Listening to My Body
When I noticed that climbing the stairs made my legs feel like lead, I immediately recognized the feeling. I’ve been a cardio maniac the last few weeks with two run/walks and three to four rides per week. Yes, I’m a self-proclaimed cardio junkie, but I do know my limits and I’ve learned to listen to my body. When I felt overly tired on Thursday evening, I decided in addition to my planned cardio rest day on Friday to skip a potential ride on Saturday morning. Luckily for me, Bill decided to skip his ride as well, so there was no FOMO on my part. Hopefully, my legs will thank me and feel fresh on today’s ride.
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 joined my new cycling friends for a ride on the W&OD Trail with not only lots of photo ops, but a stop for lunch as well. We met at 9 AM, each of us riding to our meeting place from a different location. It was 48° and I had no idea how to dress (I always fear overdressing) so I gave my new jacket that easily converts to a vest a try – ends up it was perfect without removing the sleeves.
As I mentioned, we stopped several times for pictures along the way and had a nice relaxing lunch before heading back home. About 5 miles from the end, Bill saw us as he headed toward us after his hilly 34-mile ride. He turned and let us hop in behind to draft up the 2-mile hill that would have otherwise kicked my butt. I ended my 40-mile ride at a 14.1 MPH average speed. As I mentioned, we each rode from different locations to our starting point and that put two of the ladies at 52 miles for the day.
Monday
I headed out at 5 AM in nippy 44° weather for my 4-mile 3-minute run/3-minute walk intervals, finishing at an 11:20 average pace. Monday’s are super busy work days for me so I didn’t get a chance to lift and do my physical therapy homework until later in the day.
Tuesday
Bill and I sneaked out for a late morning ride after working until we both had a mutually timed break. I continued on with my ride after Bill headed back home for meetings. I startled a biker who heard me coming toward him while he was attempting to come onto the trail at a blind spot, and as I rode by, out of the corner of my eye I saw him crashing to the pavement. I stopped to make sure he was okay and he seemed to be; although, I think he was quite embarrassed. We chatted for a few minutes before I headed on. After my turnaround, I met him coming toward me so I assume all was well. I finished my 25-mile ride at an average speed of 15.2 MPH.
Wednesday
It was 60° and perfect running weather when I headed out for my 4-mile 3-minute run/3-minute walk intervals. Running felt so easy and when I glanced down at my pace, I was surprised that I was at an 8:50. I have been running by feel rather than pace and normally whenever I check, I’m around a 9:15 to 9:50. I felt 8:50 was pushing it so I reigned myself in and slowed down. I finished my run/walk intervals at a 10:57 average pace.
Once home, I lifted and did my PT homework between client sessions.
Thursday
In keeping with my goal to join my Cruiser friend Chuck for a ride at least once a week during the month of September in his endeavor to ride 1,000 miles to raise money for kids fighting cancer, Bill and I joined him for an early morning ride on Thursday. It was 57° as we rolled out of our garage at 5:45 AM. We rode 40 miles (Chuck rode 56 miles) at a 15.6 MPH average speed. BTW, if you’re interested in donating to help fight kids’ cancer, please click here.
I was tickled to see my good friends Kim and Lupe running toward us on the trail, but because I was riding with a group, I didn’t stop to say hi. Prior to our chance meeting, I hadn’t seen either of them in person since COVID hit.
Friday
I took Friday off from cardio, but lifted and did my PT homework during the mid-morning between clients and teaching my balance and stretching class. After dinner, Bill and I took a 1-mile stroll around our neighborhood.
Saturday
I’ve been doing a lot of cardio recently and was starting to notice that when I climb stairs, my legs felt heavy. I decided to take a complete rest day from cardio, lifting, everything… I even slept in until 8 AM.
Here’s What You Might Have Missed
In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…
- • Sunday – Weekly RunDown: September 13 – 19 / New Sport, New Injury
- • Tuesday – Tracking Macronutrients: Getting Enough Protein
- • Thursday – Runfessions of Wasteful Camper and a Mismatched Runner
Questions:
- • How often do you take complete rest days?
- • How’s the weather where you live? Is it still summer-like or has it turned to fall?
- • Are any races opening up where you live? At this point, how do you feel about virtual races? Are you done with them? ~ So far, there’s no word on the Thanksgiving Day 10K/5K we normally run, but as of now, the Run with Santa 5K is scheduled to be held live. I would really love to run in at least one live race in 2020 (I was injured pre-pandemic and couldn’t race).
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!
I can definitely over do it on the cardio as well. Fellow cardio junkie here! Good for you to recognize that you need an extra ret day sometimes. Thanks for linking up
It’s hard to reign ourselves in isn’t it?
From a fellow cardio junkie…I know so well that of which you speak. It’s really rare for me to miss a workout, but when I do there’s a reason. I believe in rest days so much that I take two of them every week.
At this point in time both of my October races are going to be live, so it’s surreal that I could be on a real race line very soon.
Beckett @ Birchwood Pie recently posted…Weekly Sweats: Half Marathon #5
It will be weird going to a live race after so much time away. Can’t wait to follow along via your recaps!
Fellow cardio junkie here as well (but you probably already knew that). My quads were really feeling tired after yesterday’s long ride, but this morning’s 6 miles felt good (even with several rolling hills). I’m still going to scale back some biking mileage this next week, though. It’s tough, though, since I don’t have any other cardio options for now…
Did I ever know that! 😉
I’m definitely a cardio junkie, but without a gym, it’s tough to get a fix when running isn’t really an option. This past weekend, my sister and I tried running up a sandbar to get our heart rate up, ha!
Some really small races in Minneapolis are starting to happen safely, so I’m optimistic for more in the future. Fingers crossed for your Santa run!
Running up a sandbar sounds tough. How packed is the sand?
I hope the smaller races prove to be safe so more and more will start happening live.
Good job listening to your body! I take one full rest day every week. Sometimes I do some stretching or core work on those days but thats about it. And I usually go for a walk.
Sounds smart! Pre-biking, Sundays were usually a complete rest day for me…
I did take a complete rest day on Sunday. I didn’t want to, but then I also didn’t want to be productive either, so… there you go.
Love all the riding you got in. It must have been lovely to meet up with all your cycling friends and enjoy the lunch and company.
Races are opening back up. In fact, everything is pretty much open at this point. It’s weird, and I’m a little nervous about going to a real race again. More because it’s been almost a year than anything else. I’m game for a smaller one.
Jenn recently posted…week 38: pugs + ponies + phase 3
Yes, you have a lot of factors contributing to your nervousness about racing again since everything had gone virtual by the time you were released to run again (I think we were about on the same time frame).
What a solid week and I love that you met your runner friends by complete chance! My legs are really feeling like lead now. I took on a challenge to do 200km this month, my highest ever. And with 19km and 2 days left, my legs are crying. But will take a good break after this!
That sounds like a fun challenge and I’m assuming you’ve completed it by now. Congrats, and yes, you deserve some rest days!
Oh, I definitely like to take a break every once in a while! I knew I needed one even before I ran my 10k last week. Since I’ve been running by myself there’s no FOMO at all.
Although it does sound like all that cardio is benefiting your running. 🙂
I never went overboard on the virtuals and I like a little challenge to push me here & there, so I’m still doing some.
Breaks and rest are good!
It’s nice to see how much you’ve embraced the bike!
I actually take 1-2 complete rest days per week. As much as I love to push myself, i sure pay for it. On Saturday, I ran and then did a bunch of cleaning. Sunday was on the couch. Ugh…
Yes, I am loving biking and the new friends I’ve met through this sport. So sorry you felt so miserable on Sunday… 🙁
I don’t take any days off from running but do make sure my easy run are easy. I am doing a running streak so let’s see how long I go.
I have not paid attention if any races are taking place. At this point I doubt I will race one. I did one early in the year so at least I ran one race in 2020. No virtual races for me either. I would rather do a challenge. Ugh, I am so done with 2020.
Zenaida Arroyo recently posted…Tuesday Topics: Running mistakes I’ve made or keep on making
I’ve never done a running streak. Hope yours goes well and stays fun.
Love the cycling pictures on the trail! There are a few live races to pick from in my town but I’m missing them due to cross country meets. No complaints though – it’s our last year to watch my daughter run and I wouldn’t miss it for anything! It’s getting so chilly around here. Not sure if I’ll even make it out on my bike this week!
Lisa @ TechChick Adventures recently posted…Weekly workouts – our first century ride!
Yes, you definitely don’t want to miss your daughter’s senior year of cross country.
It was 45° when we rolled out on our ride this morning. Half way through, I stripped down to my short sleeved jersey… It’s hard to know what to do, because you don’t want to take off layers too soon and I’m always nervous I might do just that.
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