Weekly Rundown- A Big Week!

Well, it was quite a week!  My daughter was on spring break, I celebrated my birthday, had an epic long run, and oh yes… South Florida is in a frenzy over March Madness!  Thanks once again to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown.  Let’s do this! Monday The week actually got off to a shaky start.  Remember the quad issue from last week?  I hurt it on the bike, and then exacerbated the problem doing squats at the gym on Saturday.  On Monday it was still sore, and I was worried.  I had a big run coming up on Wednesday which I had been looking forward to for a month.  Now I was questioning whether I would be able to do it. I ran 4 miles… My quad felt okay when I was running, but it hurt when I stopped and was tender to the touch.  I was… a little worried, and thought I might have to postpone my long run. Tuesday It was my birthday, and I hoped for a birthday miracle!  My quad felt better when I got up, but still hurt.  I went to the gym for upper body.  Bench press, lat pulldowns, rows… yada yada.  There were some guys there doing super heavy squats, and it hurt just to look at them. By Tuesday night, my quad had improved enough so I decided the long run was HAPPENING.  Woohoo! Wednesday Weeks ago, I told my husband that all I wanted for my birthday was to have this day completely to myself.  He and my daughter were both on spring break, so they didn’t really need me for anything. I got to the trail and was able to start my run shortly after sunrise.  Quite a switch from starting at 9:45 am when it’s already 80 degrees! It was so cool during the first segment that I didn’t even need my ice hat.  Then the sun came out… …and I used all my cooling tricks.  Ice in my hat, in my bra, an ice cube in each hand as I left my “aid station” (car.) This time I had enough ice, enough water, and plenty of fuel.  One big thing I did differently was take in more calories- I had been eating about 100 calories per hour and I found out you should be aiming for 200-300.  So I ate more often and it worked well. I ended up running 23 miles!  That was my penultimate long run before my race.  OH!  And my quad held up just fine.  It was a little achy during the run and VERY stiff after, but not injured.  PHEW. Thursday Getting out of bed, both quads were pretty sore… you know, like they are after a long run!  I opted for a nice long walk, and it felt amazing. Friday Still a little sore, but nothing serious. I had an uneventful 4 mile run. Remember all my complaining about the time change?  Well, I’m really liking the cooler mornings, as I’m now running an hour earlier than before.  I definitely would NOT appreciate this aspect if I lived up north, though. Saturday Day off- although I had my hardest client at work.  This guy wants the deepest pressure possible for a 90 minute massage.  I was tired!  Luckily he’s a nice guy (and only comes in once a month.) So, I can’t believe I used to dislike basketball.  I was obviously insane.  This year I was so sad when football ended that I made a real effort to appreciate basketball, and WOW!  It’s so exciting and fun!  And there are two Florida teams in the playoffs- FAU and University of Miami.  FAU is right in our town and is my HUSBAND’S ALMA MATER- how exciting! Of course we had to do a special meal for the FAU game tonight. I wanted to do a theme like I did for the Super Bowl, but couldn’t think of what food South Florida is known for (shouldn’t I know this???). All I could come up with was seafood, so I made our favorite Vegan Lobster Rolls.  Sunday On tap- leg day at the gym!  Ahem.  I will not be doing squats- I think I still have PTSD from last week.  But I have to do some lower body.  I’ll take it slow and ease into it… I’ll do whatever I can do. And then… more basketball!  Once again I’m thinking about a theme dinner for the UM game… this recipe for Cuban Black Beans sounds good. How was your week?  Did it feel like spring? Are you watching March Madness? – FAU is in the Final Four!