Cruisers Reunion

A few weeks ago my friend Shawn reached out to the Cruisers hoping to get us going again; however, out of town travel had prevented me from joining some of my favorite people for a run until this weekend. Life, injuries, moves, etc. had unintentionally disbanded us and and we’d only regroup after the annual Thanksgiving day turkey trot once a year and it was time to change that. Like with all good friends, we picked up right where we left off and had a fabulous time! 

 

Overview of the Week

Before discussing each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…

 

Sunday

Travel home from the farm

Walking: 1 mile
• Average pace: didn’t time
• Start time: 7:15 PM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 74° and cloudy
• What I wore: shorts and s/s shirt

 

Monday

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

Walking: 2 miles
• Average pace: 15:45
• Start time: 7:11 PM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 72° and partly cloudy
• What I wore: shorts and s/s shirt

 

Tuesday

Cycling: 40 miles
• Average speed: 13.5 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 2,060 feet
• Start time: 8:36 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Hamilton loop with Thomas Mill and Woodburn climbs
• Weather: 67° and cloudy, climbing to 72° and mostly sunny
• What I wore: bike shorts and s/s jersey

Have you ever had a six-foot-tall squirrel run back in forth on the trail in front of you? While riding west toward one of the high schools on the W&OD Trail, I spotted a tall young man walking ahead in the right lane so I shouted, “On your left,” and moved into the left lane to pass him. Just as I got almost to him, he jumped right in front of me. I slammed on my brakes and quickly turned to the right just as he jumped in front of me again. We did that little song and dance until we were both in the middle of the trail, inches from each other, but somehow never having collided. He started apologizing profusely and when I said, “But I said on your left,” he said the he thought I said, “Jump to your left.” 😂🤣

About three miles after my giant squirrel encounter I turned off the trail to climb my two favorite hills. On the way home my left IT band started screaming at me and hurt so much that I coasted whenever I could. Once home and off the bike, it quit hurting.

 

Wednesday

Running: 5K
• Average pace: 9:37
• Start time: 6:00 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 57° and clear
• What I wore: shorts and tank top

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

The weather was too perfect to not get outside so I nervously laced up my running shoes and headed out the front door. Amazingly, I didn’t feel a single twinge on my left knee so I kept running – plan B had been to slow to a walk unless walking hurt. Interestingly, though, later in the day when I taught my fitness machine orientation class, I could feel my knee complaining when I demonstrated each of the gym’s three different types of stationary bikes.

 

Thursday

Cycling: 25 miles
• Average speed: 15.5 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 686 feet
• Start time: 10:08 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Sterling/Leesburg loop
• Weather: 71°, breezy, and partly cloudy, climbing to 75°
• What I wore: bike shorts and s/s jersey

The wind kicked up just before I left home for my ride (8 MPH from the north with gusts up to 14 MPH) and it felt like I had a headwind both ways on my east to west loop. I kept the ride on the shorter and flatter side, and luckily, I had zero knee pain.

 

Friday

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

Balance and stretching: 45 minutes

 

Saturday

I needed to be home on the earlier side so it worked out great for me to meet my Cruiser friends for a run (30 minutes) versus a bike ride (3 hours). It was great catching up and I quickly realized that I’ve lost my skill of being able to talk non-stop without breathing heavily while running – running alone 99% of the time will do that to you!

Once home, I foam rolled and stretched while watching college football.

 

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 a key group of running or workout friends? If so, do you see them regularly?
  • • What was your favorite workout of the week? ~ I loved reuniting with the Cruisers for a run!
  • • Did you run in a race this weekend? ~ No

 

And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!

 

*********************************************************************

 

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!