All I Needed

Greetings from the north woods! I'm enjoying a too-short getaway to one of my favorite places in the world, Door County, Wisconsin. I've been coming here since I was a little girl and it's always great to return to all the beauty, traditions, and memories. Even though the weather has been cool and we haven't been able to get out on the water, the sun has been shining. Sometimes sunshine and nature are all you need.

Week in Review:
Sunday: Yoga for Nurses: Yoga with Adrienne
Monday: Run 6.5 miles
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: Run 6 miles, Five Parks Yoga: Post Workout Yoga
Thursday: rest
Friday: Run 5 miles
Saturday: Crossroads 5k Trail Run
Total miles: 21

I skipped CrossFit this week because we drove up to Wisconsin on Thursday. The box is hosting a weekly challenge; I missed the1600m sled pull! Looks like I will have some catching up to do when I get back.

There was yoga, running, and a trail race. While the forecast stated otherwise, this week, we were blessed with beautiful weather. The predicted rain never came. In Wisconsin, we were treated to some lovely sunsets.

Warrior 1 with Eagle Arms

Running continues to feel better than it has over the past couple of months. That 7.25 mile run last Saturday was not a fluke. On Monday, I ran 6.5 miles on the bike path. Keeping an eye on my pace and running with the Heart Zones monitor is helping me to go longer distances again. Wednesday, I ran to the retention pond. That run was a little tougher and I struggled to finish 6 miles on the way home.

Even though I had a trail race on the calendar for Saturday, on Friday I couldn't pass up blue skies and 60 degrees (aka perfect running conditions) and ran 5 miles along the bay. It's really hilly in Door County, and I pushed myself to run the steepest hill at the end of my run. Near breathless when I got to the top, I stopped to walk and smiled. I needed that.

I woke up early Saturday morning to get ready for our trail race and was greeted by a beautiful sunrise over the bay. My son, his girlfriend and I drove to Sturgeon Bay, a 45 minute ride, to the nature preserve where the race was being held. I'll share more about the race on my recap on Tuesday, but I'll admit here that while I enjoyed the race, running on trails is hard! I pushed myself but had to stop to walk a few times to catch my breath. Still, I was happy to place 3/25 in the women's 50-59 age group.

We each received a tree upon crossing the finish line!

This week was all I needed. Time with family, getting away, and enjoying nature made me happy. I'm looking forward to continuing to work on steady pacing, staying out of the red zone, and getting back to CrossFit!

All I needed were some miles in a beautiful place /via @oldrunningmom #runchat #running #DoorCounty

How about you? How was your week? What are you looking forward to this week?

I'm linking up Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown.