Saturday, May 20, 2023

Work Hard, Play Hard

I continue to push toward my upcoming 2 races: the Chicago 13.1 in 2 weeks and Leadville Silver 15 miles in 7 weeks. I admit to feeling more tired these days. I know it's all part of training for a long distance race, but to be honest, getting older has rattled my confidence a bit. Am I doing too much? Pushing too hard? I have to listen to my body and so far it isn't pushing back...much... which is a good sign. I was happy to have Saturday at home to give me a chance to regroup and rehab. I've got to work on those niggles that I mentioned last week!

Weekly Rundown
Sunday: rest
Monday: Ice Age Trail run 8 miles, 1300 ft
Tuesday: Fluid Running
Wednesday: trail run 5.5 miles
Thursday: Strength training
Friday: run 6 miles
Saturday: rest/rehab/yoga

Running

We stayed up in Wisconsin until Monday--there were more graduation photos I wanted to get-- and I was thrilled to get another trail run in. This time I ran the Gibraltar segment. While the trails were still a little muddy from the rain the day before, the sun was shining! The birds were my musical accompaniment and the foliage was filling in nicely. My knee didn't bother me one bit and I had a strong run. My only complaint? I ran out of insect repellant and the flies were starting to buzz me. Fortunately, I finished my run without getting bit!



On Wednesday, I ran a new-to-me segment at one of the local forest preserves. A mountain biking group does a lot of trail building and this is the second trail they have built here. It's what you'd expect out of a bike trail with lots of ups and downs and arounds. My legs got quite a workout on this one, even though my net elevation gain was only about 300 ft. I loved this trail and will definitely be back. Seeing lots of deer was the icing on the cake!


Friday morning's forecast was ominous but I decided to give my planned run on the bike path a chance. I am so glad I did! While it was very humid, I managed to dodge the raindrops until the final 2 miles of my run. I had originally planned to run this in the Brooks Hyperion Maxes but instead opted for the Brooks Ghost GTX in case of rain. I didn't entirely ignore the forecast. What a nice run!


Strength Training

I got to the gym early after a restless night. My shoulder was really bothering me and I couldn't get comfortable. That's what I get for skipping my PT exercises all week. I spent a good amount of time stretching out my shoulders as well as my lower body before SJ arrived. She started me off with a new shoulder opener she saw athletes at the CrossFit open doing. If it's good enough for them, then it's good enough for me! 

Then it was time for deadlifts! She had me do 'pause' deadlifts, pausing the lift at my knees for one second and then pulling all the way up. I did 4 sets of 4 at 145#. I alternated those with leg raises on the parallel bars, holding for 20 seconds. The goal is to get my legs to 90 degrees but it is HARD! After that, I did single-leg box jump ups, 8 on each side. Those were kind of fun, once I got the hang of it. I alternated with 4 5 second pull-up negatives. Whew!


Off the road...

After a wonderful Mother's Day and graduation weekend in Wisconsin, it was back to reality. But on Monday before driving home, we returned to Madison to snap a few last graduation photos at some spots that were very popular over the weekend. We took our grad out for a few beers and to lunch at one of our favorite places, The Great Dane. 

I rode the wave of good feelings and love all week! I have to say this was my best Mother's Day ever. I couldn't have asked for more. Indulge me while I share a photo from Monday's 'photo shoot'. This was a must-do--it is tradition for grads to sit on Abe's lap for good luck! 


How was your week? Did you have any Mother's Day adventures? Does anyone else feel extra tired while training for a long distance race?

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



32 comments :

  1. Wow Leadville is coming up quickly! That was so nice of Matt to indulge you in all the fun pics! Such a huge milestone! Hope you're able to keep those niggles at bay!

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    1. So many niggles, so little time, am I right? I'm just playing wack-a-mole with them.

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  2. Loving all your new Brooks gear!

    The graduation photos are all so nice. What a great accomplishment.

    Good luck at your upcoming races Wendy!

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    1. I have to keep reminding myself that my upcoming half is a training race!

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  3. I can relate to the extra tired thing. Yesterday's M2M Relay was exhausting (and I "only" ran 13 of the miles)! Congrats to your son; I know how great it feels to stand back and admire our kids accomplishing milestones such as these ;-)

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  4. I'm glad you had such a nice Mother's Day and week! It sounds like everything is feeling good. As usual I'm envious of your trails- they look amazing. I would have been sad if we DIDN'T get to see a picture from the photo shoot. Congratulations again to you and your son. He looks so grown up and handsome! And... I'm excited for your upcoming races, especially Leadville- that's going to be quite an adventure!

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    1. I struggled on today's trail run and it kind of scared me for Leadville. But of course, my son hasn't been running, so what am i worried about?

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  5. Well, I just feel extra tired in general. Going to pursue some alternative care & see what can be done about that!

    Sounds like such a great weekend. Glad you all enjoyed it!

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  6. How fun to get those extra graduation photos :) I didn't realize you had two races coming up - hope those niggles stay quite!

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  7. Aww love the grad photos!! Good luck with your upcoming races!!

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  8. I am so glad you had a great Mother's day! You deserve it! Nothing wrong with taking a little extra rest before your big races. I am excited for you!

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  9. Beautiful places to run.
    I wear Brooks Ghost too.
    Good luck with your upcoming races. A little extra rest can help to get a better performance. Getting older I learned to take 2 days of total rest before every race: it works for me.

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  10. Single-leg box jumps?! Oh my, Wendy, you continue to amaze me.
    The other day we had to do over 100 pistol squats... I scaled by using a low box. Wow, I felt those glutes for many days!
    Love the graduation photo! So nice that you had the best Mother's Day ever.

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    1. Oooh my glutes hurt just reading about 100 pistol squats! It's been a while since I've done them.

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    2. Sounds like a good week. I loved all your graduation photos!

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  11. Congrats again to your son!

    And yes yes... I was exhausted all week leading up to my race.

    Now I have DOMs after... a

    Good luck on your upcoming ones.

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  12. Listen. I'm just extra tired in general right now. I think my adrenaline is running out. I am so happy you had such a great Mother's Day! That's so wonderful and I love that photo. Congratulations to your son! And take care of that shoulder! I hate that you are still uncomfortable.

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    1. Me too! I'm hoping that between my PT exercises and not carrying that water bottle, the shoulder will step in line.

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  13. Wendy, it sounds like you had such a wonderful Mother's Day weekend and one that you'll cherish forever. And I love the graduation tradition of taking a picture on Abe's lap!

    I hope your shoulder is feeling better.

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  14. I'm so glad you had a great mother's day! I definitely understand the getting older thing and sadly it seems that I am in a worse state of fitness than you (not a comparison like better or worse by the way) because I seem to fall apart just after a long walk! you are doing so amazing taking care of your body and your health and I really admire that. You are a great role model. Hope your shoulder is doing all right now??

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    1. Thanks Renee! My shoulder is kind of in flux--if I do the exercises, it is pretty calm, but it stiil gets aggravated, depending on what I do at CrossFit. I do think that running bothers it too.

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  15. I love that photo from your Monday photoshoot - definitely a very cool shot to get!

    Glad to see that your deer friends still greet you during your trail runs :)

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