Sunday, October 10, 2021

Back in the PINK of things


 How is it that we're already a full week into October???

Thankfully, the weather felt like a continuation from the previous week's return-to-summer party. Granted, it wasn't quite as warm (until the weekend), but it definitely felt more like late-summer than early-fall. Add in all the pink colored stuff everywhere, and it was a pretty-in-pink kind of week.

Before I share all the pink details, 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 in my little corner of the fitness universe this week:

Not my typical Sunday...
To pick up from where we left off last week, the hubby, myself, and our friend had spent a whirlwind weekend in the DC/Baltimore area. We'd witnessed a big Iowa Hawkeye victory over the Maryland Terrapins (late) Friday evening, I'd run a virtual 5K with Deb, we'd hung out with our son, and spent the greater part of Sunday in airports and airplanes. Going through TSA, in DC, this feathered traveler (below) had all of us smiling. I took it upon myself to pay-it-forward, while in line at the Starbucks...only to find out our incoming plane was late, causing our flight to be delayed...and then having to spend a good four hours in Detroit before another plane could fly us back to Des Moines. Oh well (#FirstWorldProbs). I estimated about three miles of airport walking, and then another short walk with Max after arriving home late Sunday afternoon.



Never miss a Monday!
Still feeling a bit groggy from the weekend's adventures, I knew the best remedy would be to just get outside and get moving. I may have slept a bit later than usual (like until actually 6:00AM), so I didn't make it outdoors until 6:20 (or thereabouts). Just a couple of easy miles, in the fresh air, had me rejuvenated and ready for a long day at the office. 

After work, I'd thought of going for a bike ride, but the wind was not playing nice. Then, I got the invite to join some gals for pickle ball. I rode over to the court (about a mile), and then spent 70-ish minutes chasing the ball and swinging and hitting with vigor. The game is kind of a combination of tennis, ping pong and badminton; and played on a court similar to a tennis court. I think I'll really like the game once I figure out the scoring system.
  

Easy-peasy Tuesday-Schmooze Day
My legs were feeling a bit tired after the rousing pickle ball match. Tuesdays are usually a low-maintenance day anyways, so I got in a 2-mile walk as the sun was starting to rise, with plans for an after-work bike ride.


Later, the wind (again) was having an attitude. The temps were chilly and there were a few sprinkles hitting the windshield on the drive home. Yuck. I decided it was time for a reunion with Sebbe. Remember him, my stationary bike? After 50ish minutes of somewhat high-speed pedaling, my legs felt both tired and refreshed at the same time. I like it when that happens! 


Another double workout Wednesday.
Nothing out of the ordinary for this week's #5at5...cloudy skies and damp air, but very comfortable temps. No complaints! 


After work it was time (again) for another adventure on the bike path with Amy and Barb. This was ride #18 (getting ever close to the big 20!). We (begrudgingly) fought the wind. We (somewhat) conquered the hills. And we (joyfully) beat the rain. 


Triple Threat Thursday (and then some).
Somehow, this day got away from me. It started innocently enough with some upper-body strength work and a 1.5-mile walk before heading to the office. Then there were a couple more miles walked at work, and a quick walk with Max over lunch. I'd planned on meeting a friend (Sandy) for pickle ball, so I did an 8-mile ride before hitting the court. We "pickleballed" for a good 80 minutes (this time singles). Back home, I decided to ride a few (or 12) more miles with Sebbe, then did a little more upper-body strength work. Then, I hit the sack.


A Friday fitness 'fession...
I may have overdone it a bit on Thursday. While I didn't feel overly exhausted Friday morning, I knew my body needed some downtime and TLC. I did some early-morning stretching and foam rolling, walked a mile on my morning break, and walked two miles after the work day had finished (it was 80F, and I just couldn't stay  inside). I did even more stretching and rolling in the evening...and nothing more.


A full-day Saturday
With the IMT Des Moines Marathon weekend looming (I'm running the 5-mile race next Saturday and the 13.1 on Sunday), I thought it best to get in one last "long" training run. After all, I hadn't done a long run since the 11-miler on September 18th. I left the house a little after 6:00, ran just short of four miles, and met up with Barb for six more miles. Thankfully, the temps were perfect, the miles felt good, and I finished the 10 miles with a 10:15 average pace. I'm good with that! Afterwards, there was a lot of stretching and rolling, and then several miles of "football game/tailgate" walking. (see below).
  

What's on tap for Sunday? I'm planning on an easy day of walking and some bike riding. There may be some serious salsa-making as well (#TooManyTomatoes).

The week played out well, though it did feel rather "active" with the addition of pickle ball squeezed into the mix. Running was borderline conservative with 17 miles, walking had 21 miles, and biking had 49 miles. The two strength sessions were fairly short (less than 20 minutes), but that's the way I like them. I'd rather do short (but intense) sessions than longer sessions (with a lot of "recovery" time in between the various exercises).

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

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair! In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I'm showcasing the color pink as much as possible. After all, there are so many varieties of it, the options are quite plentiful. I love the pop of color it gives to a cheetah print blouse...almost makes the blouse look like a "neutral" piece.

Saturday was a big day for football in the state of Iowa. The #3 rated Hawkeyes hosted the #4 rated Nittany Lions of Penn State. My gal, Kim (from KookyRunner), is a Penn State alumni so the two of us texted back and forth a few times while the game was happening.  


...but in real life, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, things were CrAzY! This game was intense from the opening kickoff. Penn State lead for most of the game until Iowa was able take the lead with about six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Iowa fans were decked out in their requisite black and gold (and even had the designated colors "assigned" to the various sections of seating), and they were louder than a rock band (and I have been to many a rock concert LOL). Penn State turned the ball over, in the final seconds, and the clock ran out...and the fans stormed the field.



Finally, RoadID has brought back their limited edition pink collection for October. For every Pink ID sold, $10 is donated to the American Cancer Society. These are available for you, your loved ones and your furry friends. Last year, $40K was raised towards finding a cure for breast cancer...wouldn't it be great to surpass that number this year?


So, there you have it! Another week all wrapped up and tied with a bow. I'll be keeping the running very conservative this week, since I have the two races next weekend. I'll be spending some time on the bikes (great recovery as well as low-impact cardio), and will need to give some thought to how much pickle ball I actually have time for vs. how much is too much. Stay tuned...

How did your week play out? Any races, in-person or virtual? Ever heard of, or played, pickle ball? Have you ever stormed the field after a big victory?


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37 comments:

  1. Well done on a busy week after your weekend away and delays! I also had to do a long run this week as I have my half-marathon on Sunday 17th - I wasn't sure I was up to it after my overtraining issue and big cut back but managed to knock out 10.5 miles OK (at a weird time, too, but it meant I could meet friends for the middle bit!). My friend I'm doing the half with went one better and worked in a proposal to her girlfriend in strava art during her practice run!! Enjoy Taper Week!

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    1. Oh, that's exciting news about the proposal, via Strava art!

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  2. Overdo it? You? lol, another busy week for you. Big 10 Football is sure fun this year!

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    1. Yes, I think we've all been guilty of overdoing it at one time or another. Runners probs LOL!

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  3. Wow! That is definitely a whole lot of activity. I'd want to get out if it were 80 too, but it's way cooler here & even though it's supposed to get a bit warmer next week, not nearly that much. OTOH, the mosquitoes seem gone & that makes me happy.

    There are a lot of people here who love pickleball, but I've never tried it.

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    1. Now that you mention it, I don't remember having any issues with mosquitos this summer. I'm sure they were out there, but I must have chosen the right times of day(s) to miss them. WHEW! Crisis averted, ha!

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  4. What a fun run of football games you’ve had! I agree that a walk or run outside is the best way to recover from a travel day. Woohoo on that 10 miler!

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    1. We have been having a blast following our Hawkeyes this season! We didn't make it to any games last year (obviously), so this season has us feeling SO appreciative ;-)

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  5. It sounds like you've found another fun way to crosstrain with pickleball;-) I love the pink. Congrats on a very busy week and I'm sure that you'll have some good racing next weekend.

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    1. I'm looking forward to the weekend! The Des Moines Marathon is such a great event! Pickle ball really has been a lot of fun ;-)

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  6. That's so great you're playing pickle ball! That Penn/Iowa matchup looked like it could go either way for awhile. I'm still gloating that GaTech beat Duke (MIL's fave) this weekend, haha! So exciting! Love the raspberry/cheetah combo!

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    1. Yay for Ga Tech!! Yes, the Penn/Iowa game was looking kind of sketchy for the Hawks until the fourth quarter...glad they were bale to pull that one off!

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  7. Pickle ball is pretty popular down here, although I've never played it. It sounds really fun! Yes, you'll have to figure out how it fits into your already busy schedule.
    Baylor also won yesterday, although the game wasn't quite as exciting (and we were watching it in our living room.) You're lucky to be able to go to the games!

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    1. We love Iowa football (actually most any NCAA football for that matter). I'm not usually too keen on making it to so many games, but it's been a fun ride thus far. The Iowa Hawkeyes are now 6-0, and I think Penn State was going to be their toughest game of the season, so hopefully their momentum will continue.

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  8. Here tennis and padel are more popular but many people play pickball too. I have never tried and I cannot try because of my injured shoulder.
    2 races in 2 days, you are superwoman!!!!

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    1. Apparently pickle ball has been around for many years, but I had never heard of it until the past few years. It's a lot of work, especially playing singles! I can see how a compromised shoulder would not be an ideal situation for the game.

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  9. What a great game; although I missed the exciting end because I'd turned the channel to watch our game. And yes, we stormed the field after our final seconds win over Nebraska several years ago!

    You had a great week of workouts. Enjoy your easier week as you cut back for your races!

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    1. It would have been fun to storm the field, but we were high enough up (row 59), it would have taken us forever to get down there. The field was covered, full to capacity, within seconds, so I don't know where we could have even gone LOL

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  10. Another super busy week for you. I've never played pickle ball but it has become quite popular around here. Maybe I should give it a try. Good luck with your races this week!

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    1. Pickle ball is a lot of fun, but I only have two evenings of play to go by. It's definitely a good cardio option!

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  11. That game was a good one! My dad is Penn State alum so I've been cheering for them since I was a kid :)

    You had another great week of workouts - love how pickle ball has been added to the mix!

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    1. The game was fun, but so INTENSE! Penn State has always had a strong football program, especially during JoePa's reign. This was a huge victory for Iowa...it's been awhile since we've beaten Penn State (even at home).

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  12. Hanging out at the airport with long delays is exhausting! Glad you took it a little easy in the beginning of the week to recover but hitting it hard later on! Good luck at the races next weekend!

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    1. Travel is SO exhausting to me, whether it's on a plane, sitting in an airport, or riding in a car. It's fun to travel, but it requires its own kind of recovery LOL

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  13. Pickle ball is very popular with the older folks because you don't have to move much. I like tennis better but there will be a day when I'll have to play it. lol

    What an active week! Love all the pink too.

    That was so cool to connect with Deb and do a in person virtual race.

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    1. Playing doubles wasn't as hard, but playing singles was pretty busy! Thankfully, the ball moves slower than a tennis ball (due to the "wiffle" holes), so that gives one a little more reaction time to race across the court to return it. Fun game!

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  14. Sounds like a good week, although BOO!! to flight delays. I know its first world problems but its so annoying. :)

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    1. Yes, the flight delays are annoying because you're totally stuck there. Oh well, I got up and did some power walking and that was a nice distraction for awhile LOL

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  15. Sounds like a good week! Sometimes I overdo it too- I just love to do all the fitness things!

    I hope to go to some games now that I live in the northeast and closer to more football stadiums! I love to storm the field after a big victory, I was happy the Saints won today <3

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    1. The filed was completely covered with people within only a few minutes...it was SO CRAZY!

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  16. They do have some pickle ball courts around here, but I've never played. It sounds really fun though! I don't really like to run around so much with tennis!

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    1. Well, when I played singles (Thursday evening), there was a lot of running around for that LOL Playing doubles, not so much. I'm looking forward to learning more about the game, though. There are few different sites with indoor courts here, so that will be a fun thing to do through the winter.

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  17. It sounds like a really good week! And a fun game. We have a pickle ball here, but I've never played!! It really does sound like fun. I don't have a very good hand eye coordination, so I think I will stick to running.

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    1. My hand-eye coordination is pretty decent for some things, like drawing/painting and racket sports. I'm also ambidextrous. Give me a basketball and ask me to dribble, though, and it's pathetic LOL

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  18. I've never heard of pickle ball but sounds really interesting! My boss used to travel a lot for business and some of his common passenger-mates in business class were Falcons (and their handlers), especially if he was flying through Dubai! I was always shocked when he told me and especially when he said they travelled in business!! The good life, LOL!

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  19. it was nice texting with you on Saturday about the game, even if I didn't like the result, lol. Saturday was a huge college football day overall so it was nice to be part of that.

    I've never heard/played pickle ball but it sounds cool!

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  20. Pickleball! I am glad you found something you love. There are actually some courts a few miles away, but I don't play.

    Love all your pink! I got a pink on pink Road ID and I love it. Your outfit is so cute.

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