Runners Fly

walkers walk… but runners fly

Weekly Rundown- We Made It!

Hooray!  Once again, we made it through a South Florida summer.  I didn’t die, or lose my mind and move to Alaska.  We had an amazing cool down this week, which lasted for… two whole days.  Now we’ve warmed up a bit, but it’s always like that in October.  We go back and forth, but 80s are still better than 90s.  Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown!  Let’s get right into it.

Monday

It was the eve of our big cool down, and we were treated to temperatures in the 60s early in the morning.  Yes, please!

I ran 3 miles, and then did a leg day at home.  I’ve had to admit that two “heavy” (ahem, heavy for me, that is) leg days at the gym are too much for me now that my long runs are getting longer.  I did Runner’s Touch,  tibialis and calf raises, Bulgarian split squats, and squats with a 35 pound dumbbell.  Since that’s lighter than I squat at the gym, I focused on getting REALLY low, with my butt almost touching the ground.

Tuesday

Well, we woke up to this:

Tragically, this was not a running day for me (but my day was coming!) I did upper body strength at home- I got out the pull up bar right away (before I could talk myself out of it) and did negatives, assisted pull ups with a band, and some extra hanging from the bar (trying to increase my grip strength.) Then overhead dumbbell press and core- deadbugs and planks.  I’m making an effort to do core every day this month for “Coretober.”

Wednesday

Oh yes.  A 15 mile run on my favorite trail.

Wow.  It was upper 50s when I started, and SO MUCH EASIER to run in the cooler, drier weather- now I remember why we live in Florida.  I really enjoyed this run.

Later in the day, I went to REI and got myself a little something…

Ooh, what could this be?

Thursday

Yes!  I got the FWD Experience, Altra’s new non-zero drop shoes (they have a 4 mm drop.) I knew beforehand- from watching a YouTube review- that Altra, for some bizarre reason, made the toe box a little less wide for this model (NOOOO!  WHY???) If you’re used to Altras, you would think they were kind of narrow.  But coming from a traditional shoe they still feel wide.

I felt like I was doing them a disservice, taking them out for the first time the day after my long run.  My hips felt tight, but my feet felt GREAT.  I walked a mile and ran 3 miles, and it was actually a pretty good run.

Friday

It felt weird that I hadn’t been to the gym all week!  It was time for a serious leg day, starting with sled pushes and pulls.

Then squats, deadlifts, heel raises, Runner’s Touch, and core.

Saturday

Second run in the new shoes!  It was 65 degrees (as opposed to 90) and this 5 mile run felt great.  I hope this won’t be like my last two shoe experiences, where I initially liked them but ended up hating them (Hoka Cliftons and New Balance 880s.) Right now I’m loving these shoes.  I also saw a bunch of pretty cool-looking trail shoes at REI… so I’ll be going back to try those on.

I’ll take 65 degrees any day!

Sunday

On tap for today- sleeping in, pancakes, and watching football.  I know- I’m diverging from my usual waffles for one week.  Pumpkin pancakes are calling my name!

How is your weather? – Last week I was too miserably hot to hear it, but now I’m ready to hear about beautiful fall weather again!

Any trail shoe recommendations for me? I think I’ve made it abundantly clear that I need a wide toe box.

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?  

43 Responses

  1. Yay for cooler weather for you and some pleasant running weather! We had two hotter days this week (30C/85F) which was good but today was windy, rainy and cold (15C/59F). I’m interested to hear how you find the shoes after a few runs. The altras I use for walking are really comfortable but zero drop.

    Reply

    1. I have zero drop Altras that I wear at the gym, and they’re really comfortable- but they didn’t work for running. These shoes definitely have more support, a 4 mm drop and they feel great. I’ll let you know how they work out!

      Reply

  2. Hooray for cooler weather.

    I’m just hoping for a few days without rain.

    Lol. I bought the same shoes.

    Do you like them?

    Reply

    1. Really, you got the Altras? I love them so far- but I’ve only done two shorter runs in them.
      All that rain really does sound miserable. I hope you have some clear weather this week!

      Reply

  3. I’ve heard such great things about Altras–but I’m so used to a higher drop that at this point, it’s not worth trying them. I’m glad to hear you liked them! I love my Brooks Cascadias–but the toe box might not be wide enough for you. I think it’s wide, but if you like Altras, maybe you should try their trail shoes.

    I’m so glad it’s cooing off for you! But that means it’s cooling off here too…sigh…

    Reply

    1. Yes, unfortunately it can’t get cooler here until it’s cold up there!
      I’m going to try the Altra Lone Peaks, although they’re zero drop. They may not work for me but I at least want to try them on.

      Reply

  4. Yay for cooler weather! I am glad you got to do one long run in better conditions! Our weather has been nice here this week! It’s been less cold than it had been. It was in the upper 50s and low 60s. I have been soaking it up as much as I can as I know colder weather is coming. Unfortunately with all the sickness in the house, I have barely worked out. I ran yesterday but kind of doubt I will be able to today as Phil came down with a fever last night. But hopefully I can take taco for a long stroller walk. I keep reminding myself this is a season and I will get back to my workouts when everyone is healthy.

    Reply

    1. Oh no- Phil is sick??? Yes, this is a season for you- it will pass and you’ll eventually be able to run as much as you want.
      Upper 50s and low 60s sounds REALLY nice!

      Reply

  5. Oh, I am glad the new shoes are working out so far. Fingers crossed they are keepers.

    I think your leg days are a lot — no qualifiers needed! I know that strength will pay off on your long runs.

    LOL on branching out from waffles to pancakes. 😉

    Reply

    1. I’m usually all about the waffles, but we’re far into pumpkin season and I hadn’t made pumpkin pancakes yet, so I had to rectify that.

      Reply

  7. Hooray for new shoes you’re loving! Don’t even think about hating them. 🙂

    And hooray for cooler temps!

    While strength is important, your training for your race takes precedence. And you’re crushing it!

    Reply

  10. Those cooler temps are perfect! We have already dipped into “time to dig out my quarter zip” temperatures. Today was 37 degrees when I ran! But we are going to get warmer again, which should take it back to perfect again.. for a few days. There really are a lot of great trail shoe options out there. It would be hard to pick one!

    Reply

    1. Yes, I’ll just have to go and try a bunch of them on.
      37 would be a little cold for me… I definitely don’t have the right gear for that!

      Reply

  11. Yay for more reasonable weather down there!

    Those new Altras are a thing of beauty! It’s good to know that the toe box is narrower so I’ll go to the running store to try them on rather than ordering them online.

    Reply

    1. Yes, you should definitely try them on. They’re still wide compared to most shoes- but I was a little disappointed they didn’t have that “clown shoe” look.

      Reply

  12. I’m glad to hear you finally got a reprieve from the usual Florida heat & humidity. Meanwhile, we’ve had a couple days with a reprieve, of sorts, form the Iowa Fall weather, and there’s been a hint of summer returning (I know, it’s not going to last, but I can pretend for a few days, LOL). Yay for new shoes that feel so good!!!!!

    Reply

    1. I guess the weather goes back and forth for everyone this time of year. It’s funny that we’re opposites-you’re hanging onto the summer weather and I’m clinging to our few days of “fall.”

      Reply

  13. It def cooled down this week here too– 40s and rainy which I did not enjoy at all. I’m jealous of your warm temps! Nice job on your long run and all that lifting!

    Reply

  14. I’m so glad the Altras are feeling good so far! I’ll bet the break in the heat felt divine. We’ve got the “S” word showing up in the extended forecast and I’m not thrilled about that. It’s been hitting about 75 for the high in Atlanta with lows in the 40s-50s and it’s been SO nice!

    Reply

  15. Yay for your new Altras and I’m glad to hear they feel good so far! But what a bummer they made the toe box narrower, that’s really weird. Actually ALL brands should make toe boxes like standard Altras.
    What drop are you used to before these? Is it possible, if 4 mm is lower than what you had, they could be a step into zero drop so you could use Lone Peaks for trail?
    Great approach to work on lower squats when using low weights.
    Here we never got that 100F but on Friday we had 28C (82F) and now 22-26C which looks like it will stay until we go home.

    Reply

    1. I’m actually thinking along those lines- I’m at least going to try on the Lone Peaks- if they’re comfortable I might try to slowly make the transition.

      Reply

  18. Hooray new shoes: I hope they continue to feel good. And hooray cooler weather. It’s been very rainy here but not having a river in Birmingham we’ve avoided the awful flooding from the big storm there’s been, so we are glad of that.

    Reply

    1. The shoes still feel good! I somehow imagine you having a lot of rainy weather- but no flooding is a good thing!

      Reply

  19. Ugh. All we’re getting right now is RAIN and it’s bumming me out. Cold, drizzly, rain. Oh well, we had some gorgeous fall days, but I also know that we’re likely not going to get back to my favourite weather and that winter is coming. Such is life and I am THRILLED for you…but somewhat depressed for me 🙁

    Reply

  20. Welcome to cooler temps! Doesn’t it make everything so much nicer?! I love it.

    I’m so glad you had a wonderful week with incredible runs. Fall is such a game changer.

    Hope you had a great rest of weekend!

    Reply

    1. Thanks Jenn! Yes, it’s a game-changer. Even now our temps are back up in the 80s, but it’s drier and breezy, and it still feels good.

      Reply

  21. I started out with Asics but I am a Brooks girl now… I want to “branch out” but I don’t want to experiment LOL

    Upper 50s is perfect running weather. I am glad you got a lot of that this week.

    Reply

  22. The 50s are my favorite running weather! That is tank top appropriate as soon as you get going and that is a win in my book! We are actually expecting some lows in the 40s this week…I guess fall is coming, but I am happier with 40s than the 90s we had last week (freak summer weather in October!)

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Instagram
Instagram
Instagram