While training clients on Monday morning I watched the cover on our deck table and chairs billow up like a hot air balloon; to the point I was afraid the protective cover would tear. With wind gusts forecast to get up to 80 MPH, I wasn’t at all surprised to see this happen. It wasn’t until later in the day when I went upstairs and looked out my laundry room window that I realized that the incredibly heavy stone-top table had been blown across the deck. Prior to the windstorm, it was aligned parallel with the decking boards.

 

I mention the high winds because Tuesday was forecasted to be a repeat of Monday so my friends and I all showed up for our run over-dressed and had to shed our jackets as we ran. We did; however, rock our fun and colorful tights without shedding them!

Photo credit: Erin

Thursday’s run back on the W&OD Trail was uneventful without any skunk sightings this week (we meet at a different location for each of our three runs per week and almost always see skunks on this trail). We’re starting to pick up our pace and push each other a little more. Most of our recent runs are at a sub 9:00 pace and our Thursday runs on the straight trail (more accurate GPS readings perhaps?) have been in the 8:20 to 8:45 range, with some splits at 8:00 or slightly faster.

With my slightly faster paces, I’m starting to notice residual back “awareness” after my run. With my back history, I know that I need to listen to my body (stay tuned for this week’s Wednesday Word) and perhaps slow my pace down to a 9:15-9:30. It can be frustrating to have the desire and ability to run at one pace, but know that it would probably be better not to… This instance is one of the few times that my age actually bothers me.

Friday morning’s weight lifting session was temporarily interrupted by this beautiful sunrise when I ran outside to capture it’s beauty.

 

On Saturday morning I showed up to run with my MRTT friends, but no one at my pace showed up, so I ran alone. I hadn’t brought my earbuds along so I ran with my music blaring out of my iPhone speaker inside my SPIbelt (affiliate link) – yes, I was that person. I either passed the other runners quickly or met them coming toward me so nobody had to run along side of me listening to my racket.

 

Saturday evening we had dinner with Daniel and Jess at Mussels Bar & Grill in Arlington (celebrating Daniel’s birthday a little early). We walked to and from the restaurant from Daniel’s house while scheming about our fall race schedule. No Ragnars for us this fall, but I hope we’ll be able to run a race together.

Dinner was incredibly delicious (I got scallops), but let’s talk about the appetizers! We ordered calamari (a family favorite) and roasted Brussels sprouts. The Brussels sprouts also had spearmint and cilantro tossed in, making for a delightful surprise. I am now on a mission to try my hand at making them again, something in the past I’ve always struggled with – I either roast them too long or not long enough and they never even remotely taste as good as the ones I order in restaurants. 

 

Back to working out, considering this is supposed to be a recap of my weekly workouts. Here’s how my week went down…

 

Fitness tools beyond the equipment in my gym that I used during the week included: 

Cameras used for blog photography include:

 

  • Questions:
  • Do you ever have to slow your pace to prevent some sort of pain?
  • Have you ever run a race next to someone playing their music without using ear buds? ~ I have a couple of times and it can be quite annoying. During ZOOMA Annapolis I kind of actually enjoyed it, but all other times it’s driven me crazy. I guess it depends on the music being played. 🙂
  • What’s your favorite appetizer? 

 

Have a great week!

 

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on the blue product link and then make a purchase, I will receive a commission for referring you. You will pay no more or less for the product; however, Amazon will show their gratitude for my referral by paying me.

 

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I’m linking up with Holly at HoHo Runs and Tricia from MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap.  Be sure to check out not only the hosts, but the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!

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