~ Sunday – Planned rest day. I stuck with this day’s plan and rested, sort of. I went to church and worked in the nursery, but there were only 5 toddlers so between myself and the other helper, it was a pretty laid back morning. When I got home I did spend some time vacuuming, which is not resting obviously, but I can’t help it. I enjoy vacuuming, and clean floors, so I felt better mentally even if it tired me out a little. No worries.

~ Monday – 4 miles. I did not think I was going to be able to get these done! I had a doctor’s appointment in the morning and I failed to get up early enough to run beforehand. However, I was able to run in the evening before it got dark. I happened to have a quick urge to go, and I quickly got dressed to run before the urge left me. I headed out to run the nearby gnarly hills on Huntshire and Holbrook and it worked out great. My calves and glutes were feeling it for sure, so I know I’ll be sore tomorrow. But I did it! And when I got back and saw my average speed of 12:15 minutes per mile I was stunned. I don’t expect to be able to maintain that pace for longer runs, but for a 4 mile run I was surprised. And with hills! So it’s fun to see evidence that I’m actually improving as I continue to train.

~ Tuesday – Rest! I had strength training planned, but pushed it to Wednesday. I was pretty fatigued the last half of this day as I was busy doing stuff with/for the kiddos, so rest was necessary. Also, note this is my “fatigue week” because my infusion is coming up on Friday.

~ Wednesday – Even though I had an appointment in the morning I was still able to knock out a Fitbod workout in the evening: 50 minutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. I’m working the lower body more and am curious to see how it affects my uphill running. I know I did some hard work because for the remainder of the night I was actually having trouble moving my left leg. An unwanted symptom I experience often but it’s usually only after I’ve been sitting for too long, and it always resolves itself quickly. This time it was slightly different in that I could still move the leg, but it felt like it was full of Jell-o, and I was nervous about putting weight on it, for fear it would give out entirely. Thankfully, a good night of rest resolved the issue and I didn’t have any more trouble with it.

~ Thursday – I walked around the block with a friend (first loop with my constipated golden retriever). Roughly 2 miles.

~ Friday – Infusion Day! And man, was I feeling the effects of Wednesday’s Leg Day. I was glad to have a little pampering at the infusion center (recliners, free beverages and snacks). This was another rest day, this time with no vacuuming.

~ Saturday – I saw that it wasn’t going to be terribly hot on this day so I didn’t worry about getting up too early. 7 am alarm was just fine, and I was out the door just before 8. I fully intended to run 9 miles, but about 3 miles in I started thinking I would turn around at 5 miles instead of 4.5, just to see how far the trail goes. And I did! I had some glute pain early on but I stopped, grabbed a signpost for balance and stretched it out and it was fine the remainder of the run. I ran past the signs that said “Trail Ends” and found that it basically just continues on a side street that gets zero traffic on Saturdays. I thought I took a selfie with the sign but got home and realized I had failed (I’m epically bad at taking pictures). So, all you get is a selfie of me turning around at 5 miles, and a pretty picture of the sun rising over the field.

After Wednesday’s Leg Day and Saturday’s 10 mile run, all my muscles are feeling the burn. From my glutes all the way down to my toes. Seriously. But I’m reminding myself that it means I’m getting stronger, and that is always good. I am really excited for fall, and cooler weather. And I’m really looking forward to this race I’m training for. It’s going to be a challenge, and in a completely new area to me. It will be a memorable adventure, I’m sure.

Next week my training looks about the same, but without all the appointments. I’ll just be preoccupied with making sure the kids (teenagers, they are almost adults so “kids” sounds weird now) are ready for school starting the following week. And one of these weeks I might find time to write about something other than running, but I wouldn’t hold your breath. We’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?

Shalom, y’all!