Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links…

 

Independence Day Celebrations

The week was capped off with a subdued Independence Day celebration. For the first time that I can remember, we didn’t grill out, instead ordering pizza (we were both too tired – see Saturday’s workout). Impromptu fireworks displays popped up in front of various neighbors’ houses so Bill and I walked around checking out the different displays. Once again, our neighbors didn’t disappoint!

 

Overview of the Week

Here’s my complete rundown of workouts from this past week. Scroll down for details from each day.

 

Sunday

I took a well deserved rest day on Sunday after a week of high cardio – 106 biking miles and 13 walking/hiking miles. When my legs felt like lead each time I climbed our stairs, I knew it was time to give them a rest.

 

Monday

Monday was typical for me – a busy morning with work – so I headed out for my 4-mile walk (14:53 average pace) at 5:30 AM and fit in strength training and my physical therapy homework between client sessions. Later after dinner, I joined Bill for a 1-mile walk around our neighborhood.

 

Tuesday

I wasn’t feeling 100% on Tuesday morning, but by the time I rode over to meet Betsy at 8 AM whatever bug was bothering my stomach had disappeared and I didn’t have to cancel our ride. We took a different and much steeper path to the W&OD Trail which slowed us down a bit and we ended our 16-mile ride at an average speed of 13.7 MPH.

 

After our ride, I did a few things around the house before heading outside to work in the yard for over 3 hours. I trimmed trees, pruned bushes, and did a little mowing even though we have a lawn service (gotta get my mowing fix every so often). All-in-all it was great to be outside for much of the afternoon.

 

Wednesday

Anticipating walking my upcoming virtual race on Thursday, I decided to switch up my cardio days and ride inside on my spin bike (affiliate link) on Wednesday afternoon. I kept it shorter than normal, completing 12 miles at a steady 16.3 MPH. Earlier, prior to seeing my morning clients, I lifted and did my PT homework.

 

Thursday

I met my friend Erin for our traditional Firecracker 5K – only it wasn’t Independence Day, we weren’t at Reston Town Center, and we weren’t running. My back had been spasming the night before after twisting it as I slipped while stepping outside to take out the garbage and I could feel some residual pain when I started walking. We kept our 5K walk at a 16.19 average pace and my back felt fine. Walking a half mile to and from meeting Erin added another mile to my day.

Later, I saw Ashley for physical therapy and she worked her magic with some manipulation on my spine. We kept the workout easier and I have a new set of exercises to do for homework.

 

Friday

With a long ride planned for Independence Day, I had planned to keep Friday’s workout pretty short, but once I got started I just kept going. I ended up lifting for about an hour and then spent another 30 minutes doing my various physical therapy exercises. It felt great to stretch my legs at the end of the balance and stretching class that I teach.

I’m pretty sure I must have smeared hand lotion on the camera lens when I closed my MacBook because the quality of my video is terrible. Note to self, clean the camera before going live.

 

Saturday

Earlier in the week, Bill planned a 52-mile Independence Day ride with his Worldgate cycling buddies for 7 AM in Frederick County, MD. He intentionally kept the course as flat as he could in hopes of luring me into riding with them. With the pandemic canceling my Firecracker 5K, I had no reason not to join in on the fun!

We started our ride at Walkersville Community Park in Walkersville, MD and stopped for a group picture in front of the Utica Road covered bridge about 5 miles into our ride.

 

We stopped again at a park next to the Roddy Road covered bridge to use the restrooms and refuel around mile 17.

 

Around mile 26 we stopped at a gas station to buy water and Gatorade to top off our bottles, and then stopped a few more times to fuel and hydrate. We ended the ride back at the park. It was my longest ride to date – I ridden 50 miles 2 years ago. I’ll have a few more thoughts and photos from Bill’s GoPro (affiliate link) in a recap, hopefully later this week.

 

Here’s What You Might Have Missed

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

 

Questions:
  • • Do you take complete rest days or do you like more of an active rest? ~ I judge it by how I feel. On Sunday, I need complete rest.
  • • How did you celebrate Independence Day?
  • • Did you run in a virtual race this weekend?

 

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!

 

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 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.