My Flow....My 5 Plank Flow

June has come to an end and so has Marcia's plank challenge. We started off in May with planks. There weren't any rules save for a daily plank and a post to Instagram. Some folks planked for time and others (ahem, me) got all creative with their planks.

Because does it really matter what you do as long as you plank? Planks are the single best exercise you can do for your core. Oh sure, planks are great for the upper body, but if done properly, there is no better activity to strengthen your core.

There was some good-natured banter between Kim from Running on the Fly and me, and a few other blogger friends joined in. There were planks with dogs, planks in dresses, and we even upped the ante with planking in different settings. It was really fun!

In June, Marcia proposed a push-up challenge. The goal was to get to 100 push-ups by the end of the month. And really, since a push-up is really a plank, a lot of us continued to post plank pictures. I hit my goal of 100 push-ups last weekend while I was on vacation. I won't lie--it was hard. But I'm glad I did it.

For my final day of planking this month,  I did a 5 plank yoga flow. I wish I could take credit for the series, but that goes to my yoga instructor. He had no inkling that I was in need of a fresh idea for the end of the challenge! We did this flow in class Wednesday and I headed to the park to recreate it. It was the perfect ending to a really fun challenge.

Running Down the Week

After a tumultuous couple of weeks where we dealt with injury and other assorted drama, this week things seemed to get back on track. I went back to work and Matthew made it back to school. His pain is improving dramatically even though the follow-up x-ray still doesn't show much healing. The orthopedic surgeon said the fact that he's clinically improving is a good sign and he's optimistic that we are heading in the right direction.

The pup? Well, it's a good thing she's so cute...

Here's my wrap up of my week.

I don't know about you, but after I meet a big goal, I feel really motivated to get some projects done that I've put on the back burner. For some reason, last year my husband and I kind of lost our mojo to do anything around the house. I didn't even buy flowers for my planters. This spring, we have been working to take back our yard from the weeds. We have a really nice deck where we've spent many a summer evening relaxing and we've been sprucing it up for spring. Saturday, after I ran my 5-er, I went to Home Depot and bought a ton of annuals. Apparently everyone else in the NW suburbs had the same idea because it was so crowded. I spent the morning planting flowers and pulling weeds. I'm not so sure about people who say they "love gardening" because let me just say that gardening is hard work! I was sweating more than I did on my run. But I'm really pleased with how everything turned out, and as I write this, I'm sitting on my deck enjoying the birds singing and the warm breeze.

Flowers!

Weeds! This was one of 3 piles I made while pulling weeds.

The only mishap that occurred was when Cocoa, who is always under my feet, found herself under a large planter that I was setting on the deck. There was lots of howling and crying as I wrestled her out. She's fine. After that, she spent the rest of the morning inside with Matthew while I finished pulling weeds. Seriously, this is an exercise in futility. I mostly pulled sticker plants, because they are threatening to take over our backyard. We seem to be much better at cultivating weeds than anything worthwhile.

It's safe under the bench.

I managed to get 4 quality runs in again this week and my legs continue to enjoy some speed. Saturday's run was fun because so many of my neighbors were out. The weather has been gorgeous, and I actually walked for about a half mile with my next door neighbor, just catching up on things. Sometimes you just have to!

Since Big Sur, I've noticed that I need to do a better job of stretching and foam rolling, as I'm starting to feel some niggles in other areas besides my plantar fascia. I didn't make it to the yoga studio this week, but I'm hoping to get there next week. I did do yoga at home, and the plank challenge continues. I've run out of plank variations but I'm still getting them done.

Does doing yoga in the sun count as hot yoga? My mat got so hot I had to move to the shade.

Dolphin plank walks

Side plank

I posted my video from CrossFit on Friday. Becky says she's really enjoying programming my sessions with her now that we are working on new strength goals. It's fun for me too. Besides the swinging on the rings, she had me alternate those with a variation of v-ups that I struggled with. It's funny how you can find activity so easy and another so difficult! She said it has something to do with my pelvis--weakness? I did a circuit of slam balls alternating with kettle bell swings. And then I hung from the high bar, doing scapular pull ups. It was all hard and I loved it. I love the feeling of being strong. When I was at Home Depot, I kept getting asked if I needed help lifting my cart over the hoses and carrying my bag of potting soil. You know I said no...

Swinging like a monkey

How was your week? Is the weather improving by you? Training for any upcoming races?

I'm linking up with Tricia and Holly for their Weekly Wrap! It feels weird to be wrapping up with them when I'm not training for anything. Unless you count life!