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Family Vacation in Charleston
We’re home after seven fun-filled days in Charleston, SC with our sons and their families. Our days were booked with tours, delicious dinners, lots of walking, and even a parade. Even though I took my travel exercise tube kit (affiliate link), I never took it out of our car. Other than Sunday, cardio was limited to walking and strengthening exercises were strictly core. I’m not really sure how much cardio fitness I gained since I never broke a sweat or breathed hard while walking, but the occasional rest week is always a good thing.
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 day to Charleston, SC
Cycling: 7.32 miles
• Average speed: 14.6 MPH
• Bike: Peloton
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 9:11 AM
• Location: son and daughter-in-law’s garage
• Weather: 60°
• What I wore: shorts and sports bra (forgot to bring bike shorts)
While still in Charlotte, NC, I took advantage of using my son and daughter-in-law’s Peloton bike and took the Olivia Omato 30-Minute Pop Ride. It was fun and tough and makes me wonder why I don’t push myself a little harder on my spin bike (affiliate link). If I did, I’d be a lot more prepared for those Loudoun County hills come spring. 😉
Monday
Strength training: 10 minutes of core
Walking: 7-8 miles
I didn’t wear my running Garmin (affiliate link), nor did I start my Strava, but we guestimated that we walked 7-8 miles during two out-and-back trips (FitBit totaled 9.4 miles on the day). First thing in the morning we hoofed it to catch the ferry to Fort Sumter National Monument and later in the day we explored Charleston at a more leisurely pace while deciding where to have dinner.
Tuesday
Walking: 3.14 miles
• Average pace: 19:05 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 34 feet
• Start time: 9:07 AM
• Location: Charleston, SC
• Weather: 41° (feels like 35°), sunny, and breezy, climbing to 47°
• What I wore: jeans, l/s shirt, down jacket, and gloves
Just for fun, I wore my Garmin to track our walk to the Charleston Aquarium. I wanted to be sure to get in 3.14 miles for Pi Day and Kim‘s birthday.
Walking: 7.35 miles
• Average pace: 38:46 minute/mile (with auto-pause turned off)
• Elevation gain: 15 feet
• Start time: 1:56 PM
• Location: Charleston, SC
• Weather: 49° and sunny, climbing to 56°
• What I wore: jeans, l/s shirt, and down jacket
During the afternoon we went on a walking tour of Historic Charleston. I was more interested in total distance, which included walking to and from the tour, than the speed so I turned auto-pause off and never stopped my watch, even during dinner. Our actual walking pace average was probably closer to 20:00 minute/mile.
Wednesday
Strength training: 10 minutes of core
We spent the morning at Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum, spending over 4 hours touring just the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier. It was amazing! We walked 2 miles roundtrip to dinner later in the day.
Thursday
Walking: 5.4 miles
• Average pace: 23:16 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 8 feet
• Start time: 9:59 AM
• Location: Charleston, SC
• Weather: 55° and sunny, climbing to 60°
• What I wore: jeans, l/s shirt, and denim jacket (and Sperry topsiders)
My husband and I spent the morning doing a self-guided photography tour in The Battery, walking to and from which accounted for a couple of those miles. Later in the day we drove to Magnolia Plantation.
Friday
Strength training: 10 minutes of core
Walking: 4.66 miles / 2.31 miles
• Average pace: 26:37 minute/mile / 23:47 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 7 feet / 7 feet
• Start time: 9:46 AM / 2:42 PM
• Location: Charleston, SC
• Weather: 66°, sunny, and extremely windy, climbing to 70° / 72° and windy
• What I wore: jeans, l/s shirt (and Sperry topsiders)
We walked way down King Street to watch the Charleston Saint Patrick’s Day parade with a friend who we hadn’t seen in 14 years since she and her husband moved to Charleston.
On our way to lunch, we stopped for a picture in front of a fountain filled with green water in honor of Saint Patrick’s Day.
Saturday
Travel day home
Sadly, I had to say goodbye to this good boy after a fabulous family vacation in Charleston.
Calf Update
Obviously, I didn’t run during the week and wore my calf compression sleeve through Wednesday. Early in the week when I needed to take a few jogging steps to beat the walk sign when crossing the street, I was aware of my calf. Later in the week, though, when the same thing happened and I had to take a few running steps I felt nothing. Progress!
Last Week’s Blog Posts
In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…
Questions
- • Have you been to Charleston? ~ This was my first visit to Charleston and only my second time in South Carolina.
- • What was your favorite workout of the week? ~ There was lots of walking, but other than 3 10-minute core workouts, my only true workout was my Peloton ride on Sunday which I enjoyed.
- • Did you run in 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.
Charleston is such a beautiful city! I was there a long, long time ago. I love all the colorful buildings. Maybe the week off running and cycling was exactly what your calf needed. You’re right, having a cutback week every once in a while can be a great thing. Glad you enjoyed it and got to spend time with the family!
Thanks, Jenny!
Charleston is a fun city to visit and eat in. Looks like you all had great weather too. An occasional lower intensity week is good
It was colder than we expected for Charleston, but still warmer than here at home. 😉
Yes, sometimes a recovery week is totally called for! Sounds like the calf is on the mend. I have not been to Charleston (or SC at all) but it really looks lovely! So wonderful that you got to get together with friends, too.
Not only did we get to see our friend, but also our youngest son’s college roommate who lives near Charleston with his wife and baby. We hadn’t seen them since our son’s wedding.
And yes, I’m hopeful my calf is on the mend. 🙂
Looks like you had a fabulous trip and a wonderful time with your family. I’ve never been to Charleston, so thanks for all the pics of the sights! Thanks, also, for Pi’ing with me 😉
It was so nice getting away with the whole family. I’m glad they like vacationing with us. 😀
It’s been a few years since I’ve last been to Charleston but I love it there and it looks like we’ll be back this summer for some college visits in the area. I remember doing a wonderfully scenic run around the Battery and having some delicious meals at some of the restaurants there. Glad the calf is remaining quiet!
Thanks, Marcia! I would have loved to be able to run while there, but at least I could walk a lot. How exciting that you’ll get to visit the area this summer during college tours.
What a fun trip! My sister and I did one of our sister trips to Charleston and we had such a good time. In fact, we were reminiscing about seeing John Edwards (remember him?) at a restaurant we were eating it. We were trying to discreetly photograph him, which of course didn’t go well, lol. I’m sure he was well aware of what was going on.
Glad to hear your calf is starting to settle down!
Yes, we really liked Charleston a lot and would definitely like to go back someday.
Edwards, now that’s a name from the past. Wasn’t he the politician who cheated on his dying wife with a staffer?
Your sunny colorful photos are making me really miss spring/summer. We keep getting snow here on and off. I love Charleston! Haven’t been there in a few years, but now I know we need to go back! We went when we had one kid and now we’re at three so we may have to plan different activities and a different place to stay 🙂
No snow here, but it was bitterly cold today in Virginia. 🙁
I have not been but it looked like a lovely trip. Hope your calf continues to improve.
Nothing exciting here except for a few short steps and spectating in the freezing cold today.
You get a gold start for spectating at a race you had hoped to run.
I admit there were a few tears but I know I’ll be running again soon.
So fun. I have never been to Charleston, which devastates me. We have planned to go three times and all three trips fell through. It looks gorgeous.
Hopefully you can reschedule your trip and visit Charleston soon.
So glad that you had a great vacation in Charleston, SC. I visited there once a few years ago and absolutely loved it – it was so pretty and there was so much to do!
It’s a great place to visit!
It sounds like you had a lovely time in Charleston!
I do a lot of the Peloton climb rides on my IC4 and really think they transfer to outdoor hills. I need to remember to check my cadence on an outdoor hill and force myself to use resistance that makes me work that hard.
I love the very practical benchmarking of your calf recovery.
Good to know and thanks for the reminder… I need to replace the battery on my cadence sensor on my gravel bike and only think of it when riding. I just added it to my todo list. 😉
what a fantastic trip! Love the photos, thank you for sharing! We were supposed to run the Charleston marathon in January 2021, but it was cancelled due to the Covid situation there, so that’s when I did Baton Rouge instead. I was really excited to explore Charleston though- it looks so beautiful and full of history!
Yes, we had a fantastic time! Bummer about the Charleston Marathon getting canceled when you’d planned to run it. I’d forgotten about that.
I LOVE Charleston. One of my favorite cities, and we did some of the same spots. Have you done Savannah? If not, another one I recommend.
We have not been to Savannah and need to visit there one of these days, too.