Hanging On To Summer

It's hard to believe that we are in the middle of September--it feels more like late August! But the leaves are starting to turn and the days are growing shorter, signs that fall is right around the corner. These warm late summer days are a gift. I tried to squeeze as many outdoor activities in as I could this week. I'm not ready to let go!

no filter for this sunset!

Running
I set out Monday morning to run 8 miles. This was in place of last Sunday's planned 10 mile that went bust. I knew that I didn't need the long run for this weekend's half marathon but I wanted it for insurance. Since I had to work Monday afternoon, I didn't want to push the distance to 10 but I felt so good that I could have. On Wednesday, I ran 4 miles around my neighborhood, just to keep the legs fresh. Unfortunately, my left foot started hurting. I taped my foot and hoped that the extra support would keep the injury from getting worse. Come on man, right before a race?

Saturday was the ZOOMA Great Lakes Half Marathon. While I'll recap the race in a separate post--hopefully by Tuesday--I had a tough race. I started out strong but didn't count on how hilly the course would be. The other factor was the heat. Although we started with temps in the 60s, it warmed up pretty quickly. I finished in 2:17:24, which believe it or not was good enough for 2d place in my age group. I guess that speaks for the tough conditions!

I earned that beer!

CrossFit

Coach Sammy Jo and the rest of the coaches had a meeting Thursday morning, so I made plans to do bootcamp before strength training. Huge mistake. HUGE. Bootcamp was hard! There was a 4 minute Tabata workout with farmer's carries, goblet squats, and hollow hangs; this was followed by lots of running (800m, 400m, 250m, 100m) alternating with lunges, plank stepups, plate overheads, and dumbbell burpees. She had us do this for time and you know I'm competitive, right? I pushed myself hard and I held my own. 

Sammy Jo let me cool down before we started strength and she also adjusted some of what she had planned to accommodate my fatigue. But I still pushed myself. Back squats were 105# with 3 sets of 6 reps. After all the lunges and squats we did in bootcamp, my glutes just didn't want to drop low. But I tried my best. After that, I did GHD situps alternating with 30 second supermans. We finished up with what Sammy Jo called a "fun" workout which consisted of 50# over the shoulder ball throws, pushing the 50# ball across the floor while lunging, and picking up and carrying an 80# sandbag. 

I didn't vomit. But boy was I sore the next day!

Yoga

I did yoga 3 times this week, all from Five Parks Yoga. On Monday, I did Deep Stretch, De-Stress; Wednesday I did Deep Stretch for Athletes; and on Friday, I did a much needed Full Body Deep Stretch Basics. I felt pretty good after all of the classes and hoped that I did enough to loosen up for Saturday's race.

Waterskiing

I didn't expect to get in one more weekend on the water, but when I saw the forecast, I made plans to drive up to Madison from Lake Delavan after the race, have lunch with my Badger, and then head up to Lake Wisconsin to join my husband and oldest son for some fun on the lake. I was completely wiped out after the race and I wasn't sure how I'd do behind the boat. The water was actually kind of cold and that seemed to rejuvenate my muscles. We skied Saturday and Sunday until we couldn't ski anymore. This was the best way to wrap up a wonderful summer. 

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