Happy Saturday! I treated myself to 8 trail miles today! That’s right. I say treated because normally I’d just run out my door and around the neighborhood for a mundane view but I felt the need for fresher air and scenery.
Hello scenery
After having such a nice hike with dogs last Sunday I knew I wanted to go back to the same park for this run. It’s 5 minutes from Mr. SOTSS house and there’s a nice variety of technical trails and wider, loose gravel paths. I ran the first mile on one of the more technical trails but with ice and snow I walked a lot of it so I kept to the loose gravel paths for the last 7 miles. I took it nice and slow and just enjoyed getting lost in the forrest. I listened to music but kept it low enough that I could hear the sound of my footsteps too. There’s something really peaceful about that sound when it’s quiet otherwise.
My hamstring felt a little tight as I approached mile 7 but nothing major. it’s really been wonderful to being running lower mileage and hurting less. Nothing but love for today’s run…
And this might just be the last time I run with snow on the ground and Spring is approaching fast!
Other than my run I’ve just been spending time on Mr. SOTSS’ sofa with lots of dogs.
Hope you enjoyed your weekend and that the week has been going well.
After cleaning out my running shirt drawer on Saturday I headed over to Mr. SOTSS’ for the rest of the weekend. We hit up Road Runner Sports for some running sneakers and the grabbed a bite at Chipotle for dinner for a nice lil’ date. Yup, sneaker shopping and Chipotle most definitely is how we show our love. I bought the new Brooks Glycerin 13s to try.
Brooks Glycerin 13
Sunday was a gorgeous 60 degree, sunny day so we took the dogs on a hike. The only wrinkle was that there were a lot of people and dogs doing the same so we had to leash them for much of the time. But we found a quiet spot by this lake that was perfect for Chester to get some swimming in. And Duncan posed a bunch for me.
Peek-a-boo
Shaking off
The boys
Checking the park map for alternate routes to avoid the masses
Resting up after the hike. Keeping each other’s butts warm?
So this week has been quite impressive for me running-wise. I actually ran 3X during the week. I haven’t been able to say that’s happened in quite some time. Usually I manage to get one or at most, 2 runs in during the week.
I started off with two back to back 3 milers on Monday and Tuesday. Monday’s run felt great. I tried out the new kicks. They felt good. I was worried since I had issues with the Brooks Ghosts rubbing on the side of my foot but these seem good.
Monday! Sorry about my pasty legs.
Tuesday’s run was the complete opposite. I felt so sluggish. In general I was just feeling low energy and my tooth was feeling weird above the gumline. It was actually feeling weird over the weekend but I kept trying to ignore it.
Tuesday!
Yesterday I had a routine dental cleaning appointment and mentioned the weird sensation above my molar. The dentist came in to examine, poke around and took some x-rays as well. He came to the realization that I had an abscess. Yikes! That’s an infection in the tooth all the way up the canal that can form from decay. So within a few hours I was getting emergency root canal. Good news is that they were able to get to the infection and treat it and I should be just fine.
Thinking of making this my new profile pic. LOL!
Today I figured I’d go out for another run hoping my sore mouth wouldn’t be an issue. I wore the Glycerin’s again and still feeling good about them.
And that’s a wrap on my weekday running. Next up is 8 miles on Saturday
Thursday!
I took Duncan for a few walks this week too. He’s been really into sticks lately.
Wednesday’s stick
Thursday’s stick
Tongue-out-thursday! (This was just after dropping the stick)
How often do you run (or do any form of exercise) during the week?
I worked from home all last week and will be doing so for the next 3 weeks which is great because not only am I more in control of scheduling stuff like haircuts, workouts, dental appointments etc. but I’ve had some extra time to get some cleaning projects done as well. And Duncan has had tons of time to look cute for pictures because obviously I wasn’t taking enough already.
Cute pose 1,974,301
On Wednesday I was done with my work by 3pm so I decided to clean out my overstuffed running gear drawer. I painstakingly said goodbye to some race shirts but not the memories.
I even cooked for myself this week which hardly ever happens.
Pepper Steak!
And yesterday after seeing my friend’s post about how much she enjoyed her rebounding (trampoline) class, I dusted off mine and was excited to see that my Garmin tracks steps while I’m bouncing. I hadn’t used it in quite some time. I bought it for myself for Christmas a few years back but eventually it got dis-assembled and stored upstairs out of sight and out of mind.
Weeee!
My living room is now my home office and my home gym!
All the necessities for a home gym/office….laptop, coffee, dog, couch, trampoline, medicine ball, kettle bell, foam roller, (not in the pic are also free weights, resistance bands and a jump rope)
Part of my plan while working from home all these consecutive weeks is to get a routine in place for all things healthy including strength and cross-training. Voila! I’m literally staring at the equipment now so hopefully it’ll force me to want to use it.
This morning I wanted to get in a longish run of 7 miles. I have been running solo a whole lot so I decided to join the New York Road Runner’s Open Run that they hold every Saturday at 9 a.m.
It’s a 3 mile run that is mostly on trails. I knew it would be a great catalyst to get me going and then I could cover another 4 miles on my own.
Trails….just what I needed!
I averaged 10:10 for the first 3 miles and 10:54 for the entire 7….I slowed down a lot around mile 5. Since I have no time goals for my Spring races it really doesn’t matter but it did feel good to see so may miles in the 10s.
Happy post run smile and crow’s feet and laugh lines too…=)
7 miles done
And now it’s time for some stretching and chores. Then I’m off to Mr. SOTSS’ house for the remainder of the weekend. Tomorrow it’s supposed to be unseasonably warm and I’m sure we’ll be taking the dogs somewhere fun.
Have a great weekend! Do you prefer solo running or running with groups? Or both?
Do you like to cook?
Do you have a hard time letting go of things like race shirts?
This morning I had to drop my Subaru at the service center for repair at 7:30am. It’s 6 miles away….ding, ding, ding….lightbulb moment….I decided to run home.
It’s fun to be greeted by 2 furry faces
I knew well enough to take it easy since I am just getting back on track after dealing with that upper respiratory infection. But, it was a good “assignment” for me. I treated it that way anyway. I’ve been feeling a bit ambivalent about routine and commitment when it comes to health, running etc. Seriously, ask me when the last time I went grocery shopping was? The last home cooked meal I made was on Valentine’s Day and that was with Mr. SOTSS assisting. I need to work a little harder at making smart choices and setting myself up for success. So by declaring to Mr. SOTSS that I’d run home from dropping the car off I basically forced the run to happen. I texted him halfway through for a little encouragement.
And it ended up being lovely. A nice sunny brisk winter day. I’m working from home all week and how nice to have over 12,000 steps by 9am on Monday. #winning
I chose not to listen to music because I was running on roads with very little shoulder and no sidewalks so I wanted to be alert. And alert I was….I noticed this heart-shaped pot-hole.
We’re always in such a rush that we can’t always find time to admire little things like that. It’s one of my treasured joys of running.
And now I’m waiting for my friend Sue to stop by. We’re going to have a little bite to eat and catch up. Happy that I’ll have company. It can get lonely working from home.
Picking up the car later won’t be on foot though. Mr. SOTSS will give me a lift. =)
Do you ever use your running as transportation? Run to the bank? Run to work?
What are you having (or what did you have) for lunch today?
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