A Buzzzy Week: 8/3 – 9 WRD

~ Chocolaterunsjudy

We’ve spent way more time eating & relaxing on our deck this Summer than we ever have. In the past, heat (it’s off of the second floor) often prevented us. Of course we’ve had plenty of heat this Summer, but with two umbrellas instead of just one, we’ve been out there more.

The other limiting factor was always the wasps/hornets (what’s the difference?). There have been some this Summer, but I’ve managed to control my freak out until this week.

We were eating dinner, and I had my bare feet up on a chair when a hornet landed on my foot. Do you know how many nerve endings there are in your foot? Somehow I managed to brush him off without getting stung after about a minute, but that was it for me that night.

bwrd

Joining Kim @ Kimrunsonthefly and Deborah @ Confessionsofamotherrunner, and easing back into running and embracing my treadmill again (a little).

Workouts update

  • Monday:  3 miles easy, Pilates Stretch (8 min) + Yoga (50 min), PM Dogwalk (tropical storm moving in for Tuesday)
  • Tuesday: Peloton Bootcamp (1.13 mile + ST), Dogwalk rained out by Isaias!
  • Wednesday: Dogwalk, Pilates (30 min), Soul Stroll
  • Thursday: Roadtrip with lots of walking
  • Friday: 8 mile LSD, Dogwalk
  • Saturday:  Dogwalk, Yoga (30 min)
  • Sunday: Dogwalk, Yoga (15 min), Walking with a friend later,  Full Body ST (25 min)

Mileage: 12.13 (+5.13)

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 Update

I captured a “real” rainbow!

Monday intention: body scan
It’s clear I’m not going to find much joy in runs in the heat, but I continue to try to tune into my body and try to figure out what would make it better. I spent a lot of time trying different things and seeing how it effected my hamstrings, which are always slightly achy when I run — even slowly. I’m not sure I have answers yet.

It was warm and humid and not as cloudy as I’d like, but it was a nice, consistent run and after about an hour back in the coolness of the house I felt re-energized (not right after the run!).

Tuesday intention: nasal breathing
I did my first running + ST bootcamp with Peloton App. I chose a beginner, 30 min bootcamp. I definitely liked the running portion — perfect way to get just a little bit of running in and I was able to push the pace while running (it used run/walk intervals) and maintain nasal breathing — something I just haven’t been able to do outside during the Summer, although I keep trying!

The strength portion was good, but again, I really felt like it was rushed.

Third time I’ve caught a rabbit in this spot

Friday intention: be kind
It wasn’t supposed to rain that long or that much when I went to bed, but by morning things had changed. The good news was the comfortable temps. The rain came & went (mostly came), but stayed between a drizzle and more steady rain. In fact, when it went I was not happy — but it came back!

I had paused my Garmin to take this photo (no, not downed from Isaias, grooming for returning college students) when my Garmin just decided my run was over. Too bad I was still a couple of miles away from home.

I did feel kind of tired. Technology was rebelling all over the place. My Garmin kept moving data screens, and finally decided to end my run at one point when I paused it to take pictures. It was super annoying.

Still, I’ve been at 7 miles for weeks so decided to try for 8. I’m not sure that was really being kind to myself, but oh well, I did it.

I felt as thought I was inside a Van Gough painting

Favorites of the week
Oops! We did it again! Another road trip. Darlene @ Myfirst5k posted photos of a beautiful field of sunflowers, and I knew I had to go see it. It was cooler, so we took the dogs (who did fine this time).

This was the other buzzy part of the week — we could hear the sunflower field just buzzing with bees! They left me alone & I left them alone.

Some photos from our other walks

We also stopped at a couple of pocket parks in a different town, ending up at a surprise covered bridge (close to vehicular traffic! Yay!).

I bet Darlene knows exactly where we were 🙂

Ended with lunch at a popular farm which I’ve only ever run at before (once) — there was a takeout window and picnic tables to eat at. The first time we’ve done anything other than delivery in forever.

Isaias knocked out power to my mom for days. No phone. No internet. There is a generator there, but it only powers the essentials. Because she rarely uses her cell phone — and I’m not sure she actually hears it ring — no way to contact her. They finally got everything up and running yesterday, so we got to talk.

Bandit was the only one that enjoyed the hammock, sadly. It leans to one side. Any advice?
Bandit also makes Yoga challenging some days
Lola will come say hi during Yoga, but she never stays

Do you have a getaway planned? Nope, not me.

What about short day trips? Yup, I’m embracing them while I can!

Any advice for the unbalanced hammock?  It has really hard slant to the side, making it uncomfortable.

gwy personal oasis

ICYMI: I have a short meditation (roughly 10 minutes) that will help you build your own personal oasis you can visit anytime you need to escape it all. Watch it here.

ICYMI2: Don’t forget that 100% of your donation to my Dempsey Challenge fundraiser goes directly to benefit cancer patients, survivors, and their families.  If you’d like to donate, you can do it here. Thank you!

Coming up on Tuesday: I’ll be talking about how you can take Yoga off your mat and out into your life. Friday I’m sharing my thoughts on four of the masks I use regularly — all are appropriate for running. Or are they?

39 thoughts on “A Buzzzy Week: 8/3 – 9 WRD”

    1. Thanks, Natalie. I was very glad not to be stung, too. It might actually have been a real bee (not a honey bee) but maybe a hornet then. Whatever it was, I didn’t want it on my bare foot!

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  2. “Tis the season for the yellow jackets! Ugh. When I was up in Madison, they were starting to bother us. Not a lot, but just to let us know that they were around. They are just pure evilness in insect form.

    There is a sunflower farm not far from Madison–I keep meaning to go by there!

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  3. I love those photos of the sunflowers! Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers because they are so bright and pretty. They would definitely brighten up any run 🙂

    I’m sorry that your mom was without power for a few days but I’m glad that things are back up and running now. I think the storm did more damage than people predicted – I definitely didn’t think it would be that bad!

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    1. They often lose power at my mom’s place, and they’re basically out in the middle of nowhere. But they’re also further south, and I think it had begun to peter out somewhat as it got to us. It was just a soaker. All day. We don’t get that that often — thankfully!

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  4. The kids just told me about a Sunflower field where everyone goes to take pics for social media. Some of my prairie trails actually get lots of sunflowers in bloom but not so far this year. I’ve been wondering what is up. Not being able to speak with your mom sounds kind of disconcerting. It was weird seeing the storm take its toll up the coast while we here in Chicago had picture perfect weather.

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    1. Well, you don’t get a lot of hurricanes in the midwest, LOL!

      I know they take really good care of the residents. But it was frustrating. I’ve tried so hard to get her to embrace technology but she just doesn’t want to.

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  5. GLad you enjoyed the sunflowers.

    Indian Ladder Farms??

    NH is planned but may not happen. Have 2 Mondays off this month. Hope to do some day trip hiking.

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  6. Thankfully we don’t seem to have wasps or hornets in our back yard. We do have the heat though. I will definitely be taking my workouts outdoors again when it cools off. We just replaced our hammock bed so far it’s all good. Although my hubs and my son have both fallen out of it! What pretty photos and flowers you have this week!

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    1. We always have hornets/wasps. It’s an ongoing battle. I’ve had a few run-ins with them this summer, actually at my mom’s once one was also on me. I just have a wee phobia of stinging insects.

      The hammock seemed like such a good idea, and got good reviews. We just can’t seem to get it to lay straight.

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  8. Love the sunflowers! And that donut looks like my favorite kind. After getting stung by a hornet earlier this year (while working in my basement) I would freak.out if one landed on me. I get too many mosquito bites outside. I got three when I stopped to start a new Peloton run this morning.

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    1. I’m not really a donut person. It was ok. I like my donuts to be more like cupcakes, LOL — but cider donuts are what this farm is known for.

      OMG, getting stung in your own house! That’s just not right! Several years ago they built a nest on our mailbox that wasn’t really apparent — I got stung multiple times over a couple of days before I figured that one out.

      I somehow got attacked by mosquitoes last week while sleeping. Luckily I had the right essential oils for bug bites & that helped a lot!

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  9. I definitely would have been freaking out if a wasp landed on my foot. You did good letting him on there for a minute!

    Your poor mom, having to deal with the power outage. I bet it was confusing/scary not being able to get in touch with you. We missed the whole storm. I love a good rain, so I was feeling left out when I called my son at home and heard how much rain we were getting. Definitely very dry in Colorado. They are worried about forest fires.

    The sunflower field photos are just gorgeous! I could stand to hear the bees buzzing all around just to stand in that beautiful field.

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    1. Earlier this year while visiting my mom some sort of stinging insect landed on me. But it wasn’t on my foot or bare skin. Most of the time I can out wait them, but that was just too much for me, I was definitely freaking out.

      The sunflowers were great. I never knew that sunflower fields were such a big thing!

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  10. The sunflowers are beautiful! Turns out there’s a sunflower field about 20 miles from our town…our youngest does some photography, and took a bunch of engagement pics there for a friend. We had a trip planned to Virginia Beach for the week after my marathon…well, not only did the marathon cancel (a month ago), but now the trip to VA isn’t happening either (it was a conference for the hubby’s work). Oh well…I’m fine staying put.

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    1. I’ll bet your daughter’s photos are amazing. What a wonderful memory for the happy couple!

      I’m not so fine with staying put, but yup, #firstworldproblems indeed. At some point, some year, I’ll get somewhere, LOL!

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  12. I love bees but wasps and hornets are both jerks. They can leave me alone, thanks.

    A local farm is expecting a second crop of sunflowers next month. I want to go.

    We have booked a remote cabin in the mountains for October. Again, most things are closed, so we will carry in our food, wine, and entertainment, and stick to hiking and stay to ourselves.

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    1. You should definitely go see the sunflowers!

      I hope you have a great vacation. We have friends in ME who’ve extended an invitation, but they’re not sure about the dogs, and that would mean having to stay overnight in between also. Most likely not happening but we’ll see.

      And even if they were ok with us bringing the dogs, quite frankly that’s not much of a vacation for me. Last time we took Lola to ME (before we got Bandit), the ticks were horrendous!

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  13. I love sunflower fields. They have a huge one where I live that they plant every year and use as biofuel but sadly they didn’t plant them this year due to the pandemic. My getaways have ended since my daughter will starting back at school next week.

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    1. This was actually the first time they planed this field in sunflowers. They’re beef farmers, but unable to get their beef slaughtered in a USDA facility right now.

      The little things you don’t think about. 😦 Not that I’m a big beef eater, in fact I probably wouldn’t eat any if it weren’t for my husband.

      Hopefully your daughter remains safe at school — such a difficult time. Were you effected by the earthquake?

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    1. Wow, they get into the screened in portion? That’s just wrong! Our deck is open. We’ve talked about screening it in, but apparently it’s a bigger job than I thought & would require a rebuild so probably not happening.

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  15. I know there are sunflower farms nearby, but I’ve never been. Looking at your lovely pictures makes me want to go this year.

    We have plans to go to the beach house in mid-September. We were supposed to be driving down there tomorrow, but my husband’s work got in the way.

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