Another week done! I’m definitely noticing that school is busy. I mean, it’s ALWAYS busy, but this first term used to feel just a teeny tiny bit lighter. Not so now, with so many things to do and a really packed timetable. What this means is I will need to take care to listen to my body, prioritise sleep where I can and make sure to have some r’n’r at the weekends. So far I’ve been able to keep fitting in the running/workouts/yoga I want to. I wish there was space to work out more frequently, but for now it will do and I’m pleased with how well my body has adjusted to the early morning runs again. Here’s how it looked:
Monday – 4.3 miles + home yoga
Tuesday – 5 miles + home yoga
Wednesday – 5 miles + garden workout + home yoga
Thursday – 5 miles + home yoga
Friday – 4 miles + living room workout
Saturday – parkrun sandwich
Sunday – 10 miles
Sometimes I wonder where all these Mondays keep coming from! I think Monday morning must be the toughest alarm call of the week, but I got myself up and changed ready for my run. It’s still on the darkish side when I step out the front door at the moment (although only for a few minutes) and I’m really not ready for all the weeks of running in darkness just yet.
My legs felt a little heavy at first, probably after running a bit harder over the weekend, but they soon loosened up and I enjoyed my run. Not sure how I managed to pick up a Strava segment PR on a recovery run though 😳
When I got home from work I was able to sit in the garden for a few minutes to get some air, then it was time for yoga. No class again this week so my own home practice before dinner.
Later, we built the new scratching post platform I had bought for the kitties (the sisal eventually gets destroyed by their claws so at least once a year they need a new one). I think it got the thumbs up from them 😹
Tuesday felt a little chilly first thing. Absolutely still shorts and Tshirt weather, but nevertheless a slightly autumnal nip in the air until the sun was up. It was a fairly standard run ahead of my work day and sadly no opportunity for a workout in the evening as Steve was out. I settled for some yoga instead before dinner.
I opted once again to make Wednesday my weekly Running For Real Together Run, but I was a little pushed for time so couldn’t go for the 60 minute run which would have been my preference and stuck to 45 minutes instead. When I stepped out the door there was a really beautiful sky:
I picked a route which took me uphill and noticed when I reached the highest point that there was a lot of low-lying fog in the valley below – it almost looked like a body of water but it’s most definitely fog/cloud:
And as has become a staple part of this run, I responded to the prompt to take a pictures to share at a certain point.
Much excitement when I arrived at work to find that The World’s Slowest Computer had been replaced. We had been expecting the roll-out of new teacher PCs and mine was one of the first to be done. It seemed so quick to get started and logged in compared to my old one, plus I can do exciting things like have more than one file open without it crashing. Revolutionary!
It was a busy day, which began with observing a lesson taught by the new teacher I am mentoring this year. I love taking on this role and missed it last year. But by the time I got home I felt like I’d had a pretty long day and I still had to prep a pot of chilli to cook in the slow cooker the following day. I felt pretty sleepy so Steve took me through a quick TRX workout before dinner to wake me up a bit, then I made sure to take things easy for the rest of the evening. We were able to finish watching Hit and Run on Netflix, which I recommend.
On Thursday I wanted to run down to the river as Steve had been getting some lovely photos there in the lower light. Last time I was there it was foggy, so I was pleased to be able to see a different morning scene this time.
It was another long day (we have more lessons on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so it’s not just me thinking those days feel long, they actually are!) but I was cheered when I arrived home to find that the Pandora jewellery I had ordered with my birthday money and vouchers had arrived. It made it feel like I was still keeping the birthday joy going!
By Friday morning I noticed that it seemed particularly dark at the start of my run. Sunset is now towards the end of my running time, so I might have to think about high-viz quite soon.
The work day was packed, so I was mentally ready for a change when I arrived home. It was a bit murky-looking outside, so it was a living room workout with the resistance band and some press ups. I had thought I might do some yoga next, but my sister dropped by to pick up something I had ordered her as an additional birthday gift: a cup cozy. I had been meaning to order from this small shop for a while and spotted something ideal for her. Of course I couldn’t resist a couple for myself at the same time!
For the rest of the evening we watched a bit of TV, but I actually ended up falling asleep towards bedtime – a sure sign of busy work days!
After that I felt ready for parkrun day. After running well the previous week I really didn’t expect to have anything more right now, so I was surprised to realise that the pace I was running at would see me finish in under 24 minutes if I could sustain it. Ever since I began parkrunning in early 2015 my best time each year has been 23:XX (including 2020 when we paused in March) so I was keen to add 2021 to the “streak” (and you know how much I enjoy a st. I had assumed I would need to put a bit of work in with a view to achieving this in the autumn, so was delighted to finish in 23:38.
Goal achieved (and a continuation of my “fastest time of the year streak to boot haha!).
My friend who works on the Disney Cruise Line (I saw her when I was on the Magic) was home and had come to parkrun so it was really nice to get a chance to chat to her for a few minutes too.
The rest of the day was pretty relaxing, mainly spent with a little tv. I was keen to finish watching Lupin but oh my did those final episodes make me miss Paris! It crossed my mind that under different circumstances this would have been a French Trip year and that realisation that I don’t know when I’ll next get to Paris did make me a little sad. I fully support all the restrictions that are in place right now, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel a bit fed up with it all.
After a good sleep and an easy start to my Sunday (cups of tea in bed while I read) I was ready to run and headed off to run a loop taking in the woodland park. I felt good on the run again, but didn’t have much time to stop since I knew my parents were going to visit later in the afternoon (I’m still not sure if they were visiting me or the cats 🤔). Still, I enjoyed running through the park then along by the river for my return home.
And just like that, the day was done. I only had time for a quick bath before bed, but knew it had been a good week overall.
How are things with you right now?
What’s’s your current running/fitness goal?