Wrapping up Our Weekend

On Sunday, the day after the race, we drove from our friends Beth and Tom’s beach condo to their home a couple of hours inland. There, we were treated to a different kind of water view complete with a double rainbow just before dinner. We had another delightful evening and relaxing Monday morning with our friends before saying our goodbyes and hitting the road for home.

 

Quite the Little Helper

We have two boxwood topiaries on each side of our front porch. I call them our puffball bushes, but until this past week they looked more like giant green blobs. The individual balls had grown together into one ill-formed mess with little antenna-like shoots sticking out in every direction and were in need of some intense shaping (why do I never take “before” photos?).

I got the balls back into their individual shapes with my electric hedge trimmers (affiliate link) on Tuesday afternoon; and yes, years ago I accidentally cut the extension cord – doesn’t everybody do that at least once? Once I got them into shape, I used hand pruners (affiliate link) to clip out the dead wood, clean the suckers off the trunks, etc. Overall, it took me over four hours spread over three days to whip both bushes back into shape.

Pablo arrived on Wednesday afternoon and is staying through later today. He had a blast digging for sticks under the bushes and then carrying them into the front yard to chew on while I worked.

 

By the time I finished and pulled up the old sheets I’d put down to collect my clipping and keep the mulch tidy, Pablo had his own mess of sticks scattered around the front yard.

 

Pablo was more than happy to pose in front of the puffball bushes and show off the fruits of our labor!

 

Walking to Starbucks for a Puppuccino

Since I didn’t run yesterday morning, Bill and I decided to take Pablo for a long walk. When I suggested we go to Starbucks for a coffee for Bill and a puppuccino for Pablo, they both jumped at the chance.

Photo credit: Bill

As we rounded the corner at Starbucks, we immediately saw my good friend Tracy sitting outside enjoying her drink. We couldn’t have planned it any better! We also saw our son’s first grade teacher and her family, a huge group of friends from a gym where I used to work, and neighbors who have an adult English yellow lab and puppy (who were also getting puppuccinos). We hardly had time to talk to Tracy for all of the other socializing we were doing (at least Tracy got to meet lots of people). Apparently, I’m not only the mayor of the running trail, but also of Starbucks. 😂😂😂

 

After waiting in a very long line, Bill eventually got his drink, my egg bites, and Pablo’s puppuccino. Needless to say, Pablo was thrilled with his treat!

Starbucks Puppuccino

Photo credit: Bill

And Now on to a RunDown of this Past Week’s Workouts…

 

Running

After my half on Saturday I felt quite good, but decided to take the week off from running so I could recover completely. When I ran marathons, I returned to running on my fourth day, but I was a lot younger back then. I’ve learned to accept and appreciate the need for a longer recovery and I’ve also learned to practice what I preach.

 

Biking

By Saturday afternoon I was feeling the need to get in a short cardio workout and hopped on my spin bike (affiliate link) for a steady ride while watching college football.

 

Strength Training

For whatever reason, unless I’m tapering for a race and feel the need to rest my legs for a few days before a race, I’m religious with my strength training. Monday, after a long day in the car while driving home from our fun weekend in North Carolina, I lifted weights before heading to bed.

 

Yoga

Apparently, I’m not as dedicated to my yoga as I thought. Yes, I had a busy work week, but I could have fit in a couple of short yoga sessions between clients. It wasn’t until Saturday, that I did my one and only routine.

 

It’s on the Blog

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

Miracles of all miracles, I buckled down and completed another one of my recaps from our trip out west earlier in the summer. I still have several others to write, but I’ve started my half marathon recap and hope to get it posted this coming week. Once that’s done, I’ll return to hiking recaps.

 

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

 

  • Questions:
  • Are you a Starbucks fan or not? ~ I’m not a coffee drinker, so I’m indifferent. 
  • Runners: how much time do you take off after a half marathon, a full marathon? 
  • Did you race this weekend? 

 

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

 

Disclaimer:  This post may contain affiliate links which means if you click on the blue product link and then make a purchase, I will receive a small 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 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 the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!