Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links…

 

Visiting the Farm

I’m visiting the farm for about a week and enjoying the change in scenery. Spring is at about the same point here as at home, or in other words, taking its sweet time in arriving. Usually spring arrives a couple of weeks earlier at home than on the farm due to the higher elevation in southwest Virginia, but this year seems to be an exception. I’m sure the weekend’s heavy rain all across the commonwealth will convert the grass to a vivid green and aid in the popping of tree and flower blooms; and I can’t wait!

 

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

It was late afternoon before I got around to hopping on my spin bike (affiliate link) for 14 miles (16.9 MPH average pace) while multitasking (watching mass from earlier in the morning via Facebook Live).

 

Monday

Up early, I lifted weights before seeing my first client and after wrapping up my last session I headed outside for a couple hours of gardening (pruning laurels and azaleas). That pretty much wrapped up my gardening until early May when I’ll plant annuals in pots on the deck, but as any good gardener knows, projects come up and the job is never done.

Even though it was a beautiful spring afternoon, I opted to walk inside on my treadmill (affiliate link) since I’d already been out in the sun and pollen for several hours. After a mile (15:40 pace), I just wasn’t feeling it and quit.

 

Tuesday

With an 8:30 AM physical and the desire to run beforehand, I was out the door at 5:30 for a lovely solo run around my neighborhood. It was 40° (feels like 38°) and I let my body be the judge of my speed – everything felt great and I finished with an average pace of 9:22. After my run I had time for a shower, but something came up and I had to postpone my stretching and foam rolling until later in the afternoon.

 

My doctor  was pleased with all of my numbers (weight, BP, cholesterol, etc.) and as I walked out of the door she reminded me to keep up my exercise routine and to continue working on my goal to get more sleep.

 

Wednesday

As usual, I spent just over an hour strength training during the early morning between clients. Later, I don’t know what I was thinking, but I started my mid-afternoon 20-mile spin (16.5 MPH average pace) in capris and a short sleeve shirt. About 2 minutes in, I realized I would be way too hot and changed into shorts and stripped down to my sports bra.

 

Thursday

I ran 4 miles between my only two clients of the morning. It was 56° and still damp from the previous day’s rain and a little too muggy for my liking, but in shorts and short sleeves, I survived and finished with a 9:16 average pace. It’s too early to start complaining about being too hot after a winter of cold-weather complaining so I’ll zip it. 🤐 Once home, I rolled and stretched for 10 minutes each.

 

Friday

Up at zero dark thirty to get on the road by 5:30 AM, there was no time for a workout. Once we arrived at the farm, we had just enough time for lunch before I had to take off with Mom for a couple of appointments. Even though there’d been zero exercise, at the end of the day I was more exhausted than after a long run or ride.

 

Saturday

Bill and I chilled until the temperature got a little warmer and with the sun out, it had jumped rapidly to 61° by our 10 AM departure. Rain wasn’t supposed to hit the area until mid-afternoon so we planned a 26-mile loop of mixed gravel and pavement.

 

Shortly after turning onto a gravel road at the 6.5-mile mark, we heard rumbles of thunder in the distance and having grown up in the area, I knew there was a great likelihood that the storm was heading our way. The crunch of gravel beneath our tires drowned out the sound of thunder and with our backs to the ever darkening sky, we were unaware of how quickly the impending storm was approaching.

 

At the 10-mile mark we stopped to turn back onto a paved road and could hear the sound of thunder growing closer. Just as I was about to suggest that we cut the loop short and head straight home, it started to rain – alrighty then, decision made. There’s a 28.6% grade hill that’s really fun to descend, but as I started picking up speed I reminded myself that the pavement was wet and applied the brakes. Back on the gravel road leading to the farm, the rain grew heavier and by the time we pulled into the garage a pretty serious storm was starting to brew. Our planned 26-mile ride was cut short to 13.2 miles (10.6 MPH average speed), but we were safe at home.

We had torrential rain and scary levels of thunder and lightning for the remainder of the day and overnight (even into today). The heavy rain caused serious flooding and Bill had to maneuver around water and debris flowing across the road as he made his way back to the interstate for his drive home this morning (I’m staying at the farm until Thursday).

 

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:
  • • Have you ever been caught out in an electrical storm? ~ Bill and I were once on a long run with the Cruisers when we got caught and it was really scary. We ran separated from each other in case lightning struck so it wouldn’t hit both of us and leave our sons orphans. 😳
  • • How has the weather been where you live, springlike or a mixed bag?
  • • Did you run in a race this weekend? If so, was it live or virtual?

 

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.