Happy November! Or at least, that’s what I’m telling myself. I think we have all struggled with keeping a positive mindset this past year, but I keep trying to talk myself into it.
Sunday – 2.62 miles, walking
After eight miles on Saturday, I wanted just a bit of a walk. That’s exactly what I got.
Then I worked on trying to get the house back together. It feels so great to have purged so much, and now I’m taking my time with accent pieces, framed photos and wall decor.
Monday – 4.20 miles, walking
I woke up feeling very energized. I headed out for a brisk walk, got A all set up with school, and then headed out to vote.
Early voting was open in my county, and everything went super smoothly. No lines, no wait, and the volunteers were incredible.
I usually take A with me, but I really wasn’t sure what to expect this year. I did get him a future voter sticker, though, which promptly found a place of honor on his longboard.
We have talked a lot about this election, and the importance of voting. I hope it sticks with him.
Tuesday – 4.50 miles running + 1.71 miles, walking
Tuesday’s run was hard. The company was great but my leg was angry and it was so humid. Yuck. This called for lots and lots of iced coffee.
That afternoon, A’s friend came over. They were both going to make dinner, working along with the FLVS virtual Cooking Club. The club had a Disney chef lead them through a Thai Red Curry, and the end results were delicious. They are now inspired to make a three course dinner for both our families, and I am absolutely here for it.
Wednesday – 8 miles, cycling
Ugh.
I thought that trading up some walking for cycling would be absurdly smart, but I very much regretted that decision. The ride left me bored and annoyed.
Cycling just isn’t my jam, I guess.
Mr. PugRunner had a late meeting, so A and I were on our own for the night. It was nice to spend some time with him, doing the evening activities.
Thursday – 4.50 miles, running + 1.36 miles, walking
Another tough run. It’s frustrating when you want to go, but outside factors make it so much harder. Humidity and heat can be a runner’s worst enemies, but we pushed through as best we could.
Friday – 4.26 miles, walking
Finally, we had a drop in the temps, and I had to wear long sleeves for the morning’s walk. It was heavenly.
A finally carved our jack-o-lantern in the likeness of “the child,” right no time for the season premier of The Mandalorian. I helped with some of the smaller details, but he did the rest.
We also made a run by IKEA for a few essentials. Our front living room is finally taking shape. I’m still looking at armchairs, but so far, the improvement is incredible.
Later, I made a drive to Sykes Family Farm to pick up our race packets. While they did offer race morning pickup, I wanted to make sure we had everything and didn’t have
Saturday – 3.1 miles, running
And so the big day arrived: Cottonmouth 5K day! We arrived at around 7:20 for a 7:45 start, and were able to keep our distance from the other athletes until the start.
I’ll share a complete race report this week, but it felt so good to be out there. I had some nerves in the beginning, and again at the end, but I was able to shake them off and enjoy the run.
We celebrated with brunch and then it was home to get ready to celebrate Halloween. Even the pugs got in on the action.
It was a quiet evening – we shared it with some neighbors and friends. There was some trick or treating, and god for and drinks, and plenty of laughs. I think we all needed that.
Goal-getting
Running-wise, this was a fabulous week. I ran my first 5K in 11 months, and it was truly as good an experience as I could have hoped for. I didn’t get in as many miles this week, because of my dabble into cycling, but it was still a crazy productive week.
With the coming of November, I’m hoping we can kind of immerse ourselves in holiday magic, and forget about everything else.
It’s going to be a long and emotional week, I can feel it. So I’ll hold on to running and everything that’s important and do our best to get through it.
I am linking up with the Weekly Rundown, with Confessions of A Mother Runner and Running on the Fly! Check them out!
How was your week in training?
Did you have a nice Halloween? Are you ready for the rest of the holidays?
You and I are on the same page with cycling. It would be really good for me to have a “Plan B” cardio option but I just can’t get on board.
Congrats on your race and ugh on the humidity…we had our first snowfall today but that was my life just a few weeks ago.
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Ah, so true about the long week ahead. Time to fasten our seatbelts and hold on tight — and hope and pray that people in authority make just and right decisions.
Yay on your 5k! It must have felt so good!
Love the Halloween costumes.
I bet that race was fun… did it feel a bit surreal? Halloween was so weird this year…our town changed the hours from 5-7 (it’s always been 6-8), so it was in total daylight (???). We set out some full-sized Hersey bars, and all were taken 😉
Lovely you got to do a race and I love all the Halloween costumes! We didn’t have trick or treating here but were encouraged to do window displays for local kids to see, which I did. And we’re about to go into only being able to run with one other person … Amazing to see it still so hot there when we’re wrapped up and shivering over here!
Your week is always so full! I feel like running ebbs and flows–you’ll find your groove again. I love cycling but not as much as running! It’s always a good back up plan for me, tho.
We weren’t home on Halloween, being up at the lake. We did have a handful of trick or treaters there. But there is sill plenty of chocolate left for me!
We still have a lot of candy left. I hid it away for future stress eating.
I’m so glad you had a nice weekend at the lake. I think it was so good for you to get a little time away.
I am so jealous for so many reasons – a real race, wearing shorts, being warm!!!!
I feel like you. Cycling just doesn’t excite me.
Well I am NOT warm right now! We got a bit of a fall cold snap.
I want to love cycling. I really do.
Congrats on your 5k! Its definitely going to be a rough week. I’m trying to get excited about the holidays, but things are just gonna be so different this year.
Eeeeverything is different. We celebrate 14 years on Wednesday, so I’m trying hard to be in a great mood for that. It’s kind of a big deal.
A real race is something to be excited about! Congrats! Don’t give up on cycling so fast it’s really quite fun and great exercise. Love the halloween costumes!
It’s there in the toolbox, but it’s very much not my favorite.
We had fun on Halloween.
I’m so glad running is going so well for you – I can’t wait to hear more about your 5K!
It’s definitely going to be a long week ahead – thank goodness for running and working out to relieve some stress!
It was a great day.
I was out there flying this morning. As if I could outrun everything that is going on.
OMG that T Rex costume is LIFE! I have always wanted to be a T Rex for Halloween. That is so happening next year.
I would definitely be here for it if someone wanted to cook me 3 course meals every day! Age doesn’t matter haha.
And I’m glad I’m not the only one who finds cycling boring! Everyone seems to love it but I just really can’t get into it. I do it only when forced to due to injury.
This is the second or third year he has been T-rex. He loved it.
Listen, he may be 12, but he’s a really good cook. I would trust his food anytime.
I think I might like it more if I had people with whom to ride and if I had more interesting/safe routes. My neighborhood is boring and I hate being on the main road.
Bummer on the cycling. I enjoy it, but I had a very bad bike accident many years ago that sticks in the back of my head so that when I ride, its always there. Kind of a buzzkill.
I’m SO down for some holiday magic this year. Praying we can get though this week’s events safely!
I’m terrified of getting in an accident.
I am already eyeing up how to get the tree up before Thanksgiving without the boys side eyeing me too much.
Sorry biking didn’t work out for you. Maybe a different route/location/destination would work out better! That’s awesome your son wants to cook for you! My kids were into that for a bit, but their interest disappeared. Now I have to beg them to help me out with dinner (and laundry, and cleaning LOL). I’m glad you had a good race!
We have some pretty rail trails, but I’m too lazy to pack up the bike, drive to the location, unload and all that jazz.
He’s been cooking for a while, so I hope it sticks. I do have to beg for help with other chores, but he’s on board for meal cooking.
Congrats on running your first 5K in 11 months! I just found out that the 5K I was hoping to run in person in early December just switched to virtual. 🙁
Oh, darn! That stinks!
Your living room looks great!
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