As I mentioned over coffee, re-entry after being off for the holidays was a tad rough. Work went from zero to sixty with everyone wanting to do “all the things” all at once! My mom was transferred to rehab on Tuesday so there’s been a lot to navigate there – but she’s doing great so that’s a win!

With all that was going on, my workouts were pretty much on auto-pilot, but I got ’em done.

Monday — 3 miles & Core

Tuesday — 2-mile walk, otherwise rest
Wednesday — 1-mile walk, Lower Body Strength & Core
Thursday — 1-mile walk & Peloton Bike
Friday — 3 miles & Core. Sleet had me heading to the treadmill, but vibing out to a fun 80’s playlist helped to get the miles done.

Saturday — 2-mile walk, Upper Body Strength & Core
Sunday — 4 miles & Core

Setting Some 2023 Goals

For the past couple of years, I have passed on setting any big annual fitness goals, choosing instead to set smaller monthly goals to keep me on track. For 2023 I’ve decided to set just a few goals:

• Reach the starting line of my Spring and Fall races feeling prepared — I’m looking forward to doing more racing this year, and so above all else, I want to go into each race feeling strong and ready to go. This means being consistent in my training to build mileage smartly.
• Develop a PT maintenance routine — As I’ve mentioned before, I spent way too much time last year playing a cat-and-mouse game with my quad/hip flexor injury. I’ll be starting this year with PT and my goal is to develop a routine to follow well after my sessions with the therapist are done.
• Complete 12K Peloton minutes — I hit over 10,000 minutes in 2022 so I think 12K is doable.
• Stretch daily — Focusing on my flexibility will go a long way toward helping me reach goal #1.

In case you missed it:

One Word for 2023

First Coffee Chat of 2023

How was your week? Any races coming up?

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

I know we’re not at the official end of summer yet, but there was a noticeable shift in the weather towards the end of the week just as September rolled in. While I will never be one to wish days away (time really does fly by far too fast), I’m not at all mad about inching closer to fall weather.

I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Run Down. Here’s how the week in workouts played out.

Week 35 – Hello September

Monday – Peloton Bike, Upper Body Strength, Core & Stretch. The weekend of travel and college move-in finally caught up with me so I kept my #nevermissamonday streak going with a quick and easy workout. I also had my first appointment with my new acupuncturist!
Tuesday – 3-mile run & Stretch. The humidity was just stupid thick, but surprisingly the run wasn’t terrible.

Wednesday – Rest day
Thursday – 2.5-mile walk, Lower body strength, Core & Stretch. I stacked a couple of Glutes & Legs classes along with some core, and have to admit halfway through Daniel’s class I was questioning my choices LOL (It was challenging and I’ll definitely be repeating it!)

Friday – 4-mile run & Stretch. Yeah, I definitely felt yesterday’s workout – my legs did not want to move uphill. But it was a beautiful and cool morning (see the photo in the header) so that was a win! And, since I had the day off, I followed it up with another acupuncture appointment.
Saturday – 2-mile walk, Upper Body Strength, Core & Stretch.
Sunday – 5-mile run and lots of foam rolling.

September Goal Setting

Of the 5 goals I had set for August, the one I came up short on was building up to 8-mile long runs. I didn’t run longer than 4, because August was oh so August weather-wise. Sorry, not sorry. Thankfully with no races until November there’s more than enough time to stretch these runs.

So for September, the goals are short and simple:

• Build my long runs to 8 miles
• Complete a 30-day #OptOutside streak
• Continue my daily stretch/foam rolling

How was your week? Any goals for September?

It’s a new month, which around here means setting a few monthly goals to keep me accountable and on track. But first here’s a quick look at this week’s workouts.

Week 13 and Setting April Goals

Monday — 3-mile run, Core & Stretch
Tuesday — 2-mile walk & Yoga
Wednesday — Upper Body Strength, Core & Stretch
Thursday — 3-mile run & Stretch
Friday — 4-mile run
Saturday — 2-mile walk & Upper Body Strength
Sunday — 7-mile run & Stretch

It was a pretty busy week which left me with less time for strength training and it was a rare week without a Peloton ride. But, I am happy to have logged another 4 run week!

Sunday’s 7 miler was my longest run in a while

April Goals

I had 3 goals for March:

• Run 4 days/week and reach an LSD of 8 miles by month-end
• Opt outside daily
• Prioritize sleep

I was consistent with the 4 weekly runs and came up just a mile short on the long run. I also racked up 74 miles for the month which is the most miles I’ve had since sometime last fall – I call that a win! The daily outdoor plans took a hit as there were many days over the course of the month when Ma Nature thought serving up icy rain was a good idea. I think I did a much better job with my evening routine which contributed to better sleep – though there’s still room for improvement.

So what’s the plan for April? Pretty much more of the same:

• Continue to increase my monthly mileage to 90 miles and get the long run up to double digits
• I’m going to give opting outside daily another go. Right now I have a 4-day “streak” going – hopefully, the weather will cooperate!
• Return to early morning runs – as much as I have enjoyed my lunch-time runs for the sake of milder temps, my April calendar is starting to look fairly hectic so getting up and out the door early will be a necessity. And, truth be told I really do prefer getting out on the roads early before the rest of the world (and distracted drivers!).

What have you got planned for April? Any races planned? What’s your preferred time of day to run?

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

I love the start of a new month – so full of new possibilities. As most of you know, I always like to set a couple of goals for the month – it helps to keep me on track. But first, here’s a quick recap of this week’s workouts.

Week 9 – Setting Goals for March

Monday — Full Body Strength, Core & Stretch. Jess did not mess around with this workout and her Mary J. Blige playlist was on point.

Tuesday — 1.5-mile walk & Yoga. Once again I stacked a few of Peloton’s 10 min. Focus Flow classes concentrating on hips and hamstrings.
Wednesday — 3.2-mile run, Upper Body Strength & Stretch. So much black ice! I managed to stay upright so that was a win!

Thursday –– 4-mile run. It was a bit warmer and there was much less black ice to contend with. I finished the workday with a much-needed sports massage.

Friday — 2-mile walk & Core. I had planned a Peloton ride, but another poor night of sleep (it was a theme all week!) left me dragging, and it just never happened. The midday walk and core was a nice break in the day.
Saturday — 4-mile run, Core & Stretch. I opted to sleep in and run around noon. It was a good call – the temperature was 20 degrees warmer.

Sunday — 3-mile run & Stretch. 4th day of running this week!

March Goals

As I noted, today was the first time I’ve run 4 times in a week in quite a while. Shifting to 4 runs/week had been one of my February goals, but a combination of scheduling & feeling various aches kept this from happening.  So this will now be among my March goals:

• Lay the foundation for half marathon training — 4 days/week of running and extend my “long run” to 8 miles by the month’s end.
• Opt outside daily — The goal is to run all of my runs outdoors and on my off days to head out for a walk. With just 14 more days until Spring, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will cooperate (i.e., no more snow/ice storms!)
• Make sleep a priority — My sleeping was so poor this past month so I’m going to focus on what I can to set myself up for success. That means stepping away from both my laptop and phone earlier in the evening, adding in a stretch or yoga class before bed, and being consistent with my end-of-day meditation.

What have you got planned for March? Any races? Starting training?

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

February has rolled in and with it has come some very frigid weather. Ma Nature also thought it would be fun to serve up another storm, this time a mix of snow and ice, making getting outdoors a challenge. But of course, the workouts happened…here’s a quick peek at how the week played out.

Photo by Izzy Park on Unsplash

Week 5 – February Freeze

Monday — Full Body Strength & Core. I like starting the week with a solid strength workout and mixing in Jess’ Flash 15 classes has quickly become a Monday favorite. Robin’s Eminem 20-min core class was not for the faint of heart!

Tuesday — 3-mile run, Core & Stretch. Run, slip, slide & repeat. Road conditions were suspect in some spots but I managed to stay upright.

Wednesday — 1.5-mile walk & Yoga.
Thursday — 4-mile run & Stretch. “Feels like” temps in the low single digits had me on the treadmill.
Friday — Boxing, Upper Body Strength & Stretch. Ice/Snow storm outside so decided to mix up the workouts inside with one of Peloton’s new boxing classes. Rad’s Eminem class was fun and combined with some upper-body strength left with me with jelly arms.

Gloves not needed, but so fun!

Saturday — 4.3-mile run, Core & Stretch. With everything heavily glazed over, I reluctantly returned to the treadmill. I’m so glad Kim suggested the BHM Block Party live run. The energy between Andrian & Jess was great and even though I couldn’t see Kim on the Leaderboard it was fun knowing she was running too.

Sunday — Currently coffee, though the plan is a Peloton ride later.

February Goals

I’ve also set a couple of goals for the month:

• Expand My Running Base — I’ll be shifting to 4 days/week of running and inching my “long run” to 6 miles.
• Peloton’s Boxing Contender — Complete 90 minutes of boxing in 7 days.
• Return to Food Prep — I fell off the food prep wagon around the holidays, so I’m long overdue to get back to this!

What have you got planned for February?

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

Happy New Year!

Thanks to a staycation and lots of fun family time, I was able to take a much-needed exhale and relax during this last week. I’m feeling refreshed and ready for 2022!

Before I turn the page, here’s a quick peek at my final week of fitness for 2021.

Weekly Run Down – Week 52

Monday — 2-mile walk, Core & Yoga.
Tuesday — 3.1-mile run, Core & Stretch. 40s and sunshine made it well worth it to push my run to the late morning.

Wednesday –– 1-mile walk, Upper Body Strength, Core & Stretch.
Thursday –– 4.25-mile run & Stretch.
Friday — 3.2-mile walk & Yoga.
Saturday — 4-mile run, Core & Stretch.

A New Year’s Day run has become a tradition of the past few years, and when you can do it in shorts and new kicks, all the better!

Aren’t they pretty?!

Sunday — Peloton Bike, Core & Stretch. I also got my booster shot and flu shot this morning. I was so happy to finally find appointments for the whole family, though it took booking at 3 different pharmacies. Hopefully, there won’t be a vax hangover to contend with – but the plan for the rest of the day is to chill on the couch and watch some football.

With the end of the year, I wrapped up both the #3for31 challenge and #FFHolidayChallenge. I finished 2021 with 654.61 miles – not bad given that there were a few non-running weeks thanks to dealing with my cranky right hip. Thankfully the hip has been happy ever since the cortisone shot, and overall running has felt pretty good. Now the goal is to keep it that way!

Just a couple of 2022 Goals

And, speaking of goals, I recently runfessed that despite being a big goal-setter, I didn’t have any big fitness goals for 2022. For now, I’ve decided to stick with the approach I took for 2021, and focus on smaller monthly goals. I do have two year-long goals: 1) Attempt to do daily strength work (I’m borrowing this one from Cari) and 2) stay off injured reserve (see goal #1). There may be some race goals down the road, but right now I only have one race on the calendar and that’s not until Memorial Day weekend. Hopefully, there will be more racing this year than 2021’s two 10Ks and I would love a blogger meet-up or two.

For January goals, I’m also taking on the 31-day Virtual Ragnar Challenge (thanks to Jenn for this one!).

How was your last week of 2021? Are you setting any 2022 goals?

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

Here we are at the last month of the year…can you believe it?! I’m looking forward to soaking up all the festive vibes this month has to offer!

As always, I’m setting a couple of monthly fitness goals to help finish the year strong. But, before I get to my December goals, here’s a quick peek at my workouts this week.

Weekly Run Down – Hello December!

Monday — Peloton Ride, Core & Stretch. This was my first time taking a 45 min ride and, as always, Robin delivered a great class! It was a long day back at work after having last week off, and this ride gave me the boost I needed.

Tuesday — 1-mile walk and Yoga Flow: Hips. Way too much time sitting at my laptop left me feeling creaky – time on my mat helped!

Wednesday — 3-mile run, Core & Stretch. Kicked off Day 1 of the #3for31 Challenge hosted by Peloton instructor Robin – the goal is to walk or run 3 miles each day or move for 30 minutes daily from December 1 -31. I’m already participating in the #FFHolidayChallenge with 30 mins of movement daily from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, but I couldn’t pass up a challenge hosted by one of my favorite Peloton instructors so I’ll be double-dipping.

Spied the last bit of fall color on Wednesday’s run

Thursday — Peloton Ride, Lower Body Strength & Stretch.

Friday — 3-mile run & Stretch. The wind was wicked and I just didn’t have it in me to face it again, so I hit the mill for the first time in I cannot even remember how long!

Saturday — 4-mile run, Core & Stretch. Mother Nature showed some mercy with the wind and I was very happy to get back outside.

Sunday — 3-mile walk & Stretch. My husband J and I continued our Sunday morning walk streak before prepping for a busy day of decorating.

December Goals

• Complete the #3for31 Challenge and the #FFHoliday Challenge – This means at least 30 minutes of movement every day.
• Continue to keep my right hip happy — Things have been going well with my right hip so of course, I want to keep doing the things that are keeping my hip happy focusing on lower body strength (especially Peloton’s Strength for Runners classes) and daily stretching/yoga.
• Extend my “long runs” to 6 -7 miles. I’m still in base-building mode but would like to see my overall mileage nudge up just a bit.

Any goals to finish the year? 

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