Hi there! Welcome to the Weekly Rundown, hosted as always by Kim and Deborah (thanks, ladies!) This week was back to school and the start (more or less) of a new workout schedule for me. Let’s just see how it went…
Sunday
Oof. I waited until the afternoon, which meant I had a VERY hot 4 mile run.
Monday
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! I think I’ve made it clear that this was not, in fact, my first rodeo (actually it was my 18th) and I believe I handled it perfectly. I didn’t nag about leaving on time, or complain about sitting in the carline forever (because we left late). It didn’t matter to me- I had cleared my schedule for the morning. After the drop off, I went to Starbucks to celebrate our last first day.
At night I did hip stability exercises.
Tuesday
9 mile trail run! Because of the school drop off, I decided to go to a closer trail. This trail is right on the edge of the Everglades, so it’s a little more “wild” than my other trail. There are pros and cons of this!
The biggest con- it’s very buggy this time of year. Any time I stopped, I was attacked by biting flies. Also, there is ZERO shade and the heat really got to me. That’s okay- I have to get more serious about heat management for these longer runs.
At night I did Adriene’s yoga for lower back pain..
Wednesday
3 mile run…
and then hip stability exercises. Later in the day I did Adriene’s runner’s yoga.
Thursday
In the morning, an upper body strength workout. Later in the day a 40 minute walk.
Friday
In the morning, hip stability again, and core work. After work, I ran 4 miles on the treadmill at the gym.
AND THEN… it was our first high school football game!
Here’s the thing… our team has been State Champions two years in a row. So what happens now is, instead of just playing teams in our district, they bring in high-powered teams from Far Away. And this means the games attract a TON of people. It took forever to park and get into the stadium, and then it was super crowded (this game was sold out). I was kind of missing the good old days when we just played a team from the next town over…
But, it actually turned out to be one of the most exciting high school football games I’ve ever seen. We ended up losing 24-23 in overtime (UGH!) BUT, this was technically a pre-season game so it won’t count against us in the standings. It was a dramatic way to start the season!
Saturday
I’ll admit I was kind of glad the game ended when it did and didn’t go into double overtime, because I had to get up early! My new schedule has me going to the gym on Saturday mornings before work. This was a really hard leg day!
I’m still afraid of squats, and they make my low back ache, and yet I persist in doing them. Why? I’m trying to find the answer to that question.
At night… yoga for lower back pain. Obviously.
Sunday
AH! It’s my day to sleep in! But it’s also a running day now, so I’ll probably do that run on the treadmill at the gym in the afternoon. On the news they said our “feels like” temps would get up to 112 and that’s a little too hot for me, ha.
So… the week was mostly successful. I only did one upper body strength session and one lower body and that’s not enough (I do count the hip stability exercises as strength, but they’re bodyweight only). And I only walked one day this week. So… there’s room for improvement!
How was your week? Any “firsts” or “lasts” for you?
25 Responses
I had lower back issues when did not do strength training in the. US. now I’m back into my regime, 2-3 times a week and no more lower back discomfort. I think it has to do with hamstring and glute exercises that we do in every session, more than squads. give it a try and see if helps.
inspired by your workout report, i’ve started mine, writing down every day after workout and will blog on Tuesday. it helps to see patterns and like a training log.
Blogging about workout routines REALLY helps me! First of all I have to keep track of everything I’m doing, and then it also holds me accountable. If I know I’m going to report every Sunday, I don’t want to slack off on workouts.
Hamstrings and glutes defintely affect the low back- I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you!
Congrats on the last first day! I definitely would have been emotional but it sounds like you handled it well. I hope your lower back pain goes away soon – glad to hear you’re also doing hip stability and yoga, maybe that will help. Hopefully this week is a little more manageable- “feels like 112” is a little warm for a run!
I was definitely emotional! I think I’ll have a lot of emotions this whole year. My low back pain is something that I just continually live with- I think it also comes from my job. Yoga helps a lot though.
How are you feeling that your first last day marks the end of an era? Bittersweet? Relieved? What plans does your daughter have for post-high school? As much as I struggled with the boys leaving the nest, I wasn’t sad that high school came to an end.
I’m thinking about your low back pain with squats–it has to be your positioning. Maybe have someone take a look at your form? They shouldn’t cause back pain. I hope you sort it out! I don’t like squats either, but for me it’s that feeling of having all the weight on my back and having to stand back up. I don’t like that feeling!
Right now I’m sad about high school ending. But- by the end of the year I might be relieved. We’ll see!
Maybe I’ll take a video of my squats and post it. You guys can tell me what I’m doing wrong!
Ah the last back to school season is bittersweet. I agree with Wendy that the squat pain must have something to do with positioning and form. There are so many squat variations that one of them has to work for you. Might be worth doing a session with a trainer or PT to investigate
I’m sure a session with a trainer would sort a lot of things out! I’ll definitely take a video of my squats and try to figure out what I’m doing wrong.
Oh, the last back to school must be a special feeling!
I agree with the others about having a session with a trainer for checking out the squats, but also – do you get the low back problem with any weight? Or only with heavier weights? Can you do more single leg squats for a while? There are so many good variants and with single leg squats you don’t need as much weight to make them effective. If that helps!
Wildlife on trails near the Everglades, does that mean… alligators? Or just nice and pleasant things like deer (or is that something else on the photo? sorry if I’m ignorant)?
Yes, that was a deer- you’re not ignorant, it was a blurry photo. There are definitely alligators out there, but I’ve never seen one.
Single leg squats are a good idea. I doubt those would hurt my back.
Happy last first day of high school! I’m sure you have mixed emotions, but it sounds like you’re handling it pretty well! Is that your daughter on the right side behind the sign? And to answer your question, today is the “last” day of our epic 4-week road trip!
How fun to run on a different trail and see some wildlife that’s not on your regular route! Is that an elk or just a very large deer? Whichever, it’s got an impressive rack.
It was a deer! And- wow that is a long road trip. Funny that you do have a “last” today!
What excellent work outs! The biting insects love me, so I don’t think I could venture on such a trail.
A first is my daughter has a teacher new to her class, first week of school,and this is the first time my daughter’s teacher has not sent home any class information or introductory paper or anything. My daughter is mostly non-verbal, so I have no freaking clue what’s going on in class. The teacher next class down, however, is someone I trust implicitly, so she’s let me know if anything wrong. But still sort of weird?
Is that Angie up on the right? She does look like a queen with that crown!
Oh boy- that is weird. Can you email the teacher??? I mean you have to know what’s going on!
Yes, biting insects love me too. As long as I kept moving though they didn’t bite me- great motivation not to stop!
The last of the first day!! I’m glad you were able to roll with whatever the day brought. What a fun tradition with the senior crown wearing! I really do miss those football games. I can see how it would be challenging with the other teams coming in from out of town. I like it to be busy, but not TOO busy. Do you have reserved seats? We bought reserved seats so we could have the best view of the marching band of course 🙂
My “last”? The last time we’ll be buying a new heating/cooling system for our house. Hopefully.
There’s no reserve seats in our stadium. I always sit near the band, but couldn’t do that this time which made me a little cranky. But that’s okay- I could see the halftime show perfectly. Next game is in-district, so it won’t attract as many people.
Okay, I hope this is the last heating/cooling system you’ll buy!
My last was my last session of fire exposure therapy. Wahoo! I am very glad to have that behind me as it was unpleasant. But it was effective. It was also my first day of PTO this month but I have 5 more to look forward to as we go to my parents a week from tomorrow!
I think several runs, 1 upper body, and 1 lower body is a good mix!
That is a great “last!” Congratulations on finishing it. Now it would be nice to finish the lawsuit and really put this behind you.
I’m glad the last first day of school went well, and you got in a lot of runs and workouts this week!
I ended up making this a cutback week because I wasn’t able to get in a run longer than 7 miles due to the heat. I’m visiting my parents this weekend and it’s a little hotter here than where I live and I was tired yesterday and slept in til 7:30 and it was already in the upper 80s by then so I knew a longer run wasn’t in the cards because I wasn’t able to get up to the mountains due to the later start and plans in the afternoon so I settled for 5 spicy trail miles. Luckily I finished before temps hit the triple digits!
This week I had my first day back in office since mid June which was not enjoyable as I really loved being able to work from home for the past 7 weeks. We’re in a new building now but they’re still doing work on it so it’s not the best environment and I’m sad the time working remotely is over. It made the mornings so much easier!
Yes, that’s such a conundrum. You don’t want to get up in the dark because you need your sleep, but then it’s too hot. I opted to sleep in this morning and ran in the afternoon when it was hot AF. But I was only doing 4 miles- no way would I attempt a long run in that heat.
That is kind of a sucky “first.” Maybe there will be an AC malfunction and you’ll have to work from home again (didn’t that happen last year?) Fingers crossed…
That last first day is such a landmark. Squats are tough, but I gotta say I prefer them over lunges, LOL. Lunges really test my balance skills (or lack thereof). Those 112F temps sound pretty hot!
I’ve sworn off lunges because that’s what hurt my hamstring/hip area. Never again! So I guess I have to do squats. lol.
You are a BEAST, Jenny! Way to go! I am especially impressed that you continue to run despite the heat. It gets above 80 and I wilt into a sad little crumple of damp flesh and low motivation.
Can you believe it’s already FOOTBALL (pre)SEASON?!?! I can’t help it, I love football. How cool that your local team is doing so well!
We’re still a few weeks off from school starting (and it starts on a Thursday… right before a long holiday weekend. WHAT?? WHY??). Anyway, we have some time to go. This will be my son’s first year of middle school, but he’ll go to the same school he’s gone to since primary, so it doesn’t feel very exciting or like much of a change!
Glad you survived your last first day. Has she chosen a college yet?
I’m sticking with those machines. No chance of injury…
I can’t imagine running with those temps… maybe you are used to it.