...and now July is over??

Seriously how is summer school break almost over. ???

Anyway, still been recovering from last weekend's crud and work this week has been INsane, so have kept a lot of runs and such to a minimum. Also, it's just too hot. 

Monday

Did: 1.2 mi @ 8:37/mi + 1.1 mi walk

Short neighborhood run during the morning and a pup walk in the evening. 

Tuesday

Did: 6.23 mi @ 8:41/mi cross-country run

Ran my 10k Tuesday on the 5k course at work, man it's flippin' hot out. 

Wednesday

Did: 1.2 mi @ 9:08/mi + 1.35 mi walk

Again a neighborhood short mile and an evening pup walk.

Saw a deer family across the retention pond!

Thursday

Did: 2.5 mi @ 9:28/mi 

Got out at sunrise for a few neighborhood miles - been a while since I've started a run pre-dawn, but need to get back to it! Hopefully once Scott's travel calms down a bit I can get out for more early runs.

Friday

Did: 35 min strength + 1.2 mi treadmill run

Got to the work gym for some strength and a short treadmill run. Felt good to lift! Need to get more of this if I'm going to be doing this ruck event in the winter. 

Saturday

Did: 9.13 mi @ 9:20/mi avg

Was finally able to meet the early group and do a long Saturday run! It has been quite a longggg time since I got to do that, and felt great to get back in the ol' routine. I was feeling sluggish, probably due to an exhausting week and not having run long distance in quite a while, but was glad to be able to get it done. 

Sunday

Did: 3.2 mi @ 9:07/mi + 0.85 mi ruck walk

Got out in the morning before the heat set in, did an easy 3 miles including the Riverbend Rd climb up to Roe Ford - that part was not easy! Afterwards I took the pup out along with the 20# pack for a walk around the neighborhood for a bit shy of a mile walk. Good start to the day and way to wrap up the week. I'd had an idea of going for yoga in the evening, but turns out there's no classes today! Boo. My hammies are needing some stretching. 

Half vacation week

In town for the first half of the week but then taking a mini-vacation with the family in Colorado! Scott has a work trip the first part of the week, then D and I are flying out to join him on Wednesday afternoon.

Monday

Did: 1 mi run, 1.3 mi walk

Took it easy today - still feeling very tired from the weekend's crazy event. Did an easy run then walk around Cleveland park after dropping D off at camp.

Tuesday

Did: 6.84 mi @ 9:08/mi avg

Ran with the Rockers Run Club after work - no theme tonight (sadly) but still a fun crowd and got to see lots of folks who had been at the Reaper Challenge the previous weekend. Took this run slow due to the heat, but thankfully some clouds rolled in to keep the sun from being too harsh.

Wednesday

Did: 1.35 mi @ 9:56/mi avg

Just a quick mile-ish around the park after morning camp drop-off. 

Thursday

Did: 4.36 mi + 0.72 mi hikes + 1.3 mi run

First up on our Colorado mini-vacation, we headed towards Boulder (from our stay in Denver) through some very windy roads to get to Hessie Trailhead for a hike to Lost Lake. We saw some amazing snow-capped Rockies in the distance as we drove!

VERY curvy

Snow capped peaks!

We parked at the sign that told us we were a 1/2 mile from the official trailhead... apparently there are some vehicles (Jeeps, perhaps) that can get there but we chose to leave our Nissan Rogue where most other cars had parked and hiked in to the start of the trail. 

1/2 mile hike to get to the trailhead... or drive a very sturdy 4-wheeler

This was the "road" for the suitable vehicles to drive to the trail. 

Starting pretty high!

The hike began just below 9000 ft. elevation and it became evident pretty quickly as we were huffing and puffing our way up the trail. Not too bad but definitely noticeable! There were a significant amount of wildflowers and green around due to the large amount of rainfall they'd had in the past month. 

The official trail began just across a creek which looked more like a river to me. Beautiful cool rushing water!

Wildflowers and green under blue sky!

Made it to Lost Lake!

Feeling the cold cold water

Hike was a little under 4.5 miles total with max. elevation of just shy of 10,000 ft (9825). Pretty amazing views!

After lunch we visited the Flatirons where I thought I'd go for a nice short jog loop... except everything starts UP and I quickly realized I would not be running any part of it. So I hiked up for 3/4 of a mile (gaining 460 ft) then ran a lateral/downward loop to get a little over a mile. The Flatirons are beautiful though!

I think I found my mountain tattoo... 🤩

Friday

Did: 2.1 mi @ 9:42/mi avg

Short loop from the hotel to Confluence Park in downtown Denver. Love a city with great pedestrian infrastructure!

Not to mention the low humidity - what a treat.

Saturday

Did: 3.18 mi @ 7:24/mi - RiNo 5k

Decided once we knew we were vacationing in Denver to find a local race so I could mark Colorado off the list of states where I've run a race. Found the RiNo 5k which was hosted in the Denver arts (River North = RiNo) district and ran around some lovely flat streets. I think if I hadn't been feeling sick since the day before (congestion, sore throat, fever) I probably could have run a PR here due to the low humidity and flat course, but I ran pretty well nonetheless and napped the rest of the day.

23:31 finish time 

Sunday

Did: 1.2 mi @ 9:27/mi

Just a quick mile in the morning to enjoy the low humidity once more before heading to the airport. 

Back to reality + a very hot event

Normal-ish week for me, but Scott traveling all week so no early morning runs...which I guess means it's not a normal week at all lol.

Monday

Did: 3.15 mi @ 8:16/mi avg

Temps close to 70 degrees means I felt like I was flying! Ran around Cleveland park after dropping off D at camp before diving into the post-vacation work insanity. 

Tuesday

Did: 6.27 mi @ 9:22/mi avg

Whewwww the heat got to me during this late afternoon run! Stayed late after work to run with the Rockers Run Club and got a 5k done beforehand to make the #10kTuesday total. The run theme was America, so I decked out in my red, white, & blue. 

Wednesday

Did: 40 min yoga + 1 mi run

Back was hurting from...not sure? Sitting all day in the office, perhaps. Anyway, did some yoga and it seemed to help. Got the 1 mile done around the neighborhood. It's hot out!

Thursday

Did: 3.2 mi @ 8:45/mi avg

Cross country trails at work today, again super duper hot. Ran in toe shoes because I forgot my regular shoes. 

Friday

Did: 27 min strength + 1.75 mi treadmill run

Work gym and a little treadmill run to finish. 

Saturday

Did: Carolina Reaper Challenge - Marathon Relay

Race Report

Sunday

Did: 2 mi @ 10:10/mi + 1.8 mi hike

Went to Conestee Nature Park with the fam, did a short solo recovery run then a hike with everyone. Nice way to recover after yesterday's ridiculousness in the heat!

Race Report: Carolina Reaper Challenge - Marathon Relay

So this came about as kind of a random thing based on a group text of "hey anybody wanna join a relay team at the Reaper in a few weeks?" to which I, of course, said "sounds awful, I'm in!" 

What's the Reaper Challenge?

It's a race on one of the hottest days of the year. The format is a ~2.62 (ish) mile loop that you run or walk starting every 45 minutes. You can run as fast or as slow as you want, but you must start the next loop on schedule. The number of loops is based on the event distance you signed up for, ranging from a 50k (12 loops) to a 10k (2 loops). These are all done by an individual, but there is a relay option for the marathon (10 loops) where you can split the run between 2-4 people. 

Our team was 4 people, so we had 10 loops between us all. I met 2 of our teammates (Bethany and Garrett) for the first time at the event, then had my friend Megan who was able to join our team at the last minute! Bethany and I each ran 3 loops, and Garret & Megan each ran 2 loops. I was the second runner which meant I ran the "anchor" leg to finish the race which was fun!

We got there plenty early, set up our tent area to get as much shade as we could, and cheered on the 50k runners while we waited for our event to begin at 10:30am. 

My first loop was at 11:15, and I knew things would only get harder and hotter throughout the day so I pushed the pace on the first one. Ended up with 20:26 (7:53/mi) for the total time, and boy was it warm! The course didn't have much shade at all, so I made sure to keep myself in the shade between loops.

I waited until after my first loop to crack the first beer.

Second loop was at 2:15, by which point it had warmed up significantly. The sun was beating down, minimal air movement, minimal clouds. I slowed it wayyyy down on this one - 23:41 (9:06/mi).

Played rounds of Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza for entertainment between loops.

Third and final loop for me and for the event was at 5:15, and there was thankfully a lot of clouds that had rolled into the area (afternoon storm pending). Minimal sun made this a much more pleasant loop (vs. the 4:30 loop which was incredibly awful for everyone - super hot and sunny). Ran a 22:27 (8:40/mi) and was super excited to be done.

3/4 of the team + our mini mascot cheerleader

Hand-carved medal

Overall this was a super fun event and I'm looking forward to the next one of this style! They run a sister event to this one in January (same format/course) called the Snowbird Challenge... seems like that would be much more pleasant vs. the ridiculous July heat, but obviously cold brings some different challenges!

Vacation Week

Starting out the week at the Lake House, followed by a few days at Myrtle Beach before heading back to the Lake for a night then home at last on Saturday afternoon.

Monday

Did: 4.13 mi @ 9:01/mi avg + 6.86 mi mountain bike ride

Ran on Lake Road in the morning for an out-and-back 4-miler. Later morning we headed to Sesquicentennial State Park for a family bike ride on the trails. Walked around with the pup afterwards while D played on the splash pad. 

hilly Lake Road

very sandy trails!

Family bike ride

Pup 🐾

Tuesday

Did: 8.05 mi @ 8:56/mi avg + 55 min lake kayak (~5500 m)

Lots of good activity today on the 4th! Started out the morning with an 8-mile run of the Rolling Hills loop. Did it the reverse direction I've always run it, and I think I like it better - gets the long hot busy road done earlier with the sun at my back vs. ending with it + sun in the face. Finishes with more hills, but those are pretty constant anyway so it makes little difference.

Blue & Red 💙💖🤍

Long roads

Lake Views

After I got back and recovered with some breakfast, hopped in the kayaks and went with my brother to his self-claimed "island" of Mattistan. Since the lake levels are so low, the island is much larger than usual. Also discovered a small island nearby that isn't normally visible... named it Bethistan. 

Mattistan

Wednesday

Did: 2 mi @ 9:24/mi avg + 1.2 mi ruck walk @ 17:33/mi

Short out and back run followed by a ruck walk.

Thursday

Did: 1.5 mi barefoot sand run + 1.5 mi barefoot sand walk

Ran barefoot on the dry sand of the beach - goal was to make it to the pier and back but only made it one way before I decided I'd have to walk the rest of the way back. Man that is hard, and 3 days later the arches of my feet are still sore!

Friday

Did: 7.17 mi @ 8:45/mi avg

Found the East Coast Greenway wasn't far from our hotel, so I ran up to it and did an out-and-back run in the morning before we hit the beach. The first part was just a wide sidewalk next to the highway, but eventually it dipped away from the road and amongst the trees which was much nicer! Looped through a spur through a neighborhood around their retention pond before heading back. Super muggy and hot but felt good to do a longer run!

Baby duckies!

Saturday

Did: 3.3 mi @ 9:01/mi avg

Back at the lake for one more night, did a Lake Road run before we packed up and headed home.

Sunday

Did: 4.8 mi hike + 1 mi run

Took the kiddo and pup to Oconee State Park for a hike on the Hidden Falls trail. The SCTrails.net site claims this is a 2.1 mile (each way) out and back trail. However, the sign at the trailhead in the park says 2.75 mi to the falls from the parking lot. That's....quite a difference. We made an attempt anyway, but had gotten a later start than we'd planned (because life) and didn't have a full lunch packed with us (we did have snacks and plenty of water). However, at 2.4 miles we came upon a downed tree across the trail that would have required a little under/over sort of shimmy... but then I saw it was warming with bees. 😳 So we decided not to risk it and turned back. A little disappointing but we did get to see a smaller waterfall along the way, and enjoyed a morning in the woods. Plus, it was the pup's longest hike yet!

....someday... 😊

Ran a mile around the neighborhood once we made it home. 

Little over 27 miles for the week - not too bad for being on vacation!