Wrapping Up a Huge Chapter of My Life

I don’t want to jinx myself, but I feel great! I rarely get that sudden grabbing sensation in my lower left back area that I got all spring, and my right foot hasn’t been numb in months which was a common occurrence for years. Why this sudden pain-free feeling? I haven’t run since January 27th.

I’m still exercising regularly – walking, cycling, and strength training; and when I walk, I occasionally fall into an easy 30-second run to cross a street or pick up my pace if I’ve been lolly gagging. I miss running, but bringing it back has not been worth the risk of injury and I’m okay with that. I’ll never say never, but most likely running is something I used to do, used to be known for, used to be asked about regularly…

Picture from my last run

My Sleep Needs Improvement

When I saw my doctor for my physical last week I passed with flying colors. Well, except for my sleep. She wasn’t impressed with how little sleep I get and I promised to try to do better. You’ll notice in today’s infographic that I averaged 8 hours and 10 minutes per night (I’m at 7 hours average per night for the year). Last week I averaged 6 hours 48 minutes per night and the week before it was 6 hours 12 minutes and it was obvious that there was a lot of room for improvement.

I was asleep by 9:30 most nights and forced myself to sleep well past my normal wake up of 5 AM (I still woke up at 4:50 AM each morning but when I could, I forced myself to go back to sleep until 6 or later). I woke up a lot during the night and had more weird dreams than usual, possibly because I wasn’t as tired with all that sleep.

It wasn’t easy and I dare to say that I didn’t really like it. I’m the type of person who pops out of bed when I wake up, annoyingly chatty and ready to get the day started. This coming week I think I’ll shoot for 7.5 hours of sleep per night and see if that suits me better.

 

Overview of the Week

Before getting into each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…

 

Sunday

Cycling: 10.27 miles
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Average speed: 12.2 MPH
• Surface: mostly paved
• Elevation gain: 443 feet
• Start time: 11:40 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails and streets
• Weather: 82° (feels like 86°) and mostly cloudy, climbing to 85° (feels like 92°)
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves

Even though I wasn’t feeling 100% when I woke up, I dressed for our planned 40-mile ride, but after breakfast I lay back down and fell asleep for almost an hour. I knew that I shouldn’t exhaust myself so I eventually made it outside for a couple of miles which turned into 10 while tooling around our community. Once home and showered, I took another 2.5-hour nap.

 

Monday

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

Walking: 3.03 miles
• Average pace: 14:34 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 118 feet
• Start time: 6:13 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 69° and mostly cloudy with lowering humidity
• What I wore: shorts and s/s shirt

Thankfully, I woke up feeling pretty much back to normal. Even though it was a holiday, I’d opted to see clients who wanted to meet so I got my own workouts out of the way before work.

By the end of the day, though, I was exhausted and went to bed very early. My Fitbit showed that I was asleep at 8:22 PM and got up at 6:04 AM, giving me 8 hours and 28 minutes of sleep.

 

Tuesday

Cycling: 32.54 miles
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Average speed: 12.4 MPH
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 2,014 feet
• Start time: 9:36 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Leesburg loop with 3 x Thomas Mill climbs
• Weather: 62° and sunny, climbing to 72°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, arm sleeves, and fingerless gloves

After all that sleep I woke up feeling like whatever had been bugging me was gone. I was able to get out mid-morning for a ride and when my husband challenged me to ride the longer of my two regular Tuesday hills on repeat, I accepted the challenge and climbed it three times: 3 x 1.6 miles with 386 feet of ascension (4.6% average grade).

 

Wednesday

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

Gardening: 1 hour 44 minutes

The weather was absolutely perfect at 78° with low humidity and I couldn’t resist getting outside for some gardening. The picture doesn’t lie, I spent most of my time weed eating.

 

Thursday

Walking: 4.08 miles
• Average pace: 14:57 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 191 feet
• Start time: 5:29 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 54° and clear
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, nylon shell, visor, and gloves

Cycling: 15.21 miles
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Average speed: 14.2 MPH
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 482 feet
• Start time: 9:17 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Sterling loop
• Weather: 65° and mostly sunny, climbing to 69°
• What I wore: bike shorts, l/s jersey, and fingerless gloves

Gardening: 51 minutes

I was up early and out the door for Kim‘s and my weekly virtual cardio workout. I’m not taking for granted that dawn breaks before the end my walk and I can venture out of our little neighborhood feeling safer. Soon enough both Kim’s and my pictures will have dark backgrounds.

Collage credit: Kim

I put on a fleece-lined long sleeved jersey for the chilly air, but once I stepped outside I feared I’d overdressed. Once rolling on my bike, the cool air blowing past me reminded me of how much colder it is on a bike and I’d dressed exactly right. I’m so torn between loving the cool crisp mornings and being annoyed with how many more layers I’m going to have to start wearing soon.

 

Once home, I finished the previous day’s weed eating project and put the tiniest of dents in the fall pruning. It’s a bit early for pruning so the foundation bushes will have to wait until October.

 

Friday

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

Balance and stretching: 45 minutes

Walking: 3.11 miles
• Average pace: 15:24 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 131 feet
• Start time: 7:46 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 63° and partly cloudy, climbing to 66°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, light jacket, and visor (took jacket off after first mile)

 

Saturday

Cycling: 30.06 miles
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Average speed: 10.7 MPH
• Surface: gravel
• Elevation gain: 2,720 feet
• Start time: 9:26 AM
• Location: Middleburg loop with Bull Run Mountain and Bust Head Road
• Weather: 71° and partly cloudy, dropping to 65° with a light drizzle
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, light jacket, and fingerless gloves (my jacket came off and on several times)

Normally, I don’t ride with the Gravel Rats on Saturdays because only the guys tend to ride and it’s a balls to the wall drop ride. They were doing a great route, though, so my husband and I decided to join with plans to do our own thing when they left us in the dust. Luckily, two other women were there and it ended up being a chill three couples ride.

 

Last Week’s Blog Posts

In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…

 

Questions:
  • • Have injuries kept you from continuing with a sport you love? ~ Sadly that seems to be the case with running for me…
  • • Have you had delightful fall-like weather this past week? ~ It’s been gorgeous and I’m so torn because I don’t like being cold on my bike on my morning rides.
  • • Do you get enough sleep? ~ Normally, no, but this past week, yes.

And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!

 

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I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!

 

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