Weekly Rundown- And Then the Cyclone Hit…
Oof! After two nice, calm weeks, I was reminded in no uncertain terms that oh yes- I have two kids who suddenly had enormous needs. My daughter started camp, and the logistics of getting her back and forth were much more complicated than school. My son had to get ready for a summer music festival in Tennessee, and also… we bought a car! I still managed to squeeze in most of my workouts. Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Let’s just see what the week was like… Sunday A long run! I decided to leave my hydration vest at home, and get my water from some water fountains instead. In order to make sure I got my water, I ended up running a little longer than planned- that’s okay, I’m happy to run 10.5 miles! In spite of my best intentions, I didn’t get out as early as I wanted- why is that so hard for me? But the heat didn’t really get to me. I was aware that it was hot, but felt strong for the whole run. I’m hoping this means I’m acclimated to the heat now. Monday My yoga day! I did a 30 minute yoga flow, as always on Peloton with Denis Morton. Tuesday My “run sandwich” ended up being open-faced today. I started with a 20 minute glutes and legs strength class with Matty Maggiacomo, and then did a two mile run. Normally I finish with another strength class, but had to transport my daughter to camp and then get to work. I hoped to do another strength class after work, but we ended up buying a car. Yes, we just thought this was the perfect time to purchase a car. JUST KIDDING. It’s probably the worst time in the history of cars to buy a car, but a year ago we told our son we would get him a car for his sophomore year, not realizing how difficult it would be. Well, he organized his life on the assumption that he would have a car, arranging to live in an apartment off campus, so we felt we needed to follow through. After much searching and gnashing of teeth, we found a 2019 Kia Soul with reasonably low mileage that was mysteriously in our price range. When we went to look at the car, the mystery was solved- it has several dents and some rust. Someone really treated this car roughly! The interior was nice and the engine is in great shape, but my husband felt a car with that many dents shouldn’t cost that much. Well… after pricing other cars for a week, we decided a few dents never hurt anyone! Luckily the car was still available, so we bought it. My son doesn’t care that it’s dented- he’s more interested in the interior (it’s roomy enough for his 6’5″ frame and it connects to Apple car play.) He has his priorities! Wednesday Speed work! After a mile warm up, I ran 3 x 1 mile at 5K pace. I wrote some thoughts about pace here. As usual, the negative thoughts threatened to take me down- in the middle of the second mile I was thinking “Why am I training for a race, anyway? I’m not an Olympic athlete! Maybe I should just run for fun instead.” In the beginning of the third mile I wanted to quit, but I was ready this time. Here’s what I’ve discovered: It doesn’t work to try to reason the negative thoughts away. If I argue with myself, the voice that wants to quit will always win. Instead I have to focus on something else so the negative thoughts don’t get in. This time, I used one of my favorite mantras: “I’m strong, I’m good at this, I can do it.” I repeated that over and over again. I also focused on getting just to the next telephone pole, then the next one, then the next one. I felt like I was slowing down, but kept pushing and when my watch beeped for the mile (thank God, finally!) I was right on pace. I felt really good about this run, and then did my favorite Rebecca Kennedy core class. Thursday I have a favorite 30 minute Matty Maggiacomo glutes and legs strength class- but today I did his 20 minute class from 7/29/21, and it’s now my favorite of his 20 minute classes. He calls this class “Lunge-a-palooza.” and I like lunges! I also did pull-ups, and a 5 minute core class. THEN, I did a Denis Morton’s 20 minute yoga flow from 9/1/21. I chose this class randomly, but out of sheer luck it turned out to be the perfect class to do after Lunge-a-palooza. It was a hip opener class, with pigeon and lizard poses- lots of great stretches. Friday Started the day with a nice, easy three mile run… …followed by a Jess Sims core class. Then, the insanity began. I worked all day, and meanwhile my son was supposed to be packing for his festival. I arrived home to find the entire living room in disarray, with the suitcase open and empty and clothes everywhere. But, we had no time for that because we had to drive up to my daughter’s camp to hear her concert. Proud parent moment! It was a music camp, and she played guitar in a jazz band. It was the first time she performed an improvised solo. Okay, she didn’t sound like a professional musician, but she’s only thirteen! I was so touched by all the kids who were brave enough to stand up in front of an audience and play an improvised jazz solo- it brought tears to my eyes. I love these concerts. On the drive home, the conversation went something like this: (son) “Mom, where are those extra long twin sheets I brought to the FSU camp five years ago?” (me) “I don’t know! Why?” “Well, I need to bring them to Tennessee