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…

 

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!