It’s July 1st and I only just put my bike rack on my car. I competed in one devastating duathlon and deferred my half ironman to 2020. I have nothing but running races on my calendar (100 mile relay + half marathon) for the foreseeable future and it’s exactly what I need for my mind and body right now.
WEEK OF JUNE 24, 2019
RUNNING
So.much.running. I can see and feel my body changing from triathlete to runner with the added miles every week. I’m really enjoying letting my mind work through the difficult issues I’m tackling at grad school as the miles pass, and sharpening my mental toughness on the edges of the oval as I speed around the track, trying to mostly beat the blazing sun. I’m back to fully being a runner and I’ve missed it.
Sunday: tempo | 45:02 | 5.46 miles | 8:15 average pace
Monday: speedwork | 6 x (800 then 100m easy, 100m sprint, 2 min easy) | 1:12:41 | 8 miles | 9:05 average pace
Wednesday: 10 min warm up run before strength + swim | 1.35 miles
Thursday: long run | 10 miles | 1:30:39 | 9:02 average pace (almost died from the heat! I have a new heart rate threshold of 169 and it was recommended I rest for 3 days! HA!)
Friday: short run with some speed + bike |4.55 miles | 7:50 average pace
Total = 29.36 miles
CYCLING
It seems like every time I have a bike on my training schedule, its the one day of the week it rains. I don’t mind being on the trainer too much, because I get to catch up on movies or tv shows, but obviously I’d rather be outside. This past week I was able to do both.
Tuesday: easy ride | 1:22:23 | 22 miles
Friday: ride after run | 1:20:10 | 22.1 miles
Total = 44.1 miles
SWIMMING + STRENGTH
My one session of strength and swimming a week continues! Having a consistent strength training coach and plan makes a huge difference in building strength endurance for my runs and keeps my body strong and healthy. I truly believe in the power of the specified strength day, even if I hate it in the moment.
Here’s some screenshots of our hump day madness! This segment was 12 rounds, 15 seconds each: squat, moving split squat (lunge), stable split squat with 25 pound dumbbell. My glutes let me know how hard that was the next morning.
Swimming has gotten more interesting now that its summer and there’s summer camp and swim lessons at the gym pool. I try to just do my workout and not think about the urine and feces I’m putting my face in.
Wednesday: 1 hour strength | 1900 yard swim
THINGS I LOVE
Going to not one, but two Dave Matthews shows in two days. I’m way too old for this but when the opportunities arose, I had to take them. Plus, I got to spend time with my cousins, which is never to be missed! And yes, napping was involved to make it to night two.
Now I don’t have to see The Dave Matthews Band for the rest of my life. #sorrynotsorry
THINGS I DON’T LOVE AS MUCH
Idiots.
TWO YEARS ago I wrote a tongue-in-cheek blog post about why cyclists may be riding in the middle of the road. I cited things like debris on the side causing flats and potholes hurting my lady parts…you know, super serious stuff. Then, to my surprise and disgust, this happened:
Because of her use of the word “y’all” I assumed she was from the south and so she would get my “bless your heart” response, which is southern for “you’re a moron.” I also love that she writes “I’m 35. Back in my day…” I’m 44.
And then…
I was just so taken back since I don’t hardly ever get this kind of ignorance or hate on my blog. I decided to end it by not responding since I was just happy she actually does know how to spell and put a proper sentence together.
Obviously she didn’t read to the end of my post since I wrote “Be patient. Be kind. Be careful. And don’t be a douche.”
READING
I’m still reading a lot for school (and loving it) but I managed to listen to this gem during my commute in the past few weeks:
It’s a beautiful and at times heartbreaking story of neighbors, untreated mental health and the undeniable power of forgiveness. It spans the lifetime of two different, yet similar young couples, and follows them and their children though the years. It’s shocking, interesting and uplifting. If you need a break from the negativity and want to bask in the positivity of the human spirit, this is the book for you.
RANDOM PICTURE OF THE WEEK
The heat almost killed me during my 10 miler…
Happy 4th of July week! Stay cool, stay positive and get back to your running roots!
How was you week?
Are you training for anything?
How do you handle trolls on social media?
Wow. Trolling at its best. Ignore, ignore, ignore. Trolls are just looking for a fight. Anyway…glad to see you back to your running roots and loving it. I don’t mind the heat but a gradual increase would have been nice. Haha! I’m happy to see you working on your speed for Vt 100 on 100 so I can be the tortoise of the team. I’ll be deep in ultra training at that point. But at least there will be hills!
OMG you will so not be the “tortoise” of the team!! I’m sure you will be eating up those hills with all the hard hill work and racing you have been doing (and have yet to do!) so you will be more than ready. So looking forward to spending time with everyone!!
So my southern friends tell me Bless Your Heart is southern lady code for f–k y-u in certain situations. I kinda like that politeness.
Speaking of positivity, I just finished Michelle Obama’s autobiography. All I can say is a-ma-zing. Grace under pressure. And hate. And racism. Wow.
It’s really a great way of conveying so many things in a coded “polite” way 🙂 I love it!
I read Michelle’s book a few months back and absolutely loved most of it – I found the beginning a tad boring but, once she got into the marriage, mothering and politics – it was fascinating. I was kind of blown away by her honesty and I’m always in awe of her grace under pressure. Not sure I could be the same in her shoes!! #whentheygolowwegohigh
wow those comments! There are some super aggressive cyclists on our trails. I don’t like running or biking during commuting time bc they scare me. Why do you hate strength training workouts? Nice combo of workouts this week for you! Thanks for linking up
That precisely why cyclists should be on the road!! I’ve tried cycling on a paved trail and it’s horrible and not really fair to the other people using the trail. I feel you on the aggressive cyclists too – not cool.
I don’t “hate” strength training workouts but they are my least favorite. I find them kind of boring (although not really with my trainer) but if there’s any workout I would rather skip – it’s definitely strength training!!
Wow, wonder how they stumbled on something from 3 years ago. That book sounds good- took a screenshot. I’m
reading On Being Human by Jen Pastiloff and enjoying so far.
I sometimes get comments from stuff that was posted years back but a lot of it is spam so, not sure? I’ll have to look int On Being Human now that I’m book-less:-)
Yay that you’re back to running and that you are enjoying it. Jeez, that person needs to take a chill pill. A cyclist on the road is just the same as another car. Does she run people off the road if she doesn’t like their driving? Sorry you had to deal with that. Also, potholes does sound terrible for the lady parts.
You’re the second person I know who is reading that book so I think I need to pick it up and give it a try!
I’m guessing she probably does!! So much anger. And good Lord the potholes after say over an hour of being in the saddle are just death!
Hope you give the book a try. It’s really a great story and very well written. The pace is good too – it keeps moving!
Dontcha just love trolls? They really are such a blessing. It’s nice to see people put their stupidity fully on display. I love how you responded.
Also, you’re never too old for DMB!! I’ll be rocking out to them while using my cane if they are still performing then, LOL.
Yes, they are a blessing – LOL!!
So glad to know you’re a DMB fan – haha. My cousins have been going since they were in high school and they follow them everywhere! I have to say, the music is pretty incredible but I was ok with just the one night 🙂
I’ve only gotten a few social media trolls but the one that comes to mind wanted very badly to enlighten me that running marathons was not healthy (I never said it was). Spewing hate on Twitter must fill some sort of void in some twisted people. I ignore.
Love that you had fun seeing Dave Matthews!
Love that you’re enjoying running so much! Just as I’ve departed from distance for now. It’s good to change up the gears!
I love how overly concerned that troll was for your health – LOL!!! And also, the fact you never said running marathons was good for you so they are arguing over nothing. Classic.
I’m sure you need a break from all.the.marathons you have done in the past few months – whew!! You deserve a break. The relay will be challenging for me since it’s 20-ish miles broken up. I guess it’s better then all at once?? We shall see…
Thanks Marcia
Hooray for running a ton!!! We are going to have such a blast at the 100 on 100 Relay!!! Love that you got to see DMB twice. So fun!
I’m really enjoying it. I didn’t know I missed it so much 🙂 And I cannot wait for our weekend!!!! YAY!!
Wow, JJJ must have gotten her (his?) panties in a major bunch. You did the right thing by not responding to the final comments…I think some people just like to pick a fight, but I guess that’s on THEM LOL. YOU are so active…all the miles, strength, biking and some swimming. Kudos for a great week 😉
So on THEM and JJJ is female.
And yes, all my activity definitely adds up – especially in the summer. I took a solid full rest day over the weekend to recharge!
UGH. Eff those trolls. Love the “bless your heart” you used…well-played.
Totally. And there are endless amazing ways to use “bless your heart” especially with people who have no clue what I’m really saying. I know she got the message – LOL!!
There are some cyclists that think they own the road and ruin it for the rest of us. And then there are some hateful, ignorant people! Love your responses! I’ve had people honk and swerve at me when I was in the bike lane. Very scary. I avoid the streets as much as possible.
Thanks for the book recommendation.
So true!! Of course, the same is true for almost any sport or group – it’s the few outliers who give the rest a bad name to the uninformed. And yes, it’s scary enough to be out there exposed on a bike. I think people just took the time to realize that it’s a HUMAN BEING out there they would maybe take the 10 seconds (or less) to just slow down and pass safely. Sheesh.
Thanks for reading and commenting! Stay safe out there!
OMG, I LOVE “Bless Your Heart” as a bit of a “f you.” So perfect! I’m in Minneapolis and I’m going to start using it on the daily.
I’ve received some harsh comments on my blog, particularly on similar posts to yours that were just meant to be in good fun. Who are these people?
Great week of workouts for you, love following along!
It really is perfection when you can’t actually say EFF YOU! Haha! Have fun with it 🙂
And I have no clue who these people are but I hope they stay behind the keyboard!
Thanks for reading and commenting!
HaHa, you trolled a your troll better than she trolled you! #dontmesswithallie
Why thank you Debbie! Love that hashtag – LOL!!