I have a 90-year-old client who I see once a week. She’s in pretty great shape, although she does have her aches and pains (as we all do.) This week when I asked how she was, she said “Oh, you know- another week older.” For some reason that cracked me up.
So here we all are, another week older (and wiser!) I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah as always for this weekly rundown. Let’s just see how it went!
Sunday
Because it was Easter, I did my longer run the previous day so I could be home in the morning with my daughter. We slept late and made waffles, which was nice, but as the day went on I felt more and more blah. Lazy days are always better in theory than in practice… know what I mean?
In the afternoon I did a 20 minute lower body strength class and a 10 minute core class on the Peloton app with Ben Alldis, then did my pull-up work. Full body strength- I felt much better!
Monday
Very exciting day- Marathon Monday! I had finagled the day off of work, and had the perfect morning. I did a 3 mile run, followed by a 10 minute core class. After I took my daughter to school I sat down happily to watch the Boston Marathon.
Congratulations to everyone who ran this year!!! I enjoyed watching, tracking, and then reading race recaps throughout the week.
Tuesday
It seemed like forever since I had done yoga, and there was a reason for that. My left hip has been bothering me and last week I did a lot of yoga… and I think it made it worse. I was doing a lot of hip focus flows, and they all seemed to involve pigeon pose. When my hip is cranky like this, pigeon actually makes it worse. SIGH!
I really missed my yoga though, so this morning I did a 30 minute twist focus flow- as always, on Peloton with my favorite instructor, Denis Morton. I really love this class, and there’s no pigeon.
Later in the day I did lower body strength, not with a class but on my own. And I did core work on my stability ball. I just didn’t feel like doing a Peloton class for a change.
Wednesday
Another 3 mile run!
Later in the day I did a 10 minute core class, and worked on my pull-ups again. In addition to my usual warmup and activation moves, I did 15 negatives- 3 sets of 5. The way I do this is- I pull myself up assisted with a band, then slip my leg out of the band and lower myself down, very, very slowly. 15 negatives is a lot for me.
Thursday
In the morning I repeated the same yoga flow from Tuesday. I was surprised that I wasn’t sore from the pull-up negatives when I woke up. But, as the day went on the DOMS kicked in- ouch.
Later in the day I did a 10 minute core class. Instead of sticking only with Ben Alldis, I’ve been just logging onto Peloton and picking the first ten minute core class that comes up. This one was Daniel McKenna, and it was fine.
Friday
It was a running day, and just to mix things up I did a 10 minute strength for runners class with Matt Wilpurs as a warmup. It was all bodyweight, and mostly lunges. There were plyometrics at the end, which I ignored- I just did squats. It was a good pre-run workout.
Then a 3 mile run….
And later in the day a 10 minute core class.
Saturday
In the morning I did a 45 minute yoga flow, and had every intention of doing a core class later in the day. But…
I got very involved in acquiring our two newest family members!
Over the years we’ve had many guinea pigs (it never ends well.) At one point we had five at once. We were down to two, and since the kids are getting older I was thinking of phasing us out of guinea pig parenthood. But on Thursday one of our girls died (so sad!) and I couldn’t just leave her sister all alone. Guinea pigs are very social creatures and they need guinea pig friends. In Switzerland it’s actually against the law to own just one guinea pig (I wonder how often that law is enforced.)
Anyway, I fully intended to get ONE guinea pig but apparently I’m incapable of such a thing, and came home with two little sisters for our girl. I’m aware that I’m caught in a vicious cycle here- unless all our guinea pigs die at the same time, I’ll constantly be getting a new one (or two.) Oh well- who can resist these cute little faces?
Sunday
On tap for today…. a trail run! I’m planning to go seven miles, and because it’s pretty hot I unearthed my hydration vest- it’s been quite a while since I used it. I can’t wait!
How was your week? Do you do well with lazy days, or do you get restless? – I like to do a hard workout or long run, and THEN be lazy.
Have you ever had guinea pigs? – They’re really easy to take care of, and believe it or not they coexist happily with cats!
40 Responses
Never had Guinea pigs. Only cats.
Of course I get restless. But actually less than during the pandemic. Only one thing a day. A run or the gym/walk. Those double up days have faded. I blame work
Todays a 5 mile race. But it should be a 10 mile run.
Enjoy your trail run.
Thanks Darlene! I did enjoy my run, and I hope you had a good race. I’m looking forward to the recap.
I can so relate to the lazy day feeling. They sound great – even romantic – but I always get antsy later in the day!
Melissa, from reading your blog it doesn’t sound like you get too many truly lazy days! Your family keeps you busy.
Oh, the guinea pigs are so cute! We’ve had smaller rodents, but not guinea pigs.
I’m so happy to hear you’re going fora 7 mile run today. I hope that means your foot is feeling better.
I think I did that Daniel core class this morning. I thought it had more breaks than necessary.
I’m a week older, but not sure about wiser. 😉
Yeah, Daniel’s class did give too many breaks- it’s only ten minutes, I can power through that!
I think my foot is feeling better… I’m hopeful. I’m going to talk about it this Friday in Runfessions!
ah, I love Cinnamon and Nutmeg! Such cuties. I had no idea that it was illegal to have just one in Switzerland. Glad you are keeping them happy with friends!
Very interesting that you have a 90 year old client that comes over week! Good for her. I’m finally getting a massage today, it’s been way too long and my body needs it. Can’t wait!
Jessie, you definitely deserve a massage! I hope it was a good one, and that you’re recovering well from Boston.
No guinea pigs (or any pets), but Abby has “earned” a hamster and will get that over the summer. I’m not looking forward to it, I’ll admit, but she is SO excited. I’m allergic to dogs/cats and my mother was very afraid of dogs, so I have never grown up with pets around.
I know what you mean about getting restless.
I like lazy/productive days. Days where I can just putter on different tasks, but without any pressure to be anywhere at a specific time. Yesterday was such a day and it was perfect. My husband took the kids for a walk in the morning and I went to the grocery store. We did some housework together. My son had an impromptu play date with a friend coming to our house. I did a laundry. We went to a thrift store together. I went to the library and renewed my library card and got a stack of books. I made a batch of muffins and prepped for a soup today. I went for a walk with a friend, and my husband and I watched a movie over supper (our weekly at-home date night). Nothing HAD to get done, but I just did a lot of different things that were a mix of fun/productive. So it felt lazy…but in the non-restless way?
Also, do you know how much I love that you went out for a run before watching the Boston Marathon? SO MUCH!
Your “lazy” day actually sounds exhausting to me! Maybe I’m making my lazy days a little TOO lazy.
I think a hamster is the perfect pet for Abby. You won’t have to do much of anything to take care of it, and they’re really cute. AND, unlike guinea pigs, hamsters actually like living alone. So you won’t end up with a bunch of them. I’m hoping to see pictures of this hamster when it arrives!
I definitely get antsy on rest days and end up doing some sort of pantry or closet reorganization lol. I know they are necessary though. Funny, pigeon pose helps me when my hips feel tight. You packed in a ton of workouts this week. Looks like running is going well this week too! Thanks for linking up
Thank you Deborah! It was a good week. I kept trying to do pigeon thinking it would help, but finally had to admit it was irritating my hip- I don’t know why.
Hope the guinea pigs get on with each other! I only ever had cats as a child, and have only had them as an adult. I think my husband had one and a rabbit. Next door used to have two (the people three neighbours ago) and we used to look after them when they were on holiday, but unfortunately they got sick and it used to be a terrible worry going round! Anyway, a good week, well done, and some nice flying feet shots!
Thanks Liz! The girls are getting along, although our older one seems slightly irritated by the youthful exuberance of the newcomers.
We had several hamsters growing up, and our kids had many as well. I have a huge fondness for little furry critters. Currently, the youngest has four guinea pigs, and we had the two “boys” for awhile because she had limited space in her room (she keeps them in her tiny bedroom at her apartment at college). While we were in Florida, though, she was able to make space for them (it was very tight). They are cute! You probably know my rest days usually involve some kind of movement…walking, stretching, easy biking. I feel more tired ‘not-moving’ than I do while in motion (even if it’s s-l-o-w motion). I hope your run went well!
Kim, I also love all furry little creatures! Growing up I had gerbils, mice, hamsters… and then in college a couple rats. Rats actually make great pets, but my mom wouldn’t let me have one growing up. I’m laughing at your daughter with her four guinea pigs- there’s something about them that makes you want to get more and more!
Yes, I’ve noticed you rarely (if ever?) take a complete rest day. Moving definitely feels best.
I do get antsy on my rest days, despite how much I need them. Of late I try to at least get a walk done. I don’t do well with pigeon – like you, I find it does more to aggravate my hips than help. I do much better with a 90-90 stretch instead. Your guinea pigs are so cute 🙂
I’m glad you said that Michelle! I’m definitely going to avoid pigeon for a while. Yes- a walk really helps on rest days.
Just another way that you and I are so different – I think lazy days are a good idea AND good in practice!
I have friends who were caught in the exact same guinea pig quandary as you! They had two, one died, and then they just kept getting two more at a time, so they always had two or three despite the fact that they really wanted zero. Ha! (This story ends when the old guinea pig died and they had a younger pair and they were able to give the younger pair away to a good home.) I think they’re sort of funny little creatures and they always amuse me when I get to hang out with them.
Ha ha, that’s funny- so I’m not the only crazy guinea pig mom. I envision something like that happening to us eventually. They are really funny creatures- I’ve been enjoying watching ours putter around their new home.
Cute guinea pigs! I have never had them but they look sweet.
They are so, so sweet. And I don’t think there’s any animal cuter than guinea pigs.
Awwww cute girls! Love the names you gave them! We had cats and dogs and even birds growing up, but never guinea pigs. I know I need to go see my sports chiro and have my pelvis adjusted. My hips are speaking to me.
Ah! Maybe I need to have my pelvis adjusted! I’m just not thrilled with going to another doctor, after the 10,000 appointments with my podiatrist.
My mom considers all rabbits, guinea pigs and such rodents — and therefore we never had any. We did always have cats & dogs, however. I do not share my mom’s feelings about guinea pigs — so congrats on the new members of your family!
There’s an easy modification for pigeon pose. Really, there’s several, but just do reclined pigeon pose. Lay done, soles of feet on the floor, knees pointing towards the ceiling. Bring one knee up and cross that foot over the thigh (not knee!) of the leg that is still on the floor.
Pigeon pose is a great pose for runners, but it’s also a difficult pose on a lot of bodies. The reclined version is much gentler. You can also extend the bottom leg up to the ceiling to take some of the stretch into the hamstring.
I’m not a go-go-go person. I’m active, but I know that I need to balance it — it’s usually not a big problem. Although presently I’m trying to wheedle my husband out of the house & meeting resistance.
Okay, thank you Judy! I’m going to do reclined pigeon for a while. I appreciate the advice!
Congrats on the expanding family! 🙂 I have never had guinea pigs, just kittens and more kittens! I did spend a lot of time at work streaming the Boston Marathon and tracking all of my friends. My running buddy did make it to Boston, despite her pains, and she finished in a very respectable time! It looked like the perfect race day. I’ve got a week of recovery happening now so I’ll see how good I do with keeping it low key. But these kittens are keeping me busy enough, so maybe I won’t even notice!
Yes, I think those kittens are probably exhausting you! I hope you can get some good rest this week.
I’m going to take a few rest days this week after another race and a very active weekend! I’m home from work for CME conference (virtual). I’m actually looking forward to putting my feet up!
We never had Guinea pigs but we had a crazy hamster, Stuart Little, who should have been named Houdini. He always escaped from his cage no matter how secure we made it. One time he disappeared for a week. We though he was gone, but when I fired up my treadmill, I heard a scratching sound inside the motor. Yep, he was living there. Even had his own stash of the dog’s food!
Oh yes- hamsters will do that. I remember setting up little traps for our escaped hamsters. I’m picturing Stuart Little living happily inside your treadmill (bad choice of homes, Stuart!) with his stash of food. They’re so funny.
You definitely deserve some rest days after your back-to-back races! I think I would enjoy a couple lazy days under those circumstances.
Oh my gosh! Those piggies are so cute! Mr PugRunner will END me if I bring home anything else, so two pugs is all we can do. For now. :insert evil laugh: Best of luck with them.
I’ve been doing a lot of core right now, too. Do I hate it? Yes. Is it worth it? Probably? I’ll report back.
Ha ha… yes, why is core so, so painful? It better be worth it!
I would say for now you’ve got your hands full with the pugs. Later on…. you never know : )
I never had guinea pigs growing up! We were a non-pet household until I was 16 and my parents let me get a cat – but probably only because my HS BF’s cat had kittens! We have a part-time cat now (she spends most of her time with my MIL – she’s basically been her emotional support animal since the pandemic and it now feels like she is her cat…). I can’t see us getting any pets besides a cat in the future, though, but time will tell!
I love the variety of your workouts! I’m blanking on what I did last week, but I know I did a beach body HIIT cardio workout on Friday and ran on the treadmill at the hotel on Saturday. I should have ran outdoors but I didn’t plan out where to run before the trip. I have really struggled to fit in as much running as I’d like since returning to work, and the cold weather has not helped! But hopefully it warms up soon (it was 32F this morning!! Worst spring ever!). I’m signed up to run a 10 mile race in late May and am thinking I need to drop down to the 10k distance. 10 miles seems like a stretch since my longest run this winter/spring was 5.5 miles!!
Well, I think my schedule is MUCH easier than yours. My kids are older so I can focus on working out more. Also we don’t have cold weather- that helps a lot!
Guinea pigs! How cute! I didn’t know that they shouldn’t be alone. That’s true that you’ll just get into a neverending cycle of new guinea pigs when the older ones pass away.
I love a good lazy day, haha. Too many of them in a row is when I start feeling blah. I had a lazy day on Sunday and it was AMAZING. Different strokes for different folks. 🙂
Yes, I definitely agree that too many lazy days make you feel awful! i like a lazy day if i’ve been really, really busy leading up to it.
We’ve never had guinea pigs, but I do agree that they’re really cute, and I love the names you’ve given your newest family members.
Thanks for the reminder to do pull-up negatives. I haven’t done them for a while. I yearn for down days and then when I have one I’m completely bored!
Ugh, I’m still sore from the negatives I did two days ago! They’re effective though.
My daughter chose the guinea pig names. They used to all have “color’ names… Violet, Indigo, Lavendar… now we’ve apparently moved onto spices.
Oh, I went through phases where I wanted guinea pigs. I’ve ever had a pet (can you imagine?). Are they easy to take care of? One of these days I’ll have a pet… I hope.
Maybe guinea pigs can be your first pets! They really are easy to take care of. And they’re fun, and cute. I would say the only downside is you have to arrange for someone to take care of them if you’re going to be out of town for more than a couple days, which can be a pain.