Sunday, May 24, 2020

Muck, Ruck, and WTF

Disclaimer: As an All Community Events ambassador, I receive free entries to their events.

Maybe it was the relentless rain, maybe it was the sad-to-me news that my parents sold the lake house, or maybe it was the continued stress of the pandemic, but this week, I had an uptick in RA symptoms. Boo! It’s been a while since I’ve felt the beast. In a strange way, the timing was good since I’ve been trialing that TENS unit. Let’s just say that the TENS got a lot of use this week. On Friday, I finally had to break down and take some ibuprofen, which definitely helped.

In spite of it all, or maybe because of it all, I managed to get my runs and workouts in. I received news this week that my CrossFit box is opening up in June, but that things will be dramatically different. I’m a little reluctant to go back to group workouts. I understand that they will be limiting the class sizes to 8 and there will be distancing between participants. I’m just not sure if I’m ready. I’m glad that over the past couple of months, I was able to get a home workout routine established and I’m content to continue that for the time being. 




Weekly Rundown
Monday: Strength and CrossFit
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Trail Run 6.5 miles
Thursday: Run 5.5 miles
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Strength, CrossFit, 3.1 mile Ruck
Sunday: Trail run 10 miles


Running
I knew that after receiving 8+ inches of rain earlier in the week, that the trails would be muddy. I figured I’d stick to the main trail and stay off the single track, which was a good idea. I had the trails pretty much to myself that morning and it wasn’t a surprise. There was a lot of water and a fair amount of mud. I had a close call when I caught a tree root with my shoe and stumbled forward. I don’t know how I managed to catch myself and stay upright, but I’m glad I did. Another Uncanceled Project 10k trail run complete!


My mom called me Thursday morning with the news that they sold the lake house where I have spent my summers since I was 12 years old. I knew this day was coming but wow, was I sad. Instead of doing my planned strength/crossfit sesh, I went for a much needed run. I ran a ‘progression’ 5k, and finished with negative splits. I did a slow recovery run on the way back, but stopped to play in handstand first. This run was fun and very satisfying. Sometimes, a runner’s just gotta run. 



Late Saturday after noon, we had another round of storms and flooding rains. But when I woke on Sunday, the sun was shining. I had 10 miles to do and I wanted to run them on the trail. I got to the trailhead around 7:30 and was fortunate that I mostly had the trail to myself for the entire time. But it was wet and muddy; for the first time ever, I got blisters on my toes. There was chafing too. It was also very humid. By mile 9, I was ready to be done. I pushed hard to finish the 10th mile. This was a good reminder of how tough it can be to train for a long distance race in the summer. As much as I love summer, give me a cold weather run any day. Now excuse me while I tend to my wounds...


I wanted to mention that on this run, I had a strange incident when I passed by another group of runners. One of the runners called me by my name and said he saw me practicing my handstand behind his house along the bike path. When I asked him how he knew who I was, he said he checked Strava. While I know he's harmless--I recognized some of the men he was running with, it gave me plenty of food for thought onn the rest of my run. It was a good reminder of how vulnerable we can be when we share our information on social media.

Strength/CrossFit
Monday’s Strength session included strict presses (40#) and bent over barbell rows (60#). These both were definitely challenging, but I love doing upper body work, especially anything that works my lats. After that, I worked on handstand negatives--I couldn’t get my head all the way to the ground and push back up, but I’m making progress. There were also sumo deadlift high pulls and flutter kicks. 

Bye bye back fat!
The WOD was a 21-15-9 of front squats, which I did with a barbell (40#) and box step ups. After a 3 minute rest, the 21-15-9 included snatches, which I did with a dumbbell (15#) and thrusters (15#). I was toast after this, and no,  I didn’t time it. 

I had so much guilt from skipping Thursday's strength sesh that I made it up on Saturday. And I'm so glad I did-- it was a booty burner; fire hydrant kicks, RDLs, and banded sidesteps/squats. Ouch. After that, I worked on a power clean/hang squat clean/squat clean complex. I fell out of the first one but after that, it was all good (55#).


Landing that power clean for the win
The WOD was a 5 round 3:00 on, 1:00 off x5 of 6 DB snatches, 12 goblet squats, and 18 plank shoulder taps. I did 13 full rounds of this and was starting on round 14 when the timer went off. A one mile ruck was part of the WOD.

I had never rucked before but at my CrossFit box, they have a GoRuck weekly workout, so I was at least familar with it. Plus, the author of one of the first running books I reviewed on the blog is a rucker, which is where I first heard of it. As an All Community Events ambassador, I needed to promote their virtual events and one of them was a 'Ruck Run' did some research on what to do and I set out on at a speedy 16 min/mi with a backpack loaded with 25# plates. Initially, I thought I'd do the prescribed mile. But as I walked I felt pretty good so I decided to make it a 5k. Heck, soldiers march way farther than that. I should have done 4 miles, since that was the minimum distance you could sign up for in this particular race. Considering it was my first time doing this, I think I did just fine. I'm definitely going to make this a regular thing, and I'll share more about it on a post in the future.


On the ruck
So in spite of feeling not so good this week, I'm happy to have gotten all my workouts in. Sometimes it's really the little victories that mean the most. If I can move my body, then all the bad stuff takes on a little less importance.

How was your week? Have you ever rucked? Has anyone ever recognized you from social media? Blisters? Chafing? What are you doing for Memorial Day?

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







50 comments :

  1. Sorry about the skeevy man - ugh. My strava is locked down to friends-only and I don't have any public stuff on there in segments etc. And sorry about the lake house and the flare too. But you overcame and you ran and you got muddy and you pushed on through.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did the lockdown on Strava but I couldn't do any of the challenges. Sigh.

      Delete
  2. I noticed that my privacy settings on Strava got changed at some point when I received kudos from someone who is not a follower. I was able to change all my activities to "followers only" but it was annoying that I had to do that. The other feature to be aware of is "Strava Flyby" - if you click on it, it will show anyone you "flew by" while out running. That's probably how that guy found you. You have two choices on the flybys - Everyone or No One, unlike all activities that can be Everyone, No One, or Followers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was not aware of the flyby feature. Plus who looks up random runners on Strava?

      Delete
  3. Totally understand what you mean about group workouts. My OTF studio will more than likely open up in late June and they will be doing the same - limiting class sizes to emphasize social distancing, etc, but I don't know if I'll go back as soon as they open. I'm thinking maybe in July, depending on how the COVID-19 numbers look in my county.

    Thanks for posting about the ruck run. I'm considering possibly doing it as part of my workout tomorrow if my ankle feels good enough when I wake up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let me know how it goes. I am going to be doing this more often!

      Delete
  4. My husband and oldest stepson did a lot of rucking this spring and it put a ton of muscle on both of them. I'm sorry you had a tough week but happy that you got some good workouts in spite of it! I wish Strava would get a clue about their privacy settings.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sorry about your parents lake house. That's hard.

    Nope, never rucked. I used to carry home groceries occasionally in a backpack, that's as close as I've come.

    I've only had a blister one time. In my last half. It was extremely painful -- although more so after I finished the race than during. But also painful during!

    I really have such mixed feelings about getting together with my running friends. I know I'll probably take a lot of heat for it, but my gut just says it's not the right thing for me to do. Everyone's got to make up their own minds (although some people should have their minds made up for them).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No one cares if you run alone. It's your choice. You will NOT take heat for it. (It never even came up in conversation).

      Delete
    2. I always run alone and I do take heat for it--for safety reasons.

      Delete
  6. I know you will miss that lake house! Is there another place you can go up there? I know I am not ready to go back to any studio classes, but our region isn’t ready either. I’m so glad I didn’t get rid of my gym equipment even though it didn’t get much use over the past few years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We do have my father-in-law's lake house (which will be ours hopefully some day). It's just not the same and my parents' place holds all the memories for me.

      Delete
  7. So sorry to read about your parents' lake house. That must be sad. I can understand why you felt you needed a run that day. Your ruck workout sounds intense! Wow! Good for you. And the photo of you in the handstand is awesome! I have to see if I can get Bill to snap one of me doing a handstand but he'll have to be really fast! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do my own photography--I set the phone up, do a video, and take a screenshot of the view I want.

      Delete
  8. That photo of you doing the handstand is great!
    I was just thinking of your sons - how many young adults can say that their mothers do handstands? So cool.
    I like the ruck run idea. It makes sense for a full-body workout.
    Hope you'll have a better RA week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hence the tag line for my blog! I always wanted to be the mom who could do things with her boys!

      Delete
  9. Lots going on this week...but you're handling it with grace as always! I know I can be naive about sharing on social media, but it would still be a weird 'shock' to have someone say that to me...

    Running in mud on a hot humid day...that's tough! Darn blisters; no fun.

    Our gyms were delayed to mid-July. There's a lot of protesting and people that are upset, but similar to you, I've established a good strength training routine at home and feel pretty good about continuing it for now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was pretty stunned, but I'm not troubled by it--thank goodness it was that guy and not some creeper.

      Delete
  10. I'm sorry you had an RA flare - definitely sounds like you still had a solid week of workouts.

    The gyms here are supposed to start opening by late June, but like you I am not interested in rushing back. I'm learning to make the most of my at-home workouts.

    Great job with the rucking!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The rucking was a great new thing for me! I'll be doing it more.

      Delete
  11. Not so much recognized me from social, but I've been called "TravellingCari" in person, which is slightly weird. Glad you knew him to be safe - that's scary. NIcely done on the handstand!
    Glad you found an at home solution that works until/if you're comfortable returning to the studio.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hit enter too sooon. That ruck is amazing, well done!

      Delete
    2. I've been called Wendy Taking the Long Way Home and yep, it's a little weird!

      Delete
  12. OMG. A couplet of snatches AND thrusters?! That's like the holy grail of awful!!! lol

    Um, yes to the chafing. Saturday's run netted me some pretty raw spots under my arm. I think I'm rubbing my pack? I gotta figure it out. I didn't chafe with the pack the entire training cycle for the 1st 50k so I don't get it. Needless to say - OW.

    I've done a Go Ruck Lite comp at the beach. Not my favorite but I'm not a fan of sand. I like the ruck part though. That's basically what we did when my hubs and I did that 50k hike through the Santa Cruz mountains in prep for what I thought I was going to run for my first 50k. That was a lot of fun. I'm definitely down with doing more of those. I need to get on that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think rucking will be great for my trail training! And I loathe thrusters.

      Delete
  13. I once had a guy take a picture of me while I was spectating a race that HE was running in. He recognized me from social media. When he posted it and tagged me, I freaked out. He's now blocked even though we have mutual friends and they say he's harmless. No thanks! I have a friend of a friend who rucks some serious long distance competitions. She's a bad ass runner too just like you. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm hoping to be badass by doing more stuff that can keep me strong into old age! This rucking is a whole new option!

      Delete
  14. I've had people recognize me from my blog. I never thought many people local read it.

    You had an amazing week considering how you felt.

    Never have done or considered a Ruck. I admire how you continue to challenge yourself.

    I used to get blisters often but now I discovered these double socks from Japan and no more blisters.

    So sad about your lake house. We've considered selling our boat and I would feel the same.

    That being said, hope to boat tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We stayed home this weekend-my hubs was worried about all the Illinois people going to Wisconsin and spreading the COVID. We'll go up next weekend.

      Delete
  15. I had a gal come up to me in Arizona (when we flew down there over Christmas, en route to the Capital One Bowl) and told me she knew me from social media. I was a bit taken aback, but after a minute, I did recognize her face (but didn't know her name LOL). The hubby had a lot of fun teasing me about that one. Wow, all the rain you've had is crazy. We actually could use a little more....not that I'm wishing for it.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Strava makes me so nervous because I dont fully understand all of the features. I joined it for some of the challenges lately but I think I have my settings set so only followers can see me, and I only have 1 follower (lol). I also tried to change my settings so the map doesnt show up unless Im at least a mile from my house. I'm thinking about deleting it completely again but I dont know if I will do more challenges on there at some point.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The challenges have been good this year but is it worth the potential security issues? I don't know. That was a little unnerving!

      Delete
  17. I should probably go back and check my settings on strava. I honestly only use it to keep track of my own activity for my weekly posts ha. You would not be able to tell from your week of workouts that you did not feel well. You still packed a bunch in! That 25# ruck walk would be something I would try. Fun way to mix it up. Did you back or shoulders hurt afterwards? Hope you feel better this week! Thanks for linking

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I felt a little tugging in my shoulders but nothing residual. It's really important to focus on core strength and stay upright--that helps a lot! I really liked this workout and will be doing it again.

      Delete
  18. This is why I don't use public Strava and I never post on IG where I'm running. I have been recognized, mostly at races, which is fine, but when I'm on my own too, which gives me pause. Nice week of workouts! Sorry about the lake house. That is sad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm incredibly sad and it's happening so fast. This getting older thing is not so fun...

      Delete
  19. I'm definitely ready to get back to small group workouts. My OTF announced a June opening and I'm so stoked to get back! They are totally taking cleanliness seriously and have been posting their progress- separating workout stations, half size classes etc. I'm just so ready to get back to the workouts...at home hasn't been nearly as fun as in class.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've heard really good things about how OTF is reopening! I'll be anxious to hear how it goes for you. That will help give me confidence to go back to my gym.

      Delete
  20. I'm so sorry about the lake house. I'm sure that came as an unpleasant shock.

    I don't know how I feel about group fitness either. Our local indoor trampoline gym/park opened this weekend and really didn't get a good response in terms of guests. The gyms are open too, but I don't know it would feel to be inside with people sweating and breathing hard and gasping all over the place. I don't like to be afraid, but certain things make less sense than others to me. I can't wait for the day when this is just an unpleasant memory.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I don't really understand the big deal with Strava. I prefer the data I get from Garmin Connect. Mainly because I only care about pace, distance, splits, etc. I think ti is weird when other popular bloggers ask readers to follow them. Why? So they can get more followers? But for what? I guess I just don't understand. I only set up an account because I felt like I was missing out. I did think there were great challenges but that's about it. I just deleted my account. I've never rucked since I am intimidated by it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like the challenges on Strava. But this was definitely unnerving! I have to rethink this whole Strava thing.

      Delete
  22. Sometimes we don't know or forget how much we put out there when we post on social media. It's actually a call to order that someone with whom you have mutual friends called it to your attention. I realize my strava shows exactly where my house is! I always assume that because of my age no one would really care but there are some weirdos out there.

    Great job on your fitness week in spite of the stupid RA. You're an inspiration (and I never say that lightly). <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm really glad that I have very little symptoms in the way of RA--when it does flare, it's been pretty brief. Pretty amazing to me, considering where I was a year ago. Riding the wave.

      Delete
  23. Catching up on my emails and so glad I came across your post. This line of yours really hit home for me: "Sometimes it's really the little victories that mean the most. If I can move my body, then all the bad stuff takes on a little less importance." So true, Wendy - especially these days. My RA still keeps me from running, but man-oh-man, if I don't at least get a good walk in, anxiety can really take over. Thanks (again) for being such an inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, my friend! I will never let RA win this battle. Just keep moving forward.

      Delete
  24. Ever since the creeper incident I had recently, I've given my privacy settings more thought. I do check out people that pass me on Strava, not because I'm a creeper, but just because it's interesting! I hope others feel the way. My account is private though. Great job on the handstand!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hey Wendy! Jumping in to comment on the "return to the gym" idea. My gym has been open for the last 3 weeks. I still haven't gone. Like you, I have gotten into my workout at home routine of 3 days run, 4 days PiYo, so I plan to stick with that for the time being. I have frozen my membership until August because I don't think I will be ready this summer, not when I see posts from the gym with little social distance between trainers and clients and no one wearing a mask. I get the client not wearing one, but the trainer?

    ReplyDelete