Running Back to Center

In spite of writing some rather humorous blog posts, I've been kind of a grump all week. As much as I try to stay positive, run, and pick up pennies, I just couldn't shake off my funk. As I sit here, summarizing my week of workouts, I keep thinking to myself: what the hell was wrong with me?

Nothing really bad happened this week. Actually, nothing bad at all. When I think about it, it was a good week.

I got in some really good runs. The foot is calm. There have been some twinges, just to remind me to not push myself too hard. Yoga was blissful. All's quiet on the home front--at least for now. And a cold front came through yesterday, blowing that humidity and heat out east. It feels a little like fall.

Running: There was lots of running this week. In fact, I squeezed in an extra run on Monday before I went to yoga. I know I shouldn't push it, but after my weekend adventure with my oldest son, I needed to pound the pavement. You know how it is. Pushing through the heat and humidity was tough, but my pacing was good-- sub-9 for all. My reward came today--an 8 miler with temperatures in the 50s and beautiful blue skies.

Yoga: I also made it to the yoga studio twice last week and both my instructors were back. At Megan's class on Monday, we learned a new mudra, Ganesha mudra, which is supposed to help remove obstacles. I found myself holding this mudra at random times throughout the week. Kathy's class on Wednesday was all about hip openers. It was just what I needed.

Hand to Big Toe Side Plank

Cross Training: Becky was out of town this week, but I did some upper body homework twice at the playground. My right elbow, or more specifically: my medial epicondyle tendon is angry, so I modified my workout a bit. I swung on the monkey bars at the playground--yay me!--for the first time since I was a kid! I tried to do this with the boys when they were little and failed miserably. Trust the process, indeed! That put a big smile on my crabby old face.

I also landed a forearm stand after 3 attempts and held it for a few short seconds, which made me happy. My Big Sur Marathon partner Kristina asked me to post a video, and you can see how very short my forearm stand actually was.

Life: Saturday night, my husband and I went out for dinner to one of my favorite local Italian restaurants. I love their creativity. I had a magical pasta dish made with Maine lobster and it was that good. I also enjoyed having some quality time with my spouse, who has worked 49 days straight, save for Labor Day. He is a construction superintendent and has been working all at Northwestern University, getting the dorms ready for fall. I haven't seen much of him this summer. It was nice to do what we love together--catch up on life while we enjoy some wine and a good meal. I love how that always brings us back to center.

After dinner, he passed out on the couch and I took Cocoa for a walk. I felt a little too full and wanted to move a little bit. Cocoa and I were rewarded with a beautiful sunset. The sky was stunning. The humidity was gone and the breeze was cool. With that, my funk was washed away.

Now that I'm running pretty well again, I need to decide--do I start half marathon training and pick a race for late October? I work almost every Saturday in October, which rules out 3 halfs that I'd like to do. There are two local Sunday halfs on October 23. One is big--last year's half had almost 2800 runners. The other is very small--I'm not even sure how many runners participate. There is also the Milwaukee Running Festival on November 6. I've got some good options. I'm not going to commit yet--and I'll decide which race to pick, if I race, based on my training and my foot.

And if not that, there's the Panama City Beach Half Marathon in December. There's nothing like a little beach therapy to help a gal stay centered. Plus time with running girlfriends?

How was your week? Any beautiful sunsets? Is the weather moderating by you?

I'm linking up with Holly and Tricia for their Weekly Wrap as well as Angela and Ilka for the Sunday Fitness and Food Link Up!