Tuesday’s run was at 5 AM, in the dark, uneventful, and unphotographed.  My pace was a tad faster than I’ve been running; in fact, since returning from visiting my mom I’ve shaved about 30 seconds off of my average pace. Granted, I’d slowed down significantly since running the Grand Teton Half simply because with no big race on my radar, I’ve had no need to work on my speed and have been happily just plodding along on my runs.

On Thursday, our friend Tiffany was back in town on business (she moved to California in June) so we all gathered for a group run. Bill even came out on his bike to pace us! These girls pushed me and I ran my fasted non-racing pace in months. Of course, the 62° with only 77% humidity didn’t hurt in helping us run more efficiently.

 

We couldn’t let Tiffany return to California without getting together for lunch, though, so we met at Cracker Barrel at noon and stayed for almost two hours. By the way, doesn’t everyone take their GoPro (affiliate link) with them to lunch? 😀

 

It was 59° when we met on Saturday morning. Yes, the mornings are starting to feel a tiny bit like fall, but I’m not ready for summer to come to an end so I’m just going to pretend it’s a cold snap.

After our turnaround, we came upon a truck parked crossways in the middle of the trail. He was stopping runners and bikers so we wouldn’t be near the quarry when the workers set off dynamite. I’m not sure what was blocking the passage on the east side of the quarry because runners and bikers kept coming from the east.

 

We weren’t allowed to continue and a small group gathered before we were allowed to continue on our way. I watched as a runner ran laps while waiting, but we welcomed the respit. We learned that there are two siren warning before the blast and then a siren afterward giving the all clear.

 

Of course, our little stop was the perfect time for a picture. Two of our friends had continued on and didn’t turn around when we did so they’re not in the picture.

 

Back at my car after I finished up my ten miles (I ran the shortest distance of all of us), I donned my new pink robe (affiliate link) so I wouldn’t get sweat all over my seats on the drive home. The robe is lightweight so it’s not too hot when I put it on after my run when the temps have really heated up, yet it does a good job keeping the interior of my car from getting slimy.

 

As soon as I got home, I strapped my helmet on and Bill and I took off on a ten-mile bike ride. I was shocked that my quads felt pretty good and didn’t complain as much as the last time I rode right after a run. Bill had ridden on Friday evening so ten miles was the perfect distance for both of us, especially considering we have a ride on tap for this morning.

 

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

Looking ahead to this coming week, I’ll be sharing the following posts…

  • Monday – Please feel free to join me for Race Linkup and let your friends know which races they can find you running in the next few months.
  • Wednesday – I’ll be posting another installment of Ask Coach Deb.
  • Thursday – I’ll be pulling together my recaps from our vacation earlier this summer in Wyoming and Utah.

 

In addition to the runs I mentioned above, here’s a complete run-down of my workouts from this past week (completed mostly in our home gym)…

 

  • Questions:
  • Do you get together with your running friends for non-running activities?
  • If you have to drive home after a run, what do you use to keep your car clean? Do you wrap yourself in a bath towel or beach towel, or do you stealthily change clothes behind your car doors?
  • Did you race this weekend?

 

And that’s a wrap… 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 Wendy from Taking The Long Way Home for their Weekly Wrap. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!