Maybe the break in the heat is the reason, but this was the first week in my Hood to Coast training that I felt like I made some progress. Here’s how the workouts went:
Monday: Walk 4 miles, Barre Workout
Tuesday: Walk 4 miles, Upper Body Strength
Wednesday: Walk 4 miles, Trail Run 4 miles
Thursday: Walk 4 miles, Run 4 Miles, Strength Circuit
Friday: Walk 4 miles, otherwise rest
Saturday: Walk 4 miles, otherwise rest
Sunday: Walk 4 miles, Run of some sort
4th of July was low-key. We went to our usual fireworks spot and. while we had a fantastic view, the actual show was good but not great. The mosquitoes on the other hand were rampant despite bug spray. I’ve still got bites that are crazy itchy. Ugh.
Running was solid this week. Garmin rewarded me for my efforts with a 2 point increase in VO2MAX. Most likely it’s because of the cooler weather but still, I will take it.
The biggest frustration this week was the track. It’s gotten very busy. I used to have it all to myself whenever I wanted it. This year not so much. This week I moved to “plan B” and ran in a neighborhood I hadn’t visited in years. I returned to the track after a half hour or so only to find a guy walking his dog on it. Say what? You know how much I love dogs but why on a track? IF this track posted rules, I’m pretty sure “no dogs” would be one of them.
Hands down the most beautiful medal in my collection.
On a whim I signed up for the Lululemon Seawheeze virtual race taking place in September. This race was SO very good back in 2018 when I ran it, and the entry fee goes to a bunch of great charities, so I figured why not.
New On YouTube
Barre Stretch & Sculpt Workout. You may know that I was a competitive figure skater for a good 10 years. That comes with a whole lotta years of dance training. Who knew I’d enjoy choreographing Barre Workouts? At first this felt way out of my comfy zone but I’ll tell you the dance training comes back quickly. It’s a refreshing change of pace!
How was your week? Any races? Has your Garmin been good to you?
I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Run Down. Join us!
There’s a really good track in downtown Palatine at the old high school (Ost field) and whenever I ran there, nobody was there. I know it would be a drive for you but it’s definitely a good option.
I’m going to check out some of your upper body workouts. Getting itchy to move at least part of my body!!
I can see letting your dog run in the field part of a track, but odd to just walk him on it. It’s probably kinda boring for the dog! 🙂
Glad your Hood to Coast training is feeling good! I’m the weakest link on our HTC team, but I can’t really change that in 7 weeks, ha!
How weird to take a dog on the track! I’m sure ours don’t allow that!
How odd that the track’s been so busy! And, I don’t know what to make of the guy walking his dog on the track..smh.
Glad your training is going well!
That Seasheeze race has been on my radar for years! Let me know if you plan to run it in person next year. A nice solid week for you!
My watch was not happy with my long run yesterday! But I only sort of pay attention to it. Still, I’m keeping my runs easy for a couple of days since I know I need the extra recovery. I used to dance too, but not sure what I would remember these days!
I know you have a special love affair with the track, but do you have other options for a similar “distance.” I have a 2-city block span of sidewalk I use a lot (with no streets to cross) that I prefer to the track. A bonus, for me at least, is that it’s a straight shot (the curve of the track is my biggest annoyance). I’ve done intervals back & forth of the full 2-block distance (which is comparable to 400), and also 1-block (comparable to 200). It is pavement, though, so not quite as soft as a track…
Oooh, you were a competitive figure skater, Marcia? How cool is that!
Your track experience is similar to mine this morning: I got there at 8am and it was full of people. They had organized a charity run against racism. Kindly, they let me use the outer track.
All in all, it was a fun experience with the loud music and people clapping. I think it helped me do speedier intervals, haha!
Garmin raised me a point one run, then dropped me back down the next run. I’m gonna have a little running break most likely for the next few days.
Walking his dog on the track? Some people. Seriously, what is he thinking?
I had no idea you were a competitive figure skater. That is pretty impressive! I am loving this cooler weather. Ugh, a guy walking his dog on the track?!!?
Thanks for the reminder. If the rain ever stops I need to do some speed work there. Hope it’s free.
Wow, that is a pretty medal!
How annoying about the track- were all those people actually doing a workout? Other than the guy walking his dog of course. Anyway, glad you felt good this week! Hope you have more nice weather coming up.
I have forgotten the last time I made a workout on the track but it is important to improve the speed.
Glad you had a solid week of sport!
I have 2 different Garmin and both are liars when I run through the city.
I’m always so excited when I see my VO2 max has gone up! Well done on such a solid week of training! And boo to that dog-owner. Tell you what, there are way too many irresponsible pet owners out there.
Glad to hear that training went well this week!
That sucks that the track has gotten so busy now. I’ve also never seen anyone walking a dog on a track – that just seems odd!
I did not know you were a competitive skater, how awesome!
Congrats on a solid week. The mosquitos are inSANE this year. I seriously think I’m going to need to sleep in a mosquito tent or bug spray
No dogs on the track for sure! I imagine it’s hot on their paws, too!
That SeaWheeze medal ls beautiful. I would love to run that race some day.
We went to a friend’s to watch fireworks. They had a display in the historic area, but it was PACKED, and I wasn’t into all the crowds and traffic.
It does seem wrong to run with a dog on the track! The track in my neighborhood is pretty empty. 😉 I’d love to do Seawheeze in real life — Vancouver is amazing. My Garmin is dying of neglect — at least the running widget, ~sigh~
We haven’t gone to see fireworks in years. My husband isn’t into them, so it’s not worth the hassle.
That’s a bit annoying about the dog on the track! I always did my “track” workouts on a stretch of the bike path which was straight and fairly long. Since I haven’t been running much at all, and it’s slow, my Garmin keeps telling me I’m unproductive because it doesn’t like slow running. Sad!