How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Sometimes a staycation is just what you need. It's nice to enjoy the local happenings and that is what I did this week. It was a really low key, low stress kind of week--exactly what I needed. I'm lucky to live outside of Chicago as well as close to Wisconsin, and I took full advantage, spending time in both locales. 

I also kept up with my fitness routine! This post is a little longer than usual, as I'm recapping not only my workouts, but also sharing some highlights from my week. Thanks for indulging me!

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: run 6 miles

Monday: CrossFit

Tuesday: Fluid Running

Wednesday: run 6 miles

Thursday: CrossFit/waterskiing

Friday: Ice Age Trail run 7.2 miles/1200ft and waterskiing

Saturday: fitness rest day

On Sunday, I headed to the trails and almost immediately regretted my decision. The single track foliage was shoulder high and encroaching on the trail. At some spots, the buckthorn was grabby--reaching out to scratch me and try to pull my hat off. While the flies and mosquitoes were busy, my repellant kept me bite free. I did see one deer, but she took off as soon as she saw me! The highlight of this run? The wildflowers, which were just beautiful. At least all the rain we've been having had had some benefit. I'm finally at the breaking point--I don't know how willing I am to venture onto the single track until fall. I've got a road half planned for November and maybe this is my sign to get serious about training for it. Stay tuned!

There were deadlifts on the menu for Monday's WOD and you know I was all over that! These weren't ordinary deadlifts, they were halting snatch deadlifts, which uses a snatch (wide) grip and a 2-3 second pause at the top. You never stand back up straight, which means not only do your glutes get s good workout, so do your lats. We used a much lighter weight than you would for a standard deadlift and did 4 sets of 5 (65#). The MetCon was 3 round for reps, 1 minute each of wall balls, bike calories, snatches, and ab mat situps. There was a one minute rest between rounds. 

Normally on Tuesdays, I go to the pool when it opens at 5:30. Since I was off work this week, I got to 'sleep in' and went to the pool at 7:30. What a treat! I did a much needed Fluid Running workout, broke a sweat, and got some endorphins. I am always so grateful for this pool and these workouts, which not only give my legs a break but also give me a good total body experience.

We had big plans for Wednesday, so I skipped my usual trail run and headed out into the 90% humidity to the bike path for a 6 mile run. As I always do, I went out too fast and after 2 miles, needed to reset. I stopped at the drinking fountain, caught my breath, and headed onward, albeit much slower. There were also some walk breaks, but I finished this run without giving up. 

Before I went to CrossFit on Thursday, I checked the WOD and saw that the strength portion was bar muscle-up drill work. Ugh. But the MetCon had running and I reminded myself that more time on the bar would get me closer to a pull-up, so off I went. The strength portion had us doing several different drills on the bar and with resistance bands. Some of these moves required a degree of coordination that I don't possess and I found it a little frustrating. The MetCon had us doing 4 rounds of 200m runs, ball slams and pull-ups 10-8-6-4.  We needed to finish in under 10 minutes and I did, finishing in 9:30.

We drove up to the lake on Thursday afternoon and the hubs took me for a ski around the bay. The weather was perfect! My hands were sore from all that bar work and holding the tow rope was a little painful, so I didn't go for long. But it sure felt good!

On Friday, I woke up to 57F! I couldn't wait to hit the trails. I took my shoes to the Gibraltar Segment. When I parked my car, there was a pair of men getting ready to hike. One of them was a thru-hiker and we talked about that for a few minutes. The IAT is 1200+ miles long and he was almost halfway done. He asked me why I was spraying myself with repellent and catnip spray and shared his nightmare of being attacked by deer flies on one of the previous segments he had hiked. After we talked, I headed off for my run. 

I had the segment to myself and stopped to photograph lots of fungi and a few wildflowers. I saw lots of interesting plants on this run. The weather was absolutely perfect and when I finished, the hubs took me for a ski. You know you did well when your hubs tells you that you looked good out there. I felt much better than I did the previous day! No photos because he doesn't like to take them when he's driving the boat.

Off the Road

There were plenty of fun things on my agenda this week! On Sunday after my run, the hubs and I drove to the Ravenswood neighborhood in Chicago for 'Ravenswood On Tap', a street fair celebrating locally--and I mean neighborhood--brewed beers. We've been to a few of the breweries in the past and the beer is some of the best in the city. I was excited about the opportunity to try some beers from places we hadn't been. We were joined by our youngest son, which was a treat! We also visited two of the tap rooms, Half Acre and Spiteful, before dropping our son off at his apartment and heading home. 

After CrossFit on Monday, I went back to the city to have lunch with my youngest at Lula Cafe, Chicago's only James Beard award winning restaurant this year. His girlfriend is a server there, so naturally I was excited to go! It was crowded, but she had reserved a table for us. I enjoyed a farro and quinoa bowl made with endive, apple, celery, pecan pesto and a 'nine minute egg'. My son enjoyed his Pasta Yiayia, which was bucatini, feta, garlic, brown butter, and cinnamon. His girlfriend gifted us with a dish as well: Summer Vegetable Polenta, which was absolutely delicious. Everything was. What a treat!

On Tuesday, my son and his girlfriend met me at my house and we drove out to my parents' for lunch. It was great to see them! My mom was pretty good and my dad did the usual telling of bad dad jokes, lol. Later that day, the hubs and I went out to dinner to celebrate his birthday!

For Wednesday, the hubs and I had made tentative plans for a Cubs game, weather permitting. It was supposed to rain but then it wasn't...we finally made the decision to buy tickets that morning and headed into the city. We stopped for lunch at a bar before the game. We scored some great seats close to the infield. The Cubs played against the Milwaukee Brewers, a local rival. The game was tied until the 9th inning when the Brewers scored a run. The Cubs couldn't get another hit and the game ended 3-2. We stopped for dinner at Hopleaf, an old favorite of ours, before heading home. It was a perfect day!

On Thursday, we drove up to the lake house for an extended weekend. The weather was absolutely perfect. After a summer that has been rainy and hot, this was such a treat! The hubs took me skiing multiple times! We also enjoyed the local farmers' market, eating freshly picked produce. The sweet corn was just picked and it was so good! There was also a truck selling fish--it was all frozen-- and we bought some grouper, which the hubs prepared for tacos, which we topped with produce we purchased locally. Truly this was one of the best meals I've had all week!

We had plans on Saturday to check out some lavender farms in Baraboo. One had some pretty sad looking lavender and the other was a total tourist trap. So we decided to head to the Tumbled Rock brewpub near Devil's Lake State Park. To make a long story short, there is very limited cell phone reception in the area and Google took us on a roundabout route. This worked out in our favor as we got to see 2 state natural areas that have been on my wish list for a while: Durward's Glen and Pewit's Nest. Durward's Glen is a historic retreat built in the 1800s, situated on a bubbling stream. It is a peaceful spot for meditation and reflection. We were surprised at the well-maintained property as well as the beauty. 

Pewit's Nest is a gorge cut by Skillet Creek, a small stream that runs through the area. When we visited, people were swimming in the gorge and playing in the small waterfall. We were also able to hike up above the gorge, giving us a bird's eye view of the activities below.

When we left Pewit's Nest, Google once again took us in the wrong direction--right past a blueberry farm! We had been talking about picking blueberries, so we stopped and picked almost 10 pints of fresh, sweet blueberries. Don't you agree that sometimes taking the long way is the best way?

We retraced our steps and yes, we made it to the brewpub for a delicious lunch and beer. We took the car ferry back across the river and put our feet up. 

How was your week? Do you prefer staycations or traveling? Do you shop at any local farmers' markets? 

Be sure to check out my monthly mini book reviews on Tuesday!

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