A Tail Wagging Good Time

Pablo and his hoomans spent Saturday through Sunday morning with us. The dance he does when he comes into our house at the beginning of each visit cracks us up. His little tail wags so hard that his entire body from his shoulders back sway in a dance-like rhythm. 

 

Overview of the Week

Before discussing each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll down for daily details…

 

Sunday

I returned to my Salsa on Sunday morning for some gravel grinding in western Loudoun County with some of my cycling friends. All that riding I’ve been doing this summer has certainly paid off because I felt so much stronger on those gravelly hills this year and not once was I the last person to summit (last year I was every single time). We completed our ride much slower than previous weeks, but that’s to be expected on gravel. All told, we rolled back into the parking lot – after breakfast at a Leesburg bike shop – at 30 miles and at an average speed of 12.9 MPH.

 

Monday

It stayed dark during my entire 4-mile 4-minute walk/2-minute run intervals at 5:15 on Monday morning. The combination of heading out earlier and the sun rising later left me unprepared for the darkness without my trusty headlamp. With almost 2 hours between my first client and my next, I had time to easily fit in strength training and my physical therapy homework.

 

Tuesday

Bill and I were out the door on Tuesday morning for a sunrise ride to the top of the hill on Thomas Mill (look familiar?) It was a tough climb, but the ride back down was worth it.

 

On our way back into Leesburg, we passed some of my friends running on the W&OD Trail who invited me to coffee and since my morning calendar was open, I sent Bill on home and joined them!

 

Just after I pulled back onto the trail, these guys passed me so I kicked it up a notch and hung with them for several miles. I’d screwed up my Garmin while stopped with my friends and ended up with two separate rides. The sunrise climb and back to coffee was just over 18 miles at an average speed of 13.2 MPH. After eating a bar while stopped with my friends (my stomach felt weird and I couldn’t eat at home), I was fueled properly and maintained a 15.3 MPH average speed on my final 16 miles home.

 

Wednesday

After wrapping it up with my morning clients, I headed out at 11 AM  for a solo ride, not sure how far or how long I’d ride. I ended up riding to the end of the trail, and at my turnaround, I realized that I was cutting it close for my next appointment and really had to book it to get home in time.

I’d struggled during the first ten miles because I left the house under fueled and had to stop for a Honey Stinger gel (affiliate link) and a few Honey Stinger chews (affiliate link). The combination did the trick and I finished the chews at my turnaround. Even though I was booking it on my way home, those early miles came back to haunt me and my average speed for my 38-mile ride was only 14.4 MPH.

 

Thursday

I was up early and out the door for my 4-mile 4:00 walk/2:00 run intervals on Thursday morning (12:22 average pace) before training clients and then heading to my periodontist’s office for another round of gum grafting surgery. It sounds horrible, but honestly, it isn’t that bad.

Despite being in denial that the mornings are staying dark later during my recent early workouts, I finally pulled out my headlamp so I could see. As I put on my pink sports bra under a white shirt and it showed through, I though, “Nah, it’s dark and no one will see me so I’m not going to change.” Then I got the great idea to take a picture wearing my headlamp for the first time since the summer solstice… LOL

 

Friday

Friday was a planned cardio rest day because I knew in advance that I wouldn’t be able to do any intense workouts for 48 hours after my surgery. I had made sure to get my five cardio workouts in during the previous five days. After a relaxing morning, I lifted weights, skipping some of the harder exercises, and completed my physical therapy homework.

 

Saturday

As the remnants of Hurricane Laura, which had been downgraded to a tropical depression, moved through the area and left us with a rainy Saturday morning I didn’t complain because I was still less than 48-hours post surgery and had no cardio plans on tap for the morning.

 

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:
  • • What’s your favorite cross training workout?
  • • Does the later morning sunrise affect your workouts?
  • • Are any races opening up where you live?

 

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.