It was action packed both with exercise and fun events this week. Of course there was the heat, too, but thankfully the new AC unit you installed last year is working well. The dogs still want to lay outside in the sun and are not happy when I won’t join them — and have to keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t stay out too long in the heat, too!
Joining Kim @ Kimrunsonthefly and Deborah @ Confessionsofamotherrunner and just sharing Summer activities.
And linking up with Jenn @ Runswithpugs, Brandi @ Funnerrunner, Anna Louise @ Graciouswarriorprincess, Briana @ Matsmilesmedals, Meghan @ Meghanonthemove, and Elizabeth @ Trainwithbainfor RIOTS(running is our therapy)
Workouts update
- Monday: 5 Miles Easy, PB Abs (15 min), Yoga (30 min)
- Tuesday: Dogwalk, 3 treadmill miles with 1:1 speed intervals, PB Toning (10 min)
- Wednesday: Dogwalk, Yoga (20 min), PB Toning (25 min)
- Thursday: Dogwalk, PB Arms (30 min), 3ish trail miles
- Friday: Dogwalk, PB Toning (35 min)
- Saturday: 6 mile LSD, Yoga (40 min)
- Sunday: Dogwalk, Studio Yoga (90 min)
Mileage: 17 (+1)
JY = Jasyoga
PB = Killer B
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
Monday
Most of my weekday runs are fairly short these days, but I wasn’t sure how this week would shake out between weather and a lot of appointments, so I chose to run 5 miles. I went to the park, and realized as I got there that I really ought to have gone to the other park, the one that’s just a bit closer to my house, the one I haven’t run at in quite some time.
However, I literally ran into Running Buddy J after my first mile, who was finishing up, so I walked with her to chat a bit then continued on my way. This park isn’t very shady, but the morning was relatively cool and still low humidity, so I had a pretty good run.
Tuesday
Another middle of the day run simply because I just wasn’t feeling another early morning run (and the dogs needed to be walked in the morning). Did some speed intervals on the treadmill, stepping away from the 400s with 60 seconds fast, 60 seconds recovery.
My new Vivoactive 3 had arrived (you can buy it on my Amazon Affiliate link here) — actually 60% charged! — so I tried it out. I realized the reason my old (and now new) Vivoactives don’t sync well to the treadmill is that I don’t run without any breaks and when I adjust the speed, I have to do it with my right hand, holding onto the bar with my left hand (the one with the watch). It adds up to enough time over several miles to throw everything off. Not a big deal to me; I’ve had the old Vivoactive 4 years and trained well with it.
Thursday
Last week I had FOMO over the trail runners (just couldn’t go); this week I joined the crew. It was at a place I’ve been to just a couple of times, once to run, but I guess I picked the wrong paths because these were really quite nice! I ran with someone, and managed to take the wrong turn so we ended up doing the trail backwards (don’t ask). I just wish it was closer to home.
Saturday
Six steamy miles. I ran with a slower friend, it was cloudy, and we started early, so it wasn’t too bad. Thank goodness for cloud cover! However, when my friend continued on for about half an hour (she’s training for a half in October) I said no thanks.
Favorites of the week
Historically I have never found great deals on Amazon Prime Day, but this year I did get a Vivoactive 3 at a great price. Running Buddy J bought one too. So now I can join the modern ages and track my heart rate. It’s got a lot of bells and whistles, and is very different from my previous Vivoactive (the original, without HR).
So far I’m definitely enjoying my new watch. Because there’s so much functionality, there’s a learning curve, of course. It got baptized in the pool yesterday.
We had a birthday/pool party/bookclub meetup after our run on Saturday. The pool felt heavenly after that sweaty run. We briefly discussed “Marathon Woman” by Katherine Switzer (buy it at my Amazon Affiliate link here) after cooling off in the pool and a potluck lunch. Everyone enjoyed the book (although I haven’t finished it yet, but it’s one I’ve wanted to read for a long time). A great time was had by all.
I am off to see Heart/Sheryl Crow tonight with a friend. Looking forward to it. The concert doesn’t start until 7 pm so hopefully we won’t melt; it’s an outside venue but at least it’s covered.
What was the last concert you went to?
Do you belong to a book club & if yes, what kind?
Did you race this week? Tell us about it!
Chocolaterunsjudy 
My last concert was by Naomi Bedford and was Appalachian folk songs with a British twist at a really small venue about 8 minutes’ walk from me. Perfect! I’m not in a book club even though a load of my close friend have a feminist one that reads books I enjoy. I am re-reading Iris Murdoch’s novels at the moment in order of publication with four or five other people joining in on my blog, so that’s kind of a book club of its own.
Love those lakes in your parks and trails. Very pretty and it’s always cooling running by water, isn’t it.
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Yes, I love being by the water!
Ok, Appalachian folk songs with a British twist sounds weird, but I also know, OTOH, that some of those songs had origins reaching into the British Isles, for obvious reasons.
OTOH, the differences in accents . . . it kind of fascinates me how that evolves!
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Well exactly – I’d urge you to check them out!
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Have fun tonight! Gosh, I saw Heart back in the 80s! Did you see them sing Stairway to Heaven at the Kennedy Center honors a few years back? The video is on YouTube and I guarantee you’ll get goosebumps. I’m going with my boys to Country Thunder to see Chris Stapleton tonight. Should be interesting…
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No, I haven’t seen the Kennedy Center honors; thanks for the recommendation.
The concert was good, but the quality of the sound was extremely bad. As far as I can tell, you just don’t get good sound in the balcony seats there and that was a bummer. We still had a nice evening though.
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I always find it so interesting how dogs respond to the heat. Some want to sunbathe and some can’t get back in the house soon enough, lol.
So awesome that you found that great deal on Amazon Prime Day. I didn’t buy anything this year but last year I got a good deal on an air fryer.
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It’s funny because the older Lola gets, the more heat intolerant she gets. Yet she still wants to sunbathe.
I considered a Ninja Instant Pot, even though I love my IP, but the only real reason I was even considering it was because it had an air fryer. It was non stick, though, and I generally don’t do that.
I’ve had my eye on some toaster oven/air fryer combos for a long time, but none of them were a good deal.
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I’ve been taking Max to the backyard for his “business trips” (it’s not fenced, so I won’t let him out there alone), and he’s content to lie down on the hot deck after he’s done…in the direct sun! What the WHAT??? The hubby and I are going to see Toby Keith at the State Fair in a couple of weeks…I can’t think of the last concert we went to other than a Midwest-based cover band, called Hairball, that do a great show of 80’s hair bands (with full costumes, makeup & wigs). We’ve seen them several times LOL Oh, we did see Def Leppard/Styx a few years ago…they were awesome! Of course, I’ve see Bon Jovi several times, but that’s been several years, too 😉
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Def Leppard/Styx sounds like fun! I actually went with a friend. The husband wasn’t terribly interested.
I would love to see Bon Jovi!
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Wow! Have fun at the Heart/Cheryl Crow concert. That sounds awesome. I belong to a running club/book club too. I love the interactions between the women there and the friendships that have developed over the years, but I feel like our book discussions leave a lot to be desired. I just run with a $10 Timex. It is time I get into the modern age and buy some type of Garmin or other GPS/heartrate monitoring watch.
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Hey, if the Timex works for you — if it ain’t broke, after all . . .
They came out with the HR version about a year after I bought my Vivoactive. Since my watch was new, I really couldn’t justify buying it at the time. But now my watch was getting a big long in the tooth & it was a really good deal — it was time, so to speak.
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Ooh that sounds like a fun concert to go to. I actually could not find anything that I really wanted on sale on Amazon this year. Kind of proud of myself bc I was very close to the instapot purchase
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Aw, you really should have gotten the IP! Seriously I love mine so much.
I’d been tracking that watch for a long, long time.
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Good deal on the new Garmin! I am serious when I say my Fenix can do more than I can. I really haven’t figured out all it can do, but it does what I need it to pretty easily. 😉 I haven’t been to a concert in years.
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The Vivoactive 3 operates quite differently from the Vivoactive, so yeah, it’s a learning curve, So far I’m definitely enjoying it though!
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I don’t belong to a bookclub even though we have one within our MRTT group. I think the last concert we went to was Train at Wolftrap, also an outdoor venue.
I hope you enjoy your new watch. My running Garmin doesn’t have a heart rate monitor, but my biking Garmin does. Of course, with the biking Gamin I have to wear a chest strap since my device attaches to my handlebars so I can easily see it while riding.
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I have never liked a chest strap. I don’t do HR training, but I do think even when you’re not doing it formally, it’s a useful tool to have.
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My last concert was Pink and she was amazing. No racing as it’s too hot here.
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I would love, love, love to see PINK. OTOH, I’m not sure I could afford that! It’s another one I’d definitely have to go to with a friend, though.
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I saved for six months for the ticket and it was worth every penny!!!
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I used to belong to a book club and all the books we would ready were in Spanish. I only read books in Spanish to my students so it was nice to read something a bit more different and longer. We don’t meet anymore because of them are married and now have kids.
I did see on Amazon a nice Garmin watch that I almost bought. I love the one that I have so I didn’t really need it but it was tempting to get it.
I was supposed to run yesterday but didn’t. Definitely do not regret it.
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My Vivoactive was 4 years old, so I’d been tracking the newer one for about a year now. Came close at Christmas time, but this was an even better deal. 4 years seems to be my time between watches!
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I love to read so excited that my tennis friends and running friends both do a book club. There’s also one at the library that I thought of joining. It also makes me prioritize reading which is hard when you work 8 hours a day 5 days a week. No TV for me lol
I don’t have Amazon Prime but I did buy a Garmin on Mercari which was cheap – haven’t tried it yet. Still love not worrying about pace.
Hope you enjoyed the concert. I think my first was Neil Diamond but remembers that long ago!!!
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I definitely don’t remember my first concert either. Went to a lot of classical ones with my parents as well (in fact we’d come up to SPAC or over to Tanglewood for classical and/or ballet when I was growing up).
Unfortunately the sound in the balcony was bad. Actually, the sound was okay, but you couldn’t understand words. — most of the songs I knew well enough it didn’t really matter, and we still enjoyed it, but that was really disappointing.
You aren’t the only one in our “book group” that works, just sayin’. 🙂
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I know that I am not the only one who works full time. Only Jan and Judy Lynch are retired. We all have different responsibilities and not everyone enjoys reading.
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That’s great that you got a good deal on a Vivoactive 3. I’d like to hear what you think of it after you’ve run with it for a while.
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Oh, eventually there will be a review. So far I’m definitely enjoying it, even though I don’t do HR training I also realize the benefit of tracking your resting HR & am glad now I don’t even have to think about that, the watch just does it.
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you got some good miles in Judy! I didn’t realise you could run on the treadmill with the Vivo 4 – I’m pretty sure that’s the one I had and I upgraded to the Garmin 735 after about a year. I bet that dip i the pool was divine after your sweaty session!! I absolutely love Heart and certainly don’t mind Sheryl Crow – hope you had a good time! My last concert was just a couple weeks ago – Muse, for the 3rd time (not this tour, I’m not *that* devoted) and Rammstein just a couple days prior to that (5th time 🙂 ) My taste in music is broad, but I am really an electronic rocker girl at heart (if that can exist?). I belonged to a book club about 15 years ago – it was a group of expat ladies and we read mostly fiction. The club broke up years ago as well – one moved back to the states, one broke up with her boyfriend and moved back to Germany, one (Dutch repatriate) moved to a different city in NL and the other friend and I just decided two was not a club haha! My Dutch friend moved to Arnhem a couple years ago and we rekindled our friendship and have hung out a lot since she’s been back.
No races! 4 more weeks until Helsinki Half!
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I don’t have any races on my schedule right now. I’d like to race to test out the watch for distance accuracy, but I am also not a huge fan of racing in the summer heat.
There was a treadmill mode on my original Vivoactive from 4 years ago. I think if you straight out run, it’s probably at least close. Since I tend to do speed work on the rare times I’m on the treadmill, though, there’s just too many times the watch will pause due to “inactivity” for it to be accurate. No biggie, as I’m used to just relying on the mill’s stats (even though I know they’re often inaccurate).
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How convenient that the watch arrived partially charged! I didn’t take advantage of any deals although I should have looked into a new watch. I do belong to a book club, Ladies Who Lit. It’s with a bunch of friends from November Project and we typically alternate between a fiction and non-fiction book. I’ve like ~80% of the books so far, and even if I don’t actually read the whole book, I still go for the potluck and social time 🙂
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We talked about reading fiction books, but somehow all the books have been about women runners.
I’d been tracking that watch for about a year, so I knew it was a really good deal!
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The new watch sounds great! I forgot all about Amazon Prime day so I didn’t even check to see what deals they had. Oh well, I’m sure that the deals will come around again at some point 🙂
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There were a few other things I considered, but I decided to wait until Christmas time on those. Yup, there will always be more deals — but I knew this one was a good one.
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I love to run by the water (lake or sea).
The last concert was …. yesterday night: Mark Knopfler. A great performance!
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I always love running by water, too. Luckily there are a few places here by rivers or the man made lake at the park I often run at.
No ocean though. 😦
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I love my Garmin but it’s a flaming turd on the treadmill so I don’t bother
I’m in three book clubs> I reliably make it to one about every other month. My schedule is just too crazy. I’m so far behind on reading this year but enjoying what I’ve read so it’s not all bad
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I think as long as you enjoy what you read that’s the most important thing!
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I hope the concert was fun and not too hot! I’m not a huge Prime Day shopper. That said my hubby got me Air Pods. I need them like I need another hole in the head but they’ll be fun I’m Sure. Oooooh last concert? Maybe Maroon 5 in Montreal? I think there’s been something else since then but I can’t remember.
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The concert was at night, and once the sun started to go down, there was a pleasant breeze. The sound at the venue; not so good.
I’ve looked at Air Pods! I’m sure they’ll be fun! This was the first year I really found a few good deal on Prime Day. There were other things I considered, things that have been on my wish list a long time, but I decided to wait on them. The Vivoactive 3 I may not have needed yet, but I knew that day was coming.
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That birthday party sounds so great- a pool after a run, a potluck and a discussion about a running book. I love it!
Sounds like a fun weekend!
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It was a fun party! So grateful to the friend for offering her house & pool.
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