Saturday, September 28, 2024

Go Slow Down

I'm not going to lie--as much as I loved all the activity of the past month, I am ready to slow down for a while. September was an incredibly busy and really fun month. It was also exhausting. With October around the corner, I'm looking forward to slowing down a bit and soaking up the last warm weather of the year. 

Speaking of slowing down,  I officially transferred my bib for the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon to a BRC teammate. I didn't feel one bit of regret! Well, ok, I will miss out on the camaraderie, but definitely not the running. I felt a sense of relief, which told me I did the right thing. 

With that half marathon off the calendar, I can focus on the Mammoth Trail Challenge, which kicks off October 1! This year's distance is 44 miles. As you all know, the challenge for me is accessing the trails since I live in Illinois and the trail is in Wisconsin. I'm excited about running some new segments as well as my usual ones. Stay tuned for the recaps!

Weekly Rundown
Sunday: rest
Monday: CrossFit with run 1.25 miles, run 4.5 miles
Tuesday: Fluid Running
Wednesday: trail run 7 miles
Thursday: CrossFit
Friday: run 6 miles
Saturday: rest/work


I woke up to pouring rain on Sunday. We were still up at the lake and I had planned a trail run before heading home. With no end in sight to the rain, we packed up and headed home. Whomp, whomp. It was raining there too, so I called it a day and settled in for some football.

My dilemma on Monday--I wanted to go to CrossFit, but I also wanted to run! There was running in the WOD, but not enough, so I ran at the retention pond after CrossFit. It's close to the gym and has a 2 mile-ish loop around the pond. My legs felt heavy, but I ran evenly paced miles, about 10min/mi, only stopping once for water about halfway through. 

The WOD was the baseline workout that we did in May: 400m run, 10 box jumps (20"), 20 pushups, 30 situps, 40 air squats, 800m run, 40 air squats, 30 situps, 20 pushups, 10 box jumps, 400m run. I finished in 20:27, slower than last May's finish of 19:15. I didn't push myself as hard as I could have, that near-fainting episode from a few weeks ago still fresh in my mind. I was ok with this--the runs saved me! I made up time on the run, passing most of the runners, something that would never happen anywhere else, lol.


After a cold, rainy Tuesday, I woke up Wednesday morning to bright sunshine. It was seasonally cool--mid-50s--and I was excited to hit the trails. The foliage were still wet from the rain but the trails were in good shape. Right away, I saw one of the deer families crossing the path. They weren't excited to see me, but I caught a photo of mom and one of the twins in the weeds! I saw a few other deer as well as a hawk that flew out of a tree next to the trail! The birds went into a frenzy when that happened. Nerd alert: I thought it was pretty cool. I also saw a lot of squirrels and chipmunks gather nuts, although I could swear they were throwing the shells at me from above, lol! What a great morning on the trails!



I hemmed and hawed about going to CrossFit on Thursday, but finally made up my mind to go. I'm so ready to get back to some heavy strength, and I reminded myself that it is coming. The strength portion was a 12 minute EMOM: 45 second plank, 30 second superman scissor kicks, and 45 seconds of shuttle runs. The MetCon was 5 x 3 minute on, with 1 second rest between sets: 20 kettlebell swings (25#), 2 laps Farmer's carries (25# KB per hand), and 10 burpees. I finished with 6 full rounds and 10 KB swings when time was called. Let me share that I was really sore the next day after this workout. 

It was dark when I headed out Friday morning for my bike path run. I wore my new Brooks Run Visible Gear and Glycerin Max. I wanted to give those shoes a good road test and yep, they showed me they were worthy. I won't deny being skeptical of the extra cushion on these shoes, but my test run last week had me wanting more. This run proved to me that Brooks got it right. Everything felt good and I pushed my pace to my fastest 6 miler in a long time. I finished with 6 miles at 57:15. 

Off the Road

The birthday celebrations continued into the week with flowers at work on Tuesday, lunch with my parents on Wednesday and with my sister Lisa and my future daughter-in-law on Thursday. The beautiful weather allowed us to dine alfresco. I wish it was like this all the time!



How was your week? Are you settling into a more laid back fall routine? What races do you have coming up?

I'm finishing up my final book for September and will have my Mini Book Reviews on Tuesday. 

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




18 comments :

  1. A decent week for you, and I'm looking forward to the book reviews. I've of course been doing nothing BUT read with this bout of Covid I've been having. We have a holiday coming up where I was looking forward to doing a lot of reading - hopefully I'm still keen by then!! Love the deer, of course, and hope you enjoy your trails in October!

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    1. I love the trails in the fall the most and am looking forward to the adding up the miles!

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  2. Nice week! Good job getting in crossfit AND running. Look at those gorgeous fall colors on the trail!! Enjoy. Also I'm looking forward to the book reviews. Any recommendations of books you LOVED that I should read next?

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    1. The Return of Ellie Back and First Lie Wins have been 2 of my favorite reads this year!

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  3. Yay for the Mammoth Trail Challenge! It's a nice alternative to a race - challenging, but in a different way. How many miles was the Challenge last year? I had in mind something around 40 miles, too.
    Your Crossfit workouts make me all excited to start again when we get back to Cape Town next month!

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    1. Yes, last year was 43 miles, this year 44--it's equivalent to the number of years that the IAT has been recognized as a National Trail!

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  4. My September was super busy as well and I’m ready for some slower weeks. We are hosting the holiday this week so prep for that is keeping me busy. Now I just need to find that running mojo

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    1. Now that I'm not training for anything, my running mojo has returned. Isn't that interesting? lol

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  5. Oh, I love the sound of that Wednesday run!!! Mid 50s and bright sunshine is my favorite. And that photo of you on the trail in your "Run Happy" shirt is amazing.
    I haven't ruled out road half marathons or marathons forever, but right now trail running is much more appealing to me as well. I'm excited about your Mammoth Trail challenge. I can't wait to hear all about it! And I'm looking forward to your book reviews.

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    1. I'm really looking forward to kicking off my trail challenge next weekend! We'll be up at the lake, so I'll hit my favorite segments.

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  6. I haven't tallied my monthly totals yet, but September has kept me pretty busy in the running shoes. I will be ready for some low-key antics after my half marathon! Having no guilt or remorse for transferring your race registration confirms it definitely was the right decision. Good luck with the Mammoth!

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    1. I'm sitting at 75 miles for the month--all things considered, that's a decent total for me!

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  7. My busy time is just starting. So many work trips between now and November!
    I love the look of your new Brooks gear!
    Good luck with the trail challenge — I’m sure you’ll get it done.

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    1. I'm loving the new Brooks gear too--but I'm getting used to these super shoes!

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  8. I am so glad you are getting some well-deserved rest. I know you love the Mammoth Trail, so this will be great. I'm a little wrung out. We've been dealing with the hurricanes, and I've had weather induced migraines. Boo. In addition, we are now entering band-tober and our big travel season. I'm feeling very behind, but I just have to put my head down and go for it.

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  9. I always look forward to your book reviews! You have great taste in books and I end up reading a lot of them.

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