By “it,” of course I mean school! We’ve made it through an entire week, and even had our first football game. Switching to an earlier wakeup was tough, which meant that workouts were slightly compromised. BUT THERE WAS RUNNING, so all is well. Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting. Let’s get into it!
Sunday
I walked .5 mile and then ran 2.5 miles. NO pain in my calf! Woohoo. I’m feeling encouraged but also afraid, so I’m increasing my distance very, very slowly.
Monday
First day of school! I counted, and as a mom I’ve now experienced 16 first days of school. Over the years, I have LEARNED a few things! Mainly- the first day is hard so don’t plan anything else big, like complicated workouts. I did the Caroline Girvan Deadbug Workout and my four hip stability exercises, and called it good.
Tuesday
I repeated the same run from Sunday- a .5 mile walk and then 2.5 miles of running. Again, no pain, hooray!
I had big plans to do a strength workout after work, but ended up taking a nap instead. When I got up, I discovered that my daughter had also napped. No, no, no! I felt like we were trying to recover from jetlag, but doing it all wrong. We just can’t get the hang of the early wakeups yet.
Wednesday
Leg day at the gym! There were people using the main squat racks, but luckily there’s another rack I can use- it just doesn’t have the larger plates, which I like because it looks like I’m using more weight than I really am, ha ha. While I squatted my puny little plates, I could watch the people on the other squat racks, one of whom was a woman who was squatting a mind boggling amount of weight.
I did my usual thing of envying her, wishing I were that strong, feeling inferior about my own strength. I finished my workout, showered, dressed, and then as I was walking out of the gym I could see the woman- who was already working out when I got there- was still there working. And I realized- THAT’S why she’s stronger than I am.
I reminded me of Kae’s post from this week about matching your expectations to the energy you’re willing to give. The truth is, I’m kind of dedicated to strength training, but not really that much. That’s why I’m kind of strong but not super strong. This is all the energy I’m willing to spend on it right now, and I have to accept the outcome.
Thursday
I may not have squatted heavy weights, but I was VERY sore today. I ran 3 miles (woohoo!) and then did some planks and my piriformis exercises.
At night, I went to the first high school football game! It was the earliest first game ever- usually we have a few weeks, but this was on the fourth day of school. Was the band ready? Well, let’s just say what they lacked in precision, they made up for in unbridled enthusiasm. It was really fun to watch them- even in the stands, they have all sorts of choreographed moves. Oh and our team won- great way to kick off the season.
Friday
All right. WHOSE stupid idea was it to have a football game on THURSDAY NIGHT??? Isn’t this hard enough? It’s like there’s some conspiracy to keep us from getting enough sleep.
My legs were STILL sore from Wednesday’s workout! I did the Caroline Girvan deadbug workout, and an upper body workout from Sally McRae’s app.
Saturday
Will this leg soreness ever go away? I got out for a run and went 3.3 miles. I was going for 3.5 but towards the end I thought I felt a twinge in my calf- okay universe, I’m listening! I was in my neighborhood anyway so I stopped running immediately.
At night my husband and I went out for an “end of summer” date (his school starts back with students tomorrow.) We got some delicious beers!
I love IPAs so much, but I hardly ever drink anymore (sadly.) We also got delicious veggie burgers- fun night!
Sunday
On tap for today- leg day at the gym? I use a question mark because as I’m writing this (on Saturday night) my legs are still sore from Wednesday. But my son assures me that it’s okay to work out again if you’re still just a little bit sore, so I guess that’s what I’ll do.
The week had some challenges, but was overall good! And I’m glad it’s over. The first week back is hard.
How was your week? Did school start where you are?
Do you have any areas of your life where your expectations don’t match the energy you’re willing to give?
38 Responses
I hope you have a good leg day on Sunday. Glad to hear you had a good first week and ended it strong–on fun, especially!
This is our last weekend before we swing back to school on Monday… I’m just letting the high-schooler break every house rule this weekend because why not? 🙂
Ha ha, might as well live it up before school starts. Good luck with it!
A Thursday night game during the first week back at school is a terrible idea!! What were they thinking!! I bet your daughter is sleeping in late this weekend. That start time is just so brutal, especially for teens!
My week was pretty good. I am so ready for a break from work so am glad I have this week off!
I am definitely not doing as much strength training as I should/would like. I could have ST yesterday but didn’t want to do anything that would impact my 8 mile training run today. Once this race is behind me, I will get back to 2 runs and 2 ST workouts because the longest I will run after the race is probably 5 miles so even if I do a lower body ST workout, it won’t really impact that run.
Yes, that’s always a problem. How do you combine strength and long runs… when I’m actually doing longer runs (not now) I’m always trying to figure it our.
Anyway I hope you have a great week! Enjoy your vacation.
Comparison is the thief of joy, Jenny! That woman has her own stuff going on that we don’t know about.
School starts, who knows when! September, I guess. My son moves into his dorm at the end of the month so university starts after Labour Day I guess (should probably check on that!)
Nicole, I don’t even know when my son starts school, ha ha. Now that he’s older I leave all that up to him! He likes to get there early to settle in first, and after that I don’t really know what’s going on.
You’re right Nicole- it’s SO hard not to compare in the gym though! But everyone has their own stuff.
Yay for running! And surviving back to school!
There was a lot of food for thought in Kae’s post. It really is Ok to take seasons where fitness isn’t the main focus of life – in fact it’s probably for the best for most of us – but also it is a trade off. What is not OK is that so many people that I know beat themselves up for it, and that’s not productive.
Yes, there’s no point in beating ourselves up. I try to remind myself to either do the thing or not do it- but don’t not do it and constantly berate myself for it. If you’re consistently not doing something, there’s probably a good reason.
Back to school week is always hard on everyone! Honestly, I kind of miss back to school now that my kiddos are older. September always felt like a restart for me as well. Maybe I can get that feeling anyway. Yes, of course I often feel like my expectations (or outcomes) don’t match the effort and energy I put into it. Alas, we have to work with what we have! Glad that your running is back to feeling good for you
Deborah, whenever I’m tempted to complain about something like back to school, or late night football games, I remind myself that in three years this will all be OVER, and then I’ll miss it. It definitely makes these things more tolerable (or even pleasant, sometimes.). But you could definitely get the back to school energy even without school kids in your house! Labor Day is a nice time to restart.
School doesn’t start here until after Labor Day.
Good news on the calf. Hope things continue to improve.
All the time. If I have energy, I seem be too busy and then when I have time, I’m tired. Life of a runner?
I think it’s the life of someone who works full time, has an active social life, likes to do a lot of fun things, and also run. It can be hard to fit it all in! I would say you do a pretty good job.
Hope your leg day goes well! It’s encouraging that your calf seems to be doing better!
It’s tough to balance strength training and running with everything else going on in life. I can fit in two strength sessions a week after work and I wish I had time to run a few more miles before work some days but I’m not willing to sacrifice sleep to do it so basically my work days are sleep, run, work, repeat with not much free time. I wish I could work a part time job but get paid for full time haha!
Yes, that would solve everything. Sometimes I feel like I would have time to fit everything in if i just didn’t have to go to work.
So glad your calf is improving!
Great perspective on aligning your expectations with you effort. There are many things I don’t want badly enough!
Thanks Coco! That’s the bottom line- you have to want it bad enough.
I just can’t believe how early some schools have started! Most of the schools around here will start this week. I like what they do in New York–they start in September and go to June. The weather doesn’t really get nice around here until June, so that would make more sense.
Glad to hear your calf is behaving. And yes, actually you should work out when you’re sore to get rid of the lactic acid! It’s hard not to compare yourself to what others are doing in the gym, but no doubt you can run a lot more than the weight lifter! It’s all about what your focus is!
Okay, good to know. The little bit of residual soreness didn’t interfere with my workout today, so I guess it was a good thing.
Up north I think it would be better to go to school a little later and start after Labor Day. Why start school when there’s still summer weather left? Down here I guess it doesn’t make any difference.
I hope your calf continues to behave! Yes school started here as well this past week and it’s the first time in a very long time I don’t have anyone attending. Sigh. I do recall though how quickly everything gets underway as soon as they start. I always tell my athletes they can do it all but not all at once. Is the strong lady at the gym running like you are? I doubt it. It’s all about setting priorities and training accordingly.
I know- I have to remind myself that I’m clearly not a body builder. It’s hard not to want it all though.
Hooray you are running and the calf is behaving! SO glad to read that. Sounds like a good but tiring first week back at school. Love the description of the band – “what they lack in precision they make up for with unbridled enthusiasm” So good 😂 hope next week brings you more sleep!
Thanks Sophie! If I don’t get enough sleep next week, I have no one to blame but myself. And we have another football game next week- we’ll see how the band does. They’ll have an extra rehearsal so it should be on point.
I’m with you on the strength work. I simply don’t have the time with my current commuting schedule, and I’m content with things at the moment because I know it’s just a temporary situation.
Too bad you can’t work from home- that would solve everything! I guess if that were an option you would have pursued it already. Anyway, you’re doing well getting lots of activity in, even with the work commute.
Those early mornings are so tough the first few weeks of school! I hope you are back in the rhythm this week. So fun you got to see the band at a football game already. I’m sure we will go to at least one high school football game again just for old times sake. And exclaim that the kids all look like middle schoolers LOL! Looks like a fun date night 🙂
Glad the calf is behaving. Hope it stays that way!
The high school football games are so fun. I enjoy watching the band, cheerleaders, and kids in the stand as much as the actual game.
Oh, I was going to say “how fun you went to a football game” and then I immediately thought “oh, on a Thursday night, that makes for a tough Friday morning”. And all while you’re still adjusting to early wake up times.
I also referenced Kae’s post this week and agree so much that we have to match our expectations to the results (or the energy we’re willing to give to “X”.) I definitely relate because I usually have too many things that I want to give energy to but not enough time to do it all, so prioritization is key! (Not always easy.)
San, it is so hard! Even just with working out, I want to run, lift weights, stretch, do PT exercises… even if I could fit all that in, there’s still the rest of life. It’s impossible to do it all.
I fully agree about matching our expectation with the effort we put into it. I am the same regarding strength training, I do it because it’s needed, it’s fun sometimes, but I don’t think I can do hours and hours of it and that’s okay.
glad to hear your calf is not acting lately! HORAY!
Ha, I never really think strength training is fun. I do feel good afterwards, so that’s something!
Awww, definitely do compare yourself to the other lady! That’s maybe her main focus! And it’s okay that it’s not yours. Or, even if it WERE your main focus, it’s still ok to not compare. (like, strength is really my main focus and I still often feel like I’m actually not that “strong”… I mean, I like to lift weights but I’m also not OVERLY focused on really piling on the weight and I honestly care more about just being fit/strong/healthy/looking toned than being able to like, crank out 15 pullups. So… again, matching my results to my expectations! haha.
That first line was obviously supposed to say DON’T compare yourself!!!
Yes, that’s a good point. Even if strength is your main focus, fitnesss-wise, it doesn’t mean you want to be a bodybuilder. Everyone has their own priorities.
Thursday? That’s wild!
We had our first game on Friday night and it was INSANE.
Band concessions sold OUT. We unloaded 250 Chick Fil A Sandwiches, 20 pizzas, all of our drinks and most of our candy/chips/other things. The band absolutely crushed it! They learned the whole show in camp and now they are tightening it up. oWhile I don’t care much about the acutal game, it was good to be back in the swing of things.
I’m proud of you for sticking with the strength. I haven’t been able to get to the gym in ages. Too many hiccups for the last few weeks.
I know your band prioritizes marching much more than ours does. We did have a week of band camp, but I think you had more and ours wasn’t as intense. I wish I could see A’s band perform their halftime routine!
Glad your calf is improving! That’s great news. From a reader’s perspective, you seem pretty darn dedicated to strength! More than me…I’m really just pilates these days with a random Caroline Girvan workout in there.
Back to school already…man, summer is too short!
It’s good to hear that you’re running mostly comfortably again. Here’s to continued healing!
I hope your daughter (and husband) have a great school year! School started today in our county which seems early because our sons always started school after labor day when they went to public school.
Oh, yay! I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it sounds like this was a reasonable week! hope this is the start of a trend.
What the WHAT with the Thursday night game? Good grief! I am impressed you were able to stay up!
Hope school wake up and bedtimes have smoothed out. Change is hard.