Run Jac Run 🏃🏻‍♀️

Week 31 (of 2024) – I must be fighting a Bug

Goal – 30+miles on the bike, 3 strength training, 1 mobility/stretch, get haircut fixed
I am taking a break from running to try to get my heel to feel better and focus more on strength training and biking.

Monday (7.29.24) – Plan: Strength Training + bike ride with Hendrix (6 miles?)
Actual:

Plus I did some bent over rows with 50 POUND barbell! And then I followed up with some stretching and hip mobility and a couple single leg hops and plyos

Tuesday (7.30.24) – Plan: (am) – Bike Ride 8+ miles / (pm) Strength
Actual: I was really hoping to make up mileage and go with Hendrix in the afternoon but things just weren’t playing to our favor. We ended up going to the park and playing till 7pm though so that was fun! I didn’t go to the gym and I’m fighting determination and motivation right now. I think the one week of no running is getting to me! I don’t feel the runners high in biking so it’s like fun but also not rewarding? If that makes sense…. And of course love lifting currently but couldn’t bring myself to the gym today.

Wednesday (7.31.24) – Plan: Haircut redo?
Actual: hard to wake up in the morning – while I’m enjoying cycling I don’t have anyone to do it with and it’s well hard to wake up! Not motivated today

I did purchase a new (Amazon so very budget friendly) bicycling jersey- gotta say it’s not as breathable as I thought. It was okay, I like the pockets on the back of it though! It was already 81° at 5am so that’s starting out rough rough. I did get bicycling bibs with the butt pads but got the wrong size and to be honest I think I’ll just return them and I’m not 100% sure I’ll get them in the right size or not.

While this photo is a little filtered it was still really pretty out there! Love the silhouette picture.e

I ended up heading to the gym and did 35 minutes of core work. That’s right folks, strictly core work – because my legs are too sore and my arms are dead weights – HAHAHA and then I stretched for about 10 more minutes

Thursday (8.1.24) – Plan: Bike (6) / Strength
Actual:

Friday ( 8.2.24) – Plan: Mobility & Stretching
Actual: Didn’t go to gym at all. 😦 I noticed Hazel was getting a runny nose on Wednesday and she was drinking outta my water a lot 😑 so today I started feeling a little worse for wear.

Saturday (8.3.24) – Plan: 10+ bike ride
Actual: planned on waking Hendrix up early today, which did happen, and it was a HOT morning. He woke up and the house was cold and he immediately started shivering. 🚩

We rode down to a trail area but he said he bike was not handling the terrain well so we got back on the roads. I brought some Honey Stinger Chews and thought that he would be just fine if he munched on a couple if he got hungry. He did get hungry, I gave him 2. And then within 10 minutes his stomach started hurting!

So we only got about 3.9 miles in and then headed home. Hendrix laid on the couch and watched a show quietly while I went out and did some much needed weeding in the front garden. I worked for about an hour and then finally everyone else woke up. It was a blazing hot day. We were all out of it. Hazel wanted to keep practicing her bike riding and she was still learning to pedal.

Jesse set her up inside and she figured out quickly when there is nothing stopping her (is the ground or friction or anything) it’s really easy to pedal fast!! Haha she still doesn’t get the whole keep pedaling thing on the ground just yet because it’s “too hard” she says – any ideas or pointers would be great!

Sunday (8.4.24) – Plan: REST
Actual: I had the most glorious text from Vina asking if I wanted to ride bikes. She’s been dealing with her injury with more Pilates and yoga but we both agreed we missed being outside with each other. 🤍 So, this morning we met up and rode. Agreeing that biking definitely didn’t provide as much oomph as running but it was something!

It felt MUCH nicer this morning than yesterday morning! My legs held up and didn’t hurt too bad.

I wore my cycling shirt again since I didn’t really get sweaty in it yesterday. I have come to the conclusion this shirt isnt the best for the weather. It’s not very breathable at least not as much as my regular running gear. But I love the pockets in the back that hold so much stuff! Like my phone, Kleenex, water bottle, snacks… Lol it’s nice!

The cows were finally out on our route and so we had to stop to take a picture because the boys didn’t believe me when I told them that there were cows there.

Vina said “get in the pic!”

This was fun, it was nice to chat again and I like how we can get double digit mileage so quickly. Its amazing how some people can run this fast

Threw on the party shades on the way home to block the sun.

After this bike ride, Hazel wanted to go out to practice and then we did a short ride and she got in the trailer. Today was BLAZING hot. It was ridiculous. We tried going to the park but it was too much and neither kid made it into the water. So we mostly vegged inside which was fine because my snotty nose was taking over. I ended up falling asleep on the couch somewhere between 11:15-11:45am and then hazel fell asleep next to me. I woke up briefly to get us into bed and there we slept from noon till 2pm! I woke up feeling much better and more alive. But then by about 9pm that night it was like my battery completely lost all power and I was exhausted yet again. Not sure what’s going on but my body clearly needs rest!

Total miles riding: ~22

Week 30 (of 2024) – HAPPY BDAY TO ME & am I a bike girlie now?

This week we were joined by my Aunt Mel and also coincidentally this week I was so food blah. Has that happened to you before? Not much sounds good to eat, not much hunger, really tired most of the week and just going through the motions.

Monday (7.22.24) – Plan: Birthday Run with Vina!
Actual: I think it was about 76 degrees with 89-90% humidity and a wind of 1mph. I forgot to snapshot the weather like normal. But I had a fantastic run with Vina and we ran 11 miles! I wanted to go for a half marathon but both our heels started acting up, so I am happy with the mileage we got! (my fingers are dirty because I was playing frisbee with River!)

My heel hurt shortly after getting to work and no amount of ibuprofen was helping. I was limping and crying most of the day. So going out wasn’t really what I wanted to do, but we had to take advantage of the help that Mel was offering and we went out. In the evening Jesse and I went out to dinner and had a drink and played some pool. I was in bed asleep by 9:30pm, it was perfect!!

Tuesday (7.23.24) – Plan: run with Vina
Actual: My foot was hurting so badly after yesterday’s run I decided to rest today. Like I was limping all day yesterday and it was still throbbing this morning. I am DONE with this injury and it is time to take some bigger steps towards recovery.
I was already taking the day off to take the boys to different doctors appointments. My body is definitely in recovery mode as I was so exhausted today! Hendrix had to go to his checkup mid-morning and then we jammed home for lunch. Shortly after that I took Jesse to his first doctor appointment in well over 5 years. It has been long overdue! Unfortunately the office was CLOSED because of a Covid “outbreak” and so they couldn’t see him. We drove an hour to get there to fill out paperwork and then turn around and go home. (that was rough!)
As soon as we got home I took a glorious nap after and woke up refreshed.

The doctor ended up calling him and getting some preliminary stuff completed on the phone Wednesday morning. I hope the doctor is a good fit for him! He seems impressed already, so that is good news.

Wednesday (7.24.24) – Plan: 6 mile bike ride outside in the morning / pm- strength train
Actual: Vina couldn’t meet today, and while she is kind of nursing a hurt heel, she hasn’t been dealing with it as long as me and so she is trying to still push through. However, today she had an early morning class to teach. (yoga or pilates, not sure which) I had Jesse get my bike ready the night before with air in the tires and he let me borrow a head lamp as well.
This morning was absolutely gorgeous but the moon was definitely behind the clouds and made for a dark morning and not really any kind of spectacular sunrise. Humidity didn’t feel too bad and bombing down hills made for lots of wind in the face which felt great!

I have NEVER ridden in the street before because I am always just riding around the neighborhood with the kids on the sidewalk for their safety. While the law states you do need to ride on the street, I did about half and half because I don’t have a helmet yet so I didn’t feel SUPER safe doing that all the time. And no one was on the sidewalk at all that early. If they were, I would’ve immediately gotten off and given them the whole space.

Safe moving picture taken while in a parking lot with no cars – ha!!

This was incredibly fun and humbling. Kipchoge still would’ve creamed me if he was running hahahah!

I skipped my strength training – BOOOOO – I had a lot of work to catch up on and didn’t feel right going to the gym for 1.5 hours haha

Thursday (7.25.24) – Plan: Strength!!!!
Actual: did a fantastic strength workout today with some (finally) correct RDL form – went for regular and not single leg and I definitely felt it in the right place.

Then, of course, as a little treat I did some pistol squat play. When I got home from work we took the kids to the park and let them run around like crazies. Wore them out and headed home for dinner and bath time. I was in bed by 9:45pm, but asleep on the couch by 9:15!

Friday (7.26.24) – Plan: STRENGTH + MOBILITY
Actual: The boys woke up early to go fishing, I woke an hour later and went on a bike ride. My goal was to ride for a full hour and hopefully get in 8 miles. Since last time my average pace was 8mph – I figured this was super doable. I got a helmet on Wednesday night and it fits fantastic! I also got a light for the front of my bike and a red light for the back so cars can see me. I still wore my Nox Gear vest so I was lit up and hydration vest so that I had some water. I didn’t need much, but getting a water bottle holder ($10) plus a new water bottle was something I didn’t need to spend money on just yet.

I wore my Topos shoes which were great for the ride, much better than the New Balance ones. I could feel the pedals below and they felt like there was better grip on the pedals.

Blurry but fun picture taken – biking is seriously FUN haha Type 2 Fun because there were points where I was in PAIN and my legs were screaming, but fun nonetheless.

Pretty stoked with my mileage and average speed! The max speed is INSANE – that was when I was bombing a hill and trust me I was nervous – ha!!!!

I got home at 6am (kind of super nice haha) and I was able to make myself a Delicious bagel with scrambled eggs.
Afternoon – I made it to the gym and did a BUNCH of stretching, because dang my legs were TIGHT. And then I did foam rolling and knee strengthening exercises.

Saturday (7.27.24) – Plan: ~~Run~~ Ride
Actual: slept in this morning but was able to go on a 1.5 mile ride with both kids – Hazel in the trailer. then we dropped her off and Hendrix and I went out for another 3 miles before the storm rolled in. We worked on hand signals and stopping at the stop signs as well as yielding at yields. He caught on really well and we enjoyed our ride and talks!

I had a hair appointment so afterwards I wasn’t too keen on getting back out and riding since it was looking soooo good! Hendrix went out with Aunt Mel for another few miles so I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a good 8 miles completed today!

Sunday (7.28.24) – Plan: REST
Actual: I started talking about possibly riding this morning (yesterday) And Hendrix really wanted to join. So we decided on a sunrise ride. Which I’m pretty excited about.

I woke up around 5am and got ready and woke up Hendrix just before 5:30am. Surprisingly he was easy to wake up because he was so excited. We set out at dawn and had a somewhat clear view of where we wanted to go.

Obligatory picture… he really surprised me this morning with how well he listened and obeyed the rules of the road. With it being early morning and very little cars I felt totally okay with us being on the road.

We went about 2 miles to Bay Front Park and took a picture, checked to see if the Jubilee was happening (it wasn’t) and then we were back off. When running back it always feels like such a big hill, but riding it wasn’t too bad. He didn’t complain AT ALL.

He stayed on the line the whole time, unfortunately there isn’t much of a bike lane but any car passing by gave us a really wide “birth” so there were no scares. (once it got past 8am though the cars weren’t as nice and definitely were cutting it close. I attribute this to they just don’t know better)

Swung by and got my new shield glasses which were awesome and Hendrix dropped off the light up vest.

We completed 8.76 miles (!!) and the only reason we had to stop was because we had to get home to meet Vina who was giving me my birthday present. Once she got there Hazel woke up and we hooked up the trailer and did another 2.25mi (round trip) to the park. Hazel ran around and played and Hendrix just rode his bike in circles around the park. He wouldn’t get off the bike, he was on it for hours. I think we got him to rest for about 2.5 hours or so (while I slept) and he had lunch and watched a show. But then when we got up again he wanted to get back out there.

Hendrix and Aunt Mel rode around for a while in the afternoon – I was completely pooped – couldn’t be bothered to ride anymore ha! They rode back to the park in the evening after dinner and Hazel and I drove. I let her run around more and Hendrix just rode his bike (lol) and then we got Frozen Custard! Headed home for showers and then watched a movie and passed out.

Hendrix must’ve rode at least 18-20 miles yesterday with everything combined. I managed about 11 miles and I was EXHAUSTED!

Total running mileage: 11.01 miles
Total biking mileage: 30.8 miles

Week 29 (of 2024) – Strength Week & A New Rule

New Gym Rule (I need to follow but haven’t yet this week)- I have decided that I have to do my workout routine in full before I get to play and practice pistol squats and work on dragon squats. Otherwise it is too easy to forgo the strength workout and just play around.

Monday (7.15.24) – Plan: Run with Vina (am) / Strength (pm)
Actual: Woke up after some really good sleep (I like this trend of good sleeps the last couple days) and went on a run with Vina and Phoebe. My heel felt pretty good today too. We had another dog incident, but luckily it wasn’t bad. Someone was running with two dogs off leash and it came BOLTING towards Vina and Phoebe. It was still very dark so we couldn’t see much. Luckily no fighting happened and the owner wrangled the dogs quickly. Definitely scared Vina.

The sunrise was so great, I had to capture it twice!

I think my shirt weighed 4 pounds with all the sweat I lost.

I couldn’t get myself to the gym today. I gave myself the day off. But that’s my only day I’ll skip.

Tuesday (7.16.24) – Plan: Strength + mobility
Actual: Followed very loosely this plan

And when I say loosely I mean I did circuit one but modified it since the box jumps hurt my heel and then did KB RDLs once and then 4 reverse nordics and then decided to try to do pistol squats and practice different variations of that. HA! I did a little hip mobility and kept on trying pistol squats. Which on my left foot (the standing one) my right quad almost cramped up completely – that was a shock but I eventually got it and held my foot out while I went down and back up. Then I did core work, jumped over to a bosu ball and tried balancing on it. Two feet was a piece of cake, went to one foot and successfully did multiple pistol squats on both sides on the BOSU BALL. It felt so much easier – it was weird. Then I rowed for 8 mins / .5 mile.

Wednesday (7.17.24) – Plan: Strength
Actual: 30lb KB and 25lb KB used. I did about 3/4 of the workout – I quit on circuit 3 round 2. I was just NOT able to continue. It was wrecking me.

Thursday (7.18.24) – Plan: Run with Vina (am) / Stretch + mobility (pm)
Actual: My heel started hurting quite a bit Wednesday night so I texted Vina I was skipping out on the run. She has also been resting her heel and not running. I’m thinking our first run back will be Monday.
Instead, I did hip mobility + strength + 4 mi cycle – and it was nice!

Friday (7.19.24) – Plan: Cycle 10+ miles
Actual: I didn’t feel like cycling, so I did an hour of strength, and I ACTUALLY did the whole workout! This was the best I have felt all week.

I did only about 5 minutes of playing on the bosu ball and off and practicing pistol squats, but my legs were pretty much roasted so I decided to commit to some really good stretching. It FELT AMAZING!

Saturday (7.20.24) – Plan: ~~Run with Vina~~ Prepping for Aunt Mel’s visit. No run.
Actual: We got the house ready for Mel and went on a huge grocery haul. Did a bunch of walks and playing in puddles and then played.

Sunday (7.21.24) – Plan: Rest
We went to the U.S. Alabama Battleship where we got to see a bunch of fighter planes, tour a submarine and tour the battleship. IT WAS AWESOME

Week 28 (of 2024) – the Week Where the Boss Was Supposed to be Out of Town – but Hurricane Berryl ruined it

Goal: stick to the goals.

Monday (7.8.24) Plan: am run and pm mobility + practicing dragon pistol squat
I really do believe I am acclimating to the heat. I think the walking and being outside all weekend also contributed. But obviously the consistent running in the mornings outside. It didn’t feel that bad out there… And even with very little wind, it just felt nice.

We had Chinese food last night and I knew it was going to be the fuel to get me through the run. I immediately told Jesse I had to run in the moerning because I was going to feel excellent with all these carbs – ha!!

Also, our pace was really nice and I think that’s my “I could run forever” pace. My true “Forrest Gump run across the country” pace. We did have to stop a couple times and I even let River walk a little because he was hot but he did so well!

Sadly not a super awesome sunrise.

Almost went out and did another 3 after dropping River off then thought I better save my legs since I want to practice the dragon pose and also running with Vina tomorrow!

Pm- mobility + stretching + working on the dragon pistol squat!
44:14 minutes of hip mobility focus with one legged lunges and working on moving towards the dragon squat pose – the leg that is just out- WOW that one is difficult! I can’t seem to keep my leg up. – at some point during this gym session (after the workout obviously) I lost / left my water bottle and it is gone.

Tuesday (7.9.24) – Plan: Run with Vina (am) / Strength train (pm)
Actual: I woke up around 2:30am to I think (?) a smoke alarm chirping but it sounds softer. But it’s kept me up all morning. And then the rain started coming down pretty hard at 4am. But it looks like there might be a break as there’s no way I’ve been able to actually get any rest with the chirping and NO ONE else has woken up from it. I can’t find where it’s coming from either.

Seems like yesterday was too good to be true because today my heel and arch (left foot) was hurting probably at an 8 out of 10 on the pain scale. I nearly turned back around but I didn’t. My legs are tight from all the one legged squats I was doing too. After 2 miles the pain filled down to about a 2. Still not ideal. And the rain held off completely and as I sit writing this update it is sunny and blue skies.

Thumbs up crew showed up but also I think I need another hat!

The only thing hard about this run was running in pain. The pace was easy peasy but definitely couldn’t push faster because my hair was just off. Taking tomorrow off and not running or walking in the morning. Thursday is TBD.

I did NOT want to go to the gym. I was actually thinking I would just go shopping because I wanted a new purse and needed a water bottle. I decided against it and stuck to the plan. (and I am SOOOO glad I did) Although, so many people were cycling through using the boxes I didn’t do Bulgarian squats. I added more abs and didn’t do split jerks since I don’t feel I can properly or safely do them and did a squat variation.

Did some hip mobility work at the end and stretching because my legs were so tight and stiff. This came out to ~57 minutes! It was epic and I am so happy and hungry I got this done.

Wednesday (7.10.24) – Plan: ~~Walk/Run River or~~ REST (am) / Cycle or Mobility/Injury Prevention (pm)

I got decent sleep, I still woke up at 3am and then again at 4am and 5am today. I think my sleep is lighter because we are transitioning our daughter into sleeping in her own room. Which is actually going well for the most part but I’m on edge waiting for her to cry or wake up.

Soreness level: my legs are definitely feeling the workout from yesterday. I’m not 100% sure if I’ll make it to the gym or not but I’ll be bringing clothes and attempting to go even if it’s just to foam roll and stretch. We watched a hilarious movie last night on Netflix called Unfrosted. Lots of well known comedians and it was just really funny and light hearted and definitely made me want pop tarts!!

Actual: I woke up exhausted and just couldn’t shake it. I probably could have benefited from doing something small, but I didn’t want to. So I went to TJ Maxx and found a couple great finds I’m excited to test out. Plus 100 water balloons for the kids with the easy filling mechanism.

Thursday (7.11.24) – Plan: Run with Vina (am) / Strength (pm)
Actual: with such little sleep the last few nights and an outrageously horrible stomach ache last night I cancelled my run with Vina and just did strength. I sure am glad I did! My heel felt great but I was so tired I knew that waking up early was just burning the candle at both ends. I didn’t want to do anything today but I made myself go. And I’m really glad I did! 30lb KB today!!

Friday (7.12.24) – Plan: sprints!!
Actual: I was all set and ready to take on some 400m repeats…. but then I realized I forgot my shorts! I can’t tell you how bummed I was that not only could I not sprint and have fun but I couldnt do anything because I had jeans on and so lifting was also out of the question

Saturday (7.13.24) – Plan: Run with Vina (am)
Actual: this felt great and so needed after three days of no running! Heel hurt a tiny bit, taped it up and only gave me issues after mile 6.

Had the biggest yummiest omelette with homegrown pear tomatos and banana peppers and (store bought) white onion. 🤤🤤🤤 It was so filling and delicious!

We went to the park for a couple hours

We went to Orange Beach to fish.

Sunday (7.14.24) – Plan: REST

We slept in, I did loads of laundry, washed dishes and tried to clean up. Took an outrageously deep sleep nap and then we went to the park to play for a couple hours. Hazel tried making a necklace but quickly got over it – but this time went a lot better than the first couple times!!

Total mileage: 20.9 miles

Week 27 (of 2024) – Happy 4th of July!

Goals: 3 runs, 2 strength sessions (of 45 minutes or more) and mobility work + a cycle session (6+ miles) AND GET GOOD SLEEP! I haven’t slept well in days! I know it is because my fitness was a little off last week and I didn’t wear myself out enough and then the weekend was way too lax.

Predicted Weather:

Monday (7.1.24) – Plan: Strength (pm)
Actual: I usually increase the reps for each exercise but the cossack rocks were the only ones I was unable to ever hit 5 each on. I hit a HUGE PR for the cossack rocks and single arm KB squat cleans using a 30 pound KB! That was awesome and so exciting! This workout was a good one and challenging. I should have increased to 30 lbs in the other circuits too.

We went on our customary afternoon/evening walk in the sweltering heat and found toys being thrown out… junk for them, priceless entertainment for us! And Hazel scored a good one – remember the other week me showing you that Hippo piano? Well… She saw this and immediately fell in love.

Tuesday (7.2.24) – Plan: Long run with Vina miles(am) / stretching and mobility+ cycle in the pm
Actual: it was brutal out there and a long run just wasn’t doable or smart for today. So we did 7.5ish (more like 7.4 for me) and called it a day.

Wearing: Ryka top that was actually quite nice in this weather and didn’t keep the heat in, Balega shorts with a BUNCH of body glide on inner thighs as these particular shorts are the culprits for some pretty bad chafing. They are my oldest pair! My mom got me two pretty big body glide sticks almost 3 years ago maybe 4 and I’m finally almost done with the second one ha! They last forever and when I actually use them they work wonders! No chafing today.

I decided to give my 1080s another shot… My feet were getting too used to the “rocker” on my other shoes and I realized I needed to switch it up some. These weren’t too bad once I changed my mindset. Last time I kept saying they felt flat – because they weren’t rocking me forward. But they have so much life left in them.

My bruise on my arm is just getting darker and playing with kettlebells won’t let it heal properly.

The beautiful sunset before it really came up lol, but we were fighting for our lives once it really hit and I couldn’t be bothered to take out my phone again and try for the picture. Also my glutes were quite sore during this run! The Bulgarian squats are the culprits I think!!

I don’t mind starting a little earlier and it seems neither doesn’t Vina! It also allows us to get in some more miles if our bodies actually allow it – I could really tell Vina AND Phoebe were struggling today. So was I! The breeze only came a couple times, but when it did … It was glorious!!!

My average pace wasn’t too shabby and my HR – not super stinkin’ high either. Not too bad!! Higher than I want obviously, but glad it wasn’t in the 170s! lol

Lunch (pm) – core work + foam roll/mobility – about 25 minutes of core focused work and then foam rolling and stretching. MY GOODNESS – the foam rolling felt soooooo good!

Wednesday (7.3.24) – Plan: Strength (pm)- I am most likely leaving early today because of holiday traffic so this might happen and it might not!
Actual: rest day- I didn’t want to rest, I wanted to go to the gym but I told the family I would only be doing a half day and so I sucked it up and decided to let myself take this day to rest – which really was a great idea in the end because my glutes and legs needed the break! But Hazel and I did walk a couple miles outside in little bits and pieces so I’m guestimating but I know it was at least 1.5 miles!

Once it got dark enough we went out and the boys shot off some fireworks. Some were really awesome! Hazel is still hesitant of the loud noises and didn’t tolerate it very well. But she was excited at first and gave the thumbs up!

Thursday (7.4.24) – Plan: Hoping for a possible long run (am) then family fun for Fourth of July!
Actual: I didn’t realize Vina was leaving to go to her family in Indiana so she left Wednesday night. So it was a solo run. And I’m so glad it happened! We even got to bed early, but I actually had trouble falling to sleep – we got in bed around 9:30 and then I probably fell asleep at 10. I’ve found it difficult for me to sleep if I haven’t done a hard activity (like a run or lift)

Weather: okay weirdly, this didn’t feel awful. And there was definitely more than a 1mph wind because some parts felt glorious with the headwind. And I didn’t even get as sweaty as I normally do. Am I acclimating?!!

I feel like I just keep wearing these new balance crops and Reebok shorts but I really like how they are fitting. And the shirt is basically just a long line bra. Anyways – the fit:

I woke up so ready to go! I had a banana, stretched a little and got ready.

The sunrise wasn’t that great, but this one was taken in regular:

This one was “night vision”

I didn’t see ANY runners out there, it was weird. And hardly any cars either. There were these little kittens playing outside before it got too hot. I wanted to take them with me but they ran off. We do have a really really bad stray cat problem around here.

Today felt really easy, and taking the salt tablets helped IMMENSELY. I love getting back at the same time And only having to leave like 15 minutes earlier. Also though, I didn’t have to stop for bathroom breaks haha.

My goal was to try to keep my pace under 11 minutes. Mile 4 was a doozy though haha

Friday (7.5.24) – Plan: Strength + mobility
Actual:

Saturday (7.6.24) – Plan: Run
Actual: Active Rest Day – took the kids to the park not once but twice! And Hazel learned to go up the ladder to the really tall slides and loved it so much.

Sunday (7.7.24) – Plan: REST
Actual: we went on a few walks totalling over 4 miles and also went to the park for nearly 3 hours!!!

Painted nails again

At the park we got a mist and fan bottle – soo nice out there in the heat!

On one of our many walks we found this huge moth. Almost as big as my hand!

This is apparently a dying male cicada… It was as big as my thumb.

Total miles ran: 15.4miles

Total miles walked: 3.9 logged – I know there was more and I gotta make a habit of tracking them.

Total hours workout: 2 hrs and 33 minutes!

Week 26 Of (2024)- The Rainy Week

Goals for the week: 20 miles minimum in 3 runs, strength training 2x, mobility 1x and get yummy Indian food with a friend!

Weather: it is expected to rain and storm Wednesday through Sunday intermittently. So who knows if I will get multiple runs with Vina this week or not.

Monday (6.24.24) – Plan: Strength
Actual: I did most of these exercises with a 25lb KB and it was floating. Except on my left side where I feel a little weaker and it shows because I have a bruise on my left shoulder from not handling the weight as well as the right side. But what was really epic was getting complimented by a fellow gym goer who said my form was really good! That was awesome. This had a lot of upper and lower body focus and I only realized 1/2 through that I had asked Vina to go on a long run the next day. So for the last 1/2 of the workout I was in my head going “oh no! I’ve wrecked my legs and I’ll be so sore!” And then went back and forth on quitting. Also, this session I forgot my watch in the car! I think my HR was definitely high as I was pushing myself. It just felt so good today though! Also, after finishing the workout and getting the necessary shower in it started POURING rain. Torrential downpour so my work clothes got soaked.

Tuesday (6.25.24) – Plan: longish run with Vina
Actual: Since I wasn’t able to get in any runs this weekend, which to be fair wasn’t too bad. We did a lot of walking and what not, but I just want to get some miles in. Despite destroying legs yesterday I asked Vina if she wanted to go for ~10 day. Our “target” run… Basically the loop around target haha! She’s always game for any mileage so of course she agreed. But it is supposed to be brutal out there, so we will see what gets done!

Weather: Not AS bad as I thought at first… but then it definitely was like uggghhhh and we took walk breaks a couple times.

Fuel: I had my trusty peanut butter with honey on a plain bagel. Was I hungry? Nope, but I know I’ll need this energy for the run that will be taking a lot out of me! Some salt tablets were also put in a baggy.

Wearing: Reebok shorts + pink crop + pink crafts + hat + gray feetures socks

Feeling: a little tired. Waking up slowly. Legs are a little heavy but warming up felt good and overall not too sore from yesterday.

Pit stop, Vina had to run into the woods and poop! Haha so I just kept my legs swinging so they didn’t get stiff. We were about 7.75 miles in here and my legs were starting to feel the heaviness! I took 4 salt tablets throughout the run. They were fantastic! And I drank a bunch of water.

I drank ALL the water in this! 1.5L of water!

I don’t even care that our pace was high 10s. I’m just glad I got out there! By the end of the run though my toes were rubbing raw.

Also! As I left Vina and ran home there was a dog off leash and it saw me running by and ran full on towards me. My immediate reaction was to stop and turn toward it. I knew not to run away and I was bracing myself for whatever would happen. But I definitely shouted “OH FUUUUUU” (you know the rest) the owner started whistling for the dog and trying to call it back. It stood on the other side of a culvert still barking at me. And a neighbor pulled over as he was driving by and rushed out of his car and was going to help. Then the dog ran back to the owner. I thanked him and he said that dog really is a nice one just, well I wasn’t going to let anything happen. And of course we all say our dogs are nice and mean no harm but they definitely can harm if provoked in any way. That was a huge adrenaline rush!!

Pm- stretching, foam Rolling, mobility work

Wednesday – (6.25.24) – Plan: “sleep in” (am) / Strength train (pm)
Actual: Woke up FEELING the soreness from Monday’s workout! And definitely still tired. Ended up taking the day to rest and recover from yesterdays longer run. Not even mad about it. Also, my arms are covered in bruises from the kettlebell!!

upper arm bruise that fits a thumb perfectly haha, but its from the kettlebell. And by my elbow – that is a scar! from River scratching me. You can’t see the bruise on my wrist anymore though

Thursday – (6.26.24) – Plan: Run with Vina (am) / Go out for lunch (pm)
Actual: it was risky waking up early but the storms have lately been going around us so Vina and I decided we would just try and wake up and see if it was raining/storming or not. According to the maps there is nothing near us. And I haven’t heard any thunder this morning so we are more than likely good to go! (More than likely – ha!!)

The outfit – New Balance Crop + Reebok (blue) shorts – that I just realized you can see sweat marks and makes it look like you’ve peed yourself 😒 + blue craft endurance pros – might be time to retire these soon.

That blob made its way up to us really quick and by the time Vina said “I’m ready!” I walked outside and there was lightning and thunder rumbling too close for comfort. I immediately called her and said I wasn’t joining and I didn’t think it was a good idea for her to be out either. She already had Phoebe ready to go and they were out the door to see what they could get in (they got 2 miles in and the rain came down hard and they scrambled home). I headed to the treadmill and got in almost 4.5 miles.

This is my first treadmill run in quite a while! Probably 2 months at least? It was kind of nice zoning out and just scrolling through Instagram and listening to music and having a very even pace as well as NO incline 🤣. I wanted this to be easy paced and I kept it at 5.0mph (12min/mi) and it felt fantastic. It was humid as all hell but effort wise this was super easy and easy to maintain forever. I ended up stopping though at 50 minutes because I was hungry and over it. And good thing because it became a monsoon shortly after I finished stretching!

The sweat that bounced off me and all over the treadmill was disgusting – definitely need to bring some towels in there to wipe it down!

I WISH you could see the sweat I accumulated and just how drenched my clothes were. They had to be 3-4 pounds heavy of sweat!

Enjoying a couple sprinkles before the sky completely opened up haha – but it was raining pretty good while on the treadmill so I’m glad I opted to stay inside today. I was on the verge of selling the thing but I’m glad I haven’t just quite yet. It also made a huge difference that last night I said to myself even if it does rain and I can’t run with Vina, I will go to the treadmill and get some mileage in.

Friday – (6.27.24) – Plan: Walk River if weather allows / Strength + Mobility (pm)
Actual: Chose to sleep in because I was for some reason just so tired – maybe the Indian food? And then when I tried to go to the gym it was flash flood level raining and I couldn’t get out of my car to get in to the gym!! I swear it didn’t show up on the radar till it was over us! So I turned back to work and didn’t go. Pretty bummed because I could’ve used some strength and mobility work!

Saturday – (6.28.24) – Plan: Run
Actual: I thought we would be doing a long run, but Vina was sick last night so we didn’t get in a 10 like we hoped. But we did get in ~7.5 mi! It was raining all night long and then kindly stopped before it was time for us to go.

We definitely felt that humidity… It was thick this morning!

I was peckish and still under the impression we were going for longer so I scarfed a banana and I’m sure glad I did! It was delicious and nutritious 😀

Slooooow slogging miles, it felt like we were shuffling through molasses.

I played with River after our run and the first throw he runs back to me and barrels RIGHT into my shin with the Frisbee. I was cursing up a storm hoppin on one leg because dang!!!! That hurt and nearly wiped my feet out from under me!

It’s funny how the forecast can be so off sometimes, it didn’t rain all day. But dang it was THICK with humidity. So while we played outside some, it wasn’t a ton since it was just so miserable and gross out!

Sunday – (6.29.24) – Plan: REST
Actual: We got outside for a few walks in the morning and picked berries. It did rain today and the kids ran through the rain (with no thunderstorms – ha!) and it was fun. But mostly we just hung out and didn’t go anywhere.

We have one sunflower that bloomed! Haha And unfortunately our corn just didn’t make it at all.

I did do some mobility and stretching today which felt great on the hips!

Weekly mileage: 21.40 miles!

I didn’t get all my strength in like I wanted more mobility. Some weeks are better than others 🤷🏻‍♀️ but I’m glad I got my runs in and I am going to keep working at consistency in the gym with strength! It’s fun to see how much I can increase in kettlebells and barbells!

Week 25 (of 2024)

Monday (6.17.24) – Plan: Strength
Actual: so, I actually decided on a full rest day. Running after Hazel for three days and Hendrix for 2 days this past weekend left me tired. Despite getting in wonderful naps, I just needed a day to do nothing.

You know the saying, you never regret a run but you do regret the run you don’t do? Or whatever it is…. I can proudly say I don’t regret saying no to Vina running this morning and I don’t regret not going to the gym. My body needed a day of nothing and I am so happy I listened.

Tuesday (6.18.24) – Plan: Run with Vina (am) Hip Mobility (pm) and Strength (if there’s time)
Actual: woke up READY to go! River was barking up a dang storm so he did get me up earlier than normal but I feel rested and well.

There was such a nice breeze the first 2 miles!

Since it’s about 2 miles of solo running to meet Vina I made sure to focus on going slow and keeping my heart rate down. So mile 1 my average pace was 12:02 and mile 2 it was 11:52. These paces didn’t feel awkward or anything, cadence and form were there and I knew I could hold that pace for eons. But of course once I meet up with Vina we quicken the pace a bit. But it was a really nice warm up!

My heart rate really skyrocketed in the last couple miles because I was racing a kid who clearly didn’t want to be beat by a girl. He was newer at the sport because his form was very sloppy (like stomping) but he was trying hard. He just kept like running slightly past me and then stopping to catch his breath. And then tried holding on to my pace as I quickened because I wanted to see what he could do. When I looked at my watch it was showing 8:20min/mi! But i didn’t hold it for that long. But it wasn’t too exhausting and nice to turn on the jets a little.

I’ve been enjoying wearing my hydration vest because carrying or putting the water bottles in my shorts pockets weighs down my legs a lot!! Although the vest does add an extra layer and it is probably pretty stinky and needs to be washed!

We saw quite a few people out running which is always nice to see!

Finished off my run with stretching and playing Frisbee with River. I know I don’t always say this part, but just know I play with River every morning especially after my runs without him so he doesn’t get too jealous. Ha!

2 circuits and 3 rounds completed of glute burner and honestly I was just DONE. hungry and done. I should have gone down to a 20 lb kettlebell but I kept trying the 25lb one. Then after I stopped I did 3 miles on the bike.

Wednesday (6.19.24) – Plan: walk with River (am) + Strength (pm)
Actual: decided to do an easy recovery run with River!

It didn’t feel like 77, the wind was really nice and it was all in all a great morning. I brought extra water so I could dump on River and also let him drink if needed. While he stayed with me the whole time and didn’t pull, I know he was curious as to why we were going to slow ba!

Forgot my hat, but it wasn’t a huge deal as I knew we weren’t pushing hard so I thought sweating would be very minimum. The sweat across my forehead was minimum… But my shirt still somehow ended up quite drenched by the end.

Tried my New Balance again, they still feel flat footed. Maybe it’s because they don’t have the rocker? It wasn’t terrible. We were going super low, but yeah… Maybe my feet are getting too used to the rocker shoes?? I don’t have carbon plates shoes at all but they are “race” day shoes I’ve been wearing more of.

PS. Love the color choices, but these shorts kind of suck for running in as my legs kept gobbling them up!

Sunrise was gorgeous!!

My attempt at getting a picture with River. I had to yank him over to me and he was like “oh kisses!!! Okkkkkk”

3.14 miles, 13;01min/mi average pace, 40:51 min

I did not make it to the gym this afternoon and I feel weak all ready – ha!

Thursday (6.20.24) – Plan: Run with Vina (am) Strength (pm)
Actual: 6.41 miles with Vina and Phoebe

I didn’t get the greatest sleep last night, but I woke up ready to go this morning and the breeze felt amazing the first 2 miles out the door. Then it got stale and gross!

I really do love me a hat, keeps my bangs from flopping and the sweat from getting in my eyes.

Heartrate definitely on the higher side of things, but not outrageous.

I’m happy with my paces, but they are kind of all over the place. But average pace is nice. The first mile my left heel was hurting quite a bit though.

After playing with River, making coffee and taking a quick rinse off Hazel joined me early and we chatted. Her current favorite saying is “The sun is up!” which to her means everyone needs to be awake and outside! I fueled after this run with a peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich. Which I only got about 1/2 of because Hazel enjoyed the other half.

Because I feel the lack of strength work I did and also feeling guilty (!) I went to the gym today and absolutely killed it. I almost gave up, but I’m really glad I didn’t. I’m a little self-conscious doing core work out in public so I use the small studio for core work. And then went out into the main area for the unilateral strength session. Luckily it cleared out and I was able to use all the equipment and not have to change up any of the exercises. I was able to use 40 lb barbell which is a new PR for me. I used it for the single leg RDL and the deadlift to squat thing and I use 25 lb kettlebell because the 20 lb one felt like it was paper when I was doing my cleans. 60 minutes of strength today! Yay me

I was absolutely exhausted by about 3pm today and nearly took a nap at my desk! Luckily I rallied and didn’t and even made it home stuck in TWO hours of traffic! Which meant I didn’t get home till 7pm! So then of course it was a scramble to eat dinner and it was raining pretty good at this time so no playing outside on the longest day of the year.

I had a nice relaxing evening and slept really well! (Super needed it too)

Friday (6.21.24) – Plan: ~~walk with River (am)~~ sleep in and rest/recovery (am) Core strength + Hip, Knee and Ankle Mobility (pm)
Actual: No core work, but I did foam roll and then did hip and knee mobility work. A good 40 minutes was spent and it was great!

Saturday (6.22.24) – Plan: the boys are going fishing so hoping that we can do a walk with River in the morning!
Actual: we ended up sleeping in and couldn’t bother with a walk, the sidewalk was too hot for Rivers paws and there was no wind for us to enjoy a walk. We ended up going to Walmart for some groceries and nail polish!

I also owed Hazel another balloon where she chose Batman instead of princesses. We painted nails – first time for her! She was a little apprehensive at first but loves them now!

It was too hot to do anything outside and I needed to tire her out… so we went to Target because I needed new sunglasses – Hazel so lovingly broke my other ones – and then we walked around looking at everything. She found Pikachu, which was a whopping $50!!! I told her we could take a picture but we were absolutely not getting it. Then she found a little piano and played with that. I bribed her with candy and put away the toys (ha!) and we had no tears.

However, the rest of the weekend she requested the piano and I told her we couldn’t get it. She really loves her instruments! Below is what it looked like. She was fascinated with it

Sunday (6.23.24) – Plan: 8-10 mile long run
Actual: Jesse got food poisoning so no run was done today! We did late afternoon walks while he rested and Hendrix got a haircut during the day. While watering the plants we also played in the water to cool down.

Hendrix making Hazel run after him on her scooter! haaaa

Total miles ran: 15.97

Week 24 (of 2024) – Will we meet our goals?

Goals: Originally I wanted to run 3x, but I don’t know if I will be able to as the weekend is up in the air and its Father’s Day weekend. I want to get in 3-4 strength sessions and a mobility session. Last week my workouts left my arms sore by Friday and I could barely pour my water into my bottle!! That was funny.

Monday (6.10.24) – Plan: Strength + 1 mile walk
Actual: This was a balancing act to say the least! I used 20lb KB for the overhead back lunges, Bulgarian split squat, cleans to press, push up pull throughs and RDL tradeoffs. I used a 40lb barbell for the deadlifts. A 20lb barbell for the cleans to split jerk because honestly I didn’t want to screw up my back! I probably could have gone up to 25 lb KB, but I increased reps for each circuit so the 20 felt really good today and I was feeling it.

After strength I contemplated doing core work and just didn’t have it in me. I ended up doing ~1 mile on the treadmill, walking incline.

Tuesday (6.11.24) – Plan: Run with Vina + strength
Actual: the humidity got to me today! Average pace was 11:11! (Make a wish 😉) I thought it wasn’t effecting me that much but it definitely did today. I was dragging. I think I might need new shoes soon. Hoping to push it to my bday (July)!!

Wore my vest with just the two water bottles… Turns out I needed a little more water than that ha! I was thirstyyyyy

I had every intention of going to the gym!!! But I spent my whole lunch time at PepBoys getting my tire looked at. It had a nail in the side wall and it couldn’t be patched so I had to get a new one. 😐 Take my money 💰 universe

Wednesday (6.12.24) – Plan: ~25 min sprint intervals + XT (cycle ~10 miles)
Actual: got poor sleep last night and decided to do strength workout and 10 min walk at the end.

When I got home Jesse was frying up shrimp!! 🦐 Yummmm

Apparently the jubilee came in today and we were going to see if it was still going on, but a friend swung by and said there was no action. If you don’t know what that is..

After dinner Hendrix still really wanted to go see and Hazel wanted to go to a park (finally!!) so we decided to go to a different park near the water and it was beautiful!

Thursday (6.13.24) – Plan: run with Vina (am) + strength
Actual: last night I had shrimp with questionable sauce and by the end of the night it was very uncertain if I would be making it out. But some tums and good sleep did the trick. I woke up slightly before my alarm, thanks to Hazel needing water, and I got ready. I ended up having an old chocolate gu on the run because I was quite hungry!

It was beautiful out and quite crisp!

I was struggling a little today. But vina and I have been stopping like right before we split and talking for like 5-10 minutes and it feels great to have that rest so the last 1.5-2miles are a lot more enjoyable!

I only did a quick 20 minute gym session because I worked through lunch and then left early because of office renovations.

Friday (6.14.24) – Plan: walk with River + mobility
Actual: off of work due to office renovations. Hung with Hazel all day and played. This was more exhausting than any of the runs this week! We did a lot of fort making while the boys were out fishing today!

Saturday (6.15.24) – Plan: Run?
Actual: Jesse wasn’t feeling great and I ended up not pushing for a run today. It was miserably hot though! We ran around outside and played in the water. Hazel helped water plants with her elephant watering bucket

While everyone else was resting, Hazel and I went to Dollar Tree where we just HAD to get a balloon. The balloon has gone everywhere with her !

Sunday (6.16.24) – Plan: REST/ Father’s Day
Actual: attempting a double digit run which hasn’t been done in quite a while!

Weather: (it has been brutally hot, but somewhat ok in the morning once sun has risen)

Wearing: green new balance crop, black Reebok shorts, green feetures socks, pink vest with water bladder and pink craft shoes

Fuel: this morning I decided I was fueling for the run! We had ONE banana left, so I did a peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich and daaaaang it was good!! Followed with some caffeine and salt tabs to go.

I did a mini ab circuit to warm up along with some activating stretches. I feel ready!

The route: Vina… Gosh she’s so amazing, she is meeting me and we are on an adventure to run down to a park near the bay to see if the Jubilee is happening. We are taking out our normal twists and turns from regular route and so it’ll be about 5 miles out and depending on how we feel 5 or miles back.

It was sooooooo humid! And I could tell that my body wasn’t used to the amount of time on feet. I think I have hit 10 once since the marathon but that’s about it. Anyways, it was pretty difficult and we definitely walked up hills and took plenty of walk breaks.

This picture doesn’t even do the amount of sweat I have all over justice!

After the run, to say I was pooped was an understatement. I fell asleep on the couch while the kids watched some shows and then finally rallied to get groceries. Made BLTs for lunch and when Hazel passed out so did I! I got a little under 2 more hours of sleep 🤣

then took the kids to the park and played for a couple hours in the water.

found this teeny tiny frog!

Picked up the requested pizza for Father’s Day dinner and we colored and hung out for the night.

Did I meet all my goals this week? No. There was a lot going on with the office and so I missed my Thursday workout I planned as well as Friday mobility. But I did get in a nice long run on Sunday so that’s a win!

Running mileage: 22.28 miles
Walking mileage: 2.42 miles
Strength: 2 full strength sessions + 1 small session (thursday)

Week 23 (of 2024) – Incorporating Running Back Into the Program

I am going into this week with a focus on strength training with a side of running. And I think I need to keep it like that till I start some actual race training.

Monday – (6.3.24) – Plan: Run with Vina Extra EZ + Full Body Strength+ extra stretching and foam Rolling
Actual: I woke up bright eye and bushy tailed and to be honest a little nervous about the run. I haven’t had any hip pain but I was weary of going out too strong or far! Trust me, I know I should’ve just done like 2-3 miles. But we did 6.3 miles. I kept it slow and easy and I only felt a small bit of pain (like not pain but awareness my hip was there?? Around mile 5.

So, I have this app where it is like video of the workout – but I realized I hate having that play and would like to just look at the screen shot of the workout instead. Then I can add reps as needed, or take a longer break. Today I followed the video and slightly (ok, a lot) hated it. I also had to go down to 20lb KB for this. Everything just felt off. But I powered through till circuit 3 and then dipped out. I did some foam rolling and mobility afterwards.

It was raining and storming pretty much all evening so my plans to be outside and get a walk in with the kids was thwarted. By night though my left hip was definitely inflamed and needing to be rubbed and stretched. I laid out my clothes for a walk in the morning but allowed myself to not go if it was still hurting come sun up.

Tuesday – (6.4.24) – Plan: upper body + core + mobility + walk
Actual: my hip wasn’t hurting! So I took River on a 3 mile walk. And it felt great! I was tired when my alarm first went off and I didn’t want to get out of bed at all. But I’m glad I did, it was a great morning and great temperatures! I think it’s supposed to be warming back up in the next day or two, so take advantage of these lower 70’s while we can!

Lunch time workout ended up including upper body and core so I just did this instead of another separate core and upper. And this one definitely ended me 💀I also didn’t do the last set of split jerks. My hands were getting torn up lol. I used a 20lb KB for most, I probably could have done 25. For the last set of Bulgarian split squats I used 35lbs. And I increased a lot of the reps. This took me about ~38 minutes

Wednesday – (6.5.24) – Plan: 45 – 60 min cycling – how far do you think I can go!? + Stretch/yoga
Actual: I chose to sleep in this morning and I am glad I did, I woke up and my upper body is sore in the best way! Also, no hip pain to wake up to from yesterdays walk and no pain yesterday evening either.

I went to the gym and did 10 miles in 48 minutes on the spin bike. It was boring, hot and my butt is sore!

I finished off with a good stretch because my legs were tight After this ride!!

Thursday (6.6.24) – Plan: Morning Run + cycle
Actual: the weather (last night) showed lightning and thunder storm was supposed to go over us in the morning and I had a really late night paired with bad sleep. So I didn’t wake up early for a run or walk. And I am not that mad about it.
Work was unbelievably slow so I left for the gym earlier than usual and did this stability core workout paired with upper body and then 3/4 of the glute workout.

Actually, when I started this glutes workout after the first set of back lunges I literally just stopped my watch and put the kettlebell away. I was like NOPE. Not doing this. And then I stared at the weights for a few minutes just like hmmmm-ing. I ended up going back and getting the weights and did the first two circuits for 3 rounds but I couldn’t muster the energy for the third circuit. I still call this a win though! I didn’t half ass any of my reps. After this I did a 20 minute walk on the treadmill for 1.08 miles.

Friday (6.7.24) – Plan: XT + injury prevention
Actual: abs and injury prevention routines. I should have done abs first like last week but I didn’t. So I didn’t finish the whole circuit for abs. I had to go from 10 lb dumbbells to 5 lbs lol and I only did the first round the whole way through and gave up the second round ha!!

Saturday (6.8.24) – Plan: Morning Run
Actual: Jesse ended up fishing this morning in Navarre so I switched my run to Sunday. The kids and I had a slow morning with Hazel waking up last around 8am! I got to enjoy coffee and sleep in. #winning

I did about 1.5 hours of weeding before it got too hot and then we tried key word here to go to the park. For some reason Hazel was just not wanting to go at all. Not even to play in the water. But she did agree to go to the store. So we walked around and got berries and fruit and headed home for lunch.

Most of the day was just spent around the house lounging. We played outside intermittently and it was a really pretty day! But ultimately we just lounged and that was kind of the word of the weekend. Lounge!

Sunday (6.9.24) – Plan: REST
Actual: It felt like such a long night! But I woke up pretty rested and before my alarm clock. Vina and I planned on trying for 10 miles but neither of us had run since Monday and we both agreed we weren’t going to make it the full 10. So we branched off around mile 6 or so and went our separate ways. We had so much to talk about since we hadn’t seen each other in so long – so funny how that is! It’s really only been about 5 days ha! I love running friends and how no topic is off limits, it’s just constant chatter and it’s so freeing.

This morning was warmish and no breeze. The gnats were out in full force and we had to do a lot of swatting away so we didn’t swallow any or get any in our faces/eyes.

I brought my hydration pack thinking we would do 10 but even so I think if I only had my small waters I would’ve been left quite thirsty. I was also quite drenched in sweat even though I have to be honest it didn’t feel terrible out there!

The rest of the day was spent running around stores and chasing Hazel around Bass Pro Shops and then lounging at home. She wasn’t really interested in going out to the parks. So we walked around the yard, looked at our watermelon growing and colored quite a bit. She also wanted to look at books. Sometimes a slow weekend is just what is needed.

Jesse caught a lane snapper on Saturday!

He blackened it and then we put it in the air fryer for about 5 minutes

Put it on some salad with our homegrown tomatoes and ate it up. (Not pictured because it was too delicious and I gobbled it up) it was sooooooo good! Small fish though, but delicious!

My totals for the week:

Run: 13.7 miles
Walk: 4.1 miles
Cycle: 10 miles
Workout: 2 hours 24 minutes! (Woohoo)
Total hours spent: 6.5-7 hrs(?) can’t math this morning

Next week I hope to get in 3 runs and go to the gym 5 days again. 🤞🏽🤞🏽

Week 22 (of 2024) – now there’s hip pain? IT’S GOING TO BE STRENGTH SEASON THEN!

I have been neglecting stretching and strength training and it’s showing! Definitely need to take a step back on running. So, my body is forcing me to take a break from running and focus on strength, and while yes… I am sad, I needed this. I was neglecting it too much.

Monday – (5.27.24) Happy Memorial Day! I did some bodyweight strength moves and mobility today. Small walk with River and Hazel and lots of gardening.

Tuesday – (5.28.24) – Plan: run with Phoebe and Vina
Actual: I had a feeling this hip pain was going to bite me in the butt so I tried a warm up lap around the neighborhood to check. It immediately clocked in at about 3 out of 10 on the pain scale and I knew that by going 6.5-7 miles on it it would definitely escalate to 10/10 like it did on Sunday leaving me hobbling home and gobbling ibuprofen. The weather felt great, not too suffocating (ha!) but I ended up cancelling on Vina and doing some stretching at home… which truly saddened me! But, Hazel ended up waking up VERY early so we got to get some extra cuddle time in on the couch which was really nice.

The outfit – I thought I was ready… I wasn’t! I did .5mi warm up

Looks like the rest of my week will be prioritizing rest and doing strength, mobility and walking during lunch! Good thing I’ve got the gym.

**I forgot how nice people are at the gym! -Story time- I forgot the women’s locker room code! Luckily I recognized some friendly faces and she immediately recognized me and helped out. Sometimes the gym can be scary and intimidating, but when you go at the same time daily and get to know the people there you kind have like your own little click sometimes. Anyway, then I decided I would absolutely kill my legs and burn them out. I did this workout:

I chose to use the 25lb KB and tried one exercise with 20lb to work on form and the 20lb one felt like I was lifting a piece of paper. It was very wild. I increased the reps to failure which happened to be around 10 reps. And I think I only did 2 repeats instead of 3 for the 2 last parts. But I was still toasty and it took 45 minutes! I increased my rest period to 2 minutes to allow me to do better with form. I did some mobility work and foam rolled – my IT band was very tight. Then I hopped on the bike and did 3 miles.

Wednesday (5.29.24) –
Soreness update: 3/10 and surprisingly my legs feel FINE. It’s my upper body that is feeling the soreness! That’s awesome
Plan: mobility + Core Work – I want to destroy my core, I always chicken out on finishing because I hate core work, but it is so necessary for other strength!

It’s amazing how not following the video instructions and just doing the exercises themselves I actually take longer to do these exercises and I don’t feel rushed.

Jesse planned a fishing trip with Hendrix for some night time fishing, so as soon as I got home they left and Hazel and I were left to our own devices. I had wanted to take her to the park but she had other plans!

She requested I take down my old mini backpack and she was going to catch the bus to get to school. So, off we went walking around the neighborhood to “catch the bus.” Even though I sprayed her down with bug spray she still got bit! So we headed back home after some time outside. I kept trying to get her in the car to go play outside at the park with water (it was 89°!) but she didn’t want to.

Finally I convinced her to go to Target and we had a blast looking at all the fun stuff and putting a ton of non-essential too much money for nothing into the cart. She chose some white cheddar popcorn, a bath toy and water balloons. Oh and she tried to convince me to get her this dog bowl but settled for having a picture taken with it 🤣

Thursday (5.30.24) – Plan: strength and a walk to test out the hip
Actual: I completed this unilateral strength minus the dead lift to squat combo because 1. I was exhausted but more so than that I felt like people were inappropriately watching me as I was doing this and it made me uncomfortable.

After my strength, which left me speechless 🤯 I jumped on the treadmill for an incline walk which felt good and I didn’t have any hip pain! To make matters better, it looks like it is supposed to storm all weekend which means I’ll have a few more days of rest for my hip. I really hope to continue this strength training while I restart running.

Friday (5.31.24) – Plan: All about injury prevention today! Going to work on core, knee strength, ankles and calves and feet strength!
Actual: I think Friday’s will be all about injury prevention. This line up took an hour to complete! I also decided to do core work first so that I wasn’t too tired at the end!

My left hip – the one that was giving me major problems earlier this week definitely feels weak, so this one and some other hip exercises will be making a recurring return!

Knees also felt a little weak… but I don’t often focus so much on them and now I know really should! For the record, used a 25 lb KB for all exercises needed!

My ankles were by far the weakest of all. It was surprising!!

I am so happy that I got all of this done, felt a little silly doing these out in the open but WHO CARES! I am excited to try to run next week and incorporate running and strength again. No more neglecting strength or mobility ORRRRR stretching. Gotta make time for it so I don’t get sidelined again.

Saturday (6.1.24) – Plan: It is supposed to storm all day, so I think it will be a rest day
Actual: while it didn’t storm all day I did still use it as a rest day and as I write this Sunday night I have NO idea what we actually did yesterday haha!

Sunday (6.2.24) – Plan: Long Walk
Actual: I tried to get Hazel out of the house 5 times but she wouldn’t. She wanted to just play inside. So tea parties, coloring and watching some Curious George was all that was done. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hendrix and Jesse went out fishing and Hendrix caught a monster!

I’m excited to try running again tomorrow and I’ll be making sure I don’t run every single day…. And I’ll be incorporating strength and mobility at lunch time!