Oof. This was a week with a little of everything… stress, joy, excitement, relaxation, and sleep issues of epic proportions (don’t worry- that problem is being solved by a large bottle of Advil PM). There weren’t a lot of workouts, because I had to prioritize rest as much as possible. But I’m joining Kim and Deborah as always for the Weekly Rundown… here’s how it went.
Monday
I woke up supremely unrested. As a reminder, I finished a 20 mile run on Saturday night, and I did not feel recovered at all. I ran 3 miles and was relieved when it was over.
At night my low back was killing me- I did a yoga with Adriene video, and it helped a lot.
Tuesday
It was so tempting to skip working out, but in the spirit of Festivus I decided to perform some “feats of strength”, aka an upper body workout.
Wednesday
Running-wise, I felt back to normal for a 4 mile run.
Then I worked, hosted a dinner, got everything ready for Christmas morning… and collapsed into bed.
Thursday
Merry Christmas! We opened presents, and then I spent as much time as possible lying on the couch, reading and listening to music. A perfect day.
Friday
The best decision I ever made was to take Boxing Day off of work! I started the day with a 5 mile run..
and then spent a second day lying on the couch. It was even better than Christmas because I didn’t have to cook dinner- there were plenty of leftovers.
Saturday
Somehow, I did no workouts. I opted to sleep in as much as possible before work, and then at night my son and I had a Severance marathon, where we binge watched the last five episodes of season one.
Sunday
On tap… a run, obviously. And, hip stability exercises. Time to start easing back into regular life! My next long run is on New Year’s Eve, and I want to tackle it with renewed energy.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!
Have you watched Severance?
Was your week relaxing, or stressful? (or both?)
29 Responses
A quiet week for me but husband was stressed by parent issues (even though he only saw them yesterday and not at actual Christmas time, but his brother hosted them and was full of angst). I got some runs in including Christmas Day parkrun!
Ah, family issues always boil over during the holidays! I hope things have calmed down and your husband can relax. The Christmas Day parkrun was probably really fun!
Happy holidays.
Love your cat pix.
Nope on Severance.
Glad you see all your runs getting done. Wow. 20 miles. You are amazing.
Oh, thank you Darlene but I’m actually feeling behind on my long runs! I have a BIG race coming up in March and I need to be ready.
you will be!!!
Nice work with all those miles! And that sunshine…can you send some to me?
Your kitties look so comfy–the photo makes me want to pet that soft fur! Happy New Year Jenny!
THank you Wendy! I’ll trade you some sunshine for some cooler air. I’m tired of 80s in December!
I have not watched severance. I am curious about it since people rave about it.
The week was pretty stressful overall. But I am back home now and we only have Paul this week. And we will get a pretty big snowstorm today which I am actually pretty excited about, so long as I can still get to my 10am eye appt tomorrow! I forgot to book it in December so really need to get in so I can use my insurance dollars! We might get as much as 8” of snow!
Severance is really weird, but also really good. My son LOVES it, it’s his favorite show.
A big snowstorm sounds cozy! Enjoy your time with Paul.
Happy holidays sounds like a nice time with the family. I could not get into severance at all. Maybe I should try again? Hope you get the rest and recovery you are looking for this week! Happy new year
Severance is a really weird show, it seems like people either love it or hate it. My son LOVES it, but my sister tried it and couldn’t get into it.
Happy New Year!
Nice job this week! A day of sleeping in and a Severance marathon sounds amazing. I would love to watch that show, but we don’t have apple+. Have a good run today!
I don’t usually have apple TV- somehow my son rigged it up while he’s here. So I’m not sure if I’ll be able to go on to the second season.
I’m glad your Christmas was restful! My week was busy, like yours. My back, currently, is not happy … probably from sharing my bed with daughter-2, daughter-1’s dog (Lola) & Max, LOL. But I’ll be fine. The joy of having everyone here was worth the minimal back achyness.
Yes, I would make that tradeoff too. But I hope your back feels better soon!
Love the cat ornament in your first photo — it looks so real!
I binge-watched the first 1/2 of Severance on a long flight and then had to binge watch the rest when I got home — my husband had watched it already. I think Season 2 is coming soon.
I need to figure out how to get motivated to get off the sofa and back to my usual activity leverl!
Yes, it’s a little hard to get back to real life. Oh well- we needed a break.
Season 2 of Severance is out- and there’s a Season 3 coming.
I’m so happy to hear that your back issues didn’t seem to last long. Your Christmas Day and the day after sound wonderful!
I love your kitty ornament in the first photo – so sweet!
Yes, luckily the back stopped bothering me- turns out not working and lying on the couch for two days helped it.
I know, that kitty ornament was a gift from a Secret Santa this year- she really nailed it!!!
I love that ornament. What a sweet memory. <3
Our holiday was super busy, but I thrive on that sometimes. I'll be tired when it's done, but right now, I'm leaning all the way in.
Will I hermit for the month of January? Most likely.
Happy New Year, Jenny!
I know Jenn- it was so busy, but I was soaking it all in. There will be a time when our kids have their own families and the holidays might look different, so I embrace all the happy chaos while I can!
The ornament is actually a Foxy ornament- Charlotte (our black cat) is the one who’s gone. She has an ornament too!
I’m so glad you had a nice restful Christmas Day and Boxing Day! It’s been very relaxing around here. My entire family and I were complete slugs on Boxing Day, and most of yesterday too, although I did get in a workout. We are being slightly more productive today!
Being a complete slug is just what you need sometimes! But.. eventually we have to get back to regular life.
I have never seen Severence, but I think my husband has watched it?
I am feeling a bit… discombobulated. I think having company in the house, the kids home, combined with some cold weather and weird work schedules for my husband leaves me not quite knowing what to do with myself. BUT, I’ve just posted about my goals for 2026 and that has breathed some fresh life into my final week of the year and I’m intending to finish strong <3
Sounds like a good mix of relaxing, family time and workouts, though I’m sorry about the stress and lack of sleep! I had the whole week off work so it was very relaxing but I also got in 50 miles of running which was my biggest week in almost a year! I wish I could always take off work for my peak weeks because it makes it so much easier to recover and get plenty of sleep.
My next race is in less than 3 weeks now so I’m sort of starting the taper but I’m hoping to get in a 13 mile run tomorrow. I didn’t get in any strength training this week though (oops!) so I would also like to remedy that this coming week!
My sleep has been GARBAGE lately! I’m going to try melatonin tonight for the first time ever and if that doesn’t work Ima step into the world of CBD because I am sick of this.
Hubs and I started Severance but we got interrupted by Christmas. We only saw two episodes and I’m not hooked yet but I want to keep watching since everyone loves the show.
NYE Long Run!!! Woo hoo!
Good job combining a busy week with workouts! And, a lot of couch time too. That sounds perfect! I have started spending time working on scrapbooking projects again (digitally). It’s been fun seeing our past activities. It lightens up the dreary days when the sun is hiding!
My workout schedule is all out of whack with the kids home. I don’t mind a bit 🙂
I am happy you took it a little easier this week and just went for a few shorter runs.
Good work keeping up your running and other workouts – I got a bit too lazy over Christmas myself. Particularly combined with that increase in sugar intake! I almost never eat sugar nowadays except some honey in my coffee, on top of yoghurt and if I take sports drinks to the gym, but on Christmas I happily indulge in chocolate and Christmas pudding.
How good for you to get some extra time to relax over Christmas after the busy time prepping, and with that lovely furry company too. Hope you catch up with sleep!