Friday, June 3, 2022

Summer is Here!

The Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kick-off to summer and the weekend did not disappoint! The hubs and I went up to the lake. We had hoped for the boys to join us, but my oldest was at the Indy 500--he rented an RV with his friends--and my youngest had to work. 

On the drive up, we stopped in Madison to bring some things to my youngest and to check out the farmers' market on the capitol square. Once there, we learned they don't allow dogs, so Mike made a few quick purchases while I hung out with Cocoa. 

Saturday was sunny, cool, and breezy, so we just hung out at the cabin. On Sunday, we had a little bit of rain in the afternoon, but once that cleared, the sun came out, it warmed up, and we took the boat out. The water was a little choppy, but I wanted to ski, so he indulged me. In contrast to 2 weeks ago, the water was COLD! Still, I enjoyed my ride around the bay--it's always a good day when I get to ski. 


Weekly Rundown
Sunday: Trail run 9 miles and waterskiing
Monday: impromptu rest day
Tuesday: CrossFit
Wednesday: Global Running Day! Trail Run 8.3 miles
Thursday: Strength training
Friday: run 6 miles
Saturday: rest

Running

I wanted to get up early on Sunday and take my feet to the Devil's Lake Segment of the IAT. This segment takes me right into the Devil's Lake State Park and it's much less crowded in this portion of this very popular park. I took the ferry across the Wisconsin River and drove the short distance to the trailhead. As soon as I entered the woods, I realized that I wasn't on the right trail, but I decided to follow it to see where it took me. It was a steep climb until I reached a dead end at a rock wall. There was a couple working on climbing. Oops! I headed back down the trail and ran the short distance to the IAT. I ran/hiked for about 2 miles before I was on top of the bluff. Again, more rock climbers were working on their skills. After this point, I was high up above the south shore of Devil's Lake. I took my time here, soaking up the views and exploring the crazy random rock formations. Some of this section is very treacherous, with lots of tumbled rocks and boulders to climb over. But the views are worth it. I turned around to head back to the car and picked up speed on all the downhills. This run filled my soul. What a beautiful place!


Oh, Global Running Day, how to honor you? You know I laced up my trail shoes and ran my favorite local trails! I didn't set out with any particular mileage in mind. I let my legs take me where they wanted. When I circled around to head back to the car, I took a detour because I just wasn't ready to call it quits. This run was rewarding in so many ways. I felt strong! The foliage has really filled in, forcing me to reorient myself a few times, lol! I saw a few deer. Lots of flowers. And a turtle in the path near the end of my run.


We just had the best weather this week! I wished that I could bottle it up. Friday's run was in 62 degrees, low humidity, mildly breezy, and sunshiny weather. I was tired and sore from Thursday's strength sesh, but the run felt great! I even stopped on my way back home to attempt a handstand. It's been a long time since I did one and held it. Even though it was probably only for 2-3 seconds, it felt good and I'm going to continue to work on them. So grateful to be back at it.

Strength and CrossFit

I returned to the 5 am WOD this week! Grateful that SJ and I had worked on snatches a few weeks ago, the strength portion was an E2MOM of power snatches (35#) x 8 and barhop burpees x 8. The MetCon was a 14 minute AMRAP of rowing 13 cal, 1 length walking lunges, 15 GHD situps, and handstand walk. I don't have handstand walks, so I did inchworms. I did 5 rounds of this and was on round 6 lunges when time was called. It was hot and humid, so I felt pretty good about this workout!

On Thursday, SJ and I worked on deadlifts and pull-ups. Ooof. She had me build to 4 sets of 3 reps of tempo deadlifts (155#)--meaning I paused for 3 seconds in the hang position before pulling all the way up. These were heavy but she checked me on my form with each lift. The pull-ups were negatives, assisted strict, with a 5 second descent, 4 sets of 2. After that, I did 3 sets of hollow holds for 20 seconds each. I was still sore from Tuesday's WOD, so those were a challenge!

Off the Road

It was Global Running Day on Wednesday and all the run bloggers shared photos, which Cari made into a collage. It's amazing to be a part of this group of women--some of us have known each other through our blogs for almost 10 years! Many of us have met IRL. Even though blogging is falling out of favor, we all still post at least a weekly recap as a way to keep in touch. 


How was your week? Did you celebrate Global Running Day? Is it summer where you are? Next week, I'm heading back to the pool again. Feels good to get back to my routine!

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


26 comments :

  1. That park where you did your hike looks amazing. Glad you had such nice weather. Looking super strong at crossfit as always. Fun to run globally with you all this year. Have a great week ahead

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm hoping for that nice weather to return! I'm sure you won't miss the heat when you return home.

      Delete
  2. We had gorgeous weather too, and so I also ran longer than I'd planned to. I agree -- would love to have these mornings and maybe a touch warmer in the afternoon & no humidity.

    Sounds like you had a fantastic Memorial Day, too, even if you couldn't really share it with the boys. Our was hot & humid (we're always a few days behind you).

    Fingers crossed we both get awesome Summers!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Summer is here, in all its glory...it's a given I'm on cloud nine (if not higher, LOL). It's almost as if we just needed to flip the calendar to June to finally get the seasonal temps. I wish I could bottle it, too. Our "real" summer, In Iowa is far too short.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your weather sounds amazing (I'm envious) and the IAT run looks incredible. And your run on Global Running Day- I love those runs where you don't want to stop. It must feel nice to get back to your strength training! I'm always impressed (and inspired) by your workouts. i hope your great weather continues!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's ok because the tables will be turned soon enough! Your winters always win!

      Delete
  5. Love that photo of you on the rock formation! You're looking so strong on those deadlifts.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I just love that picture of you doing tree pose on the rock along the trail. What a beautiful place to hike, run, and relax!

    We do have a wonderful group of blogging friends, don't we? It got really hot (90's) during the week, but it was bookended by two low humidity gorgeous weekends so I can't complain about that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I absolutely agree--we are truly blessed with this group of run bloggers!

      Delete
  7. Yay for a great Global Running Day run! Mine wasn't quite as awesome on the tread, but any pain-free run is a good run these days. We are having spring weather this weekend - such a nice break from the humidity.

    ReplyDelete
  8. That is one awesome trail to run on... I can see why you enjoy it so much.

    I'm inching to take out my SUP on the lake but it so cold (the water is).

    Still, two beautiful weekends in a row. I hope this is a trend.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What an awesome week for you, and isn't it nice to have great weather days?!
    That's a bummer that the Farmer's Market didn't allow dogs - the markets here are all super dog friendly.
    As always, so much fun running with you virtually for Global Running Day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No strollers either! It gets so crowded that I'm sure they are trying to keep people moving.

      Delete
  10. What an incredibly beautiful segment of the IAT! It must be an awesome experience to run there. I always admire those rock climbers - there's no way I would attempt to climb any of those rocks.
    And yay for handstands!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love Devil's Lake State Park. It's huge and the trail system is very extensive.

      Delete
  11. Wonderful photos there and well done on the handstand, yay! I managed to run four times last week and none of them on Global Running Day ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There have been plenty of years when I missed Global Running Day, lol!

      Delete
  12. Of course I celebrated with all you amazing ladies! I love seeing all your trails. I will be in a new hiking spot this week, and I hope I get the chance to get some great photos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm looking forward to seeing your trails! It's fun to compare how different they are from mine.

      Delete
  13. Love the turtle picture. Growing up my older brother had turtles in tubes, they were always fun to watch and many were quite colorful. So jealous of your tree pose on the rock. Somedays when I do my yoga I do well, other days, my balance just isn't there. Sounds like you had a good long wkend and enjoyed getting outside.
    Sandy's Space

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I sure did! This is a beautiful place and I hope to get back there soon.

      Delete