A Wild Week

Wild seemed to be the theme for my week! The full moon was last Saturday, so I can't blame it on that, right?

The weather this week was definitely wild! The transition between fall and winter is always crazy, but this week, it was all over the place. We had 1.2" of snow on Halloween, which didn't set a record but was definitely unusual. Fortunately, the sun came out in the afternoon, but it was cold for the trick-or-treaters. By the end of the week, we were back in the 50s, which felt like summer. 

It was also a wild week at work. We're having a baby boom! I don't ever remember seeing so many newborns, but I am here for it. I seem to have at least one, maybe 2 newborns on my schedule every day. Our schedules continue to be full and there are more sick kids coming in, as you would expect in the fall. It's definitely keeping me on my toes.

It's never dull around here!

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: trail run 5 miles

Monday: CrossFit

Tuesday: Fluid Running

Wednesday: trail run 6 miles

Thursday: strength training

Friday: run 6 miles

Saturday: strength training

I was so excited to meet up with my Trail Sisters on Sunday. Between traveling, the Chicago Marathon, and the Mammoth Trail Challenge, I hadn't run with them in over a month. The plan was to meet up at one of the local preserves. It was a Halloween run and we were meeting up in costume. Not everyone was dressed up, but we had a good turnout. The cooler weather was a win--this trail has very little shade. We went out for coffee after the run and once again, I was so grateful for these wonderful ladies!

On Monday, I woke up feeling oddly sore from Sunday's run--maybe it was the chicken suit--so I did some yoga before heading off to CrossFit. Once again, there were back squats for the strength portion--4 sets of 5 at 70%. I built to 110# and that was plenty heavy for me! In between sets, We did some thoracic stretches to prepare us for the MetCon. The MetCon was a workout from the masters championships and I'll do my best to explain it. We had the option of doing snatch to overhead or clean and jerks for the movements. Here's the breakdown: 

I started with an empty barbell (35#) and did 8 snatches to overhead for the first set. After that I did all clean and jerks, 55#, 65#, and finishing with 70#, completing 10 reps of each in the time allotted. I was really happy with this workout--it definitely showed me that I am making progress with those overhead lifts!

I woke up on Wednesday to snow! and sunshine. There was a coating of ice on the sidewalks and roads. My decision of where to run was easy--I knew the trails would be pretty but I also knew that the deer love to play in the snow. I was not disappointed--the deer were everywhere! This is mating season and I witnessed several bucks chasing does in the woods. I also saw a mama with her 2 young ones--one of them was watching me and stomping his leg as if to show me how fierce he was. This 6 mile run took me almost 3 hours because I kept stopping to take photos and watch the deer. There was also a well-intentioned but poor decision to follow a trail around the lake into the woods. Sadly, the trail has been overtaken by buckthorn and I had to turn back after getting stuck in the thorns a few times. Other than that, this was an amazing and beautiful way to spend my morning before going to work!

On Thursday, SJ and I reviewed my goals for the upcoming weeks. Since I am not planning on participating in the powerlifting meet in December, she's going to program other lifts for me as well as the powerlifting trifecta of back squats, deadlifts, and chest presses. I love the variety and my goal is to get stronger, not to compete. Today I started out with 3 sets of 5 push-ups and some resistance band work to open up my shoulders and lats. After that, I did 3 sets of 10 bench presses at 52.5#. For legs, she had me do barbell hip thrusts (75#), 3 sets of 12 alternating with 24" box jumps, 3 sets of 6. I had never done box jumps at that height before and was really excited to land all of them but one, which I repeated and landed. 

On Friday morning, I headed out into the dark for my weekly bike path run. I wore my headlamp and Noxgear, but it was still so dark! I was spooked a couple of times by the posts they installed along the path to help the snow removal crew find the path in the winter, as well as by walkers who weren't illuminated at all. At the turnaround point, I saw the emerging sunlight which was so nice!. It looked like it would be a good sunrise and I sped up to try and catch it. You know how quickly the sky changes and by the time I reached the lake, I missed the best part. It was decent, though. So was my run!

And...I got a third day of strength training on Saturday. It turns out that along with a CrossFit class and a rowing boot camp, there is a Saturday 7 am strength session! There were 5 of us in the group, working out in the back of the gym. The workout had back squats programmed, but since I did them twice this week, the coach recommended I do deadlifts. Which, of course, I was happy about. After warming up, I did 4 sets of 5 deadlifts at 70% (145#). This was followed by 4 sets of 6 DB pullovers (25#) done while reclining on a bench. Next, I did Bulgarian split squats holding 20# DBs, 4 sets of 5 per leg. One of the other participants showed me a nifty set up she had--using a barbell low on the rack with a pad in the center that I could rest my ankle on. So much better than with my foot on a bench! Next were front/lateral raises--I used 10# DBs for these--4 sets of 5 per arm, and I finished up with supermans, 4 sets of 5 with a 3 second hold at the top. 

How was your week? Did you have some crazy weather shifts? Did you dress up for Halloween? Are you happy about turning the clocks back? I am looking forward to having a little more light in the morning. 

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