Weekly Rundown- The Longest Week
Oof, what a week. It was the 4th Annual road trip to Waco with my son, which was a highlight of the summer for me. Workouts weren’t the priority, but of course there were some! Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Let’s get right into it! Sunday After driving 11 hours on Saturday, we woke up in Gulfport, Mississippi. Our hotel had a gym- with three pieces of equipment. A bike, an elliptical, and a multi-purpose strength circuit machine. I can work with this! Last time I used an elliptical I didn’t like it, but this time I messed around with the controls until I found the perfect settings, and actually had a great 30 minute workout. Then, I did a full-body strength workout consisting of chest press, lat pulldowns, and leg press. I felt really good after this, and ready to sit in the car for nine more hours of driving. Monday Waco! I stayed at my son’s house- one of his roommates hadn’t moved in yet, so I had a room and bathroom to myself. But I had no access to a gym. This would have been the perfect day to go for a run, but I was determined to take time off to rest my cranky calf. I ended up going to the Baylor campus and walking 5 miles- it wasn’t a run, but the next best thing. Tuesday Several short walks today, one of them with my son’s roommate’s dog. That one consisted of a lot of fast walking, interspersed with periods of standing still while the dog sniffed everything in sight. I enjoyed it though! And, I did my hip stability exercises and deadbugs. Wednesday Boo hoo! I had to say goodbye to my son and fly back home today. I really needed an infusion of joy, so there was only one thing to do- my calf felt good, and I decided to go for a run. I walked one mile and ran two, with no pain at all. I really needed this before my long travel day- a pain-free run always fills me with hope. I took a bus from Waco to Austin. I got to the airport at 11:30 and my flight wasn’t until 4:30, but there was no way to take a later bus or an earlier flight. That’s okay! The Austin airport has vegan tacos, and I had a good book. I settled down for a pleasant wait. Until… (cue ominous music…) I got a notification that my flight was delayed. Uh oh…I had to make a connection in Houston. My flight was delayed further, and further, and by the time I got to Houston I had missed my connection. Arg! There were no flights to Ft. Lauderdale until the next morning, so I had to spend the night in Houston. By the time I got to my hotel, it was 9:00 pm- I had been traveling for twelve hours and only made it from Waco to Houston, HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE??? I just had to laugh. And, guess what- my flight didn’t allow “full-size” carryons, so I had checked my bag (thanks again, United!) All I had was my backpack, which contained no pajamas and no change of clothes (and no deodorant either, for that matter.) Great. Thursday My flight didn’t leave until 11 am, and the hotel had a gym- but remember I had nothing to wear. If I wanted to work out, I would have had to wear the same clothes I wore the day before, and that I would be wearing again all day. Nope- I have to draw the line somewhere! I got to the airport nice and early (I wasn’t taking ANY CHANCES!) and did an airport walk before my flight. I wouldn’t call it a workout, but it was some nice exercise before getting on the plane to sit again. I made it to Ft. Lauderdale, and after a short delay was able to track down my checked bag (hooray!!!). And then, home, sweet home- only 32 hours after I left. Sheesh! I should have driven back. Friday Oof. I woke up groggy and disoriented, but I knew the perfect cure! Again, I walked a mile and ran two, and again had no pain. Later in the day I did my hip stability exercises. Saturday Bleh. I was really feeling the exhaustion from my week of travel, so I slept in a little before going to work. In the afternoon I did an upper body and core workout, while watching the men’s Olympic marathon. Go Clayton and Connor! They did amazing, both finishing in the top ten. I CANNOT WAIT to watch the women tomorrow! Sunday On tap- another run! If I can make it three in a row with no pain, it will be very encouraging. Fingers crossed! And then- it’s the end of the Olympics, noooooo! My son is gone, the Olympics are ending, and summer vacation is over too- school starts tomorrow! Why does everything have to end at once? Can’t something begin??? (What’s that? Football? Oh yes!!!) Have you been watching the Olympics? Are you sad it’s ending? Do you feel like summer is ending, or are you still in the middle of it? Top photo by Tom Barrett on Unsplash