Friday – Shoulder PT + 90 minutes of Freestyle Friday at Unleashed
Saturday – 6.75 mile hike
Sunday – Yard work, moving furniture and cleaning around house for a few hours
Monday – Packing and moving
Tuesday – Shoulder PT + 30 minutes yoga, 4 mile ruck and 45 minutes lifting
Wednesday – Shoulder PT + Rhode Runner Blackstone Blvd 5K
Thursday – 1 hr kickboxing
This week was kind of a blur, what with Memorial Day and all. It was also a short week for me because I have today off to head up to VT with friends to run Infinitus.
The moving and packing was to help Tara’s parents out. They are moving, along with her brother, to VA in about a week, so we had some extra furniture we no longer wanted that they are taking and then helped them pack up their POD with their own stuff as well. All that on Sunday and Monday was plenty of a workout for me so I didn’t do anything additional. I also hurt my back at Freestyle Friday trying to dump a 60 lb sandbag off my ruck, but it caught and basically snapped my spine backwards…so yeah – OUCH.
With my knee still tweaking a bit and my back not 100% recovered, I’m not running the race tomorrow. I’ll be bringing my ruck instead and hiking it. I found a couple of friends who also aren’t running so I won’t be alone, which is nice. My other friends are doing the 88k (I’m doing 8k) so I’ll be hanging by myself a lot of the time in the tent I’m sure.
I’m excited to spend the weekend in the woods. From what I’ve heard, there may not be any cell service up there, which could be kind of nice. We’ll see. I think it will be nice to disconnect a bit.
This week’s song is in honor of the mountain I will be climbing tomorrow. Have a great weekend!
Friday – 30 min yoga + office workout (shoulder PT + no ruck: 200 squats, 100 push-ups, 50 4-count flutter kicks)
Saturday – Abington Police 5K
Sunday – 30 min yoga
Monday – Rest (Technically a rest day. I did walk a couple of miles with a friend but didn’t track it-probably about 2 miles. I also did shoulder PT.)
Tuesday – 3 miles + 1 hr lifting + office workout (shoulder PT + no ruck: 100 squats)
Wednesday – 30 min yoga + did 1 hr yard work w/ ruck on + office workout (shoulder PT + with ruck: 150 squats, 50 push-ups)
Thursday – 30 min yoga + shoulder PT
This week’s training to me was just meh. I worked as hard as I could, but I should have run yesterday and didn’t because my body is being mean. I’m in pain 24/7 regardless of whether or not I’m working out. Moving around and being active does help, but still…it gets old. I have a virtual race tomorrow that I’m doing with some friends at Fells Reservation in MA for Racing 4 Valor. I get overexcited and inspired by them and I signed up for the half marathon distance, but didn’t take into account that it’s on trails, not road, and I haven’t properly trained for the distance like I did for my first half last year. I’m pretty sure I’ll be dropping down to the 10K, but I’m OK with that (mostly).
Outside of that, we’ll be spending some time with Tara’s family this weekend. They’re moving to VA in a couple of weeks so she’s trying to see them as much as possible while they’re here. I’ll grill, we’ll have a nice fire, even some s’mores. It should be a nice weekend.
While it’s nice to have a long weekend and everything, please remember what Memorial Day is about – those who made the ultimate sacrifice, for us.
I don’t really have a whole lot to say today, so here’s your song for the week.
Friday – 2 hours of getting my ass kicked at Freestyle Friday
Saturday – Rest
Sunday – 5 mile run + 3 mile ruck
Monday – 30 min yoga + office workout (shoulder PT, 50 push-ups, 50 squats)
Tuesday – 3 miles + 1 hr lifting + office workout (w/ 35 lb ruck: 50 push-ups, 100 squats, 30 lunges + shoulder PT)
Wednesday – 30 min yoga + 1 hr yard work w/ 35 lb ruck + office workout (shoulder PT, Without ruck: 50 4-count flutter kicks, 50 russian twists w/ 30 lb plate, 50 leg pull-ins. With ruck: 100 squats)
Thursday – 30 min yoga + 5 miles + office workout (shoulder PT and 50 push-ups)
I’m really turning up the training intensity now. I only have a couple more weeks until my GORUCK Challenge and I want to be more ready than I was for the last one. Most of these workouts are split into morning and evening and I really like getting in some extra stuff in my cubicle at work as time allows. Usually, the stuff I do at work, is in sets of maybe 10 or 25 in between phone calls and orders so it’s not like a straight workout. Every little bit helps, right?
I feel like I’m not in a very “write-y” place today and don’t have much to say. I have a race tomorrow in my hometown (1 of only a few races I’ve never missed since I started running) and am looking forward to it. I think on Sunday I’m going to try to de-clutter/spring clean the house. Closets seem fuller and I need more organization in my life. We’ll see how that goes. I want to purge whatever possible out of the house.
I just randomly heard this song while looking through the new releases on Spotify and liked the lyrics. Hope you enjoy – have a great weekend!
This week felt like a horror show in terms of training. Saturday, I volunteered to work the Unleashed tent at BoldrDash on the Beach – an OCR that I ran last year. I was there from 8am until around 2:30ish and planned on doing my run for the weekend when I got home. Let’s just say it turned into a rough afternoon. While I still got out there and did 5 miles, it was a shit show. I had to walk A LOT and nothing felt right. I couldn’t get my breathing and my hips were bothering me tons.
Sunday I traveled to Amherst, MA to cheer on my friends as they ran the 7 Sisters Trail Race. So while it was technically a rest day, we were standing/walking around quite a bit. It was beautiful up there and I think I’m putting it on my list for next year, even though I watched people cringing as they crossed the finish line.
Monday, I ran after work. Just an easy 3 miles. Well, it was anything but easy. That annoying twinge in my hips from Saturday turned into actual pain in my bad (right) hip that has been bothering me all week now. This is the same hip I strained when I first started running that sidelined me for months. I’m much more careful about listening to my body now, so I just stretched and rolled on Tuesday.
Wednesday, I had a pity party. The day went to hell and I’m started to get PMS-y (sorry if TMI) so I said screw it and just hung out in bed for the night. Thursday, I got back into things and did the kickboxing class. Oh the fun we had!! Our trainer is getting married tomorrow so I made a playlist just for this class with fast paced, wedding-themed songs. It was SUCH a good time!
Tonight, I’m going to hit up Unleashed for Freestyle Friday. We’re going to put together some GORUCK training since we now have less then one month (!!!!) until the event. I got my new steel plate on Tuesday, so it should make it easier to carry instead of bricks. I also ordered an actual GORUCK ruck that I hope gets here soon so I have time to break that in as well.
Not much to say about this week’s song choice. I just really like the song. Enjoy it and have a great weekend!!
I had a GREAT week of workouts. I’m pretty psyched about that. Like I mentioned in this post, last Friday I had a new PR on the weighted sled push. That night, my friend Amy and I planned to run the next morning. I usually run on Sunday mornings, but I like having the company so we arranged to run early before the plans that both of us had on Saturday. It was a beautiful day for a run!
Afterwards, Tara’s parents came over to celebrate her dad’s birthday. We went for a short hike and then I grilled us up some burgers for lunch. We had a nice visit.
Sunday I barely moved because I was so sore from Friday and Saturday. It was definitely a well deserved rest day. Monday, I still wasn’t feeling it, so I just did some yoga to work things out and loosen up. Now let’s talk about those Tuesday and Wednesday runs!
Tuesday was just a regular 3-miler, nothing fancy. I didn’t know when I set out, but I felt pretty strong and ended up running faster than I thought and set a new 3 mile PR. Wednesday I met up with some teammates to run the free 5K put on monthly during the warmer months by Rhode Runner in Providence. It was a beautiful night for it. I came straight from work and just enough time to find a parking spot, run to the tent to get my bib, meet up with my friends and ended up stretching once we lined up to start! Not how I like to start a race.
The race isn’t on a closed course, but essentially doesn’t meet up with much traffic. It is just an out and back along a (mostly) gravel path in the middle of two one way streets. We had to cross a few streets, but not busy ones and it was never an issue as the cars basically had no choice but to yield to the throngs of runners coming at them. I knew I started out WAY too fast and couldn’t get my breathing under control. I tried to slow it up, but it’s been a while since I’ve actually raced and running with other people always makes me go faster.
So what happened? I set a new 5K PR!! My old one has stood for a very, very long time. My new time, 33:14, will be my new standard to go by as I continue to improve. I couldn’t ask for better people to celebrate it with, either.
My hip was a little tweaky on Thursday from back to back running (not to mention faster than normal) so I was a little hesitant to go to kickboxing last night. I decided if the kicking bothered me too much, I’d punch more and just see how it went. My hip actually cooperated for most of it and I didn’t have any issues, except with my shoulder. I couldn’t hold high planks or do burpee punches, so the trainer modified for me. He absolutely smoked us in that class. There were 5 of us and we’d all done the class plenty of times, so he decided since he didn’t have any newbies he’d challenge us. It was awesome!
After kickboxing last night, I met my friend Katie and some of her friends to see the new Avengers movie. I didn’t get to bed until a few hours ago, but it was totally worth the lack of sleep. I would definitely recommend it if you’re into those movies.
Tonight, I’ll probably take it easy and do some more yoga. I’ve got a busy weekend ahead. I’ll be helping out at the Unleashed table at the BoldrDash on the Beach OCR tomorrow and then Sunday I’m tagging along to cheer my friends on that are running the 7 Sister Trail Race. It’s gonna be busy, but fun.
I’m obsessed with this week’s song. Much like I became obsessed with Take Me To Church last year when it was first released, every time this Hozier song comes on I crank it up. I don’t know what it is about that man. Enjoy and have a great weekend!
Saturday – Raking leaves and yard work for 2.5 hours
Sunday – 6.5 miles
Monday – 1.6 mile lunch ruck
Tuesday – 3.1 miles
Wednesday – 3.5 mile ruck
Thursday – Packing like a maniac
Friday – Running around like a crazy person
Not a bad training week. Sunday I had planned 8 miles, but my stomach had other ideas and after about 3.5 I was stuck at almost my halfway point and had to walk back. I called Tara when I knew where I was (that she knew as well) and had her come pick me up. Not cool!
Tuesday was super speedy! I ran with my friend Amy and whenever I run outside with her, I tend to start out too quick. She has a faster pace than I do and I feel bad slowing people up. We started out so fast I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep running, but I finally settled into a groove around 1 mile and was able to straighten myself out. When I realized around 2 miles how fast we were going, I consciously decided to keep pushing it. We sprinted at the end because I was certain I was going to beat my 5K PR, but I missed it by 9 seconds (I thought it was higher than it was). Good, good run!
The rucks were mainly to get used to wearing it again for this weekend, plus to break in my new boots. I’m hoping these bad boys are as good as everyone says they are so I don’t have any issues with my feet. I also bought Trail Tape because that seemed to help more than the Trail Toes at Carry The Fallen.
I’m so excited for this epic weekend! Tonight, I head up to MA to get ready to shadow the GOREV happening tomorrow. I have the easy part – just taking pictures and being there in support. Yes, I’ll be walking for over 24 hours and probably close to 40 miles, but at least I can rest when I’m able to stop. The rest of the class doing this special GORUCK won’t get the breaks I get. I can’t wait to watch Amy crush it!
From there, after we eat our weight in food and try to get some sleep, we’ll be hitting up the pasta dinner with our other friend Amy who is going to run THE FREAKIN’ BOSTON MARATHON on Monday. I’m so excited to watch her, too. All the years I grew up in MA, I never once went to the marathon. I can’t wait!
So for today, I feel this is a rather epic song choice for these amazing friends of mine. I first heard it when we went to the Carnivores Tour last August and fell in love with it. I’ve recently started hearing it on the radio so I think it’s been released as a single now, too. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!!
Saturday – Rest – lots happening
Sunday – 8.5 miles
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – 3 miles
Wednesday – 30 min yoga
Thursday – 5 miles
Friday – probably yoga later
Just a quick update today. Last Saturday, there was a lot going on so I never got a workout in, but I wasn’t too worried about it. The rest of the week rounded out OK. I had an eye appt in the morning, then later volunteered at an LLS fundraiser at Unleashed and finally went to a friend’s birthday party that night where I played laser tag for the first time (super fun btw)!
Back to the training, I was a little disappointed in Sunday’s run. It was nice enough to meet up with a friend at City Park for what I had scheduled to be 10 miles. We went out WAY too fast at the beginning (for me anyway). After I finished a loop and was only 8.5 miles in, I didn’t have anything left to go back around for another 1.5. I was happy I got that close – my legs were like lead weights.
Tuesday and Thursday more than made up for that though. Tuesday night I did those 3 miles on the dreadmill, but I’ve noticed my speed is increasing now and it felt comfortable. Thursday was an amazing, amazing run. I decided since the rain was supposed to hold off that I would run outside. I got my head lamp ready and headed out since it would be dark by the time I finished. I made the call in my head I would do at least 3, but aim for 5.
I started out pretty rough. I typically do for the first mile, but I pushed to keep running and not take any breaks. I settled into a good pace and managed to keep it level the entire time! I ran the whole 5 miles and not only that, of the 30 recorded Runkeeper runs I have for “4-6 miles”, it was my fastest ever with an 11:36 average pace! WHAT! Maybe it was the snow (yes, it snowed on me, on April 10th) or the empty bike paths and solitude but it was an amazing run last night and I’m so happy I kept pushing that pace.
I’ve worked out a new marathon training plan that will start in June, so until then I’ll keep up what I’ve been doing to maintain endurance and maybe pick the speed up even a little more. I’m gonna need all the cushion I can muster for MCM so I finish under 6 hours.
This week’s song is a new one, but I’m really into it. The video is weird, so maybe just listen to it instead of watch it…
Saturday – Julie’s bday celebration continued
Sunday – 10 miles
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – 3 miles
Wednesday – 1 hr kettlbell class at Unleashed
Thursday – 3 miles
Friday – Probably yoga
Sunday’s long run didn’t exactly go as planned. I met up with a friend to run in City Park but after snow/rain on Saturday and freezing temps overnight it was just sheets of black ice. We opted to run in the neighborhood surrounding the park, but it was so cold we couldn’t feel our hands, even with gloves on. We did one loop of 1.5 miles and called it quits. I later ran near my house in the afternoon and it was a like a totally different day – bright sunshine and temps in the 40s. It was an awesome feeling running outside again and I was able to get the remaining 8.5 miles in.
Tuesday I felt AWESOME. I had a strong run. I ran the fastest I ever have on a treadmill at the end and kept a consistently higher pace as well. Thursday, well, that was another story. After taking kettlebell class on Wednesday night, my legs were like jello. My quads and glutes are verrrry sore. This morning is even worse. Yay for day two of DOMS!
So anyway…that’s my training week. Outside of that, things are not going well. I want to talk about something, but am building up the courage to do so. Even if no one reads it, this is my blog after all. This is where I pour out my thoughts and feelings for myself, if no one else.
We were supposed to have a pretty busy weekend, but now plans have changed and just Saturday will be busy. I have a long run Sunday, hopefully outside with a friend, but we’ll play it by ear and maybe just relax the rest of that day and catch up on the DVR or something chill.
Here is this week’s song. Have a good weekend everybody!
I can think of a few off the top of my head. First and foremost would be the deaths of my great-grandparents. We spent the majority of every summer with them at their beach house and they were some of my favorite people on the planet. I think about them often and am sad that Tara didn’t get to meet Gigi, and only met Bumpa once, in the hospital before he passed. She actually met most of that side of my family at his funeral.
There are instances I won’t talk about and then there is this latest rough patch. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now and it’s very welcomed. It’s been a lot of years since a patch like this and I’m thankful for that. I’m most thankful for the people who have come through to the other side of that tunnel with me, who never leave my side.
Training this week was not great. I’ve been pet/house sitting for friends and it’s been tough balancing work and going back and forth between two houses while getting ready for Carry the Fallen tomorrow. I focused on the runs at least so if I skipped something it wasn’t that, but I skipped the whole end of the week. I figure I’ll make up for it by walking a marathon on Saturday!
So here it is:
Saturday – Rainy 3 mile ruck and 30 min yoga
Sunday – 9 miles
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – 3 miles
Wed, Thurs, Fri – errands and prep
Enjoy this week’s song and I’ll have an update soon on how my second Carry The Fallen went!
I don’t remember a lot from my childhood. I’ve learned in therapy that blocking out bad memories can also block out the good. I have a horrible memory in general though, so that doesn’t really help either.
I guess thinking back, I can remember being kids at our family beach cottage and laying in the bed at the end of the hall that was sort of “my” bed when we stayed there. The beds were really just in the hallway, not an actual bedroom. Anyway, the door that closed between the living room and hallway was glass panes. When we were young and had to go to bed early, my great-grandparents would still be up watching TV. I used to angle that glass door sometimes so I could watch the TV reflection. I’m sure they probably knew what I was up to, but they let me do it anyway.
Saturday – Rest (had too many errands to do before a girls night)
Sunday – 9 miles
Monday – Rest
Tuesday – 3 miles
Wednesday – 6 miles
Thursday – 30 min Yoga
Friday – ?
Training was decent this week. I’m not sure what I’m going to do today yet because my knee is tweaking. I might just do some extra yoga days and get some good stretching and rolling in between now and my next long run Sunday. I pushed hard on Wednesday’s 6 miler and now I’m paying the price.
This week’s song choice is a current favorite of mine. Every time it comes on my playlist I love it and can’t believe I’ve waited so long to use it on the blog.
Don't blink. Just run. 