on the blog this week:

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair. While I don't have the cheetah-like speed of the Olympians (can I just say, again, how much I'm in awe of them?), I can still embrace my cheetah-print fashion. Friday was one of those horribly hot outside/frigidly cold inside kind of days, so a little extra "fluff" around the neck made me feel a tad bit warmer at the office. 


Remember these sunflower seedlings from a few weeks ago? I finally got them in the ground this week (only about two months too late). Fingers crossed some of them take root. I have a mere $1.00 invested in the package of seeds, but a whole lot of patience in their delicate nurturing care. This weekend's rain will probably be a good thing for them.


Anyways, that's the latest and greatest. We're already a full week into August...how did that happen? And, I can now officially say my marathon is "next month," how did THAT happen???

Tell me about your week...
Any great workouts? Any tough runs? Any races?


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32 comments:

  1. You are an inspirations with all these long distance runs in this period of the year. And now another month before the "main event"!!!!
    I also have the sunflowers in my garden but they are little because my wife put the seeds in 2 flower pots instead of the ground.
    No races at the moment. The next will be in Rome on oct. 3rd.

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    1. I just never got around to getting the seeds in the ground. I'd meant to plant them elsewhere, but the hubby wasn't able to get a bunch of wayward grass and bionic weeds cleared out...so I just kept procrastinating until starting the seeds indoors. It'll be interesting to see if these take, and how much they actually grow this late in the season.

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  2. Great job this week! Those long runs are tough when you're just not feeling it. It's so sad to break out the reflective gear again...makes me feel like summer is ending!

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    1. I'm really sad about summer ending. It'll still be pretty warm here for awhile, but the daylight thing is a buzzkill. I do love the change of seasons, but Summer always gets the short end of the stick...so to speak.

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  3. I'm sure your normal high energy will return next week without the late night Olympic shenanigans! And even though you were tired, you got a lot accomplished!

    Grow little sunflower seeds, grow! Perhaps cheering them on will help! LOL

    Thanks for the linkup and have a great week!

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    1. My back has been so achy! I know most of that is from all the couch time I've had couch time (and subsequent dozing for extended periods in awkward positions while there). It will be nice to get back to "normal" without out those later-than-usual evening obligations.

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  4. Great week of activity for you as per usual. I hope your hip/groin calms down. No time for that in your busy life!

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    1. I'm hoping it's all a fluke as well. Thankfully, it's nothing painful (so far), but definitely feels "awkwardly off."

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  5. Oh, I hope your hip/groin issue was just a fluke. I vote for a day off today to hedge your bets! Now that the Olympics are ending, I need to get back to a better bed time!

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    1. My sleep has been so jacked; it wasn't exactly great before all these Olympic late nights anyways.

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  6. Sounds like a rainy Sunday will be good for your hip/groin! I hope your sunflowers take off. The hubs planted a bunch but the squirrels ate all but one. That one is about 5 feet tall now.

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    1. I have planted sunflowers in the past, and they seldom ever get beyond a couple inches due to the critters. We had a huge sunflower, 20+ years ago, in Michigan that was taller than us with the kids sitting on our shoulders. That was really a cool sight!

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  7. Good luck with the sunflowers! They are always so cheery. No doubt something would eat them in my yard.

    Hoping whatever feels off feels better soon.

    Sometimes it's just not worth draining yourself to get in those last few miles!

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    1. The weird hip/groin thing feels much better today, but still is there. I did do a short 2-miler, and the only time I really noticed it was when I was running on an incline. I'll be doing a bunch of rolling and stretching today to give it some TLC ;-)

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  8. BOO on hip/groin. Hope it settles down.
    There's something about a hazy sunrise, I feel like Momma N is telling us she gets the morning sleepies as well.
    Weather Pefection, however we each define it, is the best kind of weather. We were spoiled rotten this week.

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    1. We've had a lot of hazy (and smoky) sunrises recently, and I think they're pretty spectacular...at least from an artsy-fartsy point of view.

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  9. I just realized that my races are happening soon too fingers crossed! solid week of training for you as usual Hope your hip feels better this week

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    1. Once we turned the calendar page on August...a lot of things got real LOL

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  10. Which marathon are you doing again? Mine is next month as well (Fargo). Training lately has been tough though. That humidity man..whew! Way to power through and hope you feel more rested next week!

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    1. I'm doing the Air Force Marathon (Dayton OH), Sept. 18th. The humidity is tough to fight through, no doubt!

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  11. How is your marathon that soon?? Lovely strong pics, love them. My big news this week is that I went back to parkrun volunteering, and it was fine. And so lovely!

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  12. Glad I'm not the only one! I was tired all week from staying up late for the Olympics! I don't regret it though- if I hadn't watched I would now be sad that I missed it.
    I'm excited for your upcoming marathon! Time is really speeding by. Hope your hip thing is resolved. Have a great week of training!

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    1. Thanks, Jenny ;-) The hip/groin (or WHATEVER it is exactly) is feeling much better today. I'll have just a short run tomorrow, and then a day off before the #5at5 on Wednesday. I have been cutting my cool-downs/post-run stretching short, and that wasn't smart.

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  13. We've been all over the place with watching the Olympics. They are all on our DVR so we pick and choose events. I really liked the skateboarding because I was around a lot of that sport when I was a teen. So cool to see their skills! The men's marathon finish was also very inspiring. Up to 17 miles for the long run next week? Exciting! Those humid runs are tough.

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    1. I totally missed the men's marathon, but did see the final 5-6 miles of the women's. These Olympians are practically non-human with their strength, stamina and speed...so inspiring!!

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  14. Hopefully the hip/groin behaves so that you have no problem with your training. Noxgear already? No, I am not ready for headlights or anything like that in the morning.

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    1. I get about six weeks, mid-summer, when it's just getting light out at 5:00AM...so I can leave the vest at home. Sadly, that window of "early-early" morning light has closed. With the cloud cover, last week, we didn't really have any semblance of daylight until almost 5:30. Total buzzkill....

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  15. You've really been putting in the work over these past few weeks - I'm proud of you #kimtwin! Great job on your long run yesterday. They all can't be great, but you did a nice job of powering through to finish it.

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  16. Great job this week! It is a bummer to see the early morning light start to slip a little.

    I hope your hip/groin settles down.

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  17. Oh, I can't wait to see those sunflowers in bloom!

    I've been in and out of town the last few weeks, and this week is all back to school prep. It's going to be wild!

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  18. Hope there is nothing serious going on. Best to rest it.

    Just love your pics - different pose in each one.

    Yes I had another race - a challenging 5k so races are so fun no matter how you do.

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