Catching Up

I may have missed last week's recap, but I have the perfect excuse. My sister and I took our annual sister trip--this year was #8-- to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. We had a great time even in spite of spending a day with Tropical Storm Nestor. We shopped. We ate some amazing food. We laughed. We made memories.

And yes, I ran on the beach.

I don't normally like to run on the beach, but I couldn't say no to this stretch of wide, flat, and packed sand. People ride bikes on this beach! It's probably arguable but the beach on Hilton Head is one of the most perfect beaches I've visited.

Here are some of the highlights from the past 2 weeks of workouts.

Summary:
Monday 10/14: CrossFit
Tuesday 10/15: run 4 miles
Wednesday 10/16: run 8.5 miles, Yoga with Adriene
Thursday 10/17: Strength training and bootcamp
Friday 10/18: Travel to Hilton Head, SC
Saturday 10/19: run 3.6 miles
Sunday 10/20: biked 13.25 miles, kayaked
Monday 10/21: run 3 miles
Tuesday 10/22: rest day
Wednesday 10/23: run 8 miles, Yoga with Adriene
Thursday 10/24: strength training and bootcamp
Friday 10/25: rest
Saturday 10/26: run 3.1 miles, drove up to Madison to watch some rugby
Sunday 10/27: run 6.2 miles, Yoga with Adriene

The running has been good lately. My legs continue to feel light and I'm comfortably hitting distances I haven't seen since last winter. My endurance has seemingly returned and I'm really happy about that. I am using the run/walk intervals for my longer runs and am content to stick with that for now as I train for some long distance races to wrap up the year.

Sunday's run on a perfect fall morning

What the what? Although I made a declaration that 2020 will be the year of the 5k, I wanted to finish this year with some endurance in the tank. My running friend Steph talked me into the Hot Chocolate 15k, which is coming up next weekend. I also have the Schaumburg Turkey Trot Half Marathon on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. This might sound weird, but since I started off the year with the Mobile Half Marathon, it feels good to end the year with a half. Kind of like bookends, right? But I won't deny being both excited and nervous. I know that RA can pull the rug can out from under me at any time.

For the past 2 weeks of strength training, Coach Sammy Jo has been focusing on having me do deadlifts and back squats as an AMRAP (as many reps as possible) until I couldn't lift anymore. The weight was at 65% of my max on both lifts. We were both surprised and pleased at how many reps I was able to do. Is this the reason my running is improving?

My sister and I rented beach cruisers but instead of riding them on the beach (it was really windy), we rode on the bike paths that traverse the island. The island is really flat so it wasn't an issue riding a bike with only one speed. The foot brakes kind of threw me off, though! We also rented kayaks and paddled some of the lagoons. It was a very active weekend for us, which was a good thing since we indulged in a lot of good food!

A fall trip to the beach is really great way to extend the summer vibe. My sister and I loved Hilton Head Island. We both agreed that we could have used more time on this beautiful place. Life is indeed better on the water!

Watching the sun come up with the dolphins

How was your week? Are you enjoying fall colors? Any fall vacations you are planning? Upcoming races?

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