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Peak Weeks

Bill and I got very lucky and timed our trip to New England during actual peak leaf peeping week – it’s always a crap shoot and you just have to hope that luck is on your side when scheduling trips weeks or months in advance. Once home from our trip, our leaves were just starting to turn and we got to experience leaf peeping all over again.

After a wet summer leaving the trees in our area stress free, the leaves were particularly vibrant this year. Add to that very little rain and wind once they started turning colors and the leaves stayed attached to the trees for several weeks. It truly has been a long and glorious fall!

 

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

Running: 5K
• Average pace: 10:39
• Elevation gain: 46 feet
• Start time: 9:36 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 39° and sunny, climbing to 44°
• What I wore: capris, s/s shirt, nylon shell, and gloves

This was my first run post skin cancer surgery on my upper abdominal area, so I took it easy. It was a beautiful day and I felt great so it was a win!

 

Monday

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

 

Tuesday

Hiking: 1.8 miles
• Average pace: 30:31
• Elevation gain: 710 feet
• Start time: 12:43 PM
• Location: Dark Hollow Falls Trail in Shenandoah National Park
• Weather: 64° and sunny
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, nylon shell, and visor (took shell off for second half of hike)

I finally got to meet Judy while she was in Virginia for a trail half marathon. We met in Shenandoah National Park for a hike down to Dark Hollow Falls. The above average pace is a guesstimate using the inaccurate information from our hike descent because auto-pause kept stopping my Garmin (affiliate link) even though I wasn’t stopped, and once I turned auto-pause off for our climb out, I forgot to turn off my watch until we were pulling out of the parking lot. Oops!

Judy had previously given me some tips on how to shoot waterfalls with an iPhone to get the slow shutter effect and I was happy to get to practice! Stay tuned for a full recap of our hike on Tuesday.

 

Original photo…

 

With long exposure…

 

Wednesday

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

Walking: 5K
• Average pace: 14:35
• Elevation gain: 132 feet
• Start time: 11:17 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 62° and sunny, climbing to 65°
• What I wore: capris, s/s shirt, and visor

I was definitely overdressed and should have worn shorts, but I was too lazy to walk back upstairs and change when I checked my weather app.

 

Thursday

Cycling: 46 miles
• Average speed: 14.2 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,611
• Start time: 10:34 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Sterling to Purcellville loop
• Weather: 54° and sunny, climbing to 67°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, jacket, mid-weight gloves, ear warmer headband (5 miles into the ride I took my  jacket and headband off and changed into fingerless gloves)

My friend Chuck and I couldn’t have picked a nicer day for a ride. We ended up going about seven miles farther than planned simply because it was so nice we wanted to stay outside as long as possible.

 

Friday

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

Balance and stretching: 45 minutes

 

Saturday

Running: 5K
• Average pace: 9:36
• Elevation gain: 107 feet
• Start time: 8:43 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 63° and sunny
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

Even though the humidity was very high, the temperature was cool enough that I was comfortable and had a great run.

 

Last Week’s Blog Posts

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

 

Questions:
  • • How has fall been where you live and is it still sticking around? ~ Fall has been glorious here, but we’re expecting rain and wind overnight and that may take down a lot of leaves.
  • • What was your favorite workout of the week? ~ I had so many great and fun workouts this past week, but without a doubt, I thoroughly enjoyed my hike with Judy!
  • • Did you run in a race this weekend? ~ No

 

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.