Nope, there were no hikes this week. The waterfalls in the subject refers to the massive amounts of rain we got, and the fact that the path I ran at a couple of days ago sprouted little waterfalls everywhere. At least it wasn’t flooded like one of the paths where we walked last week!
I’m joining Kim @ Kimrunsonthefly and Deborah @ Confessionsofamotherrunner, and turning up the heat . . . a little.
Workouts update
- Monday: Yoga (30 min), Dogwalk (rest day)
- Tuesday: Yoga AM (20 min), 5 miles long-er run, Dogwalk
- Wednesday: Yoga AM (20 min), Dogwalk (rest day)
- Thursday: Yoga (40 minutes), PB Walk with Weights+ (40 min)
- Friday: Yoga (20 min), 4 miles easy
- Saturday: Yoga (40 min), Dogwalk (rest day)
- Sunday: Yoga (20 min), 3 miles easy + hill repeats x 5, Dogwalk, ST (I’m putting it here so I’ll do it!), Yoga (20 minutes)
Running Mileage: 12 (+1)
PB = Killer B
TM = Treadmill
WU = warmup
CD = cooldown
SB = Stationary Bike
Running Update
Tuesday Intention: go long-er, try for a little speed in the middle
That was the plan. The weather was pretty good. No sun, but also very little wind and temps still a bit cold, but not too bad. The plan was to run about 3 miles easy, 1 mile faster, and then 1 cool down mile. I picked a pace for the faster mile that I thought was doable — well, not this day, apparently. I also made the mistake of waiting til that fourth mile, where there was a mild uphill. My body said a very loud, clear no thank you.
Ah well, at least I know where I stand. I also didn’t feel great the rest of the day, or night, so that might have had something to do with it. It was my fastest 5 miles of 2022 by a couple of minutes, so there’s that.
Friday Intention: easy with a fartlek in the middle
This “easy” run didn’t feel easy at all, but I wasn’t as wiped out as I was after that 5 mile run. I set myself up for success by putting in the speed bursts on the downhill portion of this run. That worked for nice negative splits, with the pace on the last mile a full minute faster than the starting pace — and I’m totally unaware of pace while running, since I’m still in long sleeves.
Sunday Intention: getting stronger
I decided today would be hill repeats in the middle of an easy run. I chose a relatively short hill, and I walked back down after running up, so it was a relatively slow run but that was kind of the point — trying to take it easy and build up strength at the same time. Last week’s daffodils are trying to bloom.
Favorites of the week
A bit more rest this week, although not all rest days are restful. I also worked a bit harder in my running this week, but struggled with fitting in ST. Always something. The definitely favorite of the week was seeing my bulbs (courtesy of Mr. Judy a couple of years ago) starting to bloom. They brought a smile to my face in a gloomy week — I’m sure the weather didn’t help with my lack of motivation this week.
A month or so ago my mom seemed to really turn a corner. She started to eat again, and even sometimes actually enjoy her food. My sister and brother think it’s due to her aide (whom she really dislikes, btw, a long story).
I think it’s more due to not having to go to doctors — and my personal theory is that it’s taken this long (almost 8 months!) for the anesthesia from her hip surgery to clear her system. I’ve read in the elderly it can take that long — and longer. I think it’s actually a combination of all those things, but I am just grateful to see her enjoying life more lately.
ICYMI: We’re wrapping up Week 2 of Spring into Action with a very short cool down and meditation. Trust me, you can do it. You can join Spring into Action at any time here. Or just go ahead and join me for this cool down/meditation here. If you’re signed up for the weekly emails, I really suggest you open today’s email — I’ve got tips on meditation and how to reconnect with why you started this challenge to find your motivation in there.
Coming up on Tuesday & Friday: Tuesday I’m walking down memory lane and sharing the first part of my A-Z travels, a subject I stoleborrowed from another blogger. It was a fun post to put together, but it is photo intensive; you’ve been warned! I did put my own spin on it to connect it to running.. On Friday I share five tips I learned from the book Dynamic Balance (Amazon Affiliate link here) in a mini book review..
Chocolaterunsjudy 
I like hill repeats sometimes. They are hard but rewarding. We had so much rain this week it was just ridiculous. But, bright side things are blooming. Glad your mom is doing better no matter what the reason is 🙂
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The blooms definitely made me smile. Looks like maybe more rain next week but it is April after all!
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I haven’t done hill repeats since I started running with Scooby – and don’t choose hill workouts on Peloton either.
I’m glad your Mom is feeling better. So is the aide helping your Mom feel better even though your Mom doesn’t like her?
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My siblings think her recovery is due to the aide. We have a difference of opinion there. It’s a long story. Right now I just want to see her keep her because I’m not so sure she’d make the effort to eat if she actually had to prepare her own food. Since she’s 94 & has health issues obviously her energy isn’t that great. But better than it was!
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That is really good news on your mother!! I might try to sneak in a little speedwork this week, via some hill repeats. Thanks for the inspiration 😉 I have totally forgotten about that with my half marathon coming up. The race is in two weeks, so there will not be much benefit from it (in terms of actual speed), but it will be a great way to break up a short run.
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You’re welcome! Since I’m only running 3 X week right now, I wanted something a little harder that didn’t actually involve pace.
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I guess spring is motivating you to kick up your running! Sounds like you had some good workouts. Glad to hear your mom is doing better- that must make you happy. I hope you get some drier weather this week!
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It was a pretty good week of running. Unfortunately rain is still in the forecast for next week, but warmer which is very welcome. And they could be wrong!
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That’s great news about your mom! I swear it was gloomy everywhere this past week. Today we have beautiful sunshine so I am soaking it up while it lasts. I can’t remember the last time I did any sort of hill work. It’s been quite awhile! Nice work!
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My husband & I were talking about how the bloggers almost universally reported icky weather this week. I actually like a little hill work but it’s not easy to get that in in Winter (well, not with my old treadmill).
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They’ve been stripping the preserve of invasive brush and cutting down trees too. I don’t even recognize it there anymore. I know it’s necessary, but still…
Glad to hear that your mom is doing well. Maybe taking the focus off her health has helped her feel better.
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I’m afraid it’s going to be horribly buggy if we have another wet summer.
Going to drs in the fall was literally giving her panic attacks & she’d never had that before. Now she thinks she doesn’t need Hospice, but that would mean going back to drs. I have to go this weekend so hoping to convince her that staying on Hospice is a good thing.
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LOL, I love the “it’s time to sprout” cartoon. These plants must be so confused. Mother Nature has not been playing nice over the past few weeks.
Glad to hear that your mom is doing well – I know that must be such a relief for you!
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That meme was spot on. 🙂
It’s definitely nice to see my mom eating again. Doesn’t really relieve us of our “duties” though.
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Real life has gotten in the way of workouts for me. We’re flying to California to say our goodbyes to my MIL this coming weekend as she’s going into hospice care.
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I did comment. Maybe it got deleted. Or whatever.
I probably agreed about the rain. But at least I got all my runs in outside.
It even rained several times during the weekend in NYC. Happily not during the race.
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WordPress does weird things at times. Any blog, really. I couldn’t comment on your blog last week, this week I can.
I also was able to manage my run around the rain.
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That meme is perfect – it would really be helpful if Spring would show up with some consistency.
I applaud you for adding in some hill repeats – I cannot remember the last time I did an intentional hill workout. There are rolling hills throughout my neighborhood/town so I guess there’s some natural hill work there.
Great to hear that your mom is doing better!
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I actually kind of like hill repeats. My neighborhood has multiple hills, and I took it easy. I chose the shortest one, ran up, and walked down. It ended up being a VERY slow mile due to the walking, but I’m ok with that!
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I really can’t tell what pace I’m running at, even more than before. Yesterday, I did a five miler before meeting a friend to help with her foot rehab with a walk-run, and I kept feeling overwhelmed, panicky and fatigued – then I realised I’d been going a bit faster than I have recently!
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Pacing is hard. Especially when you haven’t done it in a long time!
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It sounds like we were all affected by the weather last week. It’s warm and sunny here this week and is such an improvement! My attitude has definitely improved.
It’s good to hear that your mom is eating better. It’s so hard watching them struggle.
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I know you know that struggle. It is hard.
We’re still having a lot of rain, but when it’s not raining it’s warm & sunny & I can sit outside, which feels great.
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The flowers are so pretty!
I know I’m much happier when i don’t have to go to the doctor, so I bet your mom is, too.
Great job! I’m trying to keep up with your yoga, but the pugs attack me on the mat!
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Bandit is relatively good about leaving me alone on the mat. He’s the first furkid that has been that way, the cats used to think it was a great opportunity to lay on me.
Do what you can, when you can — these practices aren’t going anywhere. Like running, Yoga should be something you get to do, not something you have to do (although it can take a lot of faking it til you make it to get to that place).
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