Grinding It Out

Let's just say it was a week filled with all kinds of grit and grinding.

We're talking random aches and pains, and an out-of-the-blue series of unfortunate events. As always, there's much to be said of having a positive attitude and a willingness to smile when things are sketchy. It is also most beneficial to embrace gratitude and celebrate one's blessings.

After all, our mindset is our own choosing, even when our circumstances are compromised.

Before I dis on the deets, 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 ;-)

So, here's the scoop on what went down, in my little corner of the universe, this week: 

A very sunny (and warm) Sunday...

Prior to Sunday, I'd invested a good 8ish hours of vigorous garden work...lots of stooping, squatting, bending, and crazy yanking and pulling (of weeds and wayward grass). To say that my achy-breaky back was a mess would be a drastic understatement. I started the morning with a therapeutic 3-mile walk, amidst the sunrise, and felt much better. We spent a few hours, over lunch, in celebration of Father's Day (along with my parents and two of our kiddos). I also enjoyed a late-afternoon nap (it was horribly hot and humid, which compounded my exhaustion), and took a nice 2-mile walk after dinner (by then, the humidity had broken and the temps were rather pleasant). 

Never Miss a Monday!

Feeling much rested, I got out Monday morning for a 5K run. Something I don't think to do is to alter my route(s) and cut through some alleys. Wow, I seriously need to do this more often...the gravel is much kinder to the body and the traffic is drastically reduced (duh!). Later, I got in a couple of 1-mile walks at work. By quitting time, the temps had risen almost 30-degrees since sunrise...topping off at 93F, with the feels-like hitting 100F! I did a 2-mile "walk & talk" (via  my cell), and was glistening and glowing like crazy by the time I made it back home.

An early morning Tuesday 2-fer.

The morning started with a stack of upper-body strength workouts (outside, on the deck). Then I grabbed Gustavas...remember him, my mountain bike? With Krystal currently side-lined (awaiting a replacement bike tire), it was Gustavas to the rescue! Poor guy, he'd been sadly neglected since last Fall, so it was great to take him for a quick 5-mile ride before getting ready for the office. I also got in another 1-mile walk, at work, before the temps got too uncomfortable (we came oh-so-close to setting a record high temp for the day).

Double workout Wednesday.

It had been a couple weeks since Barb and I were able to swing a #5at5, but we made it happen Wednesday morning. Yikes, the temps had gone down (mid-60F's), but the humidity was still sky-high.  By mid-morning, though, the humidity had leveled off a bit (so, a couple of co-workers and I were able to do a couple of 1-mile walks without melting). Oh, and let me add that a random "crack" on my left heel decided to split open, somehow (?), overnight. Thankfully, it didn't hurt (much) running, but walking was a much different story of torture if I was wearing anything other than my hiking sandals.

After work, it was time to hit the hilly bike path with Amy. Even though I'd gotten my tire back from the bike shop (and the hubby had put it on my bike), I felt an overwhelming urge to take Gustavas out to the lake instead of Krystal. Keep in mind, he's a mountain bike, so he weighs a good 30+ pounds more than Krystal (who's a hybrid, and very light-weight). We had a good headwind going out, but that transpired to a decent tailwind coming back. In other words, this ride went much better than anticipated! It had been a good two years since I'd ridden him on the path, so it felt good to get in some extra resistance-training on those hills. I rode a few bonus miles, after returning to town, for 16 total miles. Then, I took another 2-mile walk...just because.

Thankful Thursday...

Oh, what a morning! After two rides with Gustavas, I decided it was only fair to rotate Krystal back into the mix. We got in an awe-inspiring 10-mile ride, just as the sun was coming up. That sunrise, though! This is why I have ZERO regrets with my early-morning routine...I simply cannot imagine sleeping-in and missing out on this kind of beauty. There also was some walking (two total miles for the day), and an evening Peloton stack of glutes/lower-body strength work and two more of Tunde's upper-body toners. 

 

Finally it's Friday!

As mentioned in my Runfession post, I'd sustained a nasty burn on my chin (from some wayward pizza grease, Wednesday night). The burn had felt kind of crusty and sensitive all day Thursday, but by Friday morning, it had developed an obnoxious purplish/black scab. I'd also been having some ongoing hip joint/flexor discomfort and it was not in a good mood. The forecast was showing lots of rain for Saturday, so Barb and I decided to take a chance and run Friday morning instead. We met at 5:30, with 5-6 miles on the agenda. My hip issue did feel (somewhat) better after the first few miles, but I thought it best to call it good and finish with four. I made it back to the house only moments before Friday's rain hit.

  

Speed-work Saturday...

The morning forecast was still looking iffy, but I wanted to test my luck with a few miles. It had been a hot minute since I'd seen the track, so I thought it was time for a reunion. The Grinnell College track is just over a 1/2-mile from my driveway, and it's open to the public much of the time. I seldom take advantage of it, though, because I don't have much affection for running in small circles (all in the same direction, none the less). That said, I know there are many benefits to running on a track, the least of which (for me) is building mental strength. 

Here's what happened:

**1/2-mile warm-up (getting there)

**4 x 400m (with 400m recovery)

**1/2-mile cool-down (the return trip back home)

My pace splits were 7:04 / 7:29 / 7:35 / 7:33. Nothing  grandiose, but it gives me a baseline. It was my best effort on a slick track (overnight rain), mega-muggy weather conditions, and a tired body (with still some hip issues at play). My best effort is good enough for me, LOL. And, I almost beat the rain...it didn't start sprinkling until I was about two blocks from home.

What's on tap for Sunday?

We're headed out, Sunday mid-morning, for a long ride with our friends, Mike and Amy. I'm staying out of the running shoes, but plan on a sunrise walk before we load the bikes and hit the road. That said, I'll most likely be a bit tardy reading/commenting on the blog linkers, but I promise to be caught up before bedtime. 

All in all, it was a decent week in terms of fitness, but it felt like I had constant non-running-related discomforts on the daily. Thankfully, the annoying heel crack is almost healed now and the chin burn is looking (and feeling) much less scary. The hip joint/flexor isn't any worse, but I'm going to keep my eye on that so I don't aggravate it further (I have a July 4th 5K and a 10K a few days later). I kept the running conservative (15 miles), while biking saw 33 miles, and walking had 17 miles. For strength work, there was one lower-body session, and two upper-body sessions. Plenty of core, and daily planking, leg lifts, and push-ups. Onward!

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

#Maintaining #NoComplaining

National Selfie Day! Let's Celebrate!

Some Summer Fun 'Fessions

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair. I have had this flowy, pailsey-print top for many years, and I just cannot let it go. I love the color combo of the light teal with brown. I love the jeweled "medallion" detail below the v-neckline. And, I love the style of it...it can go casual or dressy depending on what I pair with it. Do you have any wardrobe pieces like that?

Here's another peek into my garden...

While I love the bright colors of my annuals (I'm looking at you, impatiens and geraniums), there's something special about the subtle splash of color from all the perennials that reoccur each year. This year, though, it seems that most of those perennials are blooming sooner than usual and not staying in bloom very long. This week's highlights...the purple cone flowers, the first of the many hostas, and achillea the pearl (brought from our Michigan house, 20 years ago!).

So, that's another wrap of another week of action. Can you believe we're closing in on the end of June...already?

How did your week play out? Any training highlights? Any struggles? Any races? 

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