Fall workouts

 Monday = Ran intervals with friends for a total of 6 miles & Power 30 in the afternoon

Tuesday = Rest Day

Wednesday = Ran 4 miles at Bush Park after work.  Didn't realize there would be a big high school cross country meet going on so I tried to run away from them or not go on their course.  

Thursday = Swam 1100 yards after work at South.

Friday = 20 minutes of weights and 25 minutes of stationary bike

Saturday = Ran 6.26 miles in south Salem.  I walked 2.74 miles with Rob and Derek downtown later in the afternoon.

Sunday = Run before church.  It was really beautiful out with the sun coming up.  I did 5 miles.  I still feel like I am faster than what I am.  I am still like 10:15 pace which is so much slower than I used to do.  Trying to build and get faster.

Total miles for 2022 = 683.9 -- almost to 700!

Last week of September

 This week has been a mix of joy and major challenges.  The major challenges are work related and man I am getting stretched again in this crazy job of mine.  Sometimes it is hard to not feel like I am losing my marbles or questioning my calling.  Thank goodness for running & the gym.  And for my body finally adjusting back to early mornings.

Monday = Intervals with friends = 5 miles.  Trying to mourn the fact my running friend is moving away very soon.  I will miss her! I also went to Power 30 while Kara was in theatre practice.

Tuesday = Rest Day

Wednesday = 20 minutes of weights and 30 minutes of stationary bike.  I was going to go to Power at South but I needed to get to work earlier...plus I am liking Power 30 so much more.  I will probably start going to that BC.  Glad I got my workout in early because this was a very tough day.

Thursday = I wanted to swim with friends but I was so stressed in the morning that I could not do it.  Instead I swam after work at South River Road.

Friday = Ran 3.07 miles with Emily

Saturday = Hiked Dimple Hill for a total of 8.50 miles with Rob.

Sunday = I rested as I was very sore and my ears were hurting from my cold.  I did not feel good.

Total miles for 2022 = 659.9

September workouts

 I have not been blogging since school started.  Thankfully I have been able to keep up a somewhat regular routine and early mornings are getting easier.  My body is getting used to it though I am going to bed before the kids...sometimes all three of them!

I started on Labor Day & I will try to remember all my workouts.

9/5 = Ran 2.6 miles

9/6 = Ran 3.22

9/7 = Can't remember... rest day?

9/8 = I believe I swam with friends and the pool was crazy busy.

9/9 & 9/10 = Rest.  I came home from Friday night feeling sick and I think it from the egg roll I ate from the Safeway cafe.  Or just exhaustion adjusting back to this schedule.

9/11 = Ran 4 miles before church

9/12 = Ran 6 miles in the early morning doing intervals

9/13 = Rest day

9/14 = Ran 3.4 miles.  I was going to go to Power but I felt so overwhelmed and I couldn't get up for it.

9/15 = Swam again with friends

9/16 = Ran with Emily in Keizer and we did 3.11 miles

9/17 = Power 30 at West Salem Courthouse

9/18 = Ran 4.5 miles before church

9/19 = Rest...wanted to do intervals but woke up with head ache, hot flashes, cramping.  Not fun stuff.

9/20 = 4 mile run and saw a bunch of deer on Liberty & Madrona

9/21 = Group Power at South River Road

9/22 = Power 30 at Battlecreek

9/23 = Hiking & kayaking with Kara's class at Clear Lake

9/24 = Power 30 at West & ran 5 miles with Emily

9/25 = Ran 5 miles...it was really hot!

Total running miles from this = 40.83

Total for the year = 643.33...might not hit 1,000 but should get close to 800.

Running and Hiking

 Since I came back from Texas, I have not had much of a routine at all in terms of exercise.  I have done several day trips and an overnight trip with Kara to Silver Falls.  When I am not on day trips I am working.  However I love all the hikes I have done.  I feel like I can get back on a routine this coming week in preparation for the fall.  I am not too hard on myself because I have not been stagnant.  I have not been doing my normal running and gym routine.  These are my miles so far in August.

August 2 = Ran at Bush Park = 4.02 miles

August 4 = Intervals at Wendy Kroger Park = 3.36 miles

August 5 = Run around the neighborhood = 5 miles

August 9 = Kara and I hiked the Nature Trail at Silver Falls & part of the 214 trail = 2.12 miles

                    Kara and I also hikes from Winter Falls to Twin Falls and back = 2.10 miles

August 13 = Hiked Mary's Peak East Ridge Trail with friends = 6.34 miles

August 20 = Hiked the Buck Mountain Loop with Rob = 8.70 miles

Miles for 2022 = 602.25

I Still Hate Early Mornings

 I worked three full days at the beginning of the week.  My plan was to run on Monday with the tri girls and swim with them on Tuesday.  I could not get myself out of bed at 4:40 AM.  My anxiety was so high.  I could not bring myself to do it.  The early mornings are great for getting workouts in but they are exhausting and so much harder in the summer...it's hard to go to bed at 9:30 when it's not technically all the way dark out.  I may have to go back to it in the fall.  Thankfully I still did my workouts this week.

Monday = Run 3 miles of intervals at Wendy Kroger Park

Tuesday = Ran 4 miles in the neighborhood before work.

Wednesday = Swam 1,000 yards in the outdoor pool at West.  I felt lightheaded and dizzy at times.  I don't know if was the buoyancy from the pool filters or else my ears are still messed up from last week.  I was able to complete my workout but I had to take breaks.  I was glad the outdoor pool was open for lap swimming because I didn't realize the indoor pool is still under construction.

Thursday = Went to R30 and took Kara with me.

Friday = Ran 5 miles in the afternoon.  It was nice to be able to run and maintain a good pace.  I had the thought--Maybe I should train for another marathon.  Yikes.  It always seems to come and then I get to training and I get burned out.

Saturday = Went to Power30 with Hailey and did some extra weights and stretches afterwards.

Total mileage for 2022 = 570.61.  1,000 might be a lofty goal as that's a lot of miles to put on this fall, but I will try.

Busier Week

 Between working a few hours, the Texas training and other activities going on--this week was quite a bit busier.  I actually did not mind.

Monday = Hike about 4 miles.  Derek and I hiked Angels Rest in the Gorge which was an amazing hike and just the right intensity.  I loved it.

Tuesday = Ran 4 miles and it was pretty hot out.

Wednesday = Swam 1,000 yards at the Lancaster Courthouse after work.

Thursday = Rest

Friday = Biked four miles with Rob at Minto and we finally got the bike rack secured on the Mercury so we can transport bikes.

Saturday = Ran 4.25 with Tracy and went to Power 30 at West.

Sunday = Rest except I played pickbleball with Rob.

Total mileage for 2022 = 558.61

Back in the swing of things

 It has been kind of weird week.  I went from working long hours right to vacation with hardly a break in between.  Home from vacation and kind of sick while still trying to help Rob with the rental house.  Now that the festivities with the 4th of July are over, I don't have much going on until I go to Texas.  I really am ok with that.  Not complaining in the least.  I have not had so much choice on what I want to do in the day since I had COVID in January of 2021 and had two weeks of paid leave.  Even last summer felt way busier in July and I can't put my finger on why or what we were doing.

The only thing I can guess is I was pretty burned out and emotionally exhausted from work last year which went all the way until July 2nd...plus I worked an extra week after that.  I had no idea the emotional toll it took on me and how it spilled into other areas of my life.  That is why I am really passionate now about workplace etiquette and conflict resolution in the workplace...because I don't think I could ever go back to that type of environment.  I didn't realize how toxic it was until I was out of it.

Here's what I did this week...and it's so nice to exercise again and be at the gym

Monday = Rest.  We were pretty busy with 4th of July activities

Tuesday = Swam 1,000 yards in the afternoon at River Road

Wednesday = Biked to and from Battlecreek (did not have Strava on but I am guessing I biked about 7 miles today).  It was wonderful to be on Orange Mango again and so confident biking...I didn't lose any of that over the winter.   I went to Power 30 which I like way more than Power.

Thursday = Went to R30 in the evening at Battlecreek and ran intervals (2.15 miles) at Wendy Kroger Park.  I wanted to run at Pringle Elementary but it's all torn up and blocked off due to construction.  The dumb Wes Bennet neighbors don't let anyone park in the street.  There are no parking signs literally everywhere even in front yards.  Come on people--why is it such a big deal to park on your street!?  

Friday = Ran 3 miles

Saturday = Power 30 and then ran 4 miles at the parks watching them set up for Ironman 70.3

Sunday = No formal workout but Hailey and I walked 2 miles to get the swimmers to the Ironman swim start and back

I spoke too soon

 On Monday I got up early and took Kara to the dentist.  Then I went right to Group Power.  I kept my weight low because I haven't been since April.  It was tough especially all the ab workouts.  I went and picked strawberries.  Squats and lunges + picking strawberries afterwards = pain.  

Around 3 PM my gut started to hurt and it felt like I had spasms.  I felt feverish and lost my appetite.  I took an Immodium and two Tylenol and felt significantly better.  Almost back to normal.  Went to the pool and enjoyed being in the water.  I went home and ate pizza for dinner.  Then I felt awful.  I could not get my body off the couch and I felt nauseous and in pain.  I managed to sleep very well but I woke up feeling not great. It was like that most of the day.

I went to bed at 11 PM.  The batteries need to be changed in the smoke alarm and it was keeping me awake.  I didn't want to take the batteries out because of that episode of This Is Us where the whole house burns down because they didn't change the batteries.  Ugh why did I watch that episode.  I have a somewhat overexaggerated fear of house fires after our small house fire back in 1986. I tried sleeping in the family room with the door shut to muffle the beeping.  The cat really liked that idea and she wanted in...thus I couldn't really shut the door.  The beeping was still annoying.  Tried running a fan and that didn't muffle the sound much at all.

 I did take the batteries out.  We have smoke alarms in our room and Derek's room, the family room, and the upstairs.  We had to get that many to become a registered day care home back in 2016.  So if the house would have caught fire we would have been woken to beeping.  By the time I turned on lights, took out the battery, tried to find a new battery and was unsuccessful...all at 12:30 am.  My brain was pretty much awake and I was up for probably two extra hours.

I realized my body has been through havoc since we came home from Mexico.  That time of the month with bad cramping, bacterial infection or parasite of some sort, itchy shoulders from sunburn and peeling everywhere (super gross), and bug bites all over my legs. And the intense ab workout on Monday did not do me any favors.  It was all worth it though.  Such a great vacation.  The gym is not going anywhere.  I'll be back there soon.

Recap

 I have not recorded any of my workouts since January.  But I did run the Eugene Marathon in May!  Training went very well in the winter and having my class shut down for a month helped.  I love daytime running and going to the gym.  I feel like ever since COVID shut everything down in the spring of 2020, I have had a difficult time with the early morning workouts.  I will be consistent for about a week, maybe two and then I will not be motivated.  It is hard for my body to make it out of bed that early...or maybe the problem is my mind.  I can talk myself out of a workout quite well.

Leading up to Eugene I was getting pretty burned out with training.  I skipped a few workouts, but overall not very many.  I did three 20 milers and all three went quite well.  I especially enjoyed the ten milers.  I found that is my preferred distance.  Not too short but not too long.  Work was starting to get crazy as it often does in the spring and Kara was super busy with her musical.  The advantage was I did some running during her practices in Keizer or went to the gym on Lancaster.  I really squeezed out that available time when I could.  It sometimes meant exercises at weird times and different places if I skipped the early morning (which I often did).

Post Eugene I had hoped to take two weeks off, but it became much more than that.  I felt totally burned out.  I did not want to run or do any form of exercise.  It honestly felt to me like an enormous task like writing a twenty page research paper or cooking a meal for fifteen people.  It seemed so easy to go outside and run three miles, but I could not make myself go from Point A to Point B.  Since Eugene on May 1st I have done maybe three or four runs, two swims, zero bike rides, and zero workout classes.  But I am starting to miss it and yearn for routine again.

Eugene was a ton of fun because Derek and I did the 5K the day before.  My sister came for both the 5k and marathon.  She was my cheering section.  I will say I had tons of performance anxiety.  I could not keep up with the 4:20 group around Mile #22 and finished a few minutes after them.  It was like I could not make my body even faster.  I did better with the nutrition this time...even so I could only move so fast. 

 Kara's musical had also been cancelled that weekend due to COVID classes.  I was so excited for my sister to see it and she was not able to because they called the whole show off.  I was pretty upset by their decision and angry my sister would not be see it.  I don't think I recovered from those feelings.  I think the sadness was still on my heart as I ran and worked against me.

We will see what this summer brings.  My goal is simply consistency.  I am not training for anything specific but I want to do Power twice a week and then a mix of running, swimming, and biking.  I don't know how much I will get to bike with Salem Bicycle Club, but I think I would like to try a few rides with them.

Week #4 of Marathon 7

Monday = I skipped Group Power because I was SO tired but a little bummed I skipped out.  Then we had a COVID case in my classroom and we were shut down.  So I was home from work by noon.  So I went to Riverfront Park and ran three miles and then did 7.34 miles on the stationary bike at West.

Tuesday = Swam 1400 yards 

Wednesday = Daytime Group Power in Renee's class and early morning 6 mile run with a friend

Thursday - Rest

Friday = 6.26 mile run at Minto Brown in the areas that aren't flooded.

Saturday = 3 mile tempo run at Bush Park.  I got my second mile to 8:43  I could not go to Power because I had to bring Derek to work.

Sunday = 13 miles!! In the neighborhood before church.

Week #3 of Marathon 7

Monday = Power and Ran 3.1 miles on the treadmill

 So this morning I was pretty motivated to go to Group Power at the South  River Road Courthouse.I got in the van and it would not start.  Dead battery!  I switched to Rob's car but left my water bottle in the van. There was a huge tree branch in the road on Madrona from all the wind during the night. I missed the turn to the Courthouse and had to turn around in Minto Brown. I had to buy a water from the vending machine and I could not figure out how to get it out of the machine...took a minute. I was late to Power and only missed the warm up but how frustrating. I ran on the treadmill afterwards for 3.1 miles. Even with all the hiccups it was not a bad way to start the week.

Tuesday = Swam about 1300 yards

Wednesday = Ran 6 miles with a pace of around 10 minutes per mile.  I felt so tired and slow.

Thursday = Rest

Friday = Ran 6 miles at 9:47.  Ran at Riverfront Park and Minto Brown.  It was so flooded.  But I ran faster!

Saturday = Group Power at Battle Creek and did intervals (3 miles) at Pringle Elementary.

Sunday = Ran eight miles at Turner Lake.

Week #2 of Marathon 7

 We got blessed with snow which has made the winter days a little cozy...but with my personality a little anxious and trapped.  Thankfully Rob & I got out yesterday morning and went for a walk in Riverfront Park.  

Monday = Swam 1,100 yards at the gym.  The pool was VERY busy but mostly with families swimming in the main pool.  I didn't have any issues getting a lane.

Tuesday = Ran 5 mile with a pace of 9:38.  Not sure if it was the cold but I was really fast!

Wednesday = 3 miles of Intervals at Wendy Kroger Park.  Also went to Group Power in the evening.

Thursday = First time working at West Salem gym.  Stationary bike 35 minutes.  Ran 35 minutes on the treadmill (can't remember the last time I ran on a treadmill...probably at a hotel).  Did about ten minutes of weights and stretching.

Friday = Long Run!  11 miles.  I felt strong the whole run.  Really good run.

Saturday = Was technically a rest day but Rob & I went on a hike a little less than 4 miles just outside of Albany.  Was really nice to be outside.

Sunday = Ran 5 miles.  I felt sluggish.  The wind was so strong and I struggled on the hills.  Also felt too thirsty.