Saturday, May 28, 2022

Bouncing Back

After I ran the Ice Age Trail Race two weeks ago, I took the following week off from running and CrossFit. I ran 3 hard races in the span of 5 weeks and my body was begging me for a break. I also traveled with my husband to Alabama to attend my friend Holly's son's wedding. I didn't completely rest--there was some walking and pool running--but I didn't have a lot to share for my weekly recap. 

This week, I returned to running again, so I'm sharing some of the highlights from the past 2 weeks! Rest doesn't mean doing nothing, am I right? 

Monday's trail run

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: hike 3 miles
Monday: pool running
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: walk 4 miles
Thursday: travel to Birmingham
Friday: sightseeing
Saturday: run 4.5 miles with Holly
Sunday: hiking
Monday: trail run 4.2 miles
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: trail run 6 miles
Thursday: strength training
Friday: run 6 miles
Saturday: rest

Running

Holly's son's wedding was held at Pursell Farms, a beautiful farm resort south of Birmingham, Alabama. The morning of the wedding, she and I met early for a few miles on the road. It was warm and humid, but I was surprised at how strong I felt while we ran. It was nice to have this little alone time before the big event!


I skipped pool running on Monday because it was sunny and gorgeous. Who would blame me? I finally laced up those new trail shoes and took them for a little run on the trails. There was still mud but it wasn't as bad as it has been. On Wednesday, my new trail shoes were definitely broken in after my 6 mile loop around the preserve. I stuck to the main trail, but it was muddy in spots. I did my best to avoid the really thick mud and used this run to process the news about the most recent mass shooting. On Friday, I woke up to gray, gloomy skies. Somehow, I managed to avoid the rain for the entire 6 mile run on the bike path. Maybe it's because I wore my Brooks Altitude rain jacket? Interestingly, it started to pour after I got home and continued for most of the morning.

Strength Training

No CrossFit this week--I'm planning on going back to the WOD next week! I hadn't been to the gym at all for the past 2 weeks, wanting to give my body a rest from heavy lifting after all the hard running I had been doing. It was great to see SJ! Oddly, though, I woke up with left knee pain, something I attributed to RA. For the first time in a long time, I rubbed some CBD salve into the joint, which helped calm it down. I also had a little tug in my right groin, but it was very mild. Paying close attention to my form, I was able to push through the 4 sets of 8 squats (100#) with no pain. She had me alternate these with 4 sets of 8 banded ring dips. I finished up with 3 sets of 8 evil wheels.

Off the road

The hubs and I really had a good time sightseeing in Birmingham before we drove out to the wedding venue. We stayed at the historic Tutwiler Hotel in downtown Birmingham, which was a little worn, but still beautiful. The Birmingham Botanic Gardens were also in need of a little attention, but both of us enjoyed checking out all the foliage there--it's so different from the foliage we have here in the midwest! Of course, I took him to see the Vulcan, the iconic man of steel on top of Red Mountain. The Vulcan was created to represent Birmingham's history as a major producer of iron ore in the 20th century and was displayed at the 1904 World's Fair. 


We took a break from sightseeing by sampling beer and having lunch at the Back 40 Beer Company. Every beer we had was delicious and my kale salad topped with seared catfish was the best meal I had all weekend! We had a view of the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark and decided to check it out after we finished lunch. Sloss was the largest manufacturer of pig iron in the country and has a fascinating history. We were allowed to walk all over the grounds. 


After touring Sloss, we stopped at 2 more breweries: Ghost Train and Good People. I had tried Good People beer at the Mercedes Half Marathon that I ran a few years ago--it was memorable and so my hubs wanted to try it. It was as good as I remembered. 


After our day in Birmingham, we drove Pursell Farms, which is a beautiful golf resort. Unless you are a golfer or attending a wedding, there isn't a whole lot to do, so we took a ride to check out an old grist mill and covered bridge. It was interesting, but there were a lot of odd characters there, so we didn't stick around too long. We tried some local BBQ--it wasn't my favorite-- and then it was time to get ready for the wedding. We had a lot of fun and the wedding was beautiful! 


On our final day, our flight didn't leave until late afternoon, so I talked my hubs into a hike at Oak Mountain State Park. There's a waterfall that I wanted to check out. It was really hot, the hike was pretty treacherous and returning hikers told us that there was no water going over the falls, so we turned back. I definitely would like to return to this park someday. They have quite an extensive trail system and I'd love to explore those trails! 



How have you been? Anything that I missed last week? Have you ever traveled to Birmingham, Alabama? 

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


26 comments :

  1. Hello My Dear , What A Delightful Post - Congrats On Feeling Strong Again - Good On You Two For Exploring As Much As You Did - Always A Treat Sampling Breweries Finest - Thanx For Sharing The Adventure

    Cheers
    P.S. For Whatever Reason, Could Be A Number Of Them, None Of My Comments Ever Posted - The Running With A Gun Post - Ice Age - So Believe Me When I Tell You That I Haven't Been Blowing You Off - Sending All The Good Vibes Your Way

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    1. I'm having trouble commenting on my blog on my iPad--it must be a glitch, lol

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  2. It is always a smart idea to take some extra rest days after a busy few weeks of running. I am sure Holly was thrilled you were able to attend the wedding. I've never been there but your photos always look fun. Have a great week ahead!

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  3. Looks like you had a great time in Birmingham! Lots to see and do, as well as time with Holly and her family. Smart choice to scale-back the workouts while recovering, but I totally agree that recovery doesn't have to mean sitting still ;-)

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    1. It feels good to just run without a distance to cover. I'm enjoying all the fitness I've accumulated.

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  4. Yes, I was wondering where you were last week! Sounds like you had a fun adventure. I've never been to Birmingham. It's actually not high up on my list of places to visit, but you make it sound pretty interesting. And I would definitely enjoy the breweries!
    Looks like you stayed pretty active while recovering from all your races. I like all your running pictures, especially the one at the top of the post!

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    1. I have been to Bham a few times with Holly and I think it's a fun little city. There's a lot of history there too, if that interests you but we made the most of our time there!

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  5. my New Orleans-Mississippi-Alabama road trip was just making me smile in Facebook memories. I chose to spend more of my limited time in Montgomery and Selma than Birmingham, but I did get to see Vulcan. Great to learn more about his history in Imani Perry's book
    Glad you had a great trip!

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    1. Montgomery doesn't have as much that interests me as Bham, but oh, the history, am I right? Holly did take me to Hank Williams' grave too, so there's that!

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  6. Sounds like you had a great vacation! Waterfalls do tend to dry up around here when we haven't had much rain (which we haven't lately).

    I've never been to AL at all. My husband has a friend who lives there who won't travel (they've been trying to get him to ME).

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  7. That's so nice your hubby could accompany you for the wedding weekend. So fun! I'm sure Holly was radiant! What a beautiful part of the country.

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  8. Alabama looks wonderful! (despite the dodgy characters)
    I bet that wedding location was beautiful. Now we're only missing a photo of you all dressed up! :-)
    Talking of photos, I love that one with you and Holly. You both look so happy and relaxed. I have to ask: does Holly do Crossfit too? She has a strong upper body.

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    1. I do need to include that dressed up photo in my next post! Holly doesn't do CF, but she is an avid waterskier!

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  9. Oh how fun to have attended the wedding and spend some time with Holly! I've never been to Alabama - I admit that much of the deep south has never been high on my list to visit, but your photos do make it look enticing.

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    1. There are a lot of reasons not to visit the deep south--I get it. But it is beautiful.

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  10. Looks like you made the most of your visit for Holly's son's wedding.

    I loved the pictures you shred.

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  11. You definitely packed in a lot of exploring during your time in Alabama - that's awesome! So glad you were able to do sightseeing and hang out with Holly too.

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    1. My hubs cannot just sit around, so we found a lot to do, lol

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  12. What a lovely time you had! I have been to Birmingham - that one over there - as well as living in "our" Birmingham for years now. I used to work for EBSCO, which has headquarters there, and went over for a conference of all the publisher services people in the company, I think it was 1999 (!). Had a good time, the people were very welcoming. Ate at PF Chang's and The Cracker Barrel and I and a couple of colleagues were taken to Irondale for a local festival, notable for trying funnel cake and I had a cup of tea in the "Whistle Stop Cafe". I spent some time in Atlanta on my way home as I had to change flights there and had a whale of a time there, too. A really good trip. Although my French colleague insisted on speaking no English and I had to keep translating for him!

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    1. Such a fun memory! Funny that your colleague wouldn't speak English. Good thing you could translate for her!

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  13. I've never been to Alabama at all. Sounds like you had a great time. I love getting to sightsee in all the little off the beaten trail places. It's always so rewarding. We have a small getaway coming up and I'm excited to see some new things.

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