Weekly Rundown- I Did It.
What a week. I drove my son to Texas, got him moved into his dorm, and drove back alone to Florida. The hardest part was not the driving, or the move-in… it was when I had to say goodbye to him. I’m not worried about him- I think he’ll have a great time- and I know Thanksgiving will be here before we know it and he’ll be home. But this is the beginning of him living his own life, away from us, and it’s painful. I know I just have to get used to it. In the midst of all the craziness there was some running and other workouts! Er, sort of. I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah for this weekly rundown. Here’s how it went! Monday I used to take Monday completely off, but I knew I had to do something this day, because Tuesday would be spent in the car. My time was limited, but I did a pool run- my “pool 5k” workout, where I do a little warmup and then “run” fast for the amount of time it took me to actually run my last 5k. It was short, but got the day started off well. Tuesday Literally spent the whole day in the car. We got started at 7 am and got to Mobile, Alabama around dinnertime. After a quick dinner we relaxed in the hotel room, and just to get myself stretched out I did a 30 minute Peloton yoga class. That felt good after all the driving! Wednesday I was determined to get in a run before getting in the car for another all-day drive. But backing up a bit… my husband generously took it upon himself to book the hotel rooms for this trip, and I told him not to get anything fancy since we wouldn’t be there long. Well… he really took me seriously on this one. Our hotel in Mobile was clean, but lacked almost every amenity, including a fitness center. It was on a busy highway. I would have run in the hotel parking lot, but it was tiny and on an enormous slant. As I said though, I was determined. I walked a little ways down the highway until I got to a cross street. It looked shady, and deserted! Well, it turns out the street was shady, and deserted… and .2 miles long. Noooooooo! But, I ended up making a loop- down the street, through the parking lot of the Goodwill dropoff center, and back through the parking lot of David’s Catfish House Express. That gave me about a .5 mile loop, which I repeated until I had run three miles. Then back in the car for another full day of driving- getting that run in first made all the difference though. Thursday Moved my son into his dorm room at Baylor University! This included trips to Bed Bath and Beyond, Lowes, a grocery store, carrying around a small refrigerator, and many other mentally and physically draining activities. I had imagined myself doing yoga (who was I kidding) or maybe even a Peloton strength class (HA!) that night, but I was clearly delusional. All I could do was fall into bed. Friday Another long day of driving- this time the other direction, by myself. I knew I was going to run, and my hopes and dreams came true when I discovered this hotel had one of these… Obviously I’d rather run outside, but not along the side of the highway or through fast food parking lots. Plus I let myself sleep in a little, and did you know it’s hot in Texas? Ha ha. A nice peaceful run on the treadmill in the AC was just the thing. Another three mile run, and I played around with the paces a little to make it a progression run. Makes the treadmill a little more fun. After this run I had another long day of driving ahead of me, this time back to Mobile. Once again I had imagined doing a Peloton class when I got to the hotel… and once again I just fell into bed. Saturday I got up and did a 15 minute yoga flow before getting into the car. This wasn’t to keep myself in shape, or to get stronger or more flexible… it was to keep my body from turning into a marble statue by the time I got home. I had to drive from Mobile, Alabama back home, and I have to stress that I live in SOUTH Florida. To drive the entire length of the panhandle and then all the way down to almost the end of the state… is a long drive. I literally had a callous on one finger from holding the steering wheel. The thing that really made it go quickly was that my son (as a parting gift) had recommended that I get the audio version of the Harry Potter book I was reading (Goblet of Fire) and that book is so engrossing- I listened to it for almost the whole drive. Sunday Home Sweet Home! Got up and did a five mile run, then… went to work. Because who wouldn’t want to go to work on a Sunday after a 40 hour round trip drive? Just kidding. I had to go in to make up some hours, since I missed so much work this week. That’s okay! I’m only working a half day, and then I’ll come home and collapse. It was an epic week. How about you? Do you like road trips? – This one was a fun adventure, but I’m glad to be home!