Because Being Ordinary Is Boring

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Week in Review (February 24 - March 2)

Tuesday (11,518 steps) - Peloton (actually did another live class) and Olive walk before going to work. Went to the gym at lunch and did the StairMaster and strength training.

Actually did my first official "walk" video with Peloton since it was a 12% vert "hike." It was fine, although I will probably just continue to do my own thing, although I did like that I could just add whatever the distance was from the treadmill. If I do a manual activity I have to round to the nearest tenth to add to Strava. Got home from work and took Olive for a walk, sauna, dinner and then watched The Good Wife.

Wednesday (17,097 steps) - Olive walk before going to work. Another windy day and I had to do a speed workout. This one was a bit different than the workouts I have had recently, with longer sustained fast paces. I managed to pick the perfect route for it and the wind thankfully was not as bad as I thought it would be.

Hard to believe I ever ran long distances faster than those paces! After work I took Olive for a walk and then Ben and I had to go to Costco to pick up more groceries. At least we picked up a new food item and I made Pad Thai for dinner. Good Wife.

Thursday (17,511 steps) - Did a quick row session before logging in for work. Heated up breakfast to eat in my office and Olive was very interested in the smell AND stole my chair.

Took Olive for a long walk and then went for my easy run. Another windy day, but at least it's warm, I guess.

Did some upper body and pilates. After work I met Ben at Torchy's for dinner. When we got home we took Olive for a walk, sauna, dinner and Good Wife.

Friday (14,044 steps) - Wash Park with the gang! Relatively warm, although STILL WINDY.

Busy work day, but still took Olive for a longer walk at lunch. After work I dropped her off at home and discovered that our neighbor's house is for sale! It's had various renters as long as we have lived there, and the most recent guy, Cameron (that we really liked) moved out in December. I guess the actual owner is sick of renting, sign in the year. Then headed to 4 Noses to meet up with Ben. Dinner and Good Wife.

Saturday (39,438 steps) - Took Olive for a walk and then got ready for my long run. I had hoped to get out the door by 9, but it was closer to 10 before I left. Like last time, it was windy and I stupidly picked the same route from the house that is mostly a gradual uphill and running into a headwind. Overall, it seemed very similar to the last time I ran, but not quite as cold.

Instead of stopping at the Rocky Flats trailhead, I had mapped my route to the trailhead off McCaslin. Ben was supposed to meet me at the new parking area on the north side of the road, but since I was slower than planned he got to run some of the new trail section.

Also - new fun signage. FYI, i have yet to see any signs like this IN the Rocky Flats area.

I had been hoping that the last few miles that were running east would have a tailwind, but sigh, the winds apparently shifted. There seem to have been some upgrades to the trail since I was out there last, as there seemed to be some new gravel, less rocks and overall just a flatter service. As soon as we got done we stopped at Ziggi's so I could get a protein smoothie and then went to 4 Noses.

We were pretty hungry, so we also ordered lunch.

Took Olive for another walk when we got home, sauna and Good Wife.

Sunday (21,504 steps) - Another vert day! We stopped at Dutch Bros. for coffee before doing our regular route in Boulder.

I had a bit more vert to do than normal, so Olive and I headed up towards Bear Peak to get a few hundred more feet of vert. Olive did pretty good with the steeper and more technical rock climbing.

By the time we got back to the saddle to pick up Ben the wind had picked up and it seemed like it was going to rain. We were somewhat in a hurry to get down the hill and of course forgot to do our group selfie until we were nearly at the junction for Mesa trail.

We saw another Rafter of turkeys! In all my years of running in Boulder I had only seen turkeys once before this year, and this is already the second time! They were running around making fun turkey noises.

Onto Rails End. We have now been there enough times that the bartenders know our order. New food truck this time and we got a snack. Sauna, took Olive for a walk, dinner, Good Wife. How is the weekend over?

Monday (21,950 steps) - Work from home. Took Olive for a long walk. My training plan had not been updated, so I went on a random run that ended up being longer than what I normally do. Still nearly 70 degrees and short sleeves this time of year is crazy. And for once, the wind was not awful.

Ben got home from work early since we had our lawn guy coming over to give us recommendations on the lawn/trees. Ariel showed up for a surprise visit, which was nice! Dinner and then more Good Wife.

Stats:

143,062 steps
37.83 miles run
14.18 miles walked
60 minutes of cardio
55 minutes of strength
110 minutes of sauna

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Week in Review (February 17 - February 23)

Tuesday (12,980 steps) - Peloton ride and Olive walk before going to work. Went to the gym at lunch for a short StairMaster session, strength training and some walking at incline.

We had to go to Costco to pick up groceries. Took Olive for a walk when we got home, then sauna. Pizza for dinner, then we watched men's Big Air finals on the Olympics before more Beast in Me.

Wednesday (17,748 steps) - Olive walk before going to work. Had a crazy morning and took my lunch early when I got a break to ensure I could get my workout in. Had the same ladder speed work that I did a few weeks ago. I felt really good the whole time and when I compared the workouts I was a little bit faster and my heart rate was a little lower - hope that means I finally starting to improve my fitness a bit!

After work I was heading out to walk Olive when Ben got home, so he joined us. Dinner and watched some of the dual moguls before finishing up Beast in Me. Bummer that it was such a short series, it was really good! We started a new Netflix limited series, "His & Hers" - not sure we love it just yet.

Thursday (16,761 steps) - Work from home. Took Olive for her walk a little early since it was supposed to get cloudy and windy. It wasn't bad! Of course by the time I changed and went for my run about 10 minutes after getting back, it was miserably cold and windy.

Perfect opportunity to wear my sweet Thai 300 jacket!

Did my strength workouts and a quick sauna session. One delivery on the way to meet Ben at Torchy's for dinner. Took Olive for a short walk around the block. Skipped watching Olympics and went straight for more His & Hers, which is getting a bit more interesting, but also, we are almost done!!

Friday (11,977 steps) - Took Olive for a walk shortly after getting up BEFORE showering since the cold front had come through and I didn't want to walk with wet hair. Took her to work with me. Finally got caught up on a bunch of pending things.

Took Olive for our regular "longer" walk at lunch and was FREEZING. Really wished I had remembered to bring something to cover my ears. If it's gonna be this cold, I wish we would at least get some moisture. It is SO dry. Ben left work early and finished his day at 4 Noses. I told him I would just meet him at home, so skipped happy hour. Took Olive for a walk. Watched Olympics women's halfpipe qualifications and finished His & Hers. Kind of a crazy show.

Saturday (37,399 steps) - Up early since we were planning on going to Chatfield for the Roxborough free race. Christina texted me to let me know she wasn't going to be able to attend after all, boooo! Took Olive for a walk before we drove down. Got there with just enough time to get my bib and use the bathroom. Had some time to fangirl over Allie Ostrander showing up to do a tune up before she runs the half marathon National Championships. Anyway... I was thinking I may or may not be overdressed, but decided to leave all my layers on and adjust if necessary. Ben signed up for the 5 miler and I was in for the 15 miler, so off we went.

Last time we raced out here there was a ton of snow on the ground, but it was bone dry for this one. I let Ben set the pace for this one, and arguably, we headed out a bit faster paced than I wanted to (between 11 & 11:30 pace, if I recall). I was maintaining ok though, so went with it. It was a really nice day out!

Ben turned around at the top of the hill and I figured I would try to maintain the pace as long as I could. threw in my headphones, and since I had long sleeves on, I was not watching my pace. I was only checking when a mile clicked, which was working out nice. I was surprised to see how much of this was wide bike path - last year with the snow I thought this was all single track trail. I was following and older lady pretty closely because her pace seemed good.

She turned around for the 10 mile distance and I was left to chase a gal in front of me. I stopped to use the first open bathroom I saw and she got pretty far away from me. We had a loop to do at the end of our out and back and this WAS single track. I slowed the pace just a bit since it was sort of steep. No walking though, so I was proud of that.

Moved off the single track and onto some rutted black top before getting back on the nice, smooth bike path. I was still just a minute or two behind the same woman. She FINALLY took a walk break with about five miles to go and I was able to nudge past her. I think I unintentionally picked up the pace a bit. and it started to bite me in the ass when I got closer to the finish. With only about a mile left I took my first walk break - still happy I made it over 14 miles in before I needed to walk! The last mile lasted absolutely forever. I am surprised Ben got a decent picture of me crossing.

I thought I was going to pass out and sat down for a few minutes - mostly so I could catch my breath AND have a cough attack at the same time. Sadly, there were no burritos left :(

I was hungry though, so Ben suggested we go to Bluegrass for a snack. They were still serving brunch, so I got some underwhelming french toast and eggs. I also got a latte, that was NOT underwhelming.

Took Olive for a walk when we got back, thankfully, she chose the neighborhood walk and NOT the longer walk. Sauna, shower, and then we settled in for the night. Watched men's halfpipe finals and Sirens

Sunday (18,060 steps) - Up early again since we had to head down to Denver for the annual kick off for the Runners Roost race team. We walked with Maureen and Colfax - it was a fairly chilly morning!

Everything took longer than usual, and by the time we visited with everyone, picked up our kits and shopped, it was already lunch time. We stopped at home for a snack and then went up to Boulder for a modified vert day. It was really nice weather, but definitely got cold towards the end because of cloud cover.

Stopped at Rails End and then picked up Panda for dinner on the way home.

Watched women's halfpipe finals and Sirens

Monday (21,451 steps) - Work from home, thankfully. Had slept terrible because Robin seemingly was screaming all night long. Felt like I was just on the brink of falling asleep and never got any rest. Ben brought me a surprise Dutch Bros. because he had accidentally left his laptop at home and had to come back to get it anyway, so that was nice. Took Olive for a walk and then headed out for my run. Was supposed to be warm, but felt chilly because of the stupid wind. Overall, the run was fine.

Clocked out a few minutes early since I had to go to my annual gyno appointment, woo. Walked Olive when I got home and Ben brought home pizza for dinner. We finished Sirens (this was also a sorta crazy show) and started The Good Wife. If nothing else, we are excited to watch a show that has more than one season.

Stats:

136,376 steps
34.02 miles run
15.26 miles walked
45 minutes of cardio
60 minutes of strength
105 minutes of sauna

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Week in Review (February 10 - February 16)

Tuesday (11,989 steps) - Peloton and Olive walk before going to work in the office. Went to the gym at lunch and did StairMaster, strength training and a short walk on the treadmill.

Took Olive for a walk when I got home and sauna. We watched some Olympics - men's Freestyle, which was fun. Then Following.

Wednesday (24,173 steps) - Olive walk before work.

Olive looking very cute waiting for her last Christmas cookie

Did a walk on the treadmill at lunch. After work I headed up to Boulder for my hill workout. Was starting to feel like I'm coming down with a cold so wasn't looking forward to it. Definitely overdressed, but actually ran "faster" than the last time I did this workout in December.

Also got to finally try out my new UltrAspire waist light. Different than the Kogalla and will take some getting used to.

Ben had dinner ready when I got home. Following and early to bed.

Thursday (18,091 steps) - Work from home. Peloton ride in the morning before taking Olive for a longer walk at lunch (had to stop by Tyler's on the way home) and then I did run after.

Quick upper body and sauna. Met Ben at Torchy's for dinner and an Olive walk. We watched the replay of women's Freestyle finals and then Following, which we finished. The show definitely had room for growth, but it's been nearly a decade since it was on so I guess that's just how it ended.

Friday (12,289 steps) - Olive walk before going to work in the office.

MOM, I'M BORED, LET'S WALK NOW

Took Olive for a walk at lunch and finally cashed the savings bonds I've had sitting around for a few years. After work I dropped Olive off at home and met Ben at 4 Noses for NA happy hour and dinner. Watched some Olympics and started a new show - Beast in Me.

Saturday (33,398 steps) - Lounged around and took Olive for a long walk to the lake.

We had plans to meet Terri for a run, but I wanted to get some extra mileage, so I did a few miles beforehand. We did a route that I have only done once before - and we had a TON of snow. Weather was much better, albeit a bit warm.

After the run we went to Mudrocks for lunch - I got a delicious bowl of mac and cheese and actually had to bring half of it home.

Ben and I took Olive for a walk when we got back home, sauna, watched women's Big Air qualifications and more Beast in Me.

Sunday (17,041 steps) - Headed up to Boulder for another vert day. Cannot believe how warm it is for mid-February. I used my new UltrAspire Mountain Racer belt for the day. Easily able to carry an 800ml flask (which was basically for Olive). Hoping to use this as an "add-on" to my new Traverse pack for 200s. The new waist light I got is compatible with it, plus there are bungees in the back that can hold poles or extra gear. PLUS, a ton of pockets.

Absolutely the only square foot of snow we saw the whole time!

Afterwards, we headed to Rails End. There was no food truck so Ben dropped me and Olive off at home and went to Costco to pick up a pizza. Sauna, more Olympics and Beast in Me.

Monday (22,128 steps) - Still feeling sick, so was really glad to sleep late and work from home. I was throwing in a load of laundry when I noticed the utility sink was filled with dirty water. That should have been a clue, but I didn't realize the problem until I went to pull laundry out and the washer didn't drain. UGH - WE JUST HAD THIS ISSUE LAST SPRING. Had to call out a sewer/plumber guy. While I was waiting for him (and Ariel to show up for me to do her taxes), I took Olive for a walk to the lake. At least this time the guy was professional, showed up quickly and got the work done quickly for half the price I was charged last time. Went for my run - another freakishly nice day out, and the run was not bad at all. Showered and finished up my day. After work I went to Jared to get my ring inspected and then home for a walk with Olive. Ben ordered pho for dinner.