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Weekly Rundown- Feeling Thankful

Hello and welcome to the weekly rundown, hosted as always by our friends Kim and Deborah.  There are lots of things I love about these weekly rundown posts- one is that it holds me accountable.  Sometimes if I don’t feel like doing a workout- oh, let’s say core, for example- I’ll think about how I’ll feel when I’m writing the weekly rundown and have to admit I was lazy.  That usually motivates me to do it.

I also love reading about everyone else’s workouts!  I get so many good ideas from this online community.  I got excited about trail running from Wendy, motivated to race more by Darlene (just to name a couple) and of course inspired by many others to get the Peloton app.  Not to mention all the great advice I get in the comments here- I could go on and on. Thanks, ladies!

Now on to the week…

Sunday

Ah, such a great run!  I did a new loop that took me from my house to a trail, and then circled back home.  I was thinking it would be around seven miles, but when my watch beeped seven I was still a mile from home.  I assessed the foot situation and all was well, so I continued on to make it an eight mile run.  I loved it.

Monday

I took it easy today with a 30 minute yoga flow class.  Like all my yoga classes, this was on Peloton with Denis Morton.

Tuesday

Started the day with a 3 mile run, followed by a 10 minute core class.  In other news, I got a new Garmin (my old one died a couple weeks ago) so I can now see just how slowly I’m running, ha ha.

Wednesday

I was looking for a harder lower body strength class.  I’ve been doing 20 minute classes, so I upped it to a 30 minute class.  My usual guy, Ben Alldis, doesn’t have any 30 minute classes so I took a chance on Matty Maggiacomo.  I also used 15 pound dumbbells (I had been using 10 pounders.) Well, I got what I wanted- a hard class.

I also did a 10 minute core class and then pull-ups (assisted with a band.) Good strength day!

Thursday

As expected, I was sore today- but in a good way.  I was happy that my hamstrings and glutes were sore- that’s where I really want to get stronger.  Sometimes if I do a class with a lot of squats, I end up with really sore inner thighs.  I already feel like my inner thighs are too tight- if anything I want to loosen them up, and strengthen the other muscles.  So I was happy with my sore glutes and hamstrings!

I did a 3 mile run, and in this run tried to figure out what in the world my 5 mile race pace would be.  I’m running a 5 mile race on Mother’s Day and I have no idea what to expect.  In addition to my recent lack of speed work, I think the last time I did a 5 mile race was…. 20 years ago?

I tried to gauge my “tempo” pace, and came up with around 9:15 (figuring that a tempo pace is a fast-ish pace that you can hold for about an hour.)  A five mile race would be a little faster than that, but then it’ll probably be hotter on race day, so who knows.  At least I have a vague idea where to start.

Followed this run with another 10 minute core class.

Friday

Lately I’ve been running every other day, but I’m at the point where I want to run every Sunday now.  So I either have to take two days off in a row, or run two days in a row somewhere.  I decided to just do a short 2 mile run, followed by a Strength for Runners class on Peloton.

My new Garmin suggested that I run this recovery run at a 14 minute mile pace.  WHAT?  I mean I’m slower these days but not THAT slow.  I can see this watch and I are going to need an adjustment period.

Saturday

I did a 45 minute yoga class which I’ve done once before- it has some hard balance poses and I love it.

After work I did a 10 minute core class.  All the rest of my core classes this week were with Ben Alldis, but this time I just picked the first core class that came up, which was Rebecca Kennedy from 4/29/22.  OUCH.  Ben eases us slowly into his classes with a two minute warmup and activation, but Rebecca started right in- this was a good, hard class.  I like picking core classes at random- if they’re harder, great. A little easier, also great.  Any core class is  better than sitting on the couch eating pretzels, which is what I wanted to do after work.

Sunday

On tap for today- another trail run.  In my last post I “runfessed” that I’ve been taking Advil before my longer runs, and some people seemed to think this was not a great idea.  Okay, okay… I don’t think taking one Advil before one run a week is doing a lot of harm, but on the other hand it’s probably not doing much good either.  So why risk it- I’ll probably skip it for this run and see how it goes!

How was your week?  Are you racing on Mother’s Day?

More Posts

October Ultimate Coffee Date!

Hooray!  It’s the first Friday of the month, which means I’m linking up with Coco and Deborah for the Ultimate Coffee Date.  It’s obviously time to get out the Halloween mugs.  Pour yourself a spooky beverage and join me! The first thing I would tell you over coffee is, tomorrow is my son’s senior recital. We can’t be there in person but will be able to watch it via livestream.  I’m dealing with a cocktail of emotions here: disbelief that he’s a SENIOR in college, nervous for him (I mean, I’m sure he’s well-prepared and will do well, but a mom has to worry), sad that his time at Baylor is coming to an end, and of course- so, so proud of him.  The baby whose nickname was “Li’l Sumo” is now a MAN. So what else is on tap for the weekend?  My husband and I are planning a little at-home “Oktoberfest.”  I’m not quite sure what that will entail, other than beer of course.  My husband is very enthusiastic about the beer- “Let’s make it really cold!  We can get a bucket and put all the beers in it with some ice!”  WHOA THERE.  I’m not sure how many beers he plans on drinking, but my limit is probably 1.5.  We’ll have to have something to eat as well- I’m looking at this website with vegan Oktoberfest recipes. In other news, I got a letter saying that my request to postpone jury duty has been granted.  PHEW!!!  Interestingly, I’ve talked to three people who told me when they get a jury summons, they just throw it away.  They figure since it’s not registered mail, no one can ever prove they got it.  Huh!  Now I’m feeling virtuous about getting out of jury duty the “right” way.  Or, maybe I’m just a fool. Lastly, thanks to everyone who complimented me on fixing my blog.  Unfortunately I did NOT fix it (yet) and the only way it looks “normal” is if I include lots of photos (to make the post long.) Here’s one of me in my element…     What would you tell me over coffee?  Do you have any plans for the weekend?      

Reading and Eating

I finished the Ken Follett Century Trilogy!!!  Fall of Giants covered WWI, Winter of the World continued with WWII, and The Edge of Eternity starts in the 1960s. One thing I loved about these books is it showed me the continuity between these events.  I used to think of WWII as something that happened in the past, whereas events in the 1960s and 1970s were in more “modern” times.  Now I understand more the connection between WWI, WWII, the Cold War, Vietnam, and the events leading to the fall of communism. Edge of Eternity focuses mostly on the children and grandchildren of the original characters from Fall of Giants.  It was fascinating that a young man who fought in WWI, if he lived to a ripe old age, would also live through the Cold War.  There were characters in the book who endured Nazi Germany, WWII, the Soviet occupation of East Germany, and then saw the Berlin Wall come down.  It was incredibly moving to me that Black people who fought for Civil Rights in the 1960s could live to see Barack Obama elected president. I will say that, while I was reading it, Edge of Eternity was my least favorite of the three books, and I’m still trying to figure out why.  The first two focused heavily on Europe, and in Edge the focus shifted to the United States and Soviet Union.  There was a lot of detail about politics in the US, and while it was interesting, the story bogged down a little for me.  JUST A LITTLE!  I still enjoyed it, but whereas with the first two books, I didn’t want them to end, with Edge, I was kind of looking forward to finishing it. Then… I actually finished it, and the ending was so good that I cried.  There was an epilogue, which I was initially annoyed to see- I mean, the ending was perfect, what’s with this epilogue?  But then the epilogue also made me cry.  You guys- it was so good and I’m so glad I read these books.  I’ll be thinking about them for a long, long time. It was hard to move on to anything else, but I had to forge ahead.  I have some library books to get through, so I started this one: So far, so good!  I’m not very far into it, but I’m enjoying it. Eating-wise, I continued the pumpkin theme with some pumpkin oatmeal.  No special recipe- I just add a couple dollops of pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice to my regular oatmeal. For dinner on Sunday, I went to Nora Cooks and browsed through her “Fall Recipe” section.  I ended up making Butternut Squash Curry With Chickpeas. It was good!  The only problem was, I should have doubled the recipe.  I like my Sunday dinner to also feed us on Monday, and I should have known one can of chickpeas wasn’t going to do that.  My daughter wasn’t a fan of the squash, but she’s obviously insane.  You cube the squash and roast it, and add it to the curry at the end- it was delicious. I’ll echo Engie’s recent question- what was the last book that made you cry?   What are you reading now?

A New Month

It’s October!  Time to get out the Halloween decorations- how exciting. Like many others, I’m looking forward to the Girl Next Door Fall Extravaganza episode for 2024.  While I’m waiting, I’ve been amusing myself by listening to their old ones.  One thing I love about these episodes is, Kelsey and Erica live in Arizona. Arizona weather is not Florida weather, but there are similarities.  Mainly that neither place has a true “fall.”  While the rest of the country is (hopefully) experiencing beautiful, crisp fall days, we’re still sweltering in the heat. In this episode from 2016, Kelsey and Erica talked about how they adjusted to fall in the desert.  They went through stages of denial, acceptance, and said they are now living in an alternate reality where it IS fall, dammit, because I say so!  That’s the way I feel- I put up my decorations and light a candle, so therefore it’s fall. Switching out my decorations (fall to Halloween, to Thanksgiving, to Christmas) also helps make one month distinct from another.  In Florida, we pretty much have two seasons: Summer, and SuperSummer.  There’s definitely a difference between January and July, but still- most days in January you can still walk around in shorts and a tank top. There are many times that I temporarily have no idea what month it is.  I know we all have those moments, but I doubt most people up north get confused between summer and winter.  In the absence of external cues, it’s important to me to make one season distinct from the next.  Otherwise time slips by much, much too fast. In this week’s Best Laid Plans podcast, SHU discussed how she marks the start of a new month,  One of the things she does is switch her screen backgrounds.  I like that!  I’m going to switch the photo on my phone, and I’m thinking of using this “terrifying” one of Charlotte… Hee hee… actually, she was yawning.  But she looks ferocious.  Here she is looking like her beautiful self: Magical black cats really do guard my home this month! Do you decorate for Halloween? Do you feel like you need to do something to make your months distinct, or does it naturally happen where you live?  

Weekly Rundown

It was a great week!  That is, if you like heat, humidity, and hurricanes.  (If you don’t like those things, don’t come to Florida in September!)  Here in South Florida we’re sending love to those in the panhandle who got pummeled- while being grateful that we were spared this time.  As always, I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah (thanks, ladies!) for this Weekly Rundown.  Let’s just see how it all went down… Sunday 6 miles on the trail!  The first mile was walking, then 5 miles running.  It was hot, sticky, parts of the trail were overgrown and there were biting flies.  But I loved it. Monday Leg day at the gym!  Here’s how I found the squat racks: BOTH racks had heavy weights left on the bars.  Why do people do this???  I didn’t feel like dealing with it, so I went over to use an older squat rack in the corner.  Once again I avoided deadlifts because of my cranky low back, but did squats, some single leg balance exercises, and abs. Tuesday I continued my cautious every-other-day running schedule.  Today I walked half a mile and ran 2.5. I followed this with a MadFit standing core workout. Wednesday It was a strength day at home- upper body, Caroline Girvan deadbugs, and hip stability exercises. At 5 pm we got a call that school was canceled the next day because of the hurricane.  Wait, what?  This was the first I heard of Hurricane Helene (I really should start watching the news more.) In my defense, it wasn’t on track to hit us, but we still had a tropical storm warning. Thursday The good news was, since there was no school, I was able to sleep in a little and run in the daylight.  The bad news was, we had pockets of horrendous weather, and one of them happened during my run.  Wind, driving rain, and thunder and lightning in the distance.  I did 3 miles and then hightailed it back home- and as soon as I got there it started to clear up. I followed this with the MadFit standing core workout- except I didn’t realize it was a different one.  Apparently MadFit has at least two standing core workouts.  I like them both! Friday I was very proud of myself for getting to the gym twice this week for leg day.  This time I did squats and deadlifts.  My low back is still achy, but I just decided to carry on. Saturday 5 miles!  Well, the first half mile was walking, and then I ran 4.5.  I’m getting there… slowly but surely. Sunday On tap for the day- sleeping in and waffles!  I’ve decided to shift my “long” runs to Wednesdays (a day off from work.) Obviously there will be football as well, although the Dolphins play Monday night.  I’ll find a game or two to watch. How was your week?  Any “interesting” weather?  

38 Responses

  1. Yay for that 8 mile trail run!!! In 2020, I actually signed up for a trail race in the Everglades. It took place right at the start of the pandemic and I DNS’d because I just didn’t feel comfortable running it with so much unknown. I regret it now because the race has been canceled going forward. I guess the environmentalists worried about the impact on the region. There weren’t many runners, so I’m not actually sure about that. Anyways, I’ll have to find a Florida trail race just to make up for it.

    Here’s to hoping for more pain-free runs!

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    1. Yes, I was really disappointed to find out that race was canceled. I’ll try to find a good Florida trail race and let you know.

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  2. hope I was not the one that freaked you out about the advil 🙂 LOL. Anyway, yay for your 8 mile run! I bet that felt great to accomplish. That’s fun that you are doing a 5 miler next weekend. It is nice to see you jumping back into racing. It seems that there are many definitions of tempo pace. My program has us do a distance test for 20 m where we run as fast as possible and that is our tempo pace. Then, our threshold pace is the pace we can hold for about an hour race. My Garmin also tells me my easy pace is way too slow. It can be hard to figure out. So many classes, so little time on the Peloton!

    Reply

    1. Well, yes- you did freak me out about the Advil a little. But that’s not a bad thing.
      I think some people use the terms “threshold” and “tempo” pace interchangeably. It sounds like your program uses them differently. Whatever- your program is definitely working!

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  3. Congrats on the 8 miler! A race sounds like the perfect Mother’s Day present.

    Which Garmin did you get? If it’s telling you to run 14 minute miles I would be scared to see what it recommends for me as an easy pace – yikes!

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    1. I got the Forerunner 55. We used a very careful selection process which involved- my husband was able to get it for free as part of a rewards program. Other than the absurd workout suggestions, I’m liking it so far.

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  4. Yay on your long trail run! I hope today’s goes well too. I took that same RK core class and thought it was hard. Today I took the “companion” 5 min core class with a lot of the same moves — still hard but shorter.

    I don’t think one Advil a week is bad, but it will be good if you can get by without it.

    Reply

    1. Yes, that class was hard. Now I’m curious about some of her other classes, like maybe some lower body strength.
      I did get by without the Advil today, and it was fine. I don’t really need it.

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  5. I definitely feel you on the accountability of posting.
    I know that canal! Can’t wait until we can run it together. Or walk. Or finally meet up.
    I hope today’s run went well

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    1. Yes, you do know that canal! I can run to it from my house, or park just north of the WaWa and get onto it there. We can definitely run it next time you’re here!

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  6. I’m glad the 8-miler went well 😉 That’s great news after the most recent months. You and Denis definitely have a “thing”…kind of my thing with Daniel and Rad, LOL

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    1. Yes, Denis and I have a “thing”- of course I’m the only one who knows about it. He has no idea who I am.
      My runs have been feeling good! I’m not sure the foot is really healed up, but I’m going with it for now.

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  7. So happy to hear that your 8 mile run went well! I love how much you enjoy Denis for yoga classes 🙂 I think we all gravitate toward certain Peloton instructors (even though they are all great) – mine is Jess!

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    1. Yes, the good thing about Peloton is there’s definitely something for everyone! And I’m still finding new instructors that I like (not for yoga though- Denis is my yoga guy for sure!)

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  9. I do try not to hand out advice, mostly, but masking something painful before you do something that can cause injury — I just never think that’s a great idea. And then there’s the whole stomach issues thing . . . you’ll find the right thing to do for you.

    You basically can’t run a recovery run too slow, IMHO. Although when I was running them I often wasn’t running them slow enough, LOL!

    Look at you running 8 miles!

    I’m still good with the shorter races, LOL!

    Reply

    1. I think taking that Advil was more of a psychological bandaid somehow. I didn’t take it today and my run felt great! For the Mother’s Day race, there was a 5k option but I chose the 5 mile- hopefully I won’t live to regret that!

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  10. There’s a tiny little park near my house with a mile loop in the woods and I LOVE trail running. That trail isn’t the world’s best option, what with its short loop and nearness to a river that makes it swampy some months and filled with mosquitoes on other months, but it’s only half a mile from my house, so I go there as often as I can. Trail running is great and it was good to hear you enjoyed it!

    Reply

    1. If I had a trail like that, I would run on it all the time! I wouldn’t care that it’s just a mile. My trail is at least two miles away and it’s definitely not woodsy. I love it, but it’s very flat and unshaded.

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  11. Good job on your week of workouts, Jenny, even if you didn’t want to do some of them. I hear you on the accountability this weekly linkup gives me. Now, if I could just get some of my clients to be equally motivated.

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    1. Ha ha… yes, i can see how that could potentially be frustrating! It’s a little different, but some of my massage clients are in pain but they don’t do the PT exercises and stretches that they’re supposed to- it drives me nuts.

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  12. How great your foot was happy with 8 miles! Yay! You remind me that I have a Mother’s Day virtual race to knock out. I get the same kind of recovery run pace recommendations. It’s basically walking. What the heck?

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  13. 8 miles! Great news Jenny!

    I generally avoid pain meds if I can…I worry about kidney damage. I’ll have to look back at the comments on your post to see why others feel the same.

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    1. Oh yes… others definitely feel the same! I’ve pretty much been scared away from the Advil at this point.

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  14. My hubby take advil before playing tennis… all the time… but I’m not a doctor. That’s who I’d ask before I stop doing it if it helps.

    Hope the run went well.

    I already signed up for the Ft Lauderdale half next Feb. So hopefully you’ll do it wit me.

    I usually run on Mother’s Day but instead I’m doing a fun run up a mountain he day before… there will be a lot of walking.

    You are ready for the 5 miler!!

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    1. OOH! Yes! Let’s do that race together! I’ll plan on it. Maybe we can get more people to join us and have a BLOGGER MEETUP RACE!

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  15. What kind of Garmin do you have? I have the Vivoactive 3 but I know it’s going to need replacing at some point in the future.
    That’s a pretty trail in the first photo!

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    1. I got the Forerunner 55- only because my husband was able to get it for free from a rewards program he’s in. I’m sure there are better ones out there, but this one has everything I need, and probably lots of features I’ll never even use!

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  16. It’s nice that you are so close to some trails! I only run on running paths/sidewalks since there aren’t trails close to where we live. If there was, I’d do a mix! I am all about convenience these days! I ran on Monday, Thursday and Sunday this week and then did a beach body lower body workout on Friday. I talked my running partner into dropping our race distance from 10mi to 10k in May. We just haven’t logged enough miles for a 10 mile and I would rather not have a race feel like a total slog with lots of walking! It’s been a rough spring weather-wise and I’ve been sick a number of times so just didn’t get the miles in. But a 10k is still a great distance. I should have known better than signing up for a May 10 mile. Winter/spring running is just not my thing since it’s so cold/icy/snowy/windy here. You know the weather having lived in Chicago!!

    Reply

    1. Yes, I do know your weather! 10k is a great distance to race- for some reason around here it’s hard to find them. It’s mostly 5ks. I hope you’ll do a race recap on your blog!

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  17. Well done on the 8 miles!! I am with the warners on the Advil, I looked it up to check and yes, the same ibuprofen that we have here that you’re advised not to take around runs. Take care of yourself! A five-mile race was the first proper race (not a Flora Women’s Run or Cancer Research one) that I did, and I had no idea – non-technical tshirt, gloves and hat, a hoody (the last three off within moments then carried round!) and I hadn’t researched it and found out about the hills!

    Reply

    1. Ha ha… hopefully my five mile race will go a little smoother. I definitely won’t be wearing a hoodie!

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  18. Your Garmin recommended a pace? That is interesting! I guess I don’t have that software for mine. (or do I? where did you see that recommendation?)
    My Garmin’s need to talk to each other… my watch gave me a 33 hour recovery after my run on Sunday morning, but then my Garmin Edge (bike computer) said only 18 hour recovery. Huh? They are on the same Garmin account so that surprises me.

    Reply

    1. It’s really kind of annoying- as soon as I press the start button, a suggested workout pops up. It asks me if I want to do that workout or not (not.) My husband has suggested that maybe I can go into settings and get rid of that- I’ll have to figure it out.

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  19. Yay, so excited your foot held up for 8 miles! Wow. And then continued to crush your weekly workouts.
    Which new Garmin did you get?

    Reply

    1. I got the Forerunner 55, only because my husband got it free as part of a rewards program. So far it seems great though.

      Reply

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