End of Summer Runfessions

August 28, 2020 by 12 Comments

Here we stand on the final edge of the summer…and what a summer it has been! Seriously 2020 is the year that just keeps on giving, isn’t it?

I’m so glad that Marcia has kept Runfession link-up going – I have a couple of things to share before we move into a new month and new season.

In July, I runfessed that I was not ready to return to a gym or studio yet. Well, I runfess that not much has changed my feelings on this. I canceled my gym membership shortly after making that runfession, and now with the days winding down on the freeze on my OrangeTheory membership I’ve made the decision to pull the plug and cancel this membership too. Perhaps at some point down the road if I change my mind I can always re-join.

I runfess that now that we’ve had a brief taste of fall with some cool mornings last week I have absolutely no tolerance left for this returning humidity.

I runfess that instead of quietly stressing about my current running slump, I’m just going to let it go. I’ve been feeling pretty “meh” about running lately, and while I’m definitely up for a daily workout, I’ve caught myself on more than one occasion feeling like “I should run” vs. “I want to run”. Nothing good comes from “shoulding” on yourself so I’m letting that go…eventually the desire to run will return.

I runfess that I’m more than a little impatient waiting for my Peloton bike delivery. Believe it or not, I ordered it at the end of July and it’s not scheduled to deliver until October. I have heard that some people are getting their bikes sooner so I runfess that I may or may have called to check on my order status a couple of times.

OK so tell me… any runfessions to share?

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Filed Under: Runfessions

Weekly Run Down – Back to School Part 1

August 23, 2020 by 32 Comments

Happy Sunday!

It was another busy week here as moving my son back to school took center stage. I’m happy to say the move-in went smoothly and I was relieved when he FaceTimed me to show me his room all set up (Parents were not allowed in the dorms). Senior year officially begins Monday! We’ve now got a couple of weeks to soak in the last of summer before we take on “back-to-school” part 2 and my youngest starts high school.

I’m also happy to say that my right hip was feeling much better this week. Here’s a quick peek at my week in workouts:

Monday — Strength training. Started the week off with a trio of Peloton workouts. Coco had suggested Matt’s Strength for Runners class and it was a good one – reminded me of many of the exercises my PT had me doing.

Tuesday — Rest day.

Wednesday — 3 miles. Mother Nature served up a beautiful 58-degree morning!

Thursday — 2-mile power walk with my husband and the pup along with another excellent Strength for Runners class (this time with Becs) and the Prince Core Strength class again. It was another sub-60 degree morning!

Friday — 45 min. Peloton boot camp. I finally tried one of the Peloton boot camps – It gave me a little of the feel of an OTF class with a nice mix of running blocks and strength training.

The soundtrack for this class was on point!

Saturday — 3 miles and yoga. I took Matt’s Classic Rock Run and followed his advice to follow-up the run with some yoga. I tried Kristin’s 20-min. yoga flow: lower body class, which I found to be very challenging. But, I cannot deny that my hips appreciated the work.

Sunday — As I sit here writing this with a coffee mug in hand I’m still on the fence between a run or a walk. I do know that I will be opting outside for a few miles. Mother Nature has offered up some beautiful weather this week, but with the forecast showing another possible heatwave coming up, I want to get out and enjoy it while the humidity is still relatively low.

Another added bonus of this week was having both Thursday and Friday off! I am planning to do the same for this upcoming week and may look to do the same the following week as well. Things continue to be fairly hectic at work, and with nowhere to escape to for a week-long vacation, I figured some extended long weekends were a good compromise.

How was your week? Do you have any planned time off?

I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.

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August Mid-month Check-in

August 16, 2020 by 35 Comments

So I blinked and half the month is gone. Am I still working out? Of course, just haven’t been feeling as inclined to sit down and blog about it. The reality of my oldest son returning to school hit me square in the face at the beginning of this month, and so I have been juggling all that goes into getting him ready to go back to campus (hello COVID testing) with a couple of crazy weeks at work, while trying to soak up all the family time possible.

After completing the 4th and final week of the Pelothon 2020 challenge last week, this week felt a little random as I didn’t plan my workouts and just kinda took each day as it came. Also, my cranky hip reared its ugly head last Sunday so had to take that into account as well.

Here’s how the week played out…

Monday — I’ve been sticking to my #nevermissamonday goal and eased into the week with some much-needed yoga.

Tuesday — 2-mile run & Peloton strength.

Wednesday — Peloton strength. This was a great combo that I definitely plan to repeat. I had never taken one of Tunde’s classes since most of hers are on the bike – I absolutely loved her energy! And Chase is always a fave.

Thursday — 3-miles and a massage! Mother Nature finally gave us a break from what felt like the never-ending heatwave.

Friday — Had a full schedule (including a hair cut! yay!) and my hip was actually a little sore from the massage so I took a rest day.

Saturday — 3-mile power walk with my pup plus core work. I had originally planned to run, but I woke up with zero motivation. So I opted for a hilly power walk and enjoyed another cool morning.

Sunday — 4 miles including a Prince-themed Peloton run. As I said in my Instagram post – is there anything better than having the streets to myself and listening to Prince’s music?! Of course, I wore purple for the occasion.

While summer temps will be returning this week, the mornings look like they’ll be relatively cool – perhaps that will help my lack of running mojo…if not, I’ll keep up the power walks. Truthfully right now, I’m enjoying strength training so much more…and I’m ok with that.

Do you find your running mojo ebbs and flows? How is August treating you so far?

I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.

 

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August’s Ultimate Coffee Date

August 7, 2020 by 19 Comments

Deborah and Coco have once again invited everyone to join them for the Ultimate Coffee Date. My’s run’s done and I’m chillin’ on the deck with my mug in hand, so let’s chat a little…

Over coffee, I would tell you that we are in the midst of a string of family birthdays in my house that each year we jokingly call “Christmas in the Summer”. My youngest son turned 15 last week, I celebrated another trip around the sun earlier this week, and my oldest turned 18 yesterday! And, my husband J’s birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks. All of this celebrating is starting to do a number on my waistline.

Over coffee, I would tell you that my oldest son is due to move back to school on the 20th. If all goes well, once he hits campus he’ll be there for 13 weeks straight in the hopes that they can get the fall semester in and done before Thanksgiving. We’re now in a mad scramble to get his COVID test done – it’s a different kind of back-to-school shopping.

Over coffee, I would tell you that this may be the first summer in a long time that doesn’t include some time at the beach. While it’s one of our family’s happy places, we just didn’t think it was worth the risk (especially given some of the scenes we’ve seen on the local news!). Yes, I know #firstworldproblems, but just more evidence of what a strange summer it has been.

I will miss seeing this spot!

In last week’s runfessions, I mentioned that I had convinced my husband to go with me to the local Peloton showroom to take a closer look at the bikes. Well, over coffee, I would tell you that it’s probably no great surprise that we bought a  Peloton! I’m so excited and now don’t know how I’m going to wait for the mid-October delivery. Yep…mid-October… clearly some businesses are thriving in these crazy times.

Counting down the days until this arrives.

So, what would you tell me over coffee? Have you ventured to the beach this summer?

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Filed Under: Peloton, Ultimate coffee date

Pelothon 2020 – Week 3

August 2, 2020 by 13 Comments

Hello August!

I always love the feeling of turning the page to a new month. While I’m never one to wish time away, July felt l-o-n-g and I’m not sorry to see it head out the door. Let’s hope that August can come in and behave itself!

The 3rd week of the Pelothon 2020 challenge wrapped up this week. The goal was to complete at least 1 Peloton workout for 5 out of the 7 days. Here’s how my week went…

Monday — 3-miles and Strength Training. I just couldn’t face another run in the unrelenting humidity so I opted for a treadmill run along with core and body strength classes.

Tuesday —  Rest Day.
Wednesday — 3-mile run & Core. This was the best run of the week – my legs definitely benefited from the rest day and there was a slight break in the humidity – win!

Thursday — Yoga & Core.
Friday —  3-mile run, Strength Training & a 2-mile power walk. Selena’s 80’s Rock playlist was a lot of fun and made the run time pass quickly.

Saturday — Strength Training. I decided on 3 classes with one of my favorite Peloton instructors to complete the challenge.

Sunday — 5-mile run. For a bonus 6th day of Peloton, I listened to Matty’s 80s run which was truly the only bright spot of this struggle bus run.

I really liked the balance I had this week between running and strength work with the added bonus of one yoga session. While I don’t have any firm goals for August, I think I’d like to strive to see this mix every week.

How was your week? Did July feel long to you?

I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.

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Filed Under: Peloton, Weekly Run Down

Hot and humid runfessions

July 31, 2020 by 17 Comments

Thank goodness it is Friday! Did anyone else feel like this was the week that would not end? Well, not only is it Friday, but it is the last Friday of the month, which means Marcia’s opened the Runfessional…and I have a couple of things to share…

July Runfessions

OK so as you can guess from the title of this post, let’s start with the obvious. I runfess that I am really not enjoying summer running this year. The heat and humidity have been in overdrive leaving my desire to get out for anything longer than a quick 3 or 4-mile run pretty much non-existent.

I runfess that I may have retreated to my treadmill for a couple of my runs recently to avoid the current heatwave.

I runfess that I am not ready to return to a gym or studio. My OrangeTheory studio opened 2 weeks ago and I opted to continue to freeze my membership until September.  As much as I love my OTF classes, I’m starting to watch the COVID numbers tick upwards again and it gives me pause.

On the flip side, I runfess that I have drunk the Peloton kool-aid! While I have been enjoying the Peloton app since the shutdown began, the current Pelothon 2020 Challenge has really helped up my Peloton enthusiasm. It’s given me a chance to check out new instructors and connect with members in the community, and I’m all in.

I runfess that I have finally convinced my husband to go with me to the local Peloton showroom tomorrow to explore getting a bike.

So tell me, what are you runfessing this month?

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Pelothon 2020 – Week 2

July 26, 2020 by 36 Comments

I dealt with a humidity-induced migraine for a good portion of this week, so I kept things pretty subdued. I did complete week 2 of the Pelothon 2020 challenge. Here’s a quick run down of the week’s workouts.

While Week 1 was all about taking classes with your team’s instructors, for this week, the challenge was to take two live classes with any of the instructors. This took a little more coordination to fit in live classes with my work schedule.

Monday — Strength Training and PT exercises. I doubled up on a couple of classes with the #BreakthroughCrew instructors along with my PT exercises. My hip has been hinting that it’s a little unhappy lately so I know it’s time to get back to prioritizing my PT exercises.

Tuesday —  Rest Day. Migraine kicked in big time, so no working out.

Wednesday — 3-mile progressive run & Core. Coco had posted about the Peloton foam rolling classes so I added that to the mix as well.

Thursday — Yoga.  Finally got my first live class of the week with this 30 min flow yoga session focused on glutes. My migraine was finally starting to subside, and after a long workday, this class was just what I needed.

Friday — Strength training via yardwork. Weeding…just so much weeding!
Saturday — 3-mile run & Core. My second live class was a fun “Broadway Run” – I’ll admit I was a little skeptical going into this run but the instructor Matty proved to me that you can in fact run to show tunes.
Sunday — 3-mile run & Core. The humidity today was worse than yesterday, and I almost skipped this run altogether. Instead, I opted to keep it to another short and sweet 3 miles.

Nothing wildly exciting, but I am happy that despite a migraine that lasted a few days, I was able to keep up with my workouts. For the upcoming week Peloton is challenging us to complete classes 5 out of 7 days with any of their instructors. The forecast is showing some extreme temps ahead so this might be a good chance to check out some new strength or treadmill run classes.

I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.

In case you missed it, be sure to check out my Buff Pack Run Cap review here.

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Filed Under: Peloton, Weekly Run Down

BUFF Pack Run Cap Review

July 21, 2020 by 18 Comments

Disclaimer: I received a free Buff Pack Run Cap to review as a BibRavePro. As always, all opinions are my own. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!

OK so let me cut right to the chase – the BUFF Pack Run Cap is a winner and perfect for the swampy weather that is this summer! Let me share some of the highlights…

Light as a feather
The first thing I noticed when my Pack Run Cap arrived was how unbelievably lightweight it is. Seriously, it weighs just 1 ounce. You put it on and forget about it.

Great fit and feel
Thanks to the 4-way stretch fabric and adjustable elastic cord at the back, this Cap is a comfortable fit. It’s designed with  Fastwick fabric side panels and a low profile sweatband, which helps to wick away sweat and improves breathability. I love the silky feel of this Cap.

Easy to pack
As the name implies, the Pack Run Cap easily folds down to about palm-size making it ideal for travel, whenever we return to planning race-cations.

This Cap has carried me through some swampfest runs and held up well to the challenge!

Find out what I love about @buff_usa Pack Run Cap! #buffrunbr #bibchat #bibravepro #tuesdaytopics #runnersroundup Share on X

If you’re interested in trying the Buff Pack Run Cap for yourself, sign up for the BUFF newsletter here to save 15% off your purchase!

Have you tried Buff products before?

I’m linking this with Kim and Zenaida for the Tuesday Topics Link-Up.

I’m also linking with Debbie, Rachel, Deborah,  Lisa, Sandra, and Jenn for the Runners’ Roundup.

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Filed Under: #BibRavePro, product reviews, Runners Roundup, Tuesday Topics

Pelothon 2020 – Week 1

July 19, 2020 by 28 Comments

Checking in on this very very steamy Sunday. How is everyone holding up? There’s no doubt that we are in the thick of summer weather now, am I right? I still don’t think I’ve cooled down from this morning’s run!

This week was the wrap up of the Great Run Across Massachusetts and the first week of Pelothon 2020, which definitely helped to keep me on track. Here’s how the week went down…

Monday — Strength Training. I took care of three of the six instructors on Day 1 with 10 min Strength for Runners with Matt, 10 min Arm Toning with Jenn, and 10 min Core and 5 min Full Body Stretch with Emma.  Emma also leads the Crush Your Core Program I started last week, so it’s nice that I can double-dip here.

Tuesday —  Stretch & Core. This was a crazy long day at work as I was trying to wrap up a bunch of things before taking a few days off. Normally I would have opted for yoga, but there isn’t a yoga instructor on the #BreakthroughCrew so I stacked a couple of stretch classes along with my core workout.

Wednesday — 3-mile run & Core. I tried one of Chase’s outdoor runs which I really enjoyed. And, later I found out Peloton featured me on their website.

Thursday — Strength Training.  15 min Bodyweight Strength with Adrian, 10 Arm Toning with Kendall, and more core work with Emma. This was my favorite combo of the week and I snagged my last instructor so Week 1 was done!

Friday — 3-mile run & Core. Pouring rain sent me to the treadmill, but Chase’s Hip Hop Fun Run helped to quickly pass the time. Emma’s 10 min core workout was challenging!
Saturday — Rest day.
Sunday — 3-mile run & Core. Can we just all agree that 81% humidity is just wrong?!

Wrapping up Week 1 of #Pelothon2020 with the #BreakthroughCrew on the #WeeklyRunDown Share on X

I really enjoyed the mix of Peloton workouts this week! Additionally, my family wrapped up our out and back run across Massachusetts and all received our t-shirts and medals

This shirt is so soft and a great cut!

It was so so nice to have some days off this week! It gave me a chance to meet up with friends for some outdoor dining, to read & relax, and generally just enjoy some time away from my computer. Another bonus for this week was getting back to my massage therapist! Her daycare is open again so she’s back to seeing clients – boy did I miss her!

For the week ahead, I’m looking forward to trying some of Peloton’s live classes as part of Week 2’s challenge.

How was your week? Tell me something you’re looking forward to.

I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.

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Filed Under: Peloton, Weekly Run Down

Weekly Run Down: Waiting to Acclimate

July 12, 2020 by 32 Comments

The heat and humidity continued to roar along this week and I find myself wondering when I’m going to finally acclimate to summer running. Nonetheless, I’m doing my best to embrace my summer workouts.

Here’s a quick run down on this week’s workouts.

Weekly Run Down

Monday — Day 1 of Peloton’s “Crush your core” program plus some much-needed flow yoga.

Tuesday — All Peloton all the time with day 2 of the core program, and two strength classes with one of my favorite instructors, Chase.


Wednesday — 3-mile run. Getting out early provided no relief from the heat and humidity, but at least I had the roads to myself.

Thursday — With a “feel like” temp of 101, it was back to the great indoors and more Peloton workouts along with some PT exercises to keep my hip happy.

My arms were jello after this toning class! Ally packed a lot into 10 minutes!

Friday — 3-mile run. Despite the swampfest, this run felt decent. To take my mind off the conditions, I turned this into a bit of a Fartlek. I followed up with day 4 of the core program.

Saturday — Rest!

Sunday — 4-mile run. I had planned for 6 but a couple of taps of the snooze button meant getting out the door later. At least I had company on this struggle bus ride. I still have day 5 of the core program on tap to finish out the first week of the program.

#WeeklyRunDown: Waiting to Acclimate #summerrunning #bibchat #runchat #onepeloton #BreakthroughCrew Share on X

Kicking Off Pelothon

So in addition to completing the next 3 weeks of the Crush your Core program, I also signed on for a 4-week challenge Peloton is hosting called Pelothon. 6 teams take on new workout challenges each week and Peloton donates $1 million to 4 hunger relief organizations. I joined the #BreakthroughCrew team which features 3 of my favorite instructors Chase, Adrian, and Emma. I’m looking forward to checking out classes from the other 3 instructors on the team.

How was your week? Have you acclimated to summer running yet?

I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.

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Filed Under: Peloton, Weekly Run Down