Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links…

 

W&OD Trail Closure

As work continues by Dominion Electric on the aging electrical lines running along the W&OD Trail, rather than continuing to detour traffic for short distances from the paved trail onto the parallel gravel horse trail, both will be closed this coming week between Loudoun County Parkway and just east of Claiborne Parkway.

 

While driving to the 55+ community to teach classes on Friday, I saw work crews adding bike decals to the right side of the roadway where trail traffic will be detoured. It’s great that pedestrian and cyclist trail users will have the option to run, walk, and cycle along the designated detours, but some of the detours are along a busy parkway. Local readers, if you need to take the detour, please be careful!

 

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

Cycling: 10 miles
Average speed: 16.7 MPH
Bike: LifeCycle spin
Surface: N/A
Elevation gain: 0 feet
Time of day: 3 PM
Location: basement
Weather: climate controlled 70°
What I wore: bike shorts and jog bra

Dreary and with a misty drizzle outside, I opted for an indoor ride on my spin bike (affiliate link) while chatting on the phone with my mom. During the spin, the drizzle turned to rain and I was happy I’d stayed indoors.

Gardening: 1 hour

 

Monday

Strength Training: 1 hour of full body with cardio walk intervals

 

Tuesday

Cycling: 52 miles
Average speed: 14.6 MPH
Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp road
Surface: paved
Elevation gain: 2,238 feet
Time of day: 8:10 AM
Location: W&OD Trail and roads to Purcellville
Weather: 62° and overcast, climbing to 68°
What I wore: bike short bibs and s/s jersey, arm sleeves, and fingerless gloves

Because Bill was swamped with work and couldn’t join me, and I was free to ride later, I scheduled an early morning client and rolled about an hour after wrapping up our session. As much as I love riding with my husband and friends, I also enjoy the peacefulness of solo rides.

With just under 6 miles left in my ride, a younger guy caught up with me at a stop light and proceeded to ride right beside me chatting endlessly. I was tired and didn’t feel like talking so I sped up, and he sped up. I was polite and held up my end of the conversation, but I couldn’t wait to turn off the trail to be alone again. Had I been running I would have loved the unexpected company, but I don’t like chatting while cycling.

 

Wednesday

Running: 5K
Average pace: 8:59
Time of day: 5:32 AM
Location: neighborhood circle
Weather: 62° and extremely foggy
Clothing: shorts and tank

Shortly after getting up I noticed a dense fog warning on my weather app and it wasn’t kidding! With my headlamp illuminating the moisture in the air, it looked like strings of fog were speeding toward me as I ran.

 

Strength Training: 1 hour of full body immediately after finishing my run

Foam rolling: 10 minutes

Stretching: 10 minutes

 

Thursday

Cycling: 35 miles
Average speed: 14.7 MPH
Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp road
Surface: paved
Elevation gain: 1,473 feet
Time of day: 6:47 AM
Location: W&OD Trail and roads to Hamilton
Weather: 57° and foggy, climbing to 65° and sunny
What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, arm sleeves, fingerless gloves, and light jacket (took jacket off 25 miles into ride)

Bill and I started our ride in the dark in dense fog. The moisture was so thick that water droplets kept dripping off my helmet visor and nose. Just like with season changes when running, I can never remember at what temperature to add a layer of clothing. Luckily, I threw on a light jacket (affiliate link) as we headed out the door and was comfortable in it until the sun came out 25 miles into the ride. I love this jacket because it flips inside-out into a little self pocket and can be Velcro’d to the handlebars, completely out of the way.

 

Jacket hanging from handlebars (note the spider webs on the fence)…

 

Friday

Strength Training: 1 hour of full body

Balance and Stretching: 45 minutes

 

Saturday

Walk: 1/2-mile with Pablo

Running: 4 miles
Average pace: 9:27
Time of day: 9:33 AM
Location: neighborhood trails
Weather: 68°, breezy, and partly sunny, climbing to 72°
Clothing: shorts, tank, and visor

I had planned to head out early to run, but Pablo wanted to go out for his morning walk just as I slipped on my running shoes (we’re watching his for the weekend). After our walk, which included playing with two giant schnauzers, I sneaked back out for my run.

 

My 5K turned into 4 miles when I got distracted and was a quarter way into the 4th mile before I realized it.

 

Stretching: 10 minutes

 

Last Week’s Blog Posts

In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…

 

 Questions:
  • • Do you have difficulty remembering what you’re comfortable wearing when the season changes? ~ Yes, every. single. season change!
  • • Are the leaves changing where you live? ~ They are just starting to change here.
  • • 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.