Kinda normal week?

If I'm really going to do this rucking thing, I gotta get more time with the ruck and need more than one 30-min gym session per week. Will be challenging while also trying to maintain the run streak and keep run mileage decent for my other running goals. Might need to spend some time planning out a training cycle for the rest of the year. 

Monday

Did: 2 mi @ 9:24/mi + 16 mi bike ride @ 12.8 mph avg + 1 mi evening pup ruck walk

Got in a couple easy miles after school morning drop-off in TR. Rode bikes on the newer section of the SRT with Scott during lunch - hot out but felt okay on the bikes! 

Tuesday

Did: 6.95 mi @ 8:06/mi 

Started off the morning with a solid Track Tuesday workout! Had mile repeats in mind as I arrived at the track, but the air was SO stiflingly thick and disgusting that I had to talk myself into "just do the first one". After one, I decided I'd go for the other 2 I'd planned. I ran the first 2 at 7:02 each, and for the third I decided I was absolutely going to get under 7 mins. I clocked steady 1:40 laps for the whole thing, pushed hard on the last 100m and ended up with a 6:40 final mile! 

Track fraaaaands

Wednesday

Did: 1.41 mi @ 9:44/mi + 1.55 mi pup ruck walk

Early loop through the neighborhood followed by pup ruck walk after school drop-off in the morning.

Thursday

Did: 6.02 mi @ 10:09/mi Altamont climb

Wheeeee back to the mountain! Didn't feel quite as awful as I thought it would. I gave myself permission to go as slowly as I needed and recover for a bit at the top, but I made it the whole way without walking! Felt pretty awesome about that. 

Friday

Did: 1.26 mi @ 9:46/mi + 35 min strength

Took it easy-ish today. Short run loop in the morning then a gym session at work during lunch. Focused on upper body and core only. Feeling like I'm making good progress strength-wise and visually! 

Saturday

Did: 3.13 mi @ 7:00/mi - Michelin 5k

Raced a 5k and was pretty pleased with the result! I didn't go into this with any plan or expectation, but feeling good about my current performance level and the morning slightly cooler temps certainly helped. Ended up getting faster after the first mile in the race (7:07, 6:58, 6:58) and felt like I gave it a good strong effort but not totally giving every last drop. Still a full minute off my overall 5k PR so if I'm going to improve on that, I'll need to put in some serious work. Tentatively slating that effort for early next year... we shall see. 

Sunday

Did: 5.05 mi @ 9:29/mi avg

Slept in this morning so ended up doing my run during the hottest part of the day. Thought of doing a longer run but the heat totally zapped that idea. Opted for hills instead and ran through Green Valley!

Well, I didn't so much get the strength and ruck workouts in this week. Shorter on mileage too (25 miles). Ah well, can't rock them all. 

First week of school routine

Figuring out new routines with the school year starting Tuesday this week!

Monday

Did: 3.17 mi @ 8:50/mi + 0.6 mi pup walk

Did an early run around the neighborhood in the morning just after sunrise and a short evening family walk with the pup. 

Tuesday

Did: 6.42 mi @ 8:18/mi + 0.9 mi pup walk

Track Tuesday morning with friends! The trail was littered with downed trees on the warmup mile which made things more like an obstacle course. Once we made it to the track, did 6x400 (each 91-96s). A short workout but wanted to get back in time to send the kiddos off for the first day of school!

Evening pup walk 🐾

Wednesday

Did: 3.05 mi @ 9:18/mi + 1 mi pup walk

Got out at dawn for some miles around the neighborhood. Seems a *little* cooler this morning?? Still pretty humid but felt pretty nice. Definitely felt cooler and less humid when I got out with the pup for a walk after school drop-off. 

Headlampppp

Dawn light

Light pink in the sky

Ivy in the ivy

Thursday

Did: 5.1 mi @ 8:12/mi avg

Ran the USC Upstate loop at a pretty good pace after the rain cleared out. Kind of wished the rain would have continued because it was super humid! Still felt good to run this loop, hadn't done it in a while. Nice hill work on this route. 

Friday

Did: 1.24 mi @ 9:26/mi + 40 min strength

Decided to do my run before heading in to the office so I could use my entire workout time at work for the gym. 

Ended up with 40 mins at the work gym, getting in full body strength. Definitely going to need to figure out how to get in more strength time if I'm going to do this ruck event in December. 

Saturday

Did: 11.26 mi @ 9:11/mi avg

Hit the Swamp Rabbit Trail this morning with a great group of folks - what started off as just 2-3 planned others ended up being a group of 10! Good times, and even did some pickup miles towards the end (pushing towards ~ 8:15/mi pace). 

Sunday

Did: 3 mi @ 8:37/mi run + 1.8 mi pup ruck walk + 25 min ruck strength workout

Started the morning with a 3 mile run in the neighborhood. After breakfast, took the pup and 20# pack out for a walk. Finished with a 25 min ruck strength workout. Did a set of exercises for reps of 20, 10, 5, 5. Routine was squats, up/downs, overhead press, sit-ups, push-ups, curls, and plank hold all with the 20# pack (either wearing it or using it as the weight to press/curl). Plank hold was 60s, 30s, 15s, 15s. Oh boy was I pooped after this!

Pup ruckin'

Tired pup needed a break in the shade

Strength workout done.

Finally getting myself into gear for this ruck event... if I'm really gonna do it, I better get a more solid routine going! Two strength workouts plus 33 miles run for the week feels good to accomplish. 

Last week of summer

So, final week of summer break (not for me, but for the kiddo) before we get into the school year routine. CRAZY.

Monday

Did: 1.35 mi @ 8:51/mi + 14.2 mi bike ride + 1.45 mi walk

Multiple activities today! Early morning mile around the neighborhood, a bike ride midday, and an evening walk with the pup.

Tuesday

Did: 6.61 mi @ 8:32/mi avg

Track Tuesday at Furman this morning! Did 4x800 (3:32, 3:33, 3:34, 3:27) plus warmup/cooldown. Felt good to get back on the track, it's been a little while!

Wednesday

Did: 2 mi pup walk + 2 mi @ 8:48/mi run

Took pup for an early walk to beat the heat. Walked out of the neighborhood to the horse farm trails, then back home. 

Trail Pup

Thursday

Did: 5.5 mi @ 8:32/mi

Lakeview Lollipop course in the early morning rain. Seems like I always end up on this route when it's raining... Good as always to get in the early miles! There were tons of frogs hopping along the wet trail. 

Friday

Did: 1.36 mi @ 9:11/mi + 1.24 mi pup walk

Short morning mile in the neighborhood then a pup walk at the lake once we arrived in the late afternoon.

Saturday

Did: 12.03 mi @ 9:26/mi avg + 1.6 mi walk

Got an itch to do some long miles at the lake, so went for a complete run of Lake Road out to the dam. Goal was 12 miles which I hit and felt good, then walked the rest of the way back to the house. 

Sunday

Did: 3.12 mi @ 8:34/mi

Had intended to do the 8 mile Rolling Hills loop this morning, but got distracted watching the penalty kicks of the US Women's team. Finally headed out the door and realized I'd be way too hungry if I did the loop run, so I kept it short and sweet. Legs felt surprisingly good for having done 12 miles the previous day!

Almost 32 miles for the week - feeling good about that!!

...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.