Road Tripping

How was your week? Mine was spent recovering from a very busy weekend. But here we are again, recovering from yet another busy weekend! This is summer, after all. Where the seasons are short, the days are long, and we try to squeeze something in every single minute we can...

By the time you read this, my co-host Holly and blogger Teresa should be finishing up their marathon at Revel Rockies! It was all downhill. True story!! Be sure to congratulate them on their amazing finish!! I'm looking forward to hearing all about it. But first...let's wrap up the week.

The month of May wrapped up with 80 miles running and 50 miles cycling. Not bad considering that I DNS'd a half marathon and crashed my bike. The good news is that there was no serious harm done and no RA flare. Lessons learned: I need to be more mindful and to take it a little easier on myself. While I already knew that, my rheumatologist nicely reminded me of that when I saw her this past week.

I enjoyed quite a few beautiful sunrise runs!

Running
Running was a bit of a struggle for me this week. The humidity really took a toll on my pacing, even when I used my 4:1 run/walk intervals, or as reader LyzzyBee calls it, "Jeffing". Ha! I love the Brits' take on everything. I found some other non-running definitions for that term, but I know what she meant. Anyways, besides having trouble with the humidity, I had some knee stiffness and will be incorporating some new strengthening work for my VMOs.

On Saturday, my sons and I were in Madison, Wisconsin so my youngest son could take his college placement tests. While he took his tests, I went for a run on the beautiful Lakeshore Path along Lake Mendota out to Picnic Point. Most of the path is limestone which was easy on my knees. I ran 7.25 miles and I plan on exploring more of the path when I return.

Cycling
Early Monday morning, I got back on the bike! It was hot and it was humid, but the ride kept me cool. I wasn't all that nervous but I was cautious when I was on the road. Even though part of the trail was still flooded, I ended up with 30 miles on this ride. I've decided that I'm going to do my best to cycle at least once a week as long as the weather permits. In spite of all the challenges that riding on the road brings, I enjoy riding my bike.

None shall pass...It's been like this for over a month now!

Yoga
I finally got back on the mat this week with a Full Body Deep Stretch Basics class from my favorite yogi, Erin, at Five Parks Yoga. I wanted to see how well I was recovering from my bike crash and what I learned from doing this particular practice was that I'm tight in my left shoulder and hip. I worked hard to focus on opening those areas, but I need to do more work. It was great to get back to it and I'll be trying to do a full class at least once weekly.

side plank at the very tip of Picnic Point

CrossFit
This week, Sammy Jo had me focus more on upper body strengthening, which was kind of fun! I did chest presses with the bar alternating with single arm dumbbell rows. SJ kept adding weight to the chest presses and I was doing great--until I couldn't lift the bar off my chest! It's amazing how such a small increment in weight can make such a difference. After that, I did a circuit of dumbbell static presses, some resistance band situp thingies (which I loathe), and hamstring curls on the ball. Finally, she had me do a movement with the resistance band to strengthen my VMOs.

Off the Road
My sons and I had a really fun trip to Madison! After we checked into our hotel, we walked to State Street for some dinner at the Brat House and then to the Memorial Union for the sunset. The Union is located on the shore of Lake Mendota and the terrace is the place to be in the summertime. The terrace was packed when we arrived. There was live music and we enjoyed plenty of people watching. We had some amazing ice cream which is made right on campus. The sunset was epic.

While my youngest son took his placement tests, my oldest son and I explored downtown Madison on foot. I was thrilled to have him with me! His snarky sense of humor and observations kept me entertained. We checked out the Madison farmers' market which winds around the Capitol Square. There was a classic car show as well and we did some shopping in the stores that line State Street. After my youngest was done with his tests, we went to a rooftop bar for lunch and then headed back home. We were exhausted--between running and walking, I had about 24,000 steps on Saturday--but very content. For me, getting to spend this kind of time with both of my sons was the best!

If you get a chance to get to Madison this summer, you can't miss all the Bucky Badger statues around town. Bucky on Parade features 85 statues of Bucky Badger which have been painted by local artists. We saw quite a few of them--it was kind of fun. We intentionally sought out Rugby Bucky because my youngest son plays rugby. He's considering joining the team when he starts school in the fall.

I found Sunset Bucky on my way out to the Lakeshore Path!

And that's a wrap! Tell me all about your week. Has the humidity been affecting your runs? Do you have any road trips planned? Have you ever been to Madison, Wisconsin? Where is one of your favorite places to road trip?

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