New Critters: 9/4-10 Weekly Wrap

~ Chocolaterunsjudy

No, no new furkids! But I saw a larger snake than I’ve seen in our neighborhood before (unfortunately squashed by a car) and a Heron at the park. We enjoyed some scenic views from an overlook we hiked to, and oh yeah, there was a little running in there, too (and trying — but failing — to outrun a thunderstorm — when there wasn’t supposed to be a thunderstorm).

That’s my week in a nutshell. Read on if you want the “gory” details!

I’m joining up with the Weekly Wrap from Holly @ Hohoruns and Tricia @ Misssipppiddlin and today’s guest host to share how Fall is going; it may not officially be Fall, but tell that to the trees!

WeeklyWrap

Workouts update

  • Monday: Dogwalk, 2 mile hike, 3 miles easy
  • Tuesday: Dogwalk, 5 miles (4 x 800s), Short bodyweight workout
  • Wednesday: PB HIIT
  • Thursday:  Dogwalk, 6 miles “easy”, PB Glutes
  • Friday: Dogwalk, PB Core
  • Saturday: JY Hamstring, Calves & Foot 5 min reset, 11 mile LSD, Pilates
  • Sunday: Dogwalk, JY Hip & Hamstrings Reset

Mileage: 25 (+4 )

JY = Jasyoga
TM = Treadmill
YFR = Yoga for Runners*
WU = warmup
CD = cooldown
SB = Stationary Bike
YFPR = Yoga for Pain Relief
YTU = Yoga Tune Up Lower Body*

*Disclaimer: Amazon affiliate links; I will make a small amount of money if you buy through these links

Running updates 

Poor snake — haven’t seen one this large before in the neighborhood

Monday

Despite a good long run last weekend, I suddenly was feeling run down again. I debated with Rachel @ Runningonhappy whether or not I should skip today’s easy run — I really wanted to get in a hike. She gave me the green light.

We did a moderately steep mile hike in the morning; I was feeling better. So I went out before dinner for an easy three miles. Somehow afternoon miles are speedier for me.

 

And never saw a Heron here before, either!

 

Tuesday

It seemed like a workout with my name all over it: 1 miles warmup; 4 x 800m fast with 400m recovery; 1 mile cooldown. I usually enjoy shorter speedwork.

Although it was in the mid 60s, there was a breeze and plenty of cloud cover. And again, I just could’t hit those paces. And by the end I definitely felt like I’d left everything out there; my walk breaks got slower and slower . . .

Easy runs have mostly gotten a bit faster but speedwork seems to be slowing down. Not sure what’s going on.

This was not supposed to happen

Thursday

With rain in the forecast, I hurried home from my errands, ate a quick lunch (sitting outside with the dogs and putting away the groceries), then got right out there. 6 miles seemed like an awful lot, but inaccurate weather said it was supposed to stay dry for 2 hours at least. Maybe it actually did.

So I’m going along, definitely taking it easy, aside from some fartlek play around mile 4 I think, and I notice the clouds getting ominous. I don’t remember mention of a thunder. I mentally ditched the idea of picking up Bandit and just tried to get ‘er done.

It started to rain about mile 4 1/2, lightly, at first. Around mile 5, it really started to come down. Was that a crack of thunder? I wasn’t sure, but I picked up the pace — by now it was a torrential downpour — a cold downpour — and the wind had picked up, too. I skipped most of my walk breaks.

Within a half mile of home there was definite thunder. Crap. I briefly considered stopping at someone’s house, but there are only a few neighbors I know, and only a few that would be home. Good thing I didn’t pick up Bandit! It’s amazing how fast you can run when you’re trying to outrun lightning (thankfully I never actually saw any).

And I kid you not — literally 2 minutes after I squelched my way into the house, completely drench, the sun came out and the rain stopped. And oddly enough, the exact thing happened to one of our Wineglass girls!

Yes, leaves are changing colors all over already

Saturday

BOOM!  My speediest 11 mile long run, ever. A real confidence builder, and confidence had been crumbling a bit with those speed workouts the last month.

So many factors effected this run:

  • Good weather
  • Running on my own (but with a group)
  • Stromboli + garlic bread the night before (hadn’t done that in a while)
  • New running shoes
  • Caffeinated Honeystinger chews (Amazon Affiliate link; I’m part of the Hive) instead of the uncaffeinated ones
Enjoying the view at Vroman’s Nose

Favorites of the week
Labor Day was a beautiful day, and Mr. Judy was up for a hike.

They’re good hikers

The dogs are always ready for a hike.


It had rained all day the previous day, and I was worried that the trail would be really muddy, but it wasn’t. Alas, trees are changing. Leaves are falling. Yes, it’s very pretty. But soon the days will be short, the trees will be bare, and I’ll just want to hibernate.

Smiling at the thought of sushi

Last night, if you follow me on Instagram here, you saw that we had hibachi. Mr. Judy had a certificate to the restaurant and thought we could have sushi. Alas. we could not. So hibachi it was. Plenty of protein and carbs to refuel from that 11 mile long run.

The food was good but the service — well, let’s just say that there was a misunderstanding about the certificate the the people working there, who can barely speak English have never heard of “the customer’s always right”. I don’t think we’ll be back.

Bandit has finally decided that maybe he’ll eat some breakfast. At least with the cooler mornings, he has something the last couple of days. Which does make a difference in the poop situation (still with the potty talk).

My parents actually got two offers on their house, finally. They accepted one. The inspection, surprisingly, went well. They were supposed to sign a contract Friday but there’s been no word yet.

And of course, my thoughts and prayers are with FL and TX.

And that’s a wrap 

link-up-badge

This week I am also linking up with the Sunday Fitness & Food Linkup brought to you by Ilka @ Ilka’s Blog and Angela @ Marathons & Motivation.

Let’s get the conversation started:

Are leaves changing where you are?

Had a confidence boosting run lately — spill!? 

Hibachi or sushi? 

34 thoughts on “New Critters: 9/4-10 Weekly Wrap”

    1. It had been decades since we’d done Hibachi. I enjoy the meal, but most of the show I could really do without.

      Non-poisonous snakes really don’t bother me so much, especially when they’re small. Although this one was larger than most I’ve seen around here.

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  2. Love the view at vromans nose! Yes I was worried about lightening too – when I realised that I was the tallest thing on top of the hill I was quickly motivated to get down – paranoia is such a funny thing😂😂 does anyone else out there worry about being struck by lightning? It was the thought of dying out on the hill alone and my husband having to look for me that really got to me!

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    1. It was a really nice view! I imagine we’ll go back when the leaves change, but there are other places to explore, too.

      Um yeah, I definitely have worried about being struck by lightning! Especially one memorable time when I went for a run in Miami and was running by the ocean when I thunderstorm struck. On our anniversary, no less!

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  3. You look great in your leopard skirt! We went out on the boat on labor day and saw a ton of heron / blue heron ( I don’t know if they are the same). They are pretty common around our area. We don’t like them though because my parents once had one in their backyard that would not leave. It ended up eating a lot of fish out of my dad’s Koi pond! He was not happy!

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  4. Congrats on your speediest 11 miler run ever! Even though you don’t feel your speed work is on point, perhaps it’s doing it’s job for your long runs. We like hibachi food and have a really good restaurant here. I’ve only been caught out in a bad storm once. It was very scary! And I carried both of my dogs while running back to the house. They were terrified.

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    1. I can’t imagine having to carry even my dogs — wow! Poor things. It was good I didn’t stop for Bandit. I’m not sure how he would have reacted & also doubt he could have actually kept up with me, but you never know!

      Lola doesn’t run with me, obviously, and she’s scared of thunderstorms (which Bandit is not).

      This is the third time I’ve been caught out in a thunderstorm. 😦 I checked the weather, but not the radar.

      The first two times were really scary, as was this one — but this one was just this really freak storm that basically lasted about a mile & a half.

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  6. My last long run was my speediest ever thanks to a running partner who encouraged me not to walk. This week’s was my slowest ever. In hindsight, I should have skipped it since I was too tired from being away all week. Now it’s time to taper I guess.

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    1. Yes, the 11 mile run was definitely a shot in the arm. I don’t expect it to happen with my 12 miles this week — in fact I want to take it easy on that! It’s getting close now.

      I can understand not liking sushi (maybe), but hibachi? It’s just grilled meat (or fish) and veggies. The show doesn’t really excite me, the price is too much (but that’s why we had a coupon), but otherwise, it’s really tasty!

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  9. Beautiful view from your hike! Sometimes, you just need to ditch the plan for something you enjoy! And in your case, you still got your run in too! Way to go.

    Good thing you don’t live in the south because we have earthworms the size of that snake. Lol

    Congratulations on that 11 miler! It’s so nice when everything clicks and you pull of a great fast run… I’m in dire need of one of those confidence builders right now.

    As to getting caught in the rain …I feel for you! Got caught myself in a thunderstorm while riding the bike a couple of months ago and it was not fun! Great week Judy!

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    1. Remember, I did live in the south. There were definitely larger snakes in TX. And palmetto bugs, and fire ants . . . but that’s the largest snake I’ve seen in the neighborhood (so far).

      Getting caught on a bike in a thunderstorm must be even scarier — you’re sitting on top of a lightning rod, basically, right?

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    1. Nah, the leaves do start changing in August. I don’t think they used to, but they definitely have the last few years.

      They’re not all changed, not by any means, but there are trees that have completely changed and leaves are definitely falling.

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  12. Such beautiful views from your hikes! Those clouds look pretty scarey – glad you were able to out run the lightening. Great job on your long run. I’ve got to try the honey stinger waffles. I got through Harvey on chocolate covered mini stroop waffles (stress eating).

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  14. Great job this week! Ugh, running through a thunderstorm is not fun – I had a run last week where it started to dry up as soon as I stopped running, go figure!

    I’m glad you had a nice long run! I’m enjoying the fallish temps and we are definitely getting some leaves changing color – it seems way too soon but it is pretty!

    It sounds like you have the right effort for your speed runs, so that’s a good thing! I’m a little nervous about hitting my tempo pace tonight…

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    1. Today’s speed work went a *little* better. Still not hitting it. Well, actually I had Rachel adjust the paces & I did hit 3 out of 4 repeats — I kept the first one deliberately slower, although I ended up going slower than I realized — I just thought that maybe the problem was going too hard on the first one.

      The same run ended up being a minute faster, so I’ll take it!

      Good luck with your tempo!

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  15. We don’t have leaves, we have pine needles!! And after Irma passing through, they are everywhere!!

    I had a run in with a thunderstorm a few weeks back, it was bad enough I had to call for a pick up.

    Hibachi all the way!! I’m allergic to shell fish and don’t chance it at all with raw fish.

    I happened to have a good 5k on Saturday!! Took 2nd in AG!! Totally unexpected!! I guess those long runs are making me somewhat speedy on the short runs??!!

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    1. We have leaves AND pine needles! Our backyard is all pines. Poor Lola got one stuck in her paw just this afternoon.

      Congrats on the AG award!

      Unfortunately I’m usually SOL if I end up in a thunderstorm unless it’s on a weekend, and even then, by the time my husband could (grudgingly, no doubt) come get me, it would probably be over.

      I checked the weather, but neglected to check radar. They’re forecasting afternoon thunderstorms on Thursday. Guess who has 6 miles to run Thursday afternoon? But things change quickly!

      How are you guys doing down there, btw?

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  16. That picture of you from the hike is fabulous!! What a view.
    and I like your dinner outfit, very cute!!
    I am glad you had a great long run, the confidence boost is good to keep you motivated 🙂 Great week of training. I try to not to worry when I can’t hit paces and stuff but i know how it messes with your mind. Next time maybe you will crush it.
    Not any signs of fall yet! Still in heat humid muck lol it was only cool for a few days then summer came right on back.

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    1. Thanks, Karen! We have some great hikes — if only they were closer! Nothing like driving 2 hours for a 1 hour hike. 🙂

      It cooled down for us for a couple of weeks, but the humidity has definitely crept back in. 😦

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