walkers walk… but runners fly

Weekly Rundown- A New Start

Happy New Year!  This was another crazy week.  In addition to all the usual festivities, we celebrated a birthday.  Actually, BOTH my kids have December birthdays- because I just thought that would be fun.  Just kidding!  I didn’t plan that at all, because I’m not insane.  But it is what it is!

Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown.   Yes, I managed to cobble together workouts in spite of everything.  Let’s just see how the week went…

Monday

A very, very rare run in cold weather.  It was 40 degrees and rainy.  I had to dig out my hat and gloves for this run!  4 miles that felt effortless (after I warmed up.)

Tuesday

I was looking for something to do that wouldn’t tire my legs, so I repeated (for the third time) Caroline Girvan’s Iron Series Day #20 workout- biceps, triceps, and core.  It’s crazy- I still haven’t officially finished the series. I still have three more lower body workouts to do, but now I’m repeating workouts.  I’ll get those last ones done one of these days!

Wednesday

A 14 mile trail run!  It was in the 50s for this run, which felt AMAZING.  I wore my new double hydration vest that I got for Christmas.

This worked great, except for a couple user-error issues.  I can’t seem to get the hang of reaching back with my left hand to replace the bottle- twice I ended up dropping it.  I know I’ll get the hang of it with practice- I’m very good at replacing the right one.

The other issue became apparent when I finished my run and went to enjoy a nice, hot sh-GAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!  How is it even possible that I can chafe so badly, but not even feel it during the run?  The tank top I wore for this run is much more open in the back than the ones I usually wear, so the hydration vest rubbed against my skin.  This would have been prevented by simply applying lube- live and learn!

Thursday

Another repeat of Caroline Girvan.  This time it was Iron Series Day #7- shoulders and triceps.

Friday

A 4 mile run that felt very different than Monday’s run- our cold snap is over and it was in the 70s and humid.  Oh well!

At night I took down our Christmas tree, which was sad but also a relief.  I replaced it temporarily with New Year’s decorations- I still can’t bear to part with my Christmas card display!

Saturday

Day off!  I worked in the morning and then made food for New Year’s Eve.  My husband was working so it was me and the kids.  We ate delicious food and watched Home Alone.  There was a brief moment earlier in the week when it looked like the kids might have plans for the night- but they both ended up at home.  Happiness!

Sparkling apple cider, buffalo cauliflower, homemade pretzels and vegan cheese dip. Not the healthiest dinner but SO GOOD.

Sunday

On tap… funny story.  My son and I planned to go to the gym, but about five minutes before the ball dropped last night he said “You know… I really don’t want to go to the gym tomorrow.”  Okay, me neither!  Last week Birchwood Pie recommended Caroline Girvan’s Tempo Week series, and one of the days is called “Brutal Leg Day.”  My first thought was “that sounds horrible!” but, well, I think I need to try it!  Wish me luck.

Did you celebrate last night?  Do you like to go out or stay home for New Year’s Eve?  – Definitely stay home.

Are your Christmas decorations still up? – The only thing I took down is the tree.  All the other decorations will come down this week.

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47 Responses

  1. We are definitely stay at home on NYE people, but yesterday we went to my parents for dinner and to see my sister and her family. It was a really nice evening and as planned, I was in bed by 9:30 lol. Our decorations are still up because we have my oldest son’s gifts still under the tree. He’s coming over today, so we’ll have one more celebration. Tomorrow, everything will come down.

    We’ve had warmer weather here this week but this time of year, that comes with gloomy skies. I much prefer sunny skies, even if that means it’s a little colder. Not subzero, tho. Call me picky…

    Happy New Year!

    1. I agree- I need sunlight. That was the thing that bothered me most about the midwest- not the cold or snow, but the gray, gray skies from November till June.
      Enjoy your son’s “Christmas!”

  2. What a good running week. 14 miles?! I’m up to 7. Lol.

    We usually go out for nye but decided to just stay home and chill.

    I didn’t decorate much. I still have winter things around like snowmen.

    1. Snowmen can stay up till spring! And, you’re still ahead of my husband. He’s still planning to run this half, and I don’t think he’s run more than 5 miles lately. Should be interesting!

  3. Tempo week was great, but from what I remember the scariest part about that workout was the name;-) The first workout in Epic III is a different story. It was brutal in the most awesome way.

    We’re Team Stay Home for NYE, and this was the first NYE that was just the two of us for a long time. We cuddled in on the couch with a silly show and went to bed at 11. All of the Christmas decs are still up.

    1. Yes, I’m not sure it was any more brutal than some of the Iron Series workouts- it was definitely intense though. I’m going to look at that Epic III workout.

  4. We did go out to dinner w friends last night and barely made it until 12 but it was fun and low key. Look at you doing 14 mile runs how great! Ugh on the back chafing. Good luck w the tough leg workout! Happy new year

  5. Our decorations are still up, but slowly coming down (we do the tree the weekend following New Year’s). My guy and daughter love Christmas music so much that we had to make a family agreement that it goes off on Jan 2 each year until the following November haha!

  6. I love seeing all your runs — a great way to be ending the year.

    I have the Orange Mud single and love it! I guess the double does require some ambidextrousness (is that the word?). I always wear a full t-shirt under mine because I do fear chafing.

    Yay on having both kids home for NYE. Those days are long gone for us. Our son parties hard with friends, and our daughter stays home. We napped and watched football.

    Will your son do the leg torture workout with you?

    1. I chafed when I first started wearing the Orange Mud, but now I just apply lube and it’s fine (other than last week’s run.) I’ve even worn it with just a sports bra and it’s fine. Once again- generous lube.
      Ha ha… my son was sound asleep while I was working out. Part of our problem is that he’s opposed to “leg days” and wants to only work upper body. Men!

  7. Christmas decorations are coming down today! We had a low-key NYE around here – well, my husband and I did. The boys went to a party and one was the DD, the other came home without a shirt and is now facing his workday at a restaurant of all places. Ah, the fires of youth.

    1. Ah, youth! I’ve been to plenty of NYE’s parties (but always came home with a shirt.) I’m definitely ready to spend every New Year’s at home for the rest of my life.
      Good luck un-Christmas-ing the house!

  8. How awesome that you’re back up to a 14-mile run! I’m so happy for you.

    All of our decorations are still up. I’ll take them down on Tuesday – tomorrow is booked solid with work.

    We stay in for NYE. Our kids came over for dinner and I was in bed and asleep by 11 PM. Here’s to a happy, healthy, and fit 2023!

  9. What a clever hydration vest. I’m looking for the kind of belt with small bottles, thinking it’s more convenient and easier to run with. I’ll see what I find. Today when we went for our long walk I took a whiskey hip flask filled with water. Worked fine in the pocket. 🙂
    I’m fascinated that you run in shorts and tank top with temps in the 50s. That’s like 10-15C? With 10 degrees I definitely go out with 3 simple layers and a hat (depends on the wind)!
    I prefer being home for New Year, with friends, or at friends’ house but a small group. We were at home and had friends over, it was a nice and quiet New Year’s celebration. I’ve removed some Christmas decorations but not all – that will probably happen next week.
    The brutal leg day sounds fantastic!

    1. Yep, 50s is tank top weather! It’s a little cold when I first go out the door, but once I’m running it’s perfect.
      I’ve tried hydration belts in the past but always had a problem with them bouncing around too much. If you find one you like, let us know. I’d be willing to try again.
      The brutal leg day lived up to its name- but it was also fantastic.

  10. Well, we didn’t bring any holiday decorations from Minneapolis as we didn’t know what we could fit (or store) so there’s nothing to take down! That was always my least favorite part, but then it feels so good and uncluttered afterwards.

    I’m glad running is going well! Must be all that Caroline strength training 🙂

    1. Yes, I noticed we both did Day #20 this week! She’s really good.
      I HATE taking the Christmas stuff down- that’s why it was a relief to get the tree taken care of. Now for the rest of the house…

  11. Your snacks look yummy! (Look how I skip past all the healthful exercise and straight for the snacks.) My kid and I watched movies last night and then my husband joined us for the ball drop. We all slept in waaayyyyy too late today.

    I love your card display and I think they can stay up much longer than any other Christmas decor. I have a friend who leaves them up year round and my mom tapes them to her fridge and replaces them with new cards each December.

    1. There’s a reason why I put pictures of yummy snacks! They’re a lot more fun than all the running pictures.
      Yes, maybe I’ll find a way to keep the cards out indefinitely. Things always look so drab when I take down the Christmas decs- keeping the cards would help.

  12. Great week for you…a 14-miler! I’m not an early bedtime person, so I prefer to watch the ball drop (and then some). I got to experience my first escape room adventure last night, so that was fun!

    1. That’s funny because you’re usually an early riser! So you’re not just a night owl or a morning person- you’re both. I’m sure your night was a lot more exciting than mine!

  13. Nice to see you up to 14 miles!

    Our decorations are still up – my boys always ask for everything to stay up through the new year. It will all come down this week.

    We are definitely stay-at-home types for NYE – just not a fan of all the chaos. Our boys were home too so it was a family game night and fondue dinner.

    1. I had to clear it with my kids first, but they were okay with the tree coming down. We had a great tree this year but everyone agreed that it was past its prime.
      A family game night for New Year’s sounds perfect!

  14. Happy New Year’s Jenny! We’ve now known each other via the wonders of the internet for a little over a year, but I feel like I’ve been following along forever. I just love reading about all your life adventures (and misadventures).

    We are definitely stay-at-home people for NYE. I was asleep by 9:30 pm (and then awake at 10:30 because my son is still sick and came into our room which = a very restless night).

    But it was a fun evening. The kids had a “start sleepover” with a movie, while my husband and I watched Glass Onion, drank champagne and ate a whole bunch of delicious finger foods he had prepared. I always feel slightly lame we stay home on NYE, but that’s just where we’re at in this phase of life with kids. I had thought of hiring a babysitter so we could go out, but I’m really glad we didn’t since our son is still so hit-and-miss with his health!

    Our decorations are all still up because we have company that doesn’t leave until Tuesday. I dither about how to approach dismantling things. The wreath on the front door will stay up for a while and that is literally our only outside decoration. The tree will come down Tuesday or Wednesday. Usually I say I’m going to take things down slowly and then end up doing everything all at once. But I think I might actually take everything down slowly this year?! Most of my decorations are generically “wintery” and I’m craving the nice glow of twinkle lights for longer. So I might leave our downstairs tree up for another month? And the mantle swag, too? Time will tell.

    Finally – I love that your cards are still up (mine too!), and I might have spotted a few familiar faces and/or cards in the mix!!!

    1. Yes, there were probably some VERY familiar faces in my card display. I have FOUR blogger cards this year!!! I love it. I would like to somehow leave my cards out and some white lights out for a couple more weeks- everything else is coming down this week. I’m doing much better with this than usual- last year at this time I was deep in a post-holiday funk.
      The thought of going out on New Year’s Eve is honestly exhausting to me. My poor husband worked, and he said the roads were still really crowded at 2 am when he was coming home. No, I’m glad I was in bed!
      I’m sorry that Levi still isn’t feeling well! Poor guy… and poor you. I hope this issue is resolved soon.

  15. Yay, twinning on running 14 miles this week! I also wore I hydration vest, which I never do although I own two of them! It worked out well, even though I only took one tiny sip of water. I’m impressed you wore shorts at 40 degrees! I overdressed a bit this week for the 50s just because I thought it was super odd to wear shorts in December and I was glad my arms were “protected” against the rain.
    Our tree will be staying up until at least mid January. Although it feels a bit messy at times, I do like to look at the decorations (and we’re lazy!). We did start a cleaning kick and will be purging items in a few rooms and I hope to remodel my home office this year.
    When does your son head back to school?

    1. Do you have a real tree? Because that was the problem- we got our tree right before Thanksgiving and it was getting pretty old and brittle. If we had an artificial tree I might have left it up.
      You ran 14 miles and only took one sip of water?????? I practically emptied both my bottles!!!
      My son is here till January 16th- YAY!

      1. ah yes, that does make sense -artificial tree for us. The cats used to cause too much mess with the watering system and we are always gone skiing during the holidays so we gave up on real trees! I barely drink water much at all on my long runs. I usually only carry a little bottle, but it’s not warm or humid so there’s another thing!

  16. Your card display is gorgeous! I can see why you want to keep it up longer. Do your cats mess with the garland or ornaments on the bench? Our Zelda would have that ripped down in 0.3 seconds!

    My notes for Iron Day 20 say “Ha ha. Lots of modifications on this one. I think there are exercises that are literally impossible to do.” You are obviously Super Woman for repeating it!

    1. WELL… I can’t do the core part without resting. Those planks with the hip dip, side plank, etc. are brutal.
      My calico cat tore down that garland and ornaments about 50 times, ha ha. She really loved it!

  17. I took one look at that hydration pack and doubted I’d be able to handle the bottles in and out. Sorry about the surprise chafing! How nice to have both of your kiddos home. I know that time slips away fast. Thing 2 had friends stay over on NYE so we were home watching tons of football and chaperoning that. I’ll choose a low-key stay-home NYE over being out on the town any day. I will stay up to ring in the New Year though! Nice job on that 14 miler!

    1. Thank you Marcia! Yes, it was nice having both kids home- it won’t always be like that.
      I think getting the bottles in and out of the pack is going to be a skill I have to learn- I can do the right hand one. I just have to practice with the left.

  18. Nice work on the long trail run but the chafing sounds AWFUL!! Ouch!!

    I have ran 3 out of the last 4 days so feel good about that. My runs are only 3-4 miles but it’s something! Now I want to finish off the beach body program I am in the middle of so I can check out that Caroline Girvan one!

    Our Christmas decorations are still up. This is the longest we have kept them up. But we had Christmas with my MIL yesterday so I kept the tree up for that. Last year I think I took it down on the 26th! I will take it down tomorrow when the kids are at school and we have the day off (yay!!)

    Last night was like a normal night for us. I did not stay up any later. I love the idea of new years but do not enjoy staying up late so never celebrate ‘traditionally’. Your food looks so yummy! We got really delicious take out! And today I am making a big pot of soup with the ham bone from our Christmas ham.

    Happy birthday to your December babes. Will’s is in December but early in the month. So it could be worse. But a December birthday is not great!!

    1. If I didn’t have the kids at home, I would have no interest staying up till midnight on NYE. Of course if I went to bed earlier I would be awakened by all the fireworks at midnight anyway.
      I’ll be interested to see what you think of Caroline Girvan!

  19. I stayed home on Saturday and was in bed at 9pm. Your food on NYE looks yummy, healthy or not. Still yummy. I’ve had the chafing thing happen to me too. It is simply the worst. Does the water make a sloshing noise in the bottles?

    1. I don’t notice a sloshing noise- BUT I always freeze the bottles 9/10ths full of water, then add a little extra water before I start the run. So definitely no sloshing in the beginning, and it takes a while for the ice to melt.

  20. Our holiday decorations are still up, but I’m very much pro taking them down as soon as we can (but putting them up as soon as possible too). Now it just feels like extra clutter that I can’t wait to get rid of! NYE we stayed in and after putting the 3 little ones to bed watched a movie and drank wine/bubbly, so it was a nice relaxing celebration. Just what we needed! And your dinner looks great!

    1. Yes, we like to get the decorations up EARLY. As a result… by the end of December they’re getting pretty old. It does start to feel like extra clutter, and feels good to get them put away.
      Your NYE sounds really nice! I’m sure you needed relaxation more than you needed a big party.

  21. Ooh, those pretzels and cheese dip look yummy!

    We went to a friends’ house in the next neighborhood. I left early, because I can’t make it til midnight. Oh, well.

    I wish we had a few more 40 degree days. It’s so nice for running. Oh, well.

    Happy New Year! let’s make it a great one!

    1. Yes, our cold snap didn’t last long enough! I would take more nights in the 50s- I love that weather for running and sleeping.

  22. Happy New Year! I love your NYE countdown clock – so cute and festive.

    Our holiday decorations are still up. We actually keep them up a bit longer in our house. My mom’s birthday is January 16th so we usually wait until then to take everything down.

    1. Yes, I know people who leave their decorations up well in January. That doesn’t work when you have a real tree though- or, if we wanted to do that we’d have to put it up later and we’re too impatient- we want to get it up the second Thanksgiving is over.

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