And That’s a Wrap on Summer Vacations

After a week at the farm with my Mom, Bill and I spent four whirlwind days at the beach before calling it quits on our summer getaways until after the baby arrives. Normally, we spend the third week of July visiting my mom and at least a week in August or September at the beach. 

Our back-to-back weeks away were already on the calendar when the gym opened back up for me to start seeing my clients again post-pandemic and left me feeling a little guilty for vanishing just after starting back up. My clients were completely understanding and sent me on my way promising to stay active while I was away.

 

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 Father’s Day so obviously Bill got to decide what we were going to do and he chose to go on a gravel ride. I got up early and lifted weights (I skipped a few leg exercises since we’d be riding some serious hills) and then Bill and I took Pablo for a walk. It was 10:15 AM with the temperature already in the low 80’s by the time we rolled out of our cul-de-sac. The 36-mile lollypop loop Bill designed had some serious climbs on gravel (always more difficult), but it also had some paved roads.

 

On our way home, we stopped at King Street Coffee in Leesburg so Bill could pick up some Lone Oak coffee.

 

We finished our ride hot and exhausted – the temp had climbed to 95° (feels like 99°). We average 12.7 MPH, not bad considering the hills, gravel, and heat. And once home, you know it, I finished the leg exercises I’d skipped during my early morning strength training workout.

 

Monday

We were supposed to be leaving around 6 AM for the Outer Banks, but with Tropical Storm Claudette blowing through at about the same time we would be arriving, we opted to drive down on Tuesday instead – a bummer since we would only be staying until Friday.

Rather than running along the Atlantic Ocean in mid afternoon, I ran in our neighborhood at 7:15 AM between clients I’d hurriedly rescheduled. It was 73° with ridiculously high humidity, but without the sun bearing down it wasn’t too bad. I finished with a 9:28 average pace and exhausted after probably not recovering completely from my previous day’s hard ride. Once home I spent 10 minutes foam rolling followed by 10 minutes stretching.

 

Tuesday

We were on the road by 5:45 AM for our drive to the Outer Banks. We made good time and made a point of stopping at Coastal Cantina for fish tacos and margaritas soon after we arrived on the OBX. After shopping for groceries and airing down the Jeep’s tires to drive on the sand, we drove to our house and unloaded the car just before the sky opened and rained hard for 2 hours.

 

Upon arrival, we realized that our internet was out due to a major fiber optics line being cut in Kitty Hawk (the cable company can’t get a repairman to the beach house until July 6th to fix it). My big plan for the week had been to do a lot of blogging, but that was put on hold… Fortunately, the Verizon signal was just strong enough to enable us to limp along.

 

Wednesday

I lifted weights for an hour first thing in the morning – I keep 5 to 20-pound dumbbell sets and a yoga mat at the house. Anything else I want to have on hand I bring down each trip.

 

It was a delightful 72° with 52% humidity and sunny when I headed out at noon during low tide for my run. I debated running 4 miles, but decided to stick to a 5K and run again the following day. With the wind blowing from the NNE at 14 MPH and with gusts up to 21 MPH, I was slowed down while running north, but sped up enough when I headed south that I ran a 10:25 average pace.

 

Once home, I foam rolled for 10 minutes and then stretched for another 10 minutes. Later in the afternoon, Bill and I went for a 1-mile walk along the beach.

Dinner was a treat of shrimp, grilled veggies, and a Caesar salad.

 

Thursday

I decided at the last minute to join Bill for a trip into town and as soon as we pulled off of the sand and onto the paved road I regretted not wearing my running gear and running while Bill was shopping at Ace Hardware. On the ride back up the beach, I decided the tide was low enough that I could run so I headed out at noon even though low tide wouldn’t officially hit until 1:35 PM.

It was 72° with 66% humidity and the wind coming from the NNE at 12 MPH (18 MPH gusts) when I headed out for my run. I headed north into the wind for the first half of my run before turning to finish my 5K in front of our house. The wind aided in solid negative splits (mile 1 – 10:29, mile 2 – 9:23, mile 3 – 8:44, final .1 – 8:00) giving me a 9:29 average pace.

 

Friday

Up early, I lifted weights before putting my dumbbells away until our next visit. We left the beach house at 7:30 AM, but by the time we stopped to air up the tires and wash the sand and salt off the Jeep, we’d eaten up an hour – a necessary evil of having a house on the 4×4 beach.

 

Saturday

Back home in Virginia, Bill and I started out on our ride together, but had two different routes in mind so at the top of my favorite hill, he continued down the back side onto gravel while I turned to make up my own course all on paved roads and trails. I’ve learned to love the challenge of climbing the 1.55-mile long hill and the thrill of flying back down so I did the hill twice. I went in search of some other hills and ended up climbing 2,000 feet during my 42 miles (13.9 MPH average pace).

Second climb complete and all smiles

 

Once showered and with beauty duty complete, I spent the rest of my afternoon in the kitchen cooking for our belated Father’s Day barbecue with the kids. We had so much fun – having adult children is the best!

 

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:
  • • Did you have any fun Father’s Day celebrations with the special guys in your life? ~ My dad passed away in 2013, but I was able to visit his grave with my mom during my visit to the farm last week. The kids and I honored Bill at a belated barbecue yesterday.
  • • How has the weather been where you live? ~ It was another week with delightfully cooler than normal temperatures and low humidity both at the beach and at home, but both the heat and humidity starting climbing just in time for the weekend.
  • • 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!