Changing Lanes (WW # 12)

Welcome to the Weekly Wrap!

This weekly linkup is hosted by yours truly and my good friend Tricia @ MissSippiPiddlin.  The purpose is to connect with and support other active women.  We want to hear about your weekly adventures.  You are encouraged to include anything you did to be active or anything you considered fun.  Please tell us how you amazing women accomplish it all.  You can summarize your whole week or just a small portion of it.  It's up to you!  See rules here.    Rule Change:  You can now link beginning at 6 pm (CT) on Sunday evenings!


On Monday and Tuesday I did absolutely nothing active.  Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.  Sometimes, you just gotta!  Plus, it was just too dang cold for early morning biking. 

Wednesday, off to the gym I limped.  Thank goodness for heated pools.  It was 5:18 a.m. when I jumped in and ran for 80 minutes.  Thanks again to Karen from Running Over The Hill for sending me her pool watch and HR monitor.  I was very touched by this.  I'm deeming it The Sisterhood Of The Traveling HR Monitor.

This LANE makes a pretty picture.

It was a huge help to watch my HR and not let it slip below a certain level.  It averaged 130 and peaked at 141.  "Experts" say because of water resistance, and other scientific blah blah blah technicalities, it is impossible to achieve your normal running HR.  It will likely average 15 points lower.  Good to know!

Thursday, I biked for 14 dark early miles.  My lungs were so sore from the previous day's pool running (or possibly from inhalation of chlorine fumes?).  My upper quads were sore as well.  Hmm....that pool running is something else!  I was absolutely dragging by the end of the day.  {Just point me to the bed!}

I find the awkward curve in the middle of this LANE to be very symbolic!

Saturday was another bike day.  I slept in and it was very warm when I finally got my rear in gear.  Is it August again?  I rode 21.5 miles and my average heart rate was 155.  I know I've talked a lot about HR, but it's the only way to know I'm getting a quality workout.   Saturday afternoon we had a house full of people glued to a nail biter of a football game.  Whew!  Roll Tide.

Sunday I originally planned to return to the pool.  However, when I checked the upcoming week's weather, I saw it may be rainy for several days.  Knowing I would not ride in the rain, I opted for the bike again and saved the pool for a rainy day.  I logged another 32.5 miles at a slightly lower intensity than the day before.

I finally found a tree changing color!

For Sunday's supper, I tried a quiche recipe from Karen at French Inspiration.  I added 1 cup of diced ham (got to feed a house full of men!) and served it with steamed broccoli, chick peas and red grapes.  This recipe is very easy and definitely a keeper.  A funny: I once worked with a lady who pronounced it "key-shee".

In summary, I rode my bike 3 times for a total of 69 miles and pool ran once for 80 minutes.  Being honest, I was exhausted all week.  Sometimes I feel I'm working harder than I did during marathon training.  And I'll go ahead and admit beyond irritable most days too.  Patience is not my strong suit and I'm ready for this foot injury to be over.

And that's a wrap.

Do you like quiche?

Do you ever feel like you are overdoing it?

An InLinkz Link-up

My New Normal (WW # 11)

Welcome to the Weekly Wrap!

This weekly linkup is hosted by yours truly and my good friend Tricia @ MissSippiPiddlin.  The purpose is to connect with and support other active women.  We want to hear about your weekly adventures.  You are encouraged to include anything you did to be active or anything you considered fun.  Please tell us how you amazing women accomplish it all.  You can summarize your whole week or just a small portion of it.  It's up to you!  See rules here.    Rule Change:  You can now link beginning at 6 pm (CT) on Sunday evenings!


After several days of honky-tonking and sightseeing in Nashville, we spent Monday in Lynchburg, Tennessee. I highly recommend the Jack Daniel's distillery tour even in you don't drink.  We also enjoyed shopping and eating in the quaint town square.  We had the best red beans and rice and BBQ pizza at the BBQ Caboose.  In town you could find just about anything flavored with Jack, including ice cream.  But, you can't buy the product.  It's a dry county.  Oh, the irony.

This is Jack on the Rocks.   Seriously!  It's what the plaque said.

Just a random Fall picture.

After resting Tuesday, it was back to my new normal hurt-foot training routine.  I rode my bike 12 miles Wednesday morning.  My heart rate averaged a much higher 136. Although thrilled, I found it odd because I didn't push any harder than last week.

Thursday was pool day.  Last week after pool running for an hour, I felt I didn't get the best workout.  I wrote my blog post early since we were leaving town.  I must tell you my lungs were seriously sore for 2 days.  My opinion definitely changed.  This time, I hit the water at 5:21 a.m. for 70 minutes.  This blind old bat appreciates the huge digital clocks they have on every wall. 



I drove PoPo's truck to work as he was having tires put on my car.  I kept smelling bleach and thought, "What has he been cleaning now?"  You see, he loves using Tilex!  I do not.  (He wipes behind me every time I take a step on our boat's white floor.)  I finally realized it was coming from my own skin.  Even after showering, I smelled strongly of chlorine all day.  Eua de Tilex!
 

Me...and my jowls.

Saturday I biked 15 miles.  It was beautiful but windy.  There were hills and I pushed hard.  At times I gasped for air.  My average heart rate?  97 -- NO WAY!  Finally, it dawned on me that excessive vibration could be making my Fitbit HR info inaccurate.  It is erroneously recording a lot of steps too. 

I road tested bike shorts by Nishiki.  I like that their padding tapers down the inside of the legs instead of just stopping.  Those of you who worried about my Spiderman helmet should be happy that I now own a big girl one.  The rest of the day was spent off of my feet and watching football.  Roll Tide!

On Sunday, I took my bike to a Shakespearean style park for a change of scenery.  I dutifully wore my Garmin's chest strap monitor to test my Fitbit theory and rode 26 miles.  It was irritatingly windy!  My HR was 140 per Garmin (actually higher because I forgot to stop it!) and 107 per Fitbit.  I proved that theory!  After grocery shopping on the way home, again I stayed off of my feet the remainder of the day.

A beautiful park, but the pavement was awful.

In summary, I rode 53 miles and pool ran for 70 minutes.  This is my new normal for probably another month or so.  I should probably increase one of my activities each week just as I would a long run.  I'm debating over how to do that.  I do expect to start pool running twice a week, especially if the mornings get too cool for a dark bike ride. 

And that's a wrap!

Has anyone else been to Nashville or Lynchburg?

How was your week?  I want to hear about it!

An InLinkz Link-up

Plan B (WW # 10)

Welcome to the Weekly Wrap!

This weekly linkup is hosted by yours truly and my good friend Tricia @ MissSippiPiddlin.  The purpose is to connect with and support other active women.  We want to hear about your weekly adventures.  You are encouraged to include anything you did to be active or anything you considered fun.  Please tell us how you amazing women accomplish it all.  You can summarize your whole week or just a small portion of it.  It's up to you!  See rules here.    Rule Change:  You can now link beginning at 6 pm (CT) on Sunday evenings!



Life with injury requires a Plan B, and possibly a C and D.  Tuesday I rode my new bike for 12.5 miles in the early morning wee hours.  Riding in the dark is a new experience for me.  I put a bright white light on the front and a red flashing band on the back and off I went.  It's funny, the light shines through the front cables and casts a shadow on the road that looks like a huge bug with giant antennas.  So I'm now thinking about Bugs as a bike name.  I cut over to the rural road behind my neighborhood.  Some places are a little darker than others but I am very familiar with this road and felt comfortable.
 

Don't even think about it!

I think I saw two cars the entire time.  I expected to see a deer, but the only animal I saw was a black cat who started across the road in front of me.  Oh, no no kitty.  Do not dare cross the path of this wild, injured woman!  Kitty changed his mind. 

My heart rate feels like it's at its peak on a bike.  But when I check, it's always so much lower than my easy running HR (105 vs.150).  I don't get it.  My average speed was 14.15 mph.  I need to work on that.  That does include some super slow U-turns and traffic checking stops, however.

Chocolate Cures Everything

Wednesday was not a good day.  The reality of not getting to run my first marathon really hit home.  I couldn't get a grip on my emotions, all the way to bedtime. 

Thursday morning I rode again for 14.75 miles.  I was treated to a beautiful orange sunrise glow about 45 minutes in.   My average speed was 14.00 mph and I still could not get my heart rate where it needs to be.  I spent too much time in fat burning zone.  

When I came home Thursday evening, my kids surprised me with flowers and candy to cheer me up.  Isn't that the sweetest thing ever?  It made me want to cry...again.


I was off work Friday as I was supposed to be on a flight to Chicago {cue pitiful wailing in the background}.   In an effort to maintain some fitness, and on the sage advice of my friend Marcia,  I got in my car and drove to the Y for pool running.  I can't tell you how out of my comfort zone I was!  After getting over the initial I-feel-so-silly-doing-this, I ran non-stop for 60 minutes.  Actually, I think I'd use the word jog.   I couldn't seem to get my heart rate up with this either.  The experience wasn't as bad as I had predetermined it would be.  But, I will have to work harder to get a quality workout.

Well, as you are reading this we are headed home from parts unknown, or possibly still away because Monday is a holiday!  Obviously, I needed a major distraction this weekend.  Since PoPo had already taken off to accompany me to Chicago, we decided to travel...somewhere...anywhere.

And that's a wrap!

Has anyone else tried pool running?

Do you (would you) ride your bike in the dark?

An InLinkz Link-up