Michelle

A Mid-Summer Break

July 25, 2021 by Michelle 34 Comments

Happy Sunday!

I’m back home after a fun week in Stowe, VT., and am trying to hold on to the vacation vibe before I have to return to work tomorrow. We had so much fun, ate too much, laughed a ton, and completely unwound. While Mother Nature didn’t totally cooperate, this week was a good mix of being active and relaxing.

Weekly Run Down – Week 29

Monday — 6-mile hike

Happy hikers

Tuesday — Rainy lazy day. We snuck in a 3-mile walk and some mini-golf in between showers. Otherwise, time was spent watching movies, playing board games, reading, and relaxing.
Wednesday — Bodyweight Strength, Core, and 3-mile walk. We drove up to Burlington for the day – got to spend some time on Lake Champlain, walked the waterfront, and enjoyed lunch on Church Street Marketplace.

Thursday — Yoga and 4-mile hike. The weather was picture perfect and we enjoyed a gondola ride up Mt. Mansfield and a beautiful hike in Smugglers Notch. And, yes there was a trip to the Ben & Jerry’s Factory!

One of the falls we came across

Friday — Bodyweight Strength, Core, 1.5-mile walk and then driving home.
Saturday — 4-mile run and core. My hip had been feeling pretty cranky after last Saturday’s run, so I had made the decision to take a week off running knowing that we’d stay fairly active. I think this turned out to be the right call.
Sunday — Peloton ride and Strength planned. At the moment I’m in no hurry to move beyond my coffee mug 🙂

To say I needed this break would be an understatement. I don’t think I realized just how fried I was feeling until I got a chance to completely unplug. I’m also so happy that we got some time away as a family before my oldest leaves for college.

How was your week? Any vacation time planned?

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

Filed Under: vacation, Weekly Run Down

Running towards vacation

July 18, 2021 by Michelle 16 Comments

We’re leaving today for a family getaway! I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to a break from work and the routine of home life. A little uninterrupted family time will be so good!

Before we head out, I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Run Down. Here’s a quick peek at this week’s workouts.

Weekly Run Down — Week 28

Monday — Upper Body, Core, and Stretch.

Tuesday — 3.1 miles, Lower Body, Core, and Stretch. 92% humidity…but at least there was cloud coverage and the occasional breeze.

Wednesday — Rest Day. I had an early start at work and a crazy busy day, so aside from some time on the mat to stretch this was a rest day.

Thursday — 3 miles and Stretch. While I continue to head out early for my runs there’s just been no outrunning the humidity (91%!). There was a lot of negotiating with myself during this run but got it done.

Friday — Upper Body, Core, and Stretch.

Saturday — 4 miles, Core, and Stretch. I was planning on running 6 or 7 miles, but when I woke up feeling pretty creaky, I opted for a hilly 4-mile route instead.

Sunday — 25 min Peloton Ride, Core, and Stretch. Before I started packing I jumped on for the AFO Imagine Dragons ride with Sam. The playlist was so good and Sam really helped to give this ride a music festival feel. Perfect way to head off on vacation!

How was your week? Have you settled into summer running?

Filed Under: Weekly Run Down

Narragansett Running Festival 10K Race Recap

July 16, 2021 by Michelle 12 Comments

Happy Friday!

It’s time for another edition of Fit Five Friday! My schedule was cray, cray last week and I missed posting in the linkup, so I’m happy to be back this week. And, I’m back with a race recap from a live race! Last Sunday, I ran the Narragansett Summer Running Festival 10K with my brother – my first in-person race since February 2020!

Narragansett Summer Running Festival 10K Recap

This was my 3rd time participating in the Festival. My son and I ran it in 2013 as my son’s first-ever 5K and I ran the 10K with my husband and brother in 2019. The Festival is usually a 2-day event held on the Stonehill College campus, with the 5K and 10K on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday. This year, thanks I’m sure to the uncertainties of Covid, the race was condensed to a 1-day event and the 5K was eliminated. I had registered long before the state gave the green light to in-person races, knowing that the race organizers had committed to giving everyone a refund vs. switching to a virtual option if the race wasn’t allowed to go forward.

Pre-Race

My brother and I planned to meet at the race around 6:30 am. At that early hour, Stonehill is a quick 20 min drive from my house, and there was ample parking designated for the runners. Bib and t-shirt pick-up was quick and easy, a short walk down the hill from the parking area. It felt so good to see so many runners! We had a lot of time until the 10K’s 8:00 am start (half marathoners started at 7:30) so we headed back to the cars to drop off our shirts, grab more water, and try to stay cool. While it was relatively cool (upper 60s) you could feel the humidity creeping up fast. We hung out chatted with some of the other runners and eventually decided to make our way down to hit the porta-potties and get to the start line.

Pre-race and ready to go

As we headed to the start line, it was nice to see that this year they had added pace markers to encourage people to self-seed. I think everyone had the same thought as we did of taking slow and easy because it seemed like most of the runners were hanging in the back. So much so that the race announcer was actually trying to encourage people to move to the front. The humidity was rising and my brother and I both knew once we stepped out of the shade of the start that it was going to get uncomfortable really fast.

The Race

The 10K course is two 5K loops through the campus with a mix of paved paths, gravel, grass, and two wooden bridges. It’s mostly flat with a couple of moderate inclines at the end of each loop. While I had worried about how my hip would deal with running across the gravel in the first mile, it seemed to take the uneven terrain just fine. In fact, my hip proved not to be a factor throughout the whole race. The humidity, on the other hand, proved to be the real challenge!

I’ve been running with 5:1 intervals and my brother was fine with that so we ran together through the first 4 miles. By the time we headed down the hill to start the second loop I was really starting to struggle with the humidity. My brother was holding up pretty well so I urged him to go ahead while I continued my humidity shuffle. While there were not a lot of spectators, those that were out there were really enthusiastic – I would have never guessed how much I missed the sound of a cowbell! The volunteers were also super upbeat and encouraging. At the 5 mile marker, I started targeting runners to pass, and soon I could hear the music at the finish line. One final push and I was done!

No medals for the 10K, but I appreciate the gender-specific cut

Post-Race

My brother was waiting at the finish line having come across just a few minutes before me. We were handed a couple of bottles of water and then headed down the green to the beer garden. Each runner received 2 beer tickets and there was a range of ice-cold Narragansett beers to choose from.

Everyone spread out on the grass and enjoyed the live music. There were several vendors, but we were content to hang out on the lawn for a bit before packing up and heading home for breakfast.

Post-race glow!

Overall this is a really fun race with a great atmosphere! I think I will always have a love-hate relationship with this race because it offers so many pluses, but summer running, especially the humidity is my nemesis. But I’m almost certain that I’ll run this again next year. 🙂

Welcome to Fit Five Friday!

Join My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Please be sure to show your hosts some love and visit some of the other bloggers in the link-up. Who’s ready for some fun?

Filed Under: #FitFiveFriday, Narragansett Running Festival, race report

Just one of those weeks

July 11, 2021 by Michelle 33 Comments

Do ever have those weeks where everything feels just a little off? That was definitely me this week. Perhaps it was the short work week (which always feels so much longer!) or perhaps it was the weather (so much rain!) – or a combination of the two? I felt like I spent the whole week trying to find my groove.

Here’s how the workouts went down.

From Thursday’s Run – the calm between storms

Weekly Run Down — Week 27

Monday — 5.25-mile family hike. I took advantage of the day off and relatively moderate temps to go check out some new-to-me trails with the family.

Tuesday — 20 min Full-Body Strength, 10 min Bodyweight Strength, and 10 min Core.

Wednesday — Rest Day. After Sunday’s run, Monday’s hike, and Tuesday’s strength sesh, my right hip let me know that perhaps I’d been a little overzealous – so aside from some extra time spent stretching, it was a rest day.

Thursday — 2.75-mile run, 30 min Upper Body and 10 min Core. I tried not to poke the bear (aka my hip) and kept the run short. Everything felt good so I call that a win!

Friday — 30 min Ride plus 5 min Cool Down and 10 min Core. I don’t usually do many of the Peloton live rides, but this was Robin’s first ride back after about 5 months off following the birth of her daughter. She’s one of my favorite instructors and I just knew this was going to be a good ride and it did not disappoint!

A sweet moment at the end of the ride when Robin and her husband introduced their baby girl

Saturday — 2.5-mile walk, 10 min Core, and Yoga. I always like to keep the day before a race fairly chill, and given my unpredictable hip low-key seemed like the right choice.

Sunday — Race Day! By the time this post publishes, I will be somewhere along the course of the Narragansett Summer Running Festival 10K! Yes – my first in-person race since February 2020! You won’t be able to wipe the grin off my face 🙂

How did your week play out? Do you find short work weeks challenging?

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

Filed Under: Weekly Run Down

2021 Mid-year Check-In

July 6, 2021 by Michelle 12 Comments

2021 is moving along at a breakneck pace and here we are at the halfway point! Usually, this is the perfect time to reflect on how I’m progressing with my fitness goals – and to adjust as necessary.

Unlike past years, I entered 2021 reluctant to set any big running/fitness goals. Blame it on pandemic fatigue. Who knew if and when in-person racing would return? Thanks to the ZOOMA Run Club, my lone annual goal is 750 run/walk miles. Otherwise, I opted instead to stick with my tradition of monthly goal setting and see how the year played out.

2021 Mid-Year Check-In

So where do things stand 6 months into the year? As I look back over my monthly goals, overall I am pretty happy with what’s taken place.

January — I kicked off the year by completing a self-created daily yoga challenge.
February — In February, I switched gears to focus on Matty’s enCORE28 daily core challenge on Peloton.
March & April — For March, it was all about strength training, aiming for 3 sessions a week (upper, lower, and full body) in addition to continuing the daily core work. I was enjoying the strength work heading into April, so I extended my 3 sessions/week goal and focused on returning to early morning runs.
May — My strength goal was to complete Peloton’s Strength for Runners series – full disclosure, while I completed a bunch of these workouts, they are mostly core and lower body workouts and I missed the upper body workouts, so I ended up deviating so I could keep the balance I had established in March & April.
June — I set five fitness goals for the summer months and so far so good.

Over the six months, I hit some fun milestones with Peloton including both my century ride and run, and my Pelo-anniversary (52-week streak!). There has also been a couple of cycling PRs! I’m also pleased to have stuck to my commitment to make time for daily stretching.

Room for improvement?

Given how easy peasy I’ve been approaching my runs, there’s no surprise that I’m lagging on my 750-mile goal – by 68 miles to be exact. But, now that I have some fall races on the horizon, I expect this to take care of itself.

The other area I would really like to see some improvement in is my nutrition. While I have cleaned up my eating from earlier this year, the pandemic pounds have not moved much and I’m still not loving how some clothes are fitting. So, I’m back to tracking my macros.

Did you set goals for 2021? How has the first half of the year gone for you?

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

Filed Under: goals, Tuesday Topics

WRD – 4th of July Edition

July 4, 2021 by Michelle 28 Comments

Heat and Humidity – that was the dominant theme of the week and then suddenly Mother Nature decided to flip the switch! We were under an extreme heat emergency at the start of the week and then finished the week in the rainy 60s. I’ve given up trying to figure out what the weather will serve up next. Nonetheless, the workouts happened…here’s a quick look at how things played out.

Weekly Run Down – Week 26

Monday — Kicked off the week with a lower-body strength day. I did a couple of Glutes & Legs Peloton classes, with a core class in between. So many variations on squats and lunges – thankfully my hip had no complaints!

Tuesday –– 20 mins stretching otherwise a rest day. Didn’t sleep well, woke up with a headache – toss in ridiculous heat and humidity (hello feels like 109!) and I waved the white flag on this day.

Wednesday –– An early morning 5K through town to close out June. I still have no idea what my mileage was for June.

Thursday — 25 min Ride, 20 min Upper Body and 10 min Core.

Friday — 3.5 miles. The rain and cooler temps rolled in, but a short workday gave me the chance to wait out some of the heavier rain. Everything about this run felt so good and I was rewarded with negative splits!

Negative splits = Happy runner

Saturday — 20 min Core and 20 min Glutes & Legs. The day was a complete washout so I took advantage of it to deep clean the house – it was a workout after my workout!

Sunday — 5 miles. I was definitely feeling yesterday’s strength sesh when I headed out this morning so this run was slow and easy. I had the roads to myself and, best of all, the rain held off!

And, now as I sit here sipping my coffee, the sun has actually made an appearance! Looking forward to cooking out and enjoying the day with the family.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe 4th of July!

Fit Five Friday and July Coffee

July 2, 2021 by Michelle 34 Comments

Happy Friday and welcome back to the Fit Five Friday linkup!

I’m ready to kick off this 4th of July long weekend with a little catch-up over the Ultimate Coffee Date hosted by Coco and Deborah. So grab a mug of your favorite beverage (or perhaps given this heatwave, a tall glass of something over ice!), and let’s chat for a bit!

Over coffee, I would tell you how excited I was to receive a new pair of Glycerins last week! I won them in Dick’s Sporting Goods National Runners Month giveaway back in May and had actually kind of forgotten about them so it was a fun surprise when they arrived!

Over coffee, I would tell you that I hit my 100th Peloton run on Sunday. I don’t always take a Peloton “class” when I run so I had no idea I was closing in on the century mark. It’s always fun to hit a Peloton milestone!

Over coffee, I would tell that Olympic fever has hit our house! We couldn’t get enough of the Olympic Trials – swimming, gymnastics, and of course, track and field – so many amazing performances! I am just in awe of these athletes, especially with having to wait an extra year and stay at peak performance.

Over coffee, I would tell you that I am really looking forward to our family getaway to northern Vermont later this month! Hiking, kayaking, and a tour of Ben & Jerry’s are among the items on the itinerary.

Over coffee, I would tell you that for as much as I am looking forward to some time away, I am really wishing that the days would slow down just a little. I feel like June blew by in a blink! And, now the whiteboard double calendar in my kitchen reminds me that in just a mere 8 weeks from today we’ll be dropping my oldest son off at college.

What would you tell me over coffee? What are you looking forward to this month?

Welcome to Fit Five Friday!

Join My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Who’s ready for some fun?

Filed Under: #FitFiveFriday, Ultimate coffee date

Winding down June

June 27, 2021 by Michelle 16 Comments

I feel like I say it often but the days are flying by! It’s hard to believe we’re in the last few days of June! Mother Nature gifted us a couple of days of perfect weather with cool 50s in the mornings and no humidity, but that abruptly came to an end today with 77 degrees and 82% humidity before 8 a.m. and temps quickly on the rise.

Since one of my summer fitness goals is to try to embrace the heat…I’ll refrain from commenting further and just move on to share a quick recap of this week’s workouts.

Weekly Run Down – Week 25

Monday — 35 min HIIT Cardio Strength and 10 min Core
Tuesday — 2-mile walk and Yoga
Wednesday — 2.5-mile run, 15 min Ride, and 10 min Core
Thursday — 3.1-mile run
Friday — Rest day
Saturday — 2-mile walk, Yoga, and Strength training by way of major garden overhaul
Sunday — 4.25-mile run plus 10 min Core

Over June Coffee, I had mentioned toying with the idea of removing some older shrubs and plants to make way for some additional rose bushes. Well, on Saturday, my husband gave me the green light that he was on board! So one trip to my favorite nursery and an insane amount of digging and hauling later, the garden revamp is taking shape. I still have one more overgrown evergreen to remove and another rose bush to transfer but we had taken on more than enough for a good workout for one day!

I continue to baby the heck out of my right hip and in return, it continues to afford me pain-free short runs. We’re now in a severe heat advisory until Wednesday so the debate will be whether to do more Peloton rides or to embrace the treadmill.

How was your week? Is Mother Nature playing nice where you are? Can you believe we’re approaching the end of June?

Runfessions – June edition

June 25, 2021 by Michelle 34 Comments

It’s time for another edition of Fit Five Friday hosted by Darlene, Renée, Jenn, Zenaida, and yours truly! And, since it’s the last Friday of the month, I’m linking up with Marcia for Runfessions. I’ve got a few things to share so let’s get to it!

Runfessions – June Edition

I runfess that I panicked a bit when my hip gave me trouble on my run a week ago. I’ve been working hard to keep up with my strength training and stretching – an injury after this effort would be so frustrating! I continue to stretch and roll like it’s my job and keep my fingers crossed.

I runfess that I am running out of patience for my Garmin. I mentioned back in April that my Forerunner 235 was occasionally finicky. Well, it’s getting worse not better as it becomes more and more temperamental. Clearly, its days are numbered, so I need to hurry up and settle on a replacement.

In an effort to give my eating a boost in the right direction, I runfess that I have returned to counting my macros. I have a love-hate relationship with this process. On the one hand, tracking has proven to help me to be more mindful of what I’m eating – on the other hand, the tracking is oh so tedious. But, for now, my clothes are fitting better so there’s that.

Any runfessions to share?

Welcome to Fit Five Friday!
Join My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Please be sure to show your hosts some love and visit some of the other bloggers in the link-up. Who’s ready for some fun?

Filed Under: #FitFiveFriday, Runfessions

Run, workout, rinse, repeat

June 20, 2021 by Michelle 29 Comments

Run, workout, rinse, repeat…

That’s kinda what it has felt like for the past two weeks. Here’s a quick snapshot of what I’ve been up to on the fitness front.

A favorite view from a recent run

Weekly Run Down – Weeks 23 & 24

Monday — 45 min Full Body Strength plus 10 min Strength Warm-up
Tuesday — 3-mile run
Wednesday — 30 min HIIT Cardio Strength plus 10 min Core
Thursday — 30 min ride plus 10 min Core
Friday — 4-mile run
Saturday — 45 min Full Body Strength plus 10 min Strength Warm-up
Sunday — 4.5-mile run

Monday — 30 min yoga
Tuesday — 3.4-mile run plus 10 min Core
Wednesday — 2.4-mile walk, 10 min Arms & Light Weights, 10 min Strength for Runners
Thursday — 3.5-mile run
Friday — Rest day
Saturday — 20 min ride, 5 min Cool Down, plus 30 min Full Body Strength
Sunday — 4-mile run plus 10 min Core

Strength training:

I mentioned in my summer fitness goals that I was planning to follow Adrian’s Strength Stack on the Peloton app for the month of June. Basically, he’s got 4 different stack workouts to rotate throughout the month. Since I do not lift 4 days a week, my plan is to just keep cycling through the workouts at my own pace.

Last week I on my plan, but this week I took some liberties with the schedule, swapping in two shorter workouts on Wednesday because I was pressed for time. On Saturday, I opted to take Adrian’s Juneteenth Full Body class instead of the one in the stack. This was a great class so I may swap this one in again before the month’s over.

Running:

Overall, my runs have felt pretty good. I caught up with my brother for another run last Sunday as we decided to meet and run the course for our upcoming 10K. While the plan had been for 6, I had to settle for 4.5 thanks to my hip being less than cooperative. There’s a hill at the end of the first 5K loop and after the first pass, my hip was not interested in playing anymore. Despite the shorter than planned run, we still had a good time – my brother always keeps me laughing.

Hills & humidity was the theme for Tuesday’s run

On Tuesday, I ran virtually with Kim and Cari to celebrate Kim’s 200th Peloton run. Despite the hilly route, the hip played nice and continued to behave the rest of this week! So hopefully last Sunday’s run was just a fluke.

The daily stretching continues, and I squeezed in a sports massage on Thursday just to help to keep all the body parts happy.

There’s more of the same on tap for the upcoming week. I’m going to start to stretch the distance just a little bit so the upcoming 10K doesn’t come as a shock to my system 😉

What’s happening in your neck of the woods? Have you adapted to summer running?