Vacation wrap-up

Whelp for it being a vacation week I think I did pretty good running-wise. I covered 24 miles and the temps were always 79*+. Even at 6:30am. And often I felt my sweat was alcohol-infused from the margaritas I had enjoyed poolside the night before. But I ran them. And it was fun.

I also did several workouts from PumpsAndIron.com. I had packed my running gear, my jump rope & my 20-lb kettle. And that’s really all I needed to keep fit despite all the vacation calories I was happily consuming.

Had some first-time experiences, like running in two states in one run.

For the record, the Maryland side is much better for running. As soon as you hit Delaware the sidewalk disappears! Welcome to Delaware my butt!

Also my husband found a new love of running outside. He probably did it 4 times, used my garmin watch and had a great time seeing the sights from a runners perspective. Best of all he wants to continue outdoor running once we return home. Juggling his new love with my long-time love won’t be easy since we can’t go together (thanks, small children) but we will figure it out 🙂

We also did some other cool things on vacation – rode a bike built for 5, collected seashells, took old-timey photos and flew kites to name a few. The kids had a blast. My husband and I got to relax. That in itself is priceless.

When we get home I’m excited to throw myself back into Tough Mudder training. I feel refreshed (& slightly plump from all the great food & drink here!) and ready to start kicking butt again.

Salt water

So it’s been tough to carve out time for blogging because I have been on VACATION (insert glitter-throwing and unicorns here)!!!

Saturday was my “last chance workout” where I logged 6 miles around my ‘hood. Then I packed for 5 people and cleaned the house (there’s nothing worse than coming home to a messy house). That was a whole other workout in itself!

Sunday was travel day. We got up at 3am and were on the road by 4. My husband joked that he couldn’t believe I didn’t get up early to workout before we left. I somehow mustered the strength to not clobber him. That saying “obsessed is what the lazy call the dedicated” certainly holds true in my house. Like I’m the crazy one for exercising half an hour a day and caring about my health? Yeah, ok.

Monday was my first morning to workout on vacation. 5 mile run, 2.5 on the beach (which I’ve never done before) and 2.5 on concrete.
I smartly packed my Brooks Cascadia’s which were great for the sand portion of my run. I dumbly wore ankle socks which got sand in them and that sucked. I should know by now to always stick with ProCompression!

my beach route
After the 5 mile run I did the Double Ladder Workout from PumpsAndIron.com. Yes I packed my kettlebell on vacation. And my jump rope. So sue me.

Tuesday was a brutal 6 mile run. I left at ~6:30am and happened past this sign

91*. Awesome. And I still had more than 3 miles to go. When I hit mile 5 I was passed by this guy

and he inspired me to pick up the pace. I’d been averaging 9.5 minute miles till he passed me, I picked up the pace to 8.5 minute/mile to keep up with him. I tailed him easily the last mile by about 15 feet and it made me realize if I could pick it up like that for the last mile without pain then I’m not running hard enough at all. I need to re-evaluate my effort levels for sure. Also I need to find a running partner who pushes me.
Once I got back to the room I did 20 bicycle crunches (w weight), 20 mtn climbers, 20 kettle swings with a punch, 20 kettle figure 8’s… Then 16, then 12 before my family interrupted me.

Today I ran 3 miles. When I got back to the hotel I ran up the 18 flights of steps to our room. I had hoped to do the steps several times BUT I had to go to the bathroom really bad so that was that.

Oh yesterday I was noticed by our hotel maintenance man in the elevator he said, “hey I saw you out running!” I said, “oh yeah?” And he said, “yeah I recognized you by your socks.” ProCompression, baby. Making coast to coast fashion statements, LOL 😉