Leaves at the Farm Past Their Peak
We were a little disappointed that the leaf color at the higher elevation of the farm was well past peak with at least half of the leaves fallen. After enjoying near peak color in New England, we had our fingers crossed that we might enjoy three falls this year, but that was not to be. By the time we got home from New England our leaves were nearing peak and probably were at their most brilliant over the weekend while we were visiting the farm…
Overview of the Week
Before getting into each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…
Sunday
Cycling: 22 miles
• Average speed: 10.5 MPH
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Surface: gravel and paved
• Elevation gain: 2,208 feet
• Start time: 11:35 AM
• Location: Southwest Virginia country roads
• Weather: 67° and sunny, climbing to 74°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
My husband and I carved out a couple of hours for a country roads bike ride while at the farm. It was so quiet and peaceful with very little vehicular traffic. We were surprised that the leaves were past their prime and many trees were already bare.
Monday
Strength training: 15 minutes of core
Tuesday
Drive home from farm
Walking: 2 miles
• Average pace: 16:06 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 71 feet
• Start time: 2:48 PM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 51° and overcast
• What I wore: capris, s/s t-shirt, and nylon shell
Gardening: 41 minutes
After sitting in the car for six hours I couldn’t wait to get outside and move so I went out for a walk and did some fall pruning before getting back inside to hand out Halloween candy to our little Trick or Treaters.
Wednesday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Walking: 5K
• Average pace: 14:20 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 108 feet
• Start time: 8:57 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 36° (feels like 28°), overcast, and blustery; climbing to 38° (feels like 33°), sunny, and blustery
• What I wore: capris, s/s t-shirt, down jacket, ear warmer headband, gloves, and mittens
Thursday
Running: 4 miles
• Average pace: 11:09 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 109 feet
• Start time: 6:04 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 32° and clear, dropping to 30°
• What I wore: capris, s/s t-shirt, nylon shell, ear warmer headband, gloves, and mittens
Walking: 1 mile
• Average pace: 15:30 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 62 feet
• Start time: 6:52 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 30° and clear, dropping to 29°
• What I wore: capris, s/s t-shirt, nylon shell, ear warmer headband, gloves, and mittens
On by far the coldest day this fall, I was thankful to have my virtual cardio buddy Kim to keep me company. I was dressed perfectly for my run, but got very cold during my post-run walk. I guess I need to have a warmer jacket just inside my door to put on for my walk…
Friday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Balance and stretching: 45 minutes
Cycling: 26 miles
• Average speed: 14.8 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 948 feet
• Start time: 2:01 PM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Clarks Gap loop
• Weather: 56°, sunny, and breezy; climbing to 60°
• What I wore: bike shorts, l/s jersey, fingerless gloves
Secretly, I was grateful to have my morning fully booked with client make-up sessions after being out of town on Monday, because at 28° I would have frozen if I’d ventured out for a ride. Luckily, my husband was able to join me during the afternoon after the temps were more reasonable.
Saturday
Walking: 5 miles
• Average pace: 15:57 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 209 feet
• Start time: 10:02 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 51° and sunny, climbing to 64°
• What I wore: capris, l/s shirt, nylon shell, gloves, ear warmer headband, and visor (took jacket and gloves off half way through)
Since my friend Betsy and I hadn’t gotten together in a while, we met for a walk. I overdressed after getting so cold on my Thursday morning walk and had to shed a layer pretty early on.
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: October 22 – 28 / Back in the Routine after Vacation and a Trip to the Farm
- • Tuesday – Minnewaska State Park Preserve Bike Tour
Questions
- • Do you have dressing amnesia when the seasons change? ~ Now that I’m older I get cold easier and that makes it even harder to dress correctly. Usually I overdress because I think, “Now that I’m older I’ll get too cold and need that extra layer…”; however, if I don’t add the layer I get way too cold. LOL
- • Which workouts were your most enjoyable, toughest, and/or memorable? ~ My husband and I had so much fun riding around the country roads near the farm.
- • 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!
Yes, every season I over dress at the beginning! I am loving the cooler mornings and sunny afternoons. Now I just need to get back to running in them
I’m missing the warm mornings for cycling, though. 🙁
Sounds like you had a great week. Your bike ride at the farm looks beautiful, even with the leaves being past their peak. It’s always fun to see your little photo collage with Kim on Thursdays!
I seem to just get hotter and hotter as I get older. We don’t have that much of a temperature change here and I’ll wear tank tops for almost every run. Hopefully there will be a few this year where I pull out my long sleeves!
I hope you have some long sleeve days, but not the second week of January when I’ll be there to ride my bike from Titusville to Tampa. 😉
Nice week of fitness, Deb! I was just noticing, earlier this morning, a lot of the fall color has faded (and fallen) 🙁 I’m hopeful the mild temps, for the next few days, will extend the remaining fall foliage a bit…
Thanks, Kim! Hope fall can hang on as long as possible for you.
Your bike ride looks like it still offered some amazing colours! I always think it’s hard to know how to dress when seasons change, and always overdress when we go into the cold season. Since we went to Italy just before it got cold for real in Ireland, when we went home we went from full summer to winter in one day and it’s been so hard! I’ve been frozen almost 24/7 ever since we came back. I’m still trying to learn how to dress when I go out for walks.
That must have been a rude awakening for you with that kind of temperature change. I’d probably still be cold, too!
Nothing memorable here, LOL, but happy to feeling much better than the previous week.
I usually have to overdress for my runs for that very reason — I get so chilled after I finish my run and I usually do a cool down walk. I can always unzip . . .
I definitely have to figure out something to keep warmer if I’m going to walk after my run. I could tie the extra jacket around my waist while running.
I do a lot better dressing myself for running in the fall than in the spring–I tend to overdress then because it starts out cold and warms up quickly. My favorite workout? Hmmm…. hard to decide. I loved running in the snow on Wednesday. My strength session on Thursday with SJ was pretty fun!
I love that you consider strength training one of your favorite workouts!
That is a freaky Halloween decoration!
I definitely suffer from wardrobe amnesia. My husband made himself a chart so he know what to wear for his bike commute, but I’m not that organized. If we’re cycling together, I know I need 1-2 layers fewer than he puts on!
It’s the same with me and my husband!
It is hard to dress for chilly bike rides! I rode today and thankfully had the right amount of stuff on. 55 feels very chilly on the bike to me! For running, if it’s under 40 I’m in tights, and under 30 it’s fleece lined tights. 50-40 degrees are capris, we never seem to have many of those days.
Lisa @ TechChick Adventures recently posted…Weekly workouts – the big chill
I am really going to try to ride through the winter and I’m sure I’ll have lots of rides where I’m clueless as to what to wear.
That peaceful bike ride with very few cars sounds heavenly! You get to ride in some great countryside.
I think dressing properly for running is easier than for a bike ride. I always get frozen hands and feet on the bike if it’s not very warm.
What are you going to do for winter? Do you have heated boots and gloves for the bike?
I am really hoping to ride through the winter this year and I’m most nervous about my fingers not freezing. I bought hand warmers to put between my two layers of gloves and hope the heat will radiate down to my fingers.
Its a bit easier to dress for a run here, since for me its generally long sleeves and shorts…I only remember wearing tights 2-3 last winter. But it is also raining quite a bit which can change the “top” sometimes!
Anyways, looks like a fun week with a great mix of workouts as always! Love that sunshine 🙂
I bet it’s a lot easier to dress for winter running in London than when you lived in Minnesota – certainly a lot fewer layers.
It’s always difficult to find the right dress during the change of season.
I, on the other hand, tend to go running in too light clothes and for this reason I often get into the troubles (cold, bronchitis, sore throat etc): I must become wiser.
It’s definitely a challenge!