Hello and welcome to the Weekly Rundown, hosted as always by Kim and Deborah. This week started off normally, but mid-week I traveled to Chicago to see my sister! I haven’t seen her in over two years, so it was amazing to be with her and her husband again.
HOWEVER…
This presented a challenge, workout-wise. My sister and her husband don’t run, do yoga, lift weights, or own any exercise equipment. They enjoy walking, working in the yard, and taking the occasional bike ride. They eat delicious food and are both a normal weight. They don’t wish they could run, or walk farther or faster, or that they were stronger. They’re happy just the way they are. I know- it’s baffling.
Knowing this, I tried to frontload my workouts to the beginning of the week as much as possible, and planned to adopt a “when in Rome” attitude once I got to my sister’s. Well, more like “When in Rome, do as the Romans do, assuming Romans like to run.” Let’s just see how it all worked out!
Sunday
4 mile run! I was super happy to complete this run with no shin pain.
Monday
It was yoga Monday- plus a couple bonus workouts. I did a chest and back strength class with Matty (all classes on Peloton and Matty is my favorite strength instructor right now) and a core class.
Tuesday
I started the morning with a glutes and leg strength class (with Matty of course!) and a core class, with a 2 mile run in between.
Wednesday
Wednesdays are my day off from work, so I figured I would squeeze in the next four days’ worth of workouts. What? It doesn’t work like that? Oh, darn.
I started the morning with a 3 mile run…
… and then did an arms and shoulders strength class (hello again, Matty!) and another core class.
Thursday
Leave for Chicago!!!! But first… I got in one last strength class, my favorite glutes and legs class with Matty. And, yes… core.
Friday
One extra little thing- it is HILLY in the Chicago area! At least, compared to South Florida where it’s completely, totally flat. In my sister’s neighborhood I feel like I’m always running up or down a hill. No wonder they get a workout from walking! My sister calls their hilly walks “butt walking” because you use your glutes so much. I went out for a 3 mile “butt run.”
In the afternoon we went BLUEBERRY PICKING!!! That’s something we can’t do in Florida.
We spent the afternoon at the blueberry farm- we picked blueberries, took a break for a picnic lunch, then picked some more. We kept popping blueberries into our mouths while we picked, and I thought of the line from Willy Wonka: “Violet, you’re turning violet, Violet!” I imagined myself turning into a gigantic blueberry.
Saturday
I could say that I got up early and did a bodyweight strength class… a standing core workout… planks and pushups… but that would be a humongous lie. No, I slept late and then we made blueberry pancakes (obviously.) After a leisurely breakfast we went for a long walk, then in the afternoon went out for a beer, then home to grill fajitas for dinner. To be honest, I didn’t miss working out at all.
Sunday
On tap for today…. a hilly 5 mile run (wish me luck!) Then more blueberry pancakes (my sister and her husband have a lot of blueberries to get through) and then… flying back home to Florida. SIGH! It’s hard to have a vacation end.
I know- I was right near Chicago and didn’t go into the city. I didn’t see the Art Institute or Wrigley Field. I didn’t go an an architecture river cruise or see The Bean. Other than the blueberry picking adventure, we hung out at my sister’s house, went for walks, watched movies, and talked and talked (and talked… I think her husband’s mind starts to spin at how much my sister and I can talk.) It was a great trip.
How was your week? Did you do anything unusual?
Have you ever been blueberry picking?
39 Responses
Glad to hear you and your sister got together. Sounds like you had fun.
No one in my family runs or works out. Nor do many of my friends. So time with them is often doing what they enjoy.
Never picked blueberries but do pick other fruits. We have a lot of nearby farms. Not much anymore since it’s just the two of us.
Not much happening here except hot temps.
The only thing we picked as a kid were apples- I remember going apple picking a couple times and that was really fun.
Sometimes it’s great just to give up your routine for a bit and go with the flow- I definitely enjoyed it.
I know how you feel-I’m in Alabama visiting my southern bff. I’m returning home tomorrow. It’s always hard to leave after a fun weekend away!
Yes, it’s so hard to have a vacation end! I’m at work right now (Monday) and I have to admit I’m a little cranky about it.
What a fun trip! Don’t get me wrong, we loved doing all of the Big City stuff in CHI, but hanging out with family with no agenda besides eating 12 pounds of blueberries sounds like a dream.
Yes, it was so fun! There’ll be other trips where we do all the Chicago things… but not this time.
I think that “downtime” was probably just the ticket for you. My SIL lived in Chicago Suburbs for several years — with young kids — so when we visited we rarely went into the city. Although my SIL has all kinds of energy!
Very happy you got to go see your sister! That’s a nice change!
We got all sorts of hills here — the challenge is usually finding somewhere flat to run. 🙂
Yes, that seriously would be the challenge in my sister’s neighborhood- I felt like there wasn’t one flat stretch at all. I’m pretty sure the hills in her neighborhood are mild compared to yours- but they felt huge to me.
Oh blueberries!!!!! We used to go to a blueberry farm when we were in Michigan. The kids were little then, but they LOVED picking blueberries. I seriously think we may have eaten more blueberries than we actually brought home (certainly more than we paid for, LOL). I know the feeling of “butt runs.” I’m not in a super-hilly area of the state, but we have a lot of hills in my town (and I live on one of them). And then there’s that wicked bike path….
Sounds like you had a great time with your sister. A little time away from the workouts is a nice little gift to oneself 😉
Yes, it was very easy to fall into a more relaxed mode while I was there! It was interesting that I didn’t miss my workouts at all.
Oh it’s so much fun to go on sister adventures. Sounds like you still got a great run in. It’s flat around here so I love going somewhere that has hills.
Those fresh blueberries look so good. I’m sure a day of picking was a workout on its own.
Ha ha, any calories I burned picking blueberries were negated by the amount I ate! But that’s okay… it was a vacation.
What? There are people who don’t want to work out all day?!
Ha, I would have taken the same Roman approach as you did. Having said that, you did really well with getting two hilly runs done.
Did you take any blueberries home with you?
I took a little container of blueberries home. It’s just about enough for everyone to try some, and the kids are asking me to make blueberry muffins with the rest.
How lovely to get to see your sister, I’m so glad for you!
Thank you Liz! It was amazing.
I’m so glad you got to see your sister! I also think it’s great you had some “forced” downtime. It has been a busy time for you, and I suspect your body enjoyed the recovery. Also, it’s so nice to reconnect in person with those you love.
Safe travels. And those blueberries look amazing. I’m still telling myself berry picking is a “good thing” I don’t have to do this year, but those pictures make it tempting. This is the first year I’ve skipped strawberry picking in forever and it felt good, but odd. I bought some fresh strawberries last week and they were good but one box also felt like enough so I think I made the right choice!
Well, it can be really hard to use up that much fruit! Especially since i left most of my share with my sister. But we really had fun picking it.
I also try to front load my workouts when traveling. Sometimes it works other times well as you say, when in Rome. Funny, I just wrote about how flat Chicago was! Glad you had. fun time visiting your sister.
Well it’s a funny thing because you would think the midwest is flat- but it depends where you are. My sister’s neighborhood really is hilly, and it seems extra hilly to me coming from South Florida.
I’m so glad you got to spend some time with your sister?! How was flying? I haven’t been on a plane since early 2020 and I’m really interested in how it’s all going.
Blueberry picking is such a Midwest thing! We went last year, but haven’t gone yet this year. Maybe this week we’ll try to fit it in one evening. We have raspberry bushes in the backyard and they are producing a lot this year, but it’s been challenging for me to get them before the birds do!
Even though I grew up in the midwest I had never been blueberry picking before! It was so fun. Flying was… just about as much fun as flying usually is. I’m going to write more about the flight tomorrow.
So happy that you were able to travel to Chicago and spend some quality time with your sister! I have never gone blueberry picking but it look like a lot of fun. I love to freeze blueberries and use them in smoothies, especially in the summer.
Yes, they froze a ton of blueberries. I’ll have to remind them about smoothies- that’s a great idea.
Yay for a fun visit with your sister! So glad your shin is cooperating for those runs.
Those blueberries look amazing. It will take a lot of pancakes to use them up — will there be a cobbler or pie?
LOL on your sister not being into working out, etc. Proof there’s more than one way to lead a healthy lifestyle!
Oh yes- they’re talking about a cobbler and some blueberry jam. I’m missing out on that part- I was only able to bring a small amount of blueberries home with me!
I’m so glad you got to see your sister!
We have blueberry picking in my part of Florida. It’s so much fun, but the season wasn’t great this year.
It’s hard when you visit people who don’t have the same fitness goals. In those cases, I try to sneak out early to get in a little walk or run before our days’ plans start.
Really??? I didn’t know there were blueberries in Florida. Northern Florida is definitely different than South Florida. We do have strawberry picking down here- we used to do it when the kids were little but honestly, they weren’t very good.
Sounds like a wonderful visit. Who cares if you didn’t do the touristy stuff? I’ll bet quality time with your sis was priceless. Aren’t the blueberries wonderful right now? Gotta enjoy them while they’re in season.
Yes, the blueberries were delicious! My daughter used to say she didn’t like blueberries, but when she ate some of these she changed her mind.
Wow, what a haul of blueberries! That’s so fun! I have never picked them. It sounds like you had a great time. Those workouts can wait 🙂
Yes, the blueberries were worth it!
It sounds like you had a wonderful time with your sister! I have not been blueberry picking, but have picked lots of other fruits. There’s nothing like fresh wild strawberries. Yum!
Oh yum, wild strawberries must be delicious. The Florida strawberries we get down here are okay… nothing great though.
It is baffling how people eat as they wish but don’t work out. I don’t know what I would do with my time- plus I just love the way I feel with both running and strength training. But plenty of Europeans do it for sure- just lots of walking everyone and they stay healthy!
It sounds like a wonderful visit to your sister. Fresh blueberries are the BEST.
Mentally I really don’t do well if I don’t work out- that’s probably m biggest motivation. I guess you’ll be getting a first-hand view of how the Europeans do it now!
Good call on sleeping in and not forcing yourself to workout that one day. It’s good for the body to get a break! And you were still active with your other runs, blueberry picking, etc. The blueberries look delicious! Our toddler is obsessed with them so I often say he’s going to turn into a blueberry with thoughts of Violet in Charlie & the Choc Factory. I have never picked blueberries but I picked tons of raspberries at my parents when I was a kid!
The time with your sister sounded awesome! My brother lives about an hour south of the city and on many many trips we never made it into the city. But I would have to choose between seeing the city and spending time w/ family and family wins out! I go to Chicago for work, or used to pre-covid, so I can get my fill on the city scene while working so don’t feel pressured to see the city when I visit my brother’s family.
Hmm, I wonder if your brother lives near my sister! I’m not sure if you have blueberry picking near you, but if possible you should take your son sometime- he would love it!
So happy you got to see your sister (although I don’t see how you can be related, if she doesn’t have an exercise regime LOL)… this time is precious and you shouldn’t have worried about workouts (says the crazy person, who fit in Peloton rides during their family’s visit LOL).
Picking blueberries sounds like so much fun, eating them even more 🙂