Sunday, June 28, 2020

Ice Age Trail 50k Training Week 4

Another week of fun in the woods! Seriously, I'm writing this from the north woods of Wisconsin. I've shared here on the blog that my parents have sold my childhood summer home and I'm here with my boys for one last hurrah. I'm grateful for the gift of having a place like this to make so many memories, both as a child myself and with my own children. 

Running-wise, I'm especially grateful this weekend for being able to get some miles in up here. Not only have I been able to run some trails here, the temperatures have been cooler than at home. Summer running at it's finest...


Weekly Rundown
Monday: CrossTraining at the gym!
Tuesday: Run 5 miles
Wednesday: Trail run 6 miles
Thursday: rest/drive to Door County
Friday: Kayaking on the Mink River
Saturday: Trail hike 5 miles
Sunday: Trail run 13.25 miles

Running
I'm not sure what happened, whether it was all the miles I ran over the weekend, that hard workout on Monday, or the lack of sleep Monday night, but Tuesday's 5 miler was one of the worst runs I've had in a very long time. I sure can't blame the weather. It was a cool, gorgeous morning. My legs felt heavy. The first 2 miles were fine but after that, my heart rate skyrocketed and I couldn't keep it down. I ended up walking way more that I did running, but isn't that the point of running by HR? I went to work after that, made it through my day somehow, and went to bed at 8 that night. Slept like a rock. I think I needed it.

Wednesday's trail run was amazing. I felt so good after a full night's sleep. It was another perfect morning, and I was able to run most of my miles--save for the root-laden single track--without doing much walking. My HR was in a good zone. Thank goodness for runs like these, right? These are the ones that bring you back. 


On Saturday, the plan had me running 13 miles. But on Friday night, I went out with the kids for cocktails and pushed that run to Sunday. I was left with a 5 mile trail run. As I was getting ready to head out the door, my oldest got up and wanted to join me for a hike on the trails. How could I say no? We completely enjoyed our 5 mile hike at Newport State Park, save for the swarms of mosquitoes and the snakes. In fact, I enjoyed this so much that I made plans to head back to these trails on Sunday for my 13 miler.

At the trailhead

I went back to the state park for my long run. Initially, I retraced our steps from our hike the day before, with a couple detours. I went back to the car for more bug spray and water and then headed to the other trail for the remainder of my miles. I was rewarded with lovely views of Lake Michigan almost the entire way. On the way back, the trail took me along an inland lake and up and down some very hilly, rooty trails. I stumbled a few times and rolled my ankle but nothing serious happened. I finished my last mile along the lake again on a very rooty, rocky, narrow trail. Saw a large snake there, which scared the heck out of me! Trail running is an awesome adventure and I finished feeling very very happy (and tired). 


CrossTraining/Strength
Now that my gym has dropped its affiliation with CrossFit, I'm not quite sure what to call these workouts, lol! On Monday, I went back to the gym! I walked in with my mask on and Sammy Jo checked my temperature. She led me to a taped off area, which was my designated workout section. My barbells and plates were there, as well as a rower. Adjacent to the taped off area was the rig where I would do my TTB practice. We started off with back squats at 60-70%. This is where I knew I had lost some strength. I did mine at 65#. Looking back, my 1RM is 160#, so I have a ways to go to get back. The WOD was 5 rounds for time of a 250m run (I rowed), hang power snatches (25#) x 10, and 12 TTB. I worked on kipping swings, trying to get my toes up to the bar. SJ was thrilled with those. It's all that lat work she gave me to do at home! 


After my last set, I dropped to the floor, started to brush the chalk off my hands, and yikes, I discovered that I completely ripped the callus on my left hand. It didn't hurt when it happened but when I pulled off the flap of skin, I was seriously questioning why I do this! I won't post pictures because gruesome photos aren't my thing, but yeah, I earned my muscles that day. Thankfully, my son, who was a gymnast in high school, still had a jar of rip fix. I've been applying that diligently and it's healing nicely. Good thing I'm not going back until next week. 

Kayaking/SUP
My oldest son and I rented kayaks and paddled across Rowley's Bay, which is part of Lake Michigan, over to the mouth of the Mink River estuary. An estuary is a river that flows into a larger body of water. The paddle across the bay was challenging. It took us about 20 minutes to make our way over the waves, but once we got to the river, it was calm and pleasant, We paddled to the end of the river, making a pit stop on shore and getting eaten alive by the largest mosquitoes known to man. We finished our river paddle and made our way back across an even wavier bay back to the dock. It was a lovely cruise!


You all know how much I love my water sports! We've had such great weather for it. Besides the kayaking, we've all been enjoying my inflatable SUP. We need to get another one. 



We spent as much time on the water as we could. On Friday, there was a threat of storms and while they never materialized, we experienced a strange phenomenon--swarms of biting flies. Even insect spray wouldn't deter them. We fled to the house and they followed us, swarming the closed doors. It was the strangest thing! After the storm clouds passed, the flies were gone. We headed out later to an outdoor beer garden and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. 

Yummy beer is Mirror University Hazy IPA from Fair State Brewing in Minneapolis

Sunset over Sister Bay
No filter!

How was your week? Are you enjoying summer? Have you been back to the gym?

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






38 comments :

  1. It looks like you all had a really nice few days up there together. Nice job on your 13 miler today. Hope you did not run into any more snakes :) Thanks for linking

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  2. Eeeek on the snakes! I saw a small one the other day but a BIG one?? YIKES! Glad your long run went well AND that it was cooler up there cuz it's brutal here.

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  3. Fairstate! It's one of my favorites :) Dog-friendly inside (pre-Covid) and Matilda always loved it there.

    I love all the paddle boarding pics, especially the spider, yikes!

    What an awesome week of training on the trails! You're going to be so well prepared for Ice Age!

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    1. Everytime I run these long trail runs, I feel pretty good about it!

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  4. Ouch on the flies! There is trails not to far from me, but they're so buggy in the summer I completely avoid them! The rest of the trails are further away.

    I don't belong to a gym, but glad that you were able to go & feel safe. Yikes to ripping open a callus!

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    1. I'm glad to be out of the gym for a week to let that callus heal.

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  5. Lovely photos! But yikes for snakes on the trail!! We have no gyms here still and I'm glad of that, as I'm not ready to go back and while they're closed, I'm not paying. I need to pay my yoga teacher for all the zoom classes I've not taken with her, though - it only seems fair as she's normally paid by the gym.

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    1. I totally get that. I was nervous to go back to the gym but our numbers are really low in Illinois right now plus they are taking all the precautions.

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  6. I love that you were able to spend some time up in Wisconsin. I know it's bittersweet but it looks like you have been able to make some great memories up there these past few days.

    You are doing so well with your 50k training so far! I love that your gym is no longer associated with Crossfit (what a nightmare that CEO is!). Isn't it great to workout in the gym again? I didn't know how much I missed it until I went back today.

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    1. It was so great to get back to the gym. I missed it so much!

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  7. Your WI pictures are beautiful. I would have passed up the 13 miler in a heartbeat to spend more time with my family.

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  8. Sounds like you got some great family time in Wisconsin!

    You're doing great with your training! Seeing those snakes would have freaked me out!

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    1. I may have screamed each time I saw one...and they are little!

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  9. Yikes on those flies! And mosquitoes! Knock wood, I think I've had one bite this season...I know that will change, but I'm glad those critters haven't been a burden yet in my yard. That sunset pic on the lake is awesome ;-)

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  10. Whoa on the flies. That gorgeous sunset though. Worth it. Glad your hand is healing up
    No gyms here for a long while. They were supposed to be Phase 4 - we're phase 2 - but the governor just said no to them, malls & Movie theaters

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    1. Movie theaters are going to be a no for me until there's a vaccine. It just seems too risky.

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    2. I won't miss movies, haven' t seen but two in ten years. But will do live theater when it's a thing

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  11. It looks like you had a fantastic time - and those views are amazing! Hearing about the bugs makes me itchy though! I’m sure you’ll be back to lifting your usual weights soon.

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    1. I'm not too worried about losing some strength. My focus right now is the trail race. I'm going to plan on doing another strength cycle in the fall.

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  12. I've really been enjoying all your trail photos. You've truly got some stunning views. Of course, Ill take a pass on the snakes every day LOL!

    Great job! I missed your post about your gym ending their relationship with CrossFit, so I need to go back and read it.

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  13. What a beautiful sunset! I love the photo with you and your sons (and girlfriend). Such a happy picture.
    And a great job at getting in all the miles this week, despite the horrible run on Tuesday.

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    1. Those bad runs just make us learn how to get better. Sleep was definitely the key for me!

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  14. Great job this week! Looks like such a nice weekend away. Glad you could get back to the gym. It sounds like you did great keeping up your strength with your home workouts while it was closed!

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    1. I'm happy my coach kept me moving even when we couldn't get together.

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  15. omg your outdoor photos are killing me! I want to go on vacation!!

    I'd have opted for cocktails and a long run a day later too, Wendy. Bummer about the first run of the week though. I mean I know we need the hard ones to appreciate the easy ones but geez!

    ouch re: the callous!!!

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  16. Fabulous pictures. Would be great to be able to escape to Wisconsin!

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  17. Beautiful photos! That's great that you were able to get away for some family time and cooler weather :)

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  18. I missed the story about why your gym isn't affiliated with CrossFit.

    Looks like your training is going well. All of those miles would also make me tired and go to bed early too.

    Those views look AMAZING!!

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  19. That sunset was gorgeous! My week was the same old, same old. Running Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. PiYo Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday. I'm not doing anything different even though it's summer. We are still quarantined and going out when needed (although Hubby gets out on his motorcycle on Saturdays). As for the gym, we are thinking about canceling our memberships, because the numbers keep going up here, and until they have gone down and stayed down for a while, we will not go back. I'm currently considering a Peloton since I had taken up riding at the gym. Have you heard any reviews good or bad about them? So far, everyone seems to love them....

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  20. It sounds like you had/are having a wonderful time at your parents' lake house! Isn't it wonderful hanging out with adult children?

    That sunset picture is gorgeous!

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