June Gloom

I realize this is a term used by Californians to describe their typical gloomy June weather, but here in Illinois, we're experiencing some unusually cool and cloudy days. Let's face it, we have a lot of gloomy weather here, but not in the summer. Since summer is so short, I always feel we're being cheated when the weather isn't good. To top it off, unfortunately, we're feeling the effects of the Canadian wildfires again. It's weird because the cooler weather should make for good running, but I'm struggling a bit with breathing.

In spite of the less than desirable conditions, I had some nice runs this week! Two weeks to Leadville and I have never felt more ready to be done with a race, lol. I'm starting to think ahead to the rest of 2023 and will share my plans after the race is done. 

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: Ice Age Trail Run 9.75 miles/ 1300 feet climbing

Monday: CrossFit, yoga with Adriene

Tuesday: Pool Running

Wednesday: Trail run 7 miles, Yoga with Adriene

Thursday: Strength training, yoga with Adriene

Friday: run 6 miles

Saturday: waterskiing

Running

After spending Saturday on the lake, we woke up Sunday morning to rain and 52F! It felt like early spring. I took my trail shoes to the Lodi Marsh segment of the IAT. The rain wasn't heavy, but it was steady, and I was grateful to have my Brooks Canopy jacket to keep me dry. I was really surprised to see how thick the foliage was along the trail, considering that it hasn't rained for several weeks until now. The trail itself was really dry. Thanks to the conditions and the weather, this was a really nicely paced run for me. Sometimes I surprise myself!

I actually briefly got lost on Wednesday's trail run. I took a little detour into a section that is lined with tall pine trees. I've been there many times before, but on this day the foliage was very thick and I couldn't find the trail back out. I knew the direction I needed to go, so I looked for the trail. I literally ran into a deer and the poor thing was shaking, she was so scared. I stood perfectly still and let her take off. Once I was back on the trail, the rest of my run was uneventful. It was humid and all the foliage lining the trail was damp, so I was soaked when I finished. That post-run shower never felt so good!

Friday morning was another overcast, cool, blustery morning. What season is it anyway? I was achy and considering not running, but I had new shoes to try out, so off I went to the bike path. While my first mile was fast, I incorporated 1 minute walk intervals with each mile, to give myself a little break. I had the bike path mostly to myself, save for the Palatine High School boys' XC team. They were appreciative of my encouragement and returned it to me. This put a huge smile on my face. Sometimes you just have to go. Plus, new shoes!

CrossFit

Monday's WOD was simple. The strength portion had us building to a heavy front squat, suggesting 80% of our max. It's been a while since we did heavy front squats and I could not recall ever doing a 1RM. I looked all the way back to November when SJ had me do those alternating back (6 reps) and front squats (4 reps) at 90#. I based this workout on that, thinking I'd hit 90#. Well, as you know, math is hard and I ended up with 105# on the bar. We did an 8 minute EMOM with one lift per minute x 7. On the 8th minute, we took off 20# and did an AMRAP for that last minute. I could only do 5 at 85#-my legs were trashed. The MetCon was an 8 minute AMRAP of alternating 10 box jump burpees and a 100m run. I completed 4 rounds of this!

On Thursday, SJ wanted me to work on hang cleans. If you recall, a few weeks ago, we did a clean complex in class and I struggled to get under the bar with 75# on it. She had me do sets of 3, adding plates each time to what I thought was 75#--but actually was 85#, which she told me after I successfully completed 2 reps and failed on the 3rd. You can see the video on my IG. She was so excited about it and I was glad she didn't tell me until after the fact! I alternated those with bench hops. After that I did 30 second hollow holds alternating with single leg over dumbbell lifts, working the hip flexors. When we were done, I worked on the bar, doing several sets of knees to chest.

Off the Road...

I worked on Saturday morning--and it's been a rough week at work overall--but as soon as I finished with my last patient, I hit the road and met the hubs, Cocoa, and my father-in-law at the lake house. The hubs took me out for a ski and it was as fun as you would expect. After dinner, we went for a ride down the river. The skies continue to be hazy from the Canadian wildfires, which make for some interesting sunsets.  

How was your week? Are you experiencing June Gloom? Is anyone else having issues with the wildfires? What are your race plans for the rest of the year? What are some wins you've had off the road?

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