Week in Review (June 7 - June 13)

Tuesday - Peloton stack to start the day:

Work in the office. Went for a walk at lunch. After work I headed to my second job. Home in time to eat and go to bed...

Wednesday - Out the door early for what was supposed to be an easy 4 mile run. It FELT easy, but my heart rate was pretty high. Ugh - I don't know why that is. Either way, I was able to do the ENTIRE run without a walk break, and only a brief stop at a light. Woo!!

30 minute Peloton ride before heading to work. Another walk at lunch, and then back to job number two... 

Thursday - Short(ish) tempo run before work. The only reason I got up as early as I did was because I had to take A to practice. After how well running has been going for me lately, I told Greg I was ready to incorporate some speed work back in. The last time I tried to do this tempo run I majorly blew up and I swore of speed work again. Anyway, it was HARD, but manageable, especially since I did end up walking part of the recovery.

W/U, 5 easy, 10 tempo, 5 easy, 10 tempo, C/D

I'm fully aware that this isn't fast, by any stretch of the imagination, but just being able to run 10 minutes straight at a faster clip is a huge win for me. With the way I have the rest of the year laid out, I hope to get those tempo paces into the 9's! 

Work from home, took Pika for a walk at lunch. After work, on to the second job. It was a pretty busy night, and time flew by!

Friday - Wash Park and coffee with the gang. Work in the office. After work I headed home for a quick dinner of Qdoba - then it was back downtown for the NKOTB concert!!! Hard to believe it's been three years since we last saw them. Once again, parked at my office (just about a mile away) because I'm too cheap to spend $30 on parking. I was really pleased with the seats I picked, and we had a GREAT time.

Left - 2009 and now - same shirt!

I've said it before - I absolutely LOVE how they format the mixtape shows. It was three hours of nonstop music. NKOTB still puts on an awesome show. Salt n' Pepa and En Vogue were good, and Rick Astley was a treat! We didn't get out of there until 11 pm, and then still had to walk back to the car. A still needed some night driving, so I had her drive home - she wasn't overly impressed with downtown on a Friday night.

Saturday - I didn't have a ton of miles on schedule, and since it was a free day with Runner's Edge, I decided to get up (on just a few hours of sleep) and head downtown (again) to REI for the run. Now that Alex has taken over, he was able to secure REI as a sponsor!!

It had seemed like the route was mostly going to be flat, but there was definitely a climb heading out to Sloan's Lake. I ended up doing most of the run by myself, as I was seemingly between other people's paces. I did run with Kristin and Lisa for a bit towards the time I was getting ready to turn around. We would find out later that someone stole the entire aid station we were all expecting around 4 miles in. I ended up having to go over an hour without water, which isn't my favorite thing, especially when it's hot outside. At least the last mile or so was a nice downhill. Got my 8 miles in and felt great! 

At 9 REI opened up one of the upstairs event rooms for us. They provided Nuun, coffee and Santiago's breakfast burritos! I didn't win the raffle (sniff sniff), but spent some time chatting with Alison, Sheila, Kevin and Susan - people I don't get to see much anymore. Headed home for a quick shower before A and I headed out to see the new Jurassic World movie. It had a bit of a slow start, but we enjoyed it. Turned our phones on to an alert that our AC wasn't cooling the house and it was 86 in there! Rushed h home to find out we had left windows open (oops). Took A to work and I took Pika with me to the Roost team party in Golden.

Had some food and chatted (mostly with Jandy, Christine and Maureen). There wasn't a big turnout, but it was a lot of fun. Once everything started to wind down, Maureen, Jandy and I walked Colfax and Pika to the creek to cool down. We hit 100 degrees today - and Pika really appreciated getting her belly wet.

It was after 8 before I got home. Ugh.

Sunday - Even though I really only had a 4 mile easy run on schedule, I agreed to get up early and go meet friends at Waterton Canyon. I haven't been running with people much at all, so I was pretty apprehensive about this - even though things have been going better for me lately. About a half mile in we saw a hot air balloon - REALLY close to us!!

I was running with Jandy, Lisa and Maureen, and we had decided on 6 easy (and slow) miles. It wasn't as slow as I probably would have gone. For the most part, I held my own, but it was not as "easy" as I would have hoped. Didn't see any sheep, but we did see a half dozen deer, which was fun.

Me,  Nikki, Maureen, Jandy, Lisa & Christine

Mo's emergency jell-o shots "just in case"

We stayed in the parking lot for a bit chatting - I've missed seeing people!! Got home in time to take A to work. Did some laundry and had lunch. Met up with Ben at Westminster Brewing before going to pick up A from work.

We got pizza for dinner and watched some of the older Jurassic World movies. Where did the weekend go?

Monday - FINALLY, after more than a week, I didn't have to get out of bed crazy early, although I of course was still up before 7. Work from home. Took Pika for her walk earlier than normal since it was supposed to be close to 100 degrees again.

Right after the walk I got on the Peloton for a 30 minute ride. Finished job one and headed to job two. This ended up being a busy and fun shift and I got off work about 45 minutes earlier than I usually do, so that was nice. I actually had time to relax a bit after dinner. As much as I thought I would hate having this job, it's actually not bad, and I'm enjoying the extra money.

Stats:

• 21.82 miles run
• 80 minutes of cardio
• 40 minutes of strength training

Week in Review (May 31 - June 6)

Tuesday - Morning workout - Peloton ride, HIIT cardio, barre, upper body strength, core and lower body stretching. Woooof. 

Ben picked me up and we went for a quick beer.

Went for a walk at lunch. Headed up north to finish my paperwork so I can start my second job soon.

Wednesday - Peloton ride before going into work. Went for a walk at work. After work I headed over to Bruz for a special event with On for National Running Day. A and her friend met me there. I demoed shoes, but was not crazy about them - they hurt my pinky to a bit. I had every intention of running "easy" but just trying to keep up with A had me running way faster than usual.

Got a 5k done and I actually did know where we were - I ran this section on my long run to Woods Boss months ago, not to mention the lake we ran around used to be where the RMRR January trophy series run was. Anyway.

We got a few drink tickets, and a new beer for me, since I had never been to this brewery before. It was ok, but nothing I need to go out of my way for.

Thursday - Peloton ride to start the day. Worked all day and then headed to Dino Ridge for my miles. Still feeling pretty fatigued overall, and with this being a peak week, just overall tired. I did extend my run intervals on the east side, which I was pretty proud of. Oh, and a new dinosaur!

Friday - Wash Park and coffee with the gang for the first time in a few weeks since being sick. It was really good to see everyone again! Worked all day, went for a walk at lunch. Then headed to my first day of work at the new job. It wasn't really what I expected and it was the most disorganized and chaotic place I think I've ever been. No longer wondering why this place has high turnover... we will see how it goes.

Saturday - Didn't get up crazy early, although I probably should have gotten up a BIT earlier, as it was already pretty hot by the time I headed out. I had 20 miles on schedule for my last long run, and it was brutal from start to finish. Usually I feel like it goes ok for at least the first half, but this was a struggle the whole time. 

I was so hot and my legs just had no interest in running. I bet I walked at least half of this run. And when I got about 16 miles in I was almost out of water so I actually stopped and bought more. I basically slammed an entire liter and then had to walk a bunch because I wasn't feeling great. This was definitely a mental struggle, but got it done.

Spent the evening catching up on "This is Us."

Sunday - Slept in! Peloton ride, took A to work, and then took Pika to see the goats. Even though we only walked about a mile she was super slow and uninterested in being out. She hates when it's warm!

I had just finished eating lunch when I got a text from Kristin asking if I wanted to meet at 4 Noses. Yes, please!! It was really good to see her and the family, as well as Alison joining. 

A was spending the night at a friends house, so it was a late night of beer and finishing up "This is Us" - what a freaking sad last few episodes, sheesh.

Monday - Up early for miles at "marathon pace." I actually felt really good in most of this run (other than having to use the bathroom AGAIN. 

Heart rate looks like it is getting back to "normal"

Got back home with just enough time to log in for work. In more exciting news than work, I'm back for another year with Rabbit!

Took Pika for a walk at lunch. She is soooo slow when it warms up outside, so we did the shorter loop because she was completely uninterested in being out. But look how cute she is!

After work I relaxed for a few minutes before heading to job #2. Don't know how long this is going to last, this place is soooo disorganized, and it's not actually busy enough for me to do make "real" money. Not that I'm above cleaning, but at this point in my life I'm not sure I need to be cleaning bathrooms for some extra cash. We'll see. Dinner at home and a bit of down time before bed.

Stats:

• 37.87 miles run
• 115 minutes of cardio
• 55 minutes of strength training

Week in Review (May 24 - May 30)

Tuesday - Work in the office. Went for a walk at lunch. I had switched my hill day so headed to Green Mountain after work for some repeats. I definitely felt tired during these, but got it done. 

We had heard form Jeramiah earlier that he had tested positive for Covid, so we opted to take a test since he had been over for my birthday. Ben and I both tested positive, although Ariel did not. Well, guess it makes sense why I've felt so sick the last few days.

Wednesday - Peloton ride before work at home. My work told me to stay home for five days, so yay. Went for a walk at lunch with Ben and Pika and then did a core video.

Owls are back!

It was A's last day of school! 10th grade is in the rearview mirror.

Since A has no symptoms and tested negative, she was able to go to work for her orientation. (Yes, she has a job now!) We were SUPPOSED to go to Margo's graduation party, but with the positive test, we of course needed to stay home. Stupid stupid Covid :(

Thursday - Woke up early to do my run, only to discover that my battery had completely drained overnight, even though it was fully charged when I went to bed. GRRRR. I logged on to work early so that I could take a long lunch to get my run in after my watch charged up. Ben spent some time on the phone with Garmin to see if we could figure out what the issue is THIS time. Once again I was told to delete watch faces, then to do a hard reset. Thankfully, that seems to have helped, but it is really annoying when things don't work. I had 9 miles on schedule (woof), and after Monday's "mostly ok" run I thought it would be ok. Well I tried to take it really easy, but I couldn't seem to regulate my heart rate or body temperature. Looking at my Garmin info after - makes sense. Even with walking to calm down, my heart rate was in zones 4 and 5 most of the run - and that was "easy."

Glad to have that done. Went for a walk at lunch, then after work had to do cross training - arms/shoulders, chest/back and core. 

Friday - Work from home. Took Pika for a walk at lunch. Nothing else.

Saturday - I kept hoping that Greg would adjust my training plan. But nope, I still had a LONG run on schedule for the day. Didn't set an alarm, but woke up fairly early. I had mapped out what I figured would get me close to the mileage I needed and managed to head out before 7:30. Thankfully, it was overcast and not that warm. After using the bathroom I was feeling REALLY good. I ran on the canal trail for the first time (since last summer) and I think I ran 7-8 miles without walking?!

About the time I got to Lake Arbor was when the run started to fall apart for me, maybe 10-11 miles in. My breathing started to get very labored for the effort, so I set up intervals. Interestingly, the pace actually was similar to when I was running the whole time, but I digress.

It definitely started to feel really warm and I was glad that I had thrown an extra bottle in my pack, as I ended up having to pull it out and use it. By the time I got to 16-17 miles in I was basically dead. BUT, I got my 18 miles in. Wooo me. Ben and A went to get me a soda from the gas station (I literally NEVER drink soda anymore unless it's in a race or in the summer after a long run). After a shower I went on a walk with Ben and Pika. The remainder of the day was spent on the couch, with the exception of taking A to and from work.

Sunday - THANKFULLY IT WAS A REST DAY. I was sooo exhausted. "Slept in" and spent most of the day on the couch. Headed out to walk Pika and it looked super stormy out. Pika has zero sense of urgency, so we did get a little wet when we were almost home.

Spent a lot of time on the couch catching up on "This is Us" and Ben and I watched a movie while A was at work.

Monday - Woke up to the sound of the wind howling, so needless to say, I was NOT looking forward to my run. I put it off for a few hours, and finally headed out around 10:45. I had 10 miles on schedule. It was actually relatively cool when I started out - which was nice! I didn't have any water because my bottle had a leak (this is seriously at least 3 bottles I've had to trash in the last few months?)

I felt REALLY good until I was maybe 8 miles in - then I just all of a sudden felt really hot and tired, and started walking a lot. (I know I've said it before, but I really like this new Garmin graph that shows when I'm running vs walking vs stopped). 

Heart rate still a bit high, but at least not in zone 5 as much, although really should be in zone 3 for most of these efforts, if not zone 2. (But to be fair, I feel like I've always had a more elevated heart rate, so I can't be too worried about this).

Couch time, and then a drink on the patio since it was actually quite pleasant out. Bonus that Ben decided it would be fun to clean the windows, haha.

Watched a movie, then Ben went to pick up A - she had to close, so it was after my bedtime before she was even off work!

Stats:

• 43.99 miles run (haha)
• 40 minutes of cardio
• 50 minutes of cross training