Hiking

I Come Back Even Stronger: August 2020

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 20 Comments

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August was relatively busy in a good way. 2 trips to mom, one with a side trip. More day trips.  Slight increase in running. Slight increase in walking, too. Made an effort to get in more steps. I collected my mug from June’s virtual xc runs (with a side trip on that trip too).

August’s song is throwin’ it way back, but man I remember belting this song out when I was young. It’s a classic — Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman”.

You can bend but never break me
‘Cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal
And I come back even stronger
Not a novice any longer

These lyrics really speak to me! Do you still have goals? Has 2020 broken you or made you stronger? Do you feel that you’ve grown because of every thing you’ve gone through in 2020?

I did it. I didn’t always like it.

Getting in scheduled runs
I’ve slowly begun to try for 4 runs a week — some weeks, anyway. When I feel like it. So upping the ante just a bit. A virtual race (in September) isn’t the same as a real race, but I can still challenge myself a bit.

Grade Earned:  A

Recording my runs
I record them here. Someday I’ll get back to journaling!

Grade Earned: F

Dynamic Warmup
Dynamic warmups were often really short — 5 minutes — but every little bit helps. As we merge into Fall and the mornings are cooler, it should be easier to do longer warmups. And necessary with cooler temps!

I’ve even done a little Yin Yoga some mornings before a run. In fact, I’ve also filmed three short Yin Yoga Pre Run Warmup videos! I was inspired. Not quite sure yet when I’ll be sharing those.

Grade Earned: A

Foam Rolling
Mostly just foam rolling before runs — once or twice after a run too.

Grade Earned: B+

Nutrition
Nutrition has been meh. Not terrible, not great, and the scale reflects that. I already feel the pull of wanting to eat more as the weather heads towards Winter. It’s natural . . . but some clothes are feeling a wee bit snug, sometimes (because I go back & forth around a few pounds).

Grade Earned: B-

Support

  • Massage? Nope. We all know why.
  • Chiropractor Appointment? See massage.
  • Do I need a hair appointment? I need to schedule that appointment. We are in a very good situation with COVID right now, but I could see that changing with more time spent indoors and school restarting.

Grade Earned: F

Getting stronger with a little hiking & extra walking

Cross Training
Stationary cycling fell off the grid this month, but the rest is still going pretty strong. There’s only so many hours in a day & I find I need to be careful not to overdo things.

Grade Earned: A

August 2020  gets  . . . 
. . . an A. A couple of Fs again, but mostly August was a busy month and I did the best I could with the time I had and by listening to my body.

August Goals:

  • Run 4 x week. Y/N. Sometimes. Some weeks I just wasn’t feeling it, so I didn’t. Other weeks, I did.
  • Set an intention for each run. Y.  Sometimes it’s after the fact, though. Not as effective that way. I need to work on that!
  • Finish the irest course I started. Y. I did, then discovered that there was an audio book version on Audible. So I bought that (I’ve got a lot of credits), because I enjoy the practices (which are included with the audio book).
  • Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up. Y. I’m trying, but it’s crept up just a bit beyond where I’m comfortable. It seems the Winter creep has started early. So Y to eating intuitively; unfortunately Y to creep, too. I mostly know what I need to do — but I need to do it. #youfeelme?
  • Add in more Pilates when I can.Y.I feel that Pilates does helps to shape my body. Yoga can be really tough, but most Pilates (done correctly) is tough in a different way. They are similar, but not the same, and I enjoy both. The problem is always time!

Which leads me to September Goals:

  • Run 4 x week. It all depends on how I feel. I’m enjoying the Peloton Bootcamps and runs — still have to try one of the walk/runs — so it adds a little variety to my life. Plus the weather should make outdoor running more fun again.
  • Set an intention for each run — before the run! It’s not really an intention if you set it afterwards, now is it?
  • Meditate when I get up. Meditating first thing in the morning is centering and sets me up for a calmer morning.
  • Explore new places when I visit my mom. There are quite a few places that are pretty much on the way. Easier to explore on my own, and then size up if it’s somewhere we want to go back to.
  • Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up. In the last few months my choices haven’t always been the best. I can feel that in some of my clothes — and I don’t like that feeling!
  • Look around for the next virtual to motivate me. I don’t need to do #allthevirtuals, but it’s not bad to have something to work towards sometimes. Makes life feel a bit more normal. The cool Fall weather is my fun season to run (if it’s not raining).

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Linking up with Zenaida Arroyo and Kim @ Kookyrunner

This week I am also joining up with the new Runners’ Roundup linkup.

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Silver Linings Playbook: 6/4 – 10 Weekly Wrap

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 32 Comments

I can’t say as I was super happy about the unseasonably cool weather this week — except when it comes to running. On the other hand, running in unseasonably warm weather the previous few weeks set me up for a good race last weekend. There’s always a silver lining, right?

I’m joining up with the Weekly Wrap from Holly @ Hohoruns and Wendy @ Taking the Long Way Home to wrap up another week of training, dodging raindrops, and silver linings.

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Workouts update

  • Monday: Dogwalk, 6 miles (6 x 400m hill repeats)
  • Tuesday: Dogwalk, 5 miles easy, PB Total Body Toning (15 minutes)
  • Wednesday: Dogwalk, Abs, Hips & Glutes
  • Thursday:  Dogwalk, YFPR Hips, 4 miles easy
  • Friday:  Dogwalk, Pilates Legs & Arms
  • Saturday: YFR Hips, 8 Mile LSD
  • Sunday: Short Hike

Mileage: 23 (+7)

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

 

The view never gets old, even though the workout is damn hard!

Monday
Careful what you ask for, right? Downhill repeats on the schedule since my upcoming half has a 3000 ft drop. I was blessed with a unseasonably cool day (and the rain had ended earlier). It’s still hard. I’m sure it will always be hard.

I was pleased that it was faster than when I did downhill repeats last year — not that I was trying to be faster, in fact the warm up miles were quite slow — and most of all, that my body felt fine the next day.

It’s the only color they come in & I have nothing they match!

Tuesday
I ended up hanging around most of the day, waiting for the guys who were working on our trees to finish. The upside was that my new Newtons arrived. As usual, when I’m in a bit of a time crunch, I run faster (it was a theme for this week). Picked Bandit up for the cool down and he managed to keep a decent pace, too.

Thursday
Or the day I broke Bandit. No, no really, but . . . Thursday wasn’t a frustrating day overall, but there was some frustrating incidents. By the afternoon I was more than ready to take it out on the road.

After 3-speedy-for-me miles (frustration/anger almost always makes me run faster) I picked up Bandit for my cool down. I knew it was a bit warmer than he’d been running in, but he seemed game and didn’t seem tired while we ran. It was only 3/4 of a mile.

When we got home it was a different story. As soon as I took his harness off he just plopped down, which isn’t like him; he’s part JRT and though he does a good couch potato act, he’s got a lot of energy. When we went upstairs and I refilled the water bowl (Giz is constantly draining it), Gizmo of course called first dibs, and Bandit again flopped down while waiting his turn. And afterwards he plopped down on the floor on his side.

None of this was normal behavior and we were getting concerned. Long story short, he’s just fine, but let that be a cautionary tale to those who run with dogs — they don’t always have the good sense to stop before they’re overheated/tired and we have to be mindful of them.

Lovely day along the Hudson

Saturday
If I could dial up weather for my races, this would be it. Although I met up with several friends, I had longer to run so I started solo earlier. The plan was to meet up more friends for breakfast afterwards, and knowing I’m in a time crunch almost always makes me run faster. Again!

Or maybe it was the Nuun with caffeine in it. I like to use caffeine for my races, but most of the time in training I don’t. But as usual, I’m playing around with new stuff and one of the things I decided to try this morning was to have Nuun prior to my run (not during, not after). I had one tube of Nuun with caffeine, and it’s only useful before a run.

Or maybe it was the new Newtons (a different model). I didn’t say I couldn’t find them at all, just that I couldn’t find them cheaply. I do wish they came in more colors!

I ended up with a pretty consistent pace, and quite a fast pace for me. The sort of pace I might run if I were running with Darlene (except I wasn’t). I felt a little knee tightness at one point, but it seemed to open up and I felt okay afterwards. And still feel fine.

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Come join me!

Favorites of the week
I took advantage of Global Running Day and signed up for the inaugural Best Damn Race Savannah. In 2019. I’ve wanted to go to Savannah forever, but most of the halfs there are in months that are almost guaranteed to be hot. This half is in February. Even better, it’s two days after my birthday.

I did the inaugural Best Damn Race NOLA last year (read about it here), and I enjoyed the race (if not the heat) and felt it was in general well run — awesome medal, too!

You can join me by using my link here. I get $25 off if five of you sign up. Considering I could barely give away a race entry to UT last year, I’m not expecting any signups but I had to throw it out there. How about it, my Southern runner friends?

Mr. Judy wasn’t happy about the tick possibilities

Today I managed to get Mr. Judy out for a short hike at a nearby preserve. We were hunting for the waterfalls, but we never found them. Of course, we only hiked about a mile. Bandit and Lola were with us, too. I would have gone further, but I was happy to be out there and also to have some hills to climb. I much prefer the hills when I’m hiking . . .

We’ve also been doing a little more landscaping around the house

We stopped at a nursery/farmer’s stand on the way back. We wanted to get some shrubs for various places in the yard. We took the dogs with us, then I saw the “no pets” sign as we were checking out. Whoops! Well, the employee we were talking with didn’t say anything about the dogs. I picked up some corn to grill with our steak tonight.

The shrub above is actually giving us some fits. There were tree roots where we wanted to put and and we’re having the darndest time trying to figure out where it should go. Stay tuned . . .

Blog posts that caught my eye this week:

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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 you still planting?

What’s for dinner tonight?

Do you enjoy the act of hiking for itself, or must there be a great view?

Another one bites the dust: Spilling over tea/coffee November 2017

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 41 Comments

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You’ll have to keep reading to see what I killed this time. No, it wasn’t a furkid or Mr. Judy, although there have definitely been a few times when all of them have tempted me . . .

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Gizmo’s very sweet; he can also be super annoying!
Confessions of a Mother Runner

Pull up chair and mug with Coco and Deborah and me for the ultimate coffee tea date.

If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you that while Bandit was a pain during our anniversary getaway, he’s been doing fairly well at home (except for the whole food boycott thing) and we have started to let him sleep in the bed.

Now we’re just trying to figure out logistics: as in, sometimes Mr. Judy lets him out of the bedroom, but not outside, while I’m making my breakfast — and can’t really let him out right then. Or that he doesn’t seem to be able to go as long overnight as Lola can, which is odd, considering she’s almost half his size. What is it about boy dogs?

And are booking another getaway to hopefully make up for the very unsatisfactory anniversary getaway. This time without the dogs. Although the weekend before Thanksgiving. Which is, of course, at my house. I see a lot of baking during the week in my future.

 

If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you I still have pretty much no clue what halfs/states I’m doing in 2018. I mean, I get it: it’s November of 2017, for crying out loud. But I feel sort of at loose ends without a goal race on the horizon.

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I’ve enjoyed running, walking, and hiking all over the country in 2017

On the other hand, it’s also nice to not have to run. To get in more yoga, more cross training. I’d like to say more hiking, too, but with the shorter, colder days, I suspect my hiking days have just about come to a close for 2017. I am grateful that my trip to Utah rekindled my love affair with hiking!

You never know the places running will take you, literally and figuratively.

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Ended my halfs on a high note

If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d say that I want to say a big thank you to Coach Rachel @ Runningonhappy. Would I have had as great a running year without her? We’ll never know, of course, but I’m so glad that I decided to work with her. Here’s to an even better 2018.

Who knew I could take another 4 minutes off my half marathon PR — when that PR was an 8 minute PR? I’m pretty sure Coach Rachel did, but I sure didn’t.

Although seriously, when it comes to running, this was truly the best year of my running career, and some of the races that are in the “running” for 2018 will be challenging and unlikely to be PRs. But I’m always up for a challenge — well, sort of.

If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I killed another one, as the title says. Magic Bullet-type blender, that is. There was the original Magic Bullet, which died, and then several years later came back, only to die in another year or so.

Luckily I happened to have a different one waiting in the wings. It was a final sale, so not returnable. Only I never really liked that particular one. I made sure to not work it too hard, because the little ones aren’t quite as strong as my Vitamix, but my Vitamix doesn’t always do a great job on small amounts — so I use both the Vitamix and a personal blender all the time.

Except that this one died, too. I have a new one coming . . . we’ll see how long it takes me to kill this one.

If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you that I try not to be a Debbie Downer, but sometimes I feel as though I am. So when I sat down to write this post I tried to think of positive stuff.

I’m sticking in one rant though: I’m so tired of people who just seem to target my little Honda Civic. It’s like I’m not even there. Like the guy sitting in the right turn only lane that literally tried to drive right through my car because he decided he didn’t want to turn right after all and obviously I could read his mind and was just going to let him go in front of me (or through me, as he seemed to want to do).

How hard is it to turn around, guys?

Ok, that’s off my chest . . . for now.

Tea? Iced Tea? Coffee? Decaf? Or something else?

Don’t you hate town driving (which is what I mostly do)?

Do you have a personal blender you love? That isn’t easy to kill?

Are you satisfied with 2017 or look for redemption in 2018?

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Today I am also  joining up with the  Friday Five 2.0  from Fairytales & Fitness and Rachel @ Running on Happy.

New Critters: 9/4-10 Weekly Wrap

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 34 Comments

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 

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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? 

Yay for Procrastination!: Spilling over tea/coffee September 2017

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 32 Comments

b917teaIt’s been a frustrating week — no wait, kind of a frustrating month — and so I have a lot to spill over my cup of tea. And yes, normally I’d link up tomorrow, and I was working on a normal Friday Five post, but it needs a bit more attention and I’d already started on this post so I’m totally ready to spill/vent/rant — but I’m trying to end a good note — no one loves a Debbie Downer!

Confessions of a Mother Runner

Pull up chair and mug with Coco and Deborah and me for the ultimate coffee tea date.

If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you that I can’t figure out how to juggle training for a half marathon with hiking. It just seems like hiking was my tipping point . . . all I know is that when we stopped, I definitely felt better.

But I don’t want to stop! And I also like that it’s a family affair (except for Gizmo). I admire you people who run a long distance race and then go out and hike . . . that’s not me.

If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you sometimes procrastination works. We got a bill from the chiropractor one day. I was very puzzled, as I pay a co-pay when I’m there. I needed to set up an appointment, and figured I’d ask about it then.

Several days later I got a message that it was their fault. I still need to set up the appointment. And an appointment for a dental for Bandit. I think Lola needs one, too — I actually mentioned that to the vet at her annual, but he didn’t really think she was that bad. She lost a tooth recently.

Gizmo needs an annual, too . . .

If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d that I just can’t deal with the frustrations of Bandit lately. Oh, don’t worry, we’re not getting rid of him, but seriously, he’s just become super frustrating. And I know that so many other people are dealing with things that are much, much worse (my thoughts in prayers are with TX, were I spent so many happy years & vacations).

Anyway, getting the damn dog to eat has become such a struggle. It’s just ridiculous. And if I don’t feed him, he throws up because of an empty stomach! Not to mention because of all the tension surrounding mealtime, he is now afraid to even come close to his crate if he even suspects I’m going to try to get him to eat. But he’ll happily go in to get his treats when I go out.

The last straw the other day was when I was trying to just train him with the crate with treats, as a precursor to feeding him. He wouldn’t even take treats. It’s beyond frustrating and time consuming.

Sometimes he does eat. And we won’t even talk about the time and money I’m spending going to the pet food store and getting different foods to tempt him.

Finally this week I said fine, if you only want one meal a day, that’s what you’ll get. And Mr. Judy is serving it to you until you chill out. Hopefully no more vomiting and an all-around happier household.

If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you on top of the time I’m spending on Bandit (ingrate!), our dishwasher broke last week. So I’ve also been washing everything by hand all week. Between me being home, the animals, and preparing all our meals, I’m spending a lot of time on that, too.

The repair guy comes today. Let’s hope it’s actually more cost efficient to repair it than buy a new washer; it’s only 7 years old.

If we were enjoying high tea . . .
I’d tell you that I’m gonna try to end on a high note. I got together with friends last night for dinner. Only I was the only one that ate, but I digress . . . both are my usual running buddies but one has been out of running for a while now (we’ll call her running buddy D).

We have spent many miles together and I miss her, so it was great to catch up! The other running buddy (running buddy J) and I still spend some miles together and will be going to Wineglass together (God willing!). After I devoured dinner, running buddy D and I went for a walk in the park. We just walked, and walked, and walked, chatting away . . . I didn’t get my Garmin going but we were walking for quite some time. It was great.

Until she told me a scientist friend told her this year we’re getting another snowmaggedon!

Tea? Iced Tea? Coffee? Decaf? Or something else?

Do you wash things by hand or use your dishwasher?

How do you fit in other activities than running?

Do you worry when your furkids balk at meals?

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Today I am also  joining up with the  Friday Five 2.0  from Fairytales & Fitness and Rachel @ Running on Happy.

Damn you, s’mores: Runfessions July 2017

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 24 Comments

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July may have been quiet, but I still have a few runfessions to get off my chest. Or thighs, or buns . . . it seems like food is the theme in a lot of them this month!

Join me, Marcia @ Marcia’s Healthy Slice and other bloggers — reading other bloggers’ runfessions might just make you feel better..

I runfess . . .
I have a tendency to bit off more than I can chew — literally and figuratively. The literally being I tend to be a volume girl when eating (don’t give me teeny tiny portions!).

The figuratively being I get caught up in what I want to do vs what I should do vs what what’s realistic to do, and sometimes tire myself out needlessly. Take last Friday, for instance. I wanted to bake some stuff to bring to a party I was going to. And I just wanted to test out a lot of recipes I’d been eyeing for a while!

So I:

  • Walked the dogs
  • Made a smoothie to sip while exercising
  • Rode the stationary bike
  • Then did arms & abs
  • Baked brownie bites
  • Baked Banana oatmeal cookies simply because I had a couple of very ripe bananas
  • Made a dip for the party
  • Mixed up the batter for the s’mores cookies I planned to bake the next day
  • Washed towels
  • Mixed up the batter for my breakfast cookies the next day
  • Made a smoothie to drink post long run the next day
  • Cut up some lettuce and put it in mason jars for future salads
  • And of course fed the furkids and went outside with them multiple times throughout the day

Basically, I was pretty much on my feet from about 7 am until about 2 pm.

This was the day before my long run, naturally. So much for taking it easy.

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I runfess . . .
I definitely got carried away with the S’mores Cookies I talked about in last week’s Weekly Wrap (read it here). And maybe those Fig Bars, too. As in I ate more than I should have.

I’m usually pretty good, but I’m blaming the runger.

I runfess . . .
One day I ran in the morning on a super humid day, which means lots of sweat. I didn’t feel like struggling out of those sweaty clothes knowing I’d either have to wear some new workout clothes or get back into them later . . . so I stayed in them a few hours, until I’d finished my strength training and some yoga.

Good thing there was no one around me to be grossed out by it!

I runfess . . .
I wimped out and decided to run on the treadmill on a humid, rainy day that actually turned out to not be all that rainy. I can’t tell you the amount of times I went back and forth between I’ll run outside, I’ll run on the treadmill. It was quite the epic battle.

I runfess I probably would have run outside if I hadn’t misplaced my Garmin charger and my Garmin had very little charge. The charger is magnetic, which is great, except for the fact that it has a tendency to stick to metal objects. I know I’d charged it Friday before my long run, and dammit why didn’t I charge it back up after that run?

It was just an easy run, but how would I know when to run, when to walk? Or how far I’d gone? Not to mention I’d probably have to download an app so I could tell how far I’d run and I didn’t want to deal with that.

Mr. Judy had been complaining about the fact that I hadn’t yet tested out the treadmill after he fixed it again. So that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I runfess . . .
I normally don’t struggle with my weight as much during the summer, but this summer is different. Maybe it was all the travel and halfs. So knowing I only had a little wiggle room on my first of the month Weight Watchers weigh in to stay free for the month, I actually weighed several different dresses before I got dressed.

In the end I went with my lucky weigh in dress. Yes, I have one — basically, it’s the lightest dress I own. I will be heartbroken when it’s no longer wearable! In the end I could have worn something heavier, but I don’t have a scale at home and I wasn’t sure.

Everybody’s luck runs out sometime . . .

Do you sometimes overbook yourself?

How long would you stay in sweaty workout clothes?

What is the weirdest thing you’ve done to get a good weigh-in?

Wouldn’t you like to get some runfessions off your mind? Come join us

Runfessions

I am also linking up with the  Friday Five 2.0  from Fairytales & Fitness and Rachel @ Running on Happy today.

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Skirting Around: 7/3-9 Weekly Wrap

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 30 Comments

A quiet fourth, a fun race with friends, and more “hiking” on an easy trail. Despite more rain and humidity, the week ended on a high note with a beautiful day today.

I’m joining up with the Weekly Wrap from Holly @ Hohoruns and Tricia @ Misssipppiddlin and a guest host for the Weekly Wrap to share how I’m staying activeenjoying my summer: is being active making your summer more enjoyable?

WeeklyWrap

Workouts update

  • Monday: Dogwalk, Pahla B Core
  • Tuesday: Firecracker 4 + 1 mile WU (5 total)
  • Wednesday: 3 miles easy, Dogwalk, Pahla B Booty
  • Thursday:  Dogwalk, 4 miles easy
  • Friday: Dogwalk, Pahla B Full Body with Dumbells
  • Saturday: 6 mile LSD, JY Full Body Recovery
  • Sunday: 1.5ish mile hike: Escarpment Trail @ Thatcher State Park

Mileage: 18 (+2)

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 

Hot, hilly, but fun: Firecracker 4

Tuesday

I’ve been running the Firecracker 4 race on the fourth for 4 years now. Has a certain ring to it, no? I’ll recap it on Tuesday, I hope; it was a fun race and even more fun to go with friends.

Wednesday

I had a morning vet appointment with Bandit. Decided to switch things up a bit and ran a little over 2 miles and then got him to run the last little bit with me. I expected it to be super slow and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t.

This dog was a cool silhoette — until I got closer to photograph him!

Thursday

While it’s not impossible for me to run Thursday mornings, it’s hard for me to run and get a walk in before I have to leave for a meeting. And now that it’s warming up, that meant a pre-dinner run.

Mr. Judy warned me it might rain — I wish it had! Although the humidity wasn’t too bad, it was cloudy, and there was a nice breeze. Tried to get a pic of the big and little dogs on each side of the tire, but the minute I crossed the road to get closer they started to bark and run the fence line.

I’ve converted a few running buddies to the skirt

Saturday

Humid again, but with plenty of cloud cover. It’s almost always a good day when I get to run with friends, especially one I hadn’t seen since the beginning of the year. And thankfully the rain waited for long after we were done (since some of it was heavy and there was some thunder, too).

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Happy Adoptversary, Bandit! 

Favorites of the week
It was time for Bandit’s annual this week (can you believe that?). He was examined, got his rabies vaccination, got blood drawn, and his claws clipped, and no one got hurt (for those that don’t know, he bit the first vet I took him to after we’d had him for about a week last year). He did growl at the vet when she came in . . . apparently he has white coat syndrome.

In July Skirtsports does its #31daysofskirtsports. It’s a fun little game, where there’s a word prompt for each day. And the chance of prizes (and you don’t have to be in Skirtsports, either).

I got started on it last summer and then we adopted Bandit and that was the end of that. I’ve been having fun playing along on Instagram (you follow me, right?) this year.

After our run on Saturday, five of us went out for breakfast. We all enjoyed and had lots of laughs.

I really dithered on what to do on Sunday. First I tempted a friend to hike with me, then changed my mind (she had a lot to do anyway and I was kind of tired). Then I was going to go up to a Farmer’s Market. Then when Mr. Judy actually agreed to come out on a hike — who could refuse? Especially as the rain Saturday had blown in a lovely day today.

We headed to the park that we had thought about visiting last weekend, another one we’d been to once with Lola and Chester and never returned to. While it’s a beautiful park, it’s not at all well marked and the employees were less than helpful. The trail we had thought about doing last week was closed (which we knew, thankfully), as a woman was injured by a falling rock; I guess we dodged a bullet by not going last week!

We were off to a frustrating start trying to hunt down the trail, but eventually we figured it out and it was a nice, easy trail with some lovely views:

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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:

Easy summer running or full on training (I’m still in a relatively easy phase)? 

Favorite way to stay active during the summer? 

What fruit and/or veggies are you loving lately?

The turning point: 6/5-26- 7/2 Weekly Wrap

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 30 Comments

I got in my runs, despite it being a real steambath on Saturday. And I got the family out for a short hike at one of the major battlefields of the American Revolution — just half an hour or so from our home. It seemed like the thing to do this holiday weekend.

The title, by the way, refers to the fact that some historians believe the Battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the Revolutionary War. But I’m getting ahead of myself!

I’m joining up with the Weekly Wrap from Holly @ Hohoruns and Tricia @ Misssipppiddlin and a guest host for the Weekly Wrap to share how I’m staying active this summer — won’t you share how you get moving through the summer months?

WeeklyWrap

Workouts update

  • Monday: Dogwalk, Pahla B Upper Body Resistance, 3 miles easy
  • Tuesday: Dogwalk, 4 miles easy
  • Wednesday: 3 miles easy with hill sprints (5), Dogwalk, Pahla B Stability Ball
  • Thursday:  Dogwalk
  • Friday: Dogwalk, Pahla B Balance
  • Saturday: 6 mile LSD, Dogwalk
  • Sunday: 3 mile hike: Wilkinson Trail @ Saratoga Historical Park

Mileage: 16 (NC)

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 

You need a lawnmower to get through!


Monday

I decided to hit up the trails on a lovely Monday morning. What I didn’t know was how overgrown those particular trails are at this time of year (especially since we’ve had a lot of rain). Not fun.

I caught my toe on a root and almost face planted but managed to stay upright. I think the perimeter might be a bit better, so I might hit that up again next week to find out. I’m eyeing a possible (short) trail race at the end of August.

I didn’t run at the park; but I walked the dogs here after my run


Tuesday

Another beautiful low humidity day and I took Bandit out for his first run in quite some time. You can almost always tell when I drop Bandit off — even with the hands free leash (buy it here — Amazon Affiliate link) — it just feels harder with him on “board”. My pace automatically picks up (usually) once I drop him off.

Wednesday

Yet another gorgeous day. I don’t normally run three days in a row, but I couldn’t pass up such a beautiful morning! And my resting heart rate (read about that here) told me it would be okay to run. Plus . . . just three miles.

I took Bandit out for a bit again. Dropped him off, and then added on some hill sprints at the end because my race on the fourth is hilly.

Soooooo humid!


Saturday

This run started out pretty good. No organized run for my group, and even though several of my friends were meeting up, I invited Darlene to run with me a little later because a) I could relax a bit more in the morning and b) we haven’t run together in a long time.

So of course we started out speedy for me, easy for Darlene. And we began to slow down after the first couple of miles. No biggie. Around mile 4 the heat & super high humidity sucked the life out of me and I seriously considered walking the last 2 miles, although of course I didn’t — I just slowed way down.

It was still a pretty speedy 6 miles for me, because it is almost always is when I run with Darlene. The good news is that although my race on the fourth doesn’t start until 9 am, it’s also only 4 miles and looks like it might be nice weather.

Favorites of the week
It was a quiet week that somehow felt super busy. I skipped my swim on Wednesday in favor of running on a glorious day. Catching up with Darlene is always good. And good speed training for me.

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Sometimes you need a really big breakfast cookie

This humongous breakfast cookie. I tweaked a recipe I found on Pinterest, but it needs more tweaking. I tweaked it this morning but it still needs work. It’s very satisfying but also very crumbly.

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It got very wet later on

And then I did it again: dragged Mr. Judy and the dogs out relatively early this morning for an easy hike. We were debating between a more scenic hike and one that would probably be less scenic, but less busy on a holiday weekend. We went with the less busy one, Saratoga National Historical Park.

Unfortunately after a lot of rain this week it was also quite muddy and had large puddles (or little lakes, if you’re a little dog) a lot. So the dogs got quite wet and we didn’t go too far down the trail. It always amazes me how peaceful former battlefields are.

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You don’t get this green without lots of rain!

Saratoga is actually considered one of the turning points in the American Revolution, although I was never taught about it, despite growing up just a few hours south of there.

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Battles always seem to be at the most scenic areas

By the time we left at about 11 am the parking lot was rapidly filling up. We headed home, refueled, and gave the dogs baths.

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:

Did your parents take you to battlefields? 

Were you educated about local battles growing up? 

Running around a battlefield — disrespectful or not?