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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
Cycling: 38 miles
• Average speed: 12.2 MPH
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Surface: gravel
• Elevation gain: 2,707 feet
• Start time: 8:59 AM
• Location: Goose Creek Bridge Historic Park loop
• Weather: 68° and sunny, climbing to 84° (feels like 87°)
• What I wore: bike bibs, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
My friends and I really enjoy meeting at Goose Creek Bridge Historic Park and riding the gravel roads that intertwine nearby. Even though we’d ridden this route just last fall, I’d forgotten how gorgeous that area is with so many vineyards and beautifully maintained horse farms scattered about.
It’s impossible to tell from the way my husband is holding his Insta360 (affiliate link), but we’re climbing – see how I’m standing to generate more power?
Monday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Tuesday
Cycling: 28 miles
• Average speed: 13 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,362 feet
• Start time: 8:44 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Clarks Gap loop with Thomas Mill and Woodburn climbs
• Weather: 77° and cloudy, climbing to 86° and sunny
• What I wore: bike bibs, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
Tuesdays are for climbing my two favorite hills even if Garmin thinks they’re unproductive workouts.
Wednesday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Walking: 5K
• Average pace: 14:36 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 110 feet
• Start time: 8:07 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 74° and sunny, climbing to 75° and overcast
• What I wore: shorts, tank, and visor
It wasn’t until after my walk that I heard that we were under a code orange for air quality from the Canadian wild fires, but I’m not sure if that’s something that developed before or after my walk. Whichever the case, I was clueless during my walk.
Thursday
Running: 5K
• Average pace: 10:28 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 114 feet
• Start time: 5:52 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 60° and hazy
• What I wore: shorts, tank, and visor
Walking: 1 mile
• Average pace: 15:47 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 39 feet
• Start time: 6:34 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 60° and hazy
• What I wore: shorts, tank, and visor
As I was heading out the door just before 6 AM for my run, I heard that we were under code red air quality; both Kim in Iowa and I in Virginia could see the haze. I didn’t notice any smokey odors, but several hours later while watering flowers on the deck I could smell smoke in the air.
Friday
Cycling: 35 miles
• Average speed: 14.6 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,394 feet
• Start time: 5:38 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Hamilton loop with Meadowlark and Irene
• Weather: 67°, climbing to 74° and sunny/hazy
• What I wore: bike bibs, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
Strength training: 15 minutes of core
Balance and stretching: 45 minutes
It was cool and crisp when my husband and I headed out for a rare Friday morning ride (for me) and the sky was much clearer even though we were under code orange. With both of my super early morning clients away for the long holiday weekend, I jumped at the chance to join my Dawn Patrol friends for a ride… only they were all away for the weekend, too.
Saturday
Cycling: 36 miles
• Average speed: 12.3 MPH
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Surface: gravel
• Elevation gain: 2,470 feet
• Start time: 10:48 AM
• Location: Leesburg/Waterford/Featherbed Bridge loop
• Weather: 79°, overcast, and humid; climbing to 86° and partly cloudy
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
Featherbed Bridge reopened in March after a long overhaul so we took our ride there and covered some roads we hadn’t been on in a while. It was a tough ride, especially for what seemed like miles and miles on a silty, sandy surface covered in either recently graded or fresh gravel. And in honor of the upcoming Independence Day holiday, my husband and I wore our USA jerseys!
By the way, after the ride Garmin told me that it was a productive workout and I’m 50% acclimated to the heat.
Last Week’s Blog Posts
In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…
- • Sunday – Weekly RunDown: June 18 – 24 / Celebrating the Summer Solstice
- • Tuesday – Training Tip Tuesday: Keep Exercise Affordable
Questions
- • Has your area been affected by the Canadian wildfires? ~ We were affected for a few days in early June and then again for three days this week.
- • Which workouts were your most enjoyable, toughest, and/or memorable? ~ Saturday’s ride was by far the toughest.
- • 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!
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You logged a lot of cycling miles this week! Not my favorite weather week around here. It’s been so hot by 9 am.
I don’t love the heat and hate the humidity, but I find that I’m tolerating it better as I get older.
One day this week was code red for us — Friday? Saturday? I forget. I know I ran errands yesterday and it was definitely nasty.
That first photo is so gorgeous!
Thanks, Judy!
You certainly have lots of beautiful trails and places to ride by you! Glad you got to take advantage of them this week in spite of the poor air quality!
I didn’t race today, but I did volunteer at a very rainy local 5k/10k.
We do! The western side of our county is much more rural and so beautiful.
How nice of you to volunteer, but ugh to having to stand out in the rain.
I really love your area!
My favourite workout this week was a half-marathon in Zermatt, a small village in the Swiss Alps. It was tough, but so worth it.
I love your weekly infographic! I’m always impressed with your steps, despite your amount of cycling. Well done!
Thanks, Catrina! It is quite pretty, especially on the western side of our county.
Looking forward to reading your half marathon recap!
Funny thing about steps while riding my bike… Years ago with my first Fitbit I didn’t get any steps when riding, but now I get some on my road bike and a whole bunch on my gravel bike (from all the bouncing). 😀
I love your infographic! Such a cool way to display your stats 🙂
Sounds like you had a lovely week with lots of outdoor movement.
Thanks, San!
By far, my toughest workout last week was the 21-mile ride with the mountain bike! Ugh…how did I do all those hilly bike path rides (a couple years ago) before the hybrid came into my life??? Gustavas is a beast (but I still love him, LOL)! Nice week of workouts, Deb! So much riding 😉
HaHa, I bet! Those mountain bikes weigh a lot more than 17-18 pound road bikes.
To answer your question, I had two out-of-town trail runs this week that I loved! And, one good thing about Florida is that we haven’t been affected by the fires.
Sounds like you had a great week! The photos from your bike rides are beautiful. I think I’ve said this before, but if I lived in your area, I could be convinced to take up cycling!
Oh, out-of-town runs. Sounds fun!
We haven’t had much of the smoke from Canada, and i’m grateful for it.
No race this past weekend, but I will be racing tomorrow. I’m excited.
Hope your race was fun!
You live in a very green part of the country! Looks so nice.
Yes, it’s usually very green in the spring/early summer here.
Beautiful places for your rides.
Love the landscape of your Friday morning ride. It looks like a quiet and relaxing place.
For me no races in July: the local events in this month are not my favorite.
I live in suburbia, but there’s beautiful countryside just a few miles away.
Bummer that there are no races you’re interested in for July. Hopefully, there’ll be some in August and going forward that will peak your interest.
Dang, Garmin said I was only 5% acclimated to the heat! Clearly you are getting more miles on the bike than I am 🙂
Lisa @ TechChick Adventures recently posted…Weekly workouts – time to pivot
HaHa, and mine might be later in the day when it’s warmer?
Nice cycling mileage!! I was channeling my inner Deb on my ride yesterday :).
I DID run a race last week! Finally! I was stressed about it but in the end did it and feel good about it.
So many of you all are affected by the smoke, such a bummer.
Thanks, Renée! And LOL on channeling me. 😉
Yay for having a great experience at that race you were nervous about running.
Love your pix. You’re doing some serious cycling miles.
The air hasn’t been great but I’ve been running and just keeping it easy.
No race on the weekend but one in the 4th.
My 7 mile was so hard due to the humidity. Up north we’re not used to it.
Thanks, Darlene! We’re having a lot of fun!
I’m looking forward to reading your Independence Day race recap.