So Many Miles, So Little Time

I runfess...oops, I apologize that I haven't been runfessing or linking up for coffee lately. Life has gotten busy and with the exception of the Weekly Rundown, blogging has taken a back seat. Since returning home from Brooks Hype Fest, Brooks has been keeping us RHT members busy. We've been sharing lots of photos from that weekend. We've also been posting about our latest gear drop and are awaiting some new exciting shoes that are coming out soon. The Chicago Marathon is next weekend, and those of us RHT members who aren't running are planning some meet-ups and a cheer station. It's a good kind of busy and it's really injected some good energy into running for me!

In addition to running related commitments, I've been asked to participate in a big project at work, a Zero Suicide initiative for my large healthcare system, which will include developing policies and protocols to help guide providers to prevent suicides in patients and intervene when there is the threat of suicide. It's a daunting task, but a worthwhile one. 

On the health front, I am definitely feeling better and weaning the steroids slowly. I don't want the flare to flare up again. I have to admit that I haven't minded the steroids at all. In fact, since starting them, I feel like I am 10 years younger. I wish I felt like this all the time! And speaking of steroids, Cocoa and I road tripped to Madison this week to see the dermatologist at the UW vet clinic. In the doggy world, the derms manage skin, allergies, and ears. I was so impressed with the plan the dermatologist came up with. Fingers crossed we can avoid surgery. 

Finally, I'm thrilled to wrap up September with decent mileage. October looks to be another high mileage month as I'm kicking off the Mammoth Challenge today. 

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: Ice Age Trail Run 10 miles

Monday: CrossFit

Tuesday: Fluid Running

Wednesday: trail run 9.25 miles

Thursday: Strength training

Friday: Friday run 6 miles

Saturday: Yoga with Adriene

Total miles for September: 91 miles

I wanted to get in one last trail run before we headed home from our fun weekend at the lake. I couldn't decide between the marsh and Gibraltar Rock, but since I ran the marsh last time, the rock won out. As I usually do, I parked at the Slack Road segment and ran the connecting road to Gibraltar. Oddly enough, I was the only one there. Even though I run there all the time, as I always say, it looks different every time I go. Fall was starting to make its appearance and I really enjoyed seeing all the colors. I felt stronger on this run than I had felt in a long time! I hope it lasts.

On Monday, it was back to CrossFit! I hadn't gone to the WOD last week nor did I do strength training, so I was excited to get back to it. For the skill/strength portion, we focused on wall ball technique. This might sound basic, but most people (including me) don't get low enough in the squat portion of the movement. Breaking down the entire movement was so helpful. We were challenged to push ourselves to do as many wall balls unbroken as we could. I was happy to hit 25 on my 3rd round. The MetCon was 3 rounds for time of 21 cal on the bike, strict press x 15, and plank toe taps x 12. There was a 16 minute cap but I finished in 13:11. 

Trust me, I did not set out to run 9+ miles on Wednesday. I made the decision to go to the preserve where the local mountain bike community has built some really great trails. The last time I ran there, the trail I planned to run was 5 miles. With the hopes of seeing some deer and finding some mushrooms, I set off. The miles ticked by and when my Garmin hit 5 miles, I realized I was nowhere near the trailhead. Ok, maybe they made the trail longer? Since it was a loop trail, I had to go the distance and when I finally reached the trailhead, I had run 9.25 miles! I wasn't prepared for that! I did see a deer, who ran away as soon as she saw me. The mushroom game was strong. So was the animal bones game--on one section of the trail there were a lot of bones. Someone had taken the time to decorate some of the trees with them. Very creepy. As you can imagine, I was glad to be back to my car at the end!

For Thursday's strength sesh, SJ started me off with overhead squat prep. I was pleased with my ability to squat low without any knee pain. I started off with the empty trainer barbell (15#), but SJ slowly added weight and got me to 45#. I wasn't always successful--I had to bail a few times, but what I did made me (and her) happy. These are so hard and a little scary too. I alternated 4 sets of 4 OHS with pull-up negatives, 4 sets of 3. After that, she had me do a hamstring maneuver with a resistance band, 3 sets of 8 each leg alternating with box jumps, 4 sets of 8.

The sky was finally clear on Friday morning and I was hoping to catch a sunrise. I wasn't lucky enough for that--there were some low clouds--but I did see the sun. This was another nicely paced run with even splits--the first 2 miles were the slowest. I really enjoyed the 58 degree temperatures. I also enjoyed seeing a 9:14 average pace on my watch. I wonder if I'll ever get my speed back or if this is it. 

How was your week? Are you seeing signs of fall where you are at? Have you ever gone out for a run only to find out that the distance was longer than what you planned? Did you race this weekend?

My monthly mini-book reviews for September are coming up on Tuesday! 

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