Morning Motivation

It's been another challenging week. This is the crazy season at work, as parents are scrambling at the last minute to get appointments for their annual school physicals. Add to that the current baby boom we are experiencing--I saw 5 newborns last week-- and we are running, literally and figuratively. The hubs' health issues are in a holding pattern as he works to schedule tests and go to his physical therapy appointments. It's been overwhelming. Like I always do during times of stress, I've been leaning into running and fitness. It's no surprise that I've been having some RA symptoms, but so far, not an official flare. Fingers crossed.

Thank goodness for running and fitness!

Weekly Rundown

Sunday: Trail Sisters run 5.5 miles

Monday: CrossFit

Tuesday: Pool Running

Wednesday: trail run 9 miles

Thursday: CrossFit

Friday:run 6 miles

Saturday: watersking

There were only 3 of us at the trailhead on Sunday morning. No matter--it was 61 degrees, it was sunny, and we were at my favorite place. The group always runs the main trail, so I actually wore my road shoes. Good thing, because these two ladies had me pushing myself! After mile 3, I begged off and stopped to walk and bring my heart rate down. I saw the mama and her fawn again. I also saw a few dead young raccoons and a young skunk. I wonder what is going on with these young animals? After a couple more miles, I picked it back up again, running my final mile at the same pace we ran the first 2 miles at and finishing feeling strong.

Monday's CrossFit had a core burner for the strength portion: with 12 minutes on the clock we did 10 Turkish sit-ups (I used a 10# dumbbell) alternating with 8 Candlesticks to target--the target was a resistance band stretched across the rig. I did 4 rounds of this in the time allotted. The MetCon was a variation of Cindy: it was an E2MOM with 14 minutes on the clock. The workout was 200m rowing, 6 pullups, 12 pushups, and 18 air squats. If you couldn't finish the workout in 2 minutes, you had to sit out the next 2 minutes. Your final score was the number of rounds completed. We were allowed to scale the workout to get it done in 2 minutes, which is what I did. I scaled to 3 pullups (I did banded), 6 pushups, and 9 air squats. Even scaled, I struggled with those pull-ups and had to drop one round. This was a tough one!!

The indoor pool is closed for 3 weeks for annual maintenance, so on Tuesday, I went to the outdoor pool for my weekly pool running. Normally, they don't open until 6 am, which doesn't work with my schedule. I emailed requesting an earlier start at 5:30 (along with several other early birds). When my alarm went off at 4:30, I contemplated staying in bed, but long story short, I got up and out the door for my pool running sesh. I AM SO GLAD I WENT. The air was cool but the water was warm. There was something very special about being in the pool under the stars! The sun came up as I did my workout. What a great way to start my day!

I had some work-related angst to process on Wednesday and the trails were the perfect place to do that. I started out on the east side of the preserve and before I even hit one mile, I ran into a doe and her fawn munching on foliage adjacent to the trail. I approached slowly, hoping they wouldn't run away. They didn't and in fact, mama moved closer to the baby and let me take some photos before they began eating again. Oh my heart! The rest of the run was uneventful. I ran a combination of single track, gravel/limestone, and pavement and was able to maintain a decent pace for this run. I'm planning to do most of my long runs here in preparation for my November half marathon.

I had some significant knee pain when I woke up on Thursday. Was it the 9 miles I ran on Wednesday? The damp, rainy weather? RA not playing nice? Whatever it was, I popped some ibuprofen and hobbled over to the gym, hoping it would resolve. Thankfully it did. The strength portion of the WOD had 15 minutes on the clock while we did rounds of 10 dumbbell bench presses (20# each hand), 10 dumbbell rows (20# each side), and 10 kneeling pallof presses. I finished 4 rounds of this. The MetCon was for time--we started with a 400m run, then did 4 rounds of 8 single arm dumbbell push presses (15#), 16 lateral dumbbell hops, 8 dumbbell push presses on the other arm, and 16 goblet lunges (holding the DB), finishing with another 400m run. I finished in 10:21! I probably could have gone a little heavier with the DB. Next time!

It had stormed overnight and Friday morning was humid but cool. I headed out under cloud cover and ran a surprisingly brisk pace, stopping for water. On the way back, the sun started to break through the clouds and I caught some very cool shots of the sky. It's really one of the best things about running--Mother Nature keeps things interesting!

Photos of the sun are tricky!

Off the Road...

On Sunday, we went to my sister's house for a family get-together. My youngest sister was in town with her family, and everyone wanted to see my sister's grandson! We were only missing my youngest son and my sister's youngest son. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed getting smiles from the baby!

Finally, I'll leave you with 2 visitors we had up at our lake house Saturday morning. They were nesting next to our boat house.

How was your week? Do you enjoy morning workouts? Have you seen anything interesting on your runs lately? Are you training for any fall races?

PS I won't be posting next week--I'm going to Alabama to visit Holly and do some waterskiing behind her new boat!

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