If you checked in on my most recent Runfessions post, you’ll see that the triumph of this week was returning to the gym. I’ll be honest, it was much harder than I would have liked, but the goal is to be stronger, not to have things come easy. It’s all character-building and my future self will thank me, right? Right.
Sunday
- Cardio: 4.45 miles, walking
I was very glad to finally be “off.” But we still had a lot to do. It was my mom’s birthday and my stepdad’s family was visiting so we were hosting a celebration at our house. Of course, I had to get in my walk – the streak continues!
And then we worked to get the house all tidied up. We ended up catering a lot of it with deli trays (fruit, veggies, chicken, etc) and it made everything so easy.
Monday
- Cardio: 6.14 miles, running + 15 minutes, stair stepper
- Strength: 36 minutes, upper body (warm up, 3×15 incline bicep curls, chest press, shoulder press, romanian dead lifts, tricep extensions, lateral raises)
Happy Monday – we are at it again. I was up bright and early for my run.
Later in the morning, I went to the gym. The crowd schedule has shifted thanks to summer, so I need to work out less busy times to visit, but I was able to find a parking spot and carve out room to workout. I focused on upper body and the stair stepper. It was a good session, but I knew I would be hurting tomorrow.
Date night! We had tickets to see How To Train Your Dragon. Confession: my allergies had me feeling absolutely miserable, but I sucked it up. We had popcorn and espresso martinis, and I cried over how amazing the film was. I’m glad I went, but I also put myself directly to bed when we got home.
Tuesday
- Cardio: 6.35 miles, running + 16 minutes, stair stepper
- Strength: 25 minute, lower body (goblet squats, leg press, walking lunges, step ups)
Yes, my chest and shoulders hurt. No, it didn’t stop me. No J… she’s been traveling and is currently on the injured reserve bench. I miss having her with me š
Time to give my lower body some action, with weights and more time on the stair stepper. I didn’t go quite as hard as I’d already had a solid run.
Wednesday
- Cardio: 5.96 miles, walking
Ah, finally! Midweek and an active rest day! Your girl needed it – she was HURTING. But it’s all for the right reasons!
Thursday
- Cardio: 6.2 miles, running + .3 miles, walking + 15:20, stair stepper
- Strength: 33 minutes upper body (warm up, 3×15 bicep curls, shoulder press, chest press, upright rows, tricep kickbacks, russian twists with weighted ball)
Look at that pretty sunrise! I felt pretty energized and dug right into my run.
A had an early work shift, so I also landed at the gym a little earlier too. Luckily, it was pretty empty, which was nice. And my arms weren’t quite as sore – that was even nicer. I’m still on the lighter weights (and will be until I get back in the groove), but this felt great!
Friday
- Cardio: 6.67 miles, running + walking
I had to get up and moving early because the morning was packed! It was a bad sleep night, but I did manage a decent run. Did I want a fourth day in the gym? Yes but it didn’t work out.
I had a meeting with one of my marketing clients, and then it was off to my pet clients for the weekend. This time, I’m staying on a farm! I’m only responsible for dogs and cats, but I still get to admire the other animals on the property. Yay!
For those keeping track, I ended up skipping that nighttime race. Right when I was thinking about maybe making the 40 minute drive, a huge thunderstorm hit with terrifying lightning and I just didn’t want to be out in the weather. It seems like it passed by in time for the race start, but that was ok. There will be other events.
Saturday
- Cardio: 4.63 miles, walking
I had a great night’s sleep and then took myself and my running shoes to a nearby neighborhood to get moving.
The rest of the day was pretty stormy and blah. Now that the heat dome is over, the daily thunderstorms are really making their way through.
Today I have to focus on blog work, as well as creating some kind of brochure and paperwork for petsitting. Now that I’m a few months in, I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t and want to start to implement consistent policies and protocols to make everything as efficient as possible.
Thoughts + Goals
Operation Get Back On Track is underway and going fine. Sometimes, you just need to dive in and make things happen, and it gets easier from there.
It’s going to be a lowkey week. Even though it’s a holiday weekend, we still have plenty to do, and we will stay close to home: the pugs are terrified of fireworks and I hate leaving them alone on those nights. I honestly don’t even know if I’m going to run the local 4th of July 5K… it’s going to be hot and I actually have a hair appointment that day, so maybe I will take a pass.
In Case You Missed It
- Officially In Our Summer Era
- The Unique Challenges Of Florida Running
- Our Guide To Running Red Flags
- June Runfessions: Let’s Beat The Heat
What are things that help you feel stronger? Doing anything for July 4th? How was your week in training?
Weekly Rundown
I am linking up with the Weekly Rundown, with Confessions of A Mother Runner and Running on the Fly! Check them out!
Glad to see that you got back to the gym! Now to be consistent–it will pay off, my friend.
Staying at the farm sounds so fun! Looking forward to hearing about it.
I can’t believe you have a hair appointment on July 4th! I didn’t think anything would be open that day. You reminded me that I need to get my hair cut!
She’s an independent stylist, so maybe she didn’t have plans? I was surprised too LOL!
It’s really lovely and peaceful here. I don’t have to care for any of the animals, but it’s not awful seeing a horse across the yard.
Good for you for getting back to the gym! The Peloton instructors are really good at reminding you to meet yourself where you are and do whatās right for your body todayāwhether that means modifying an exercise or choosing lighter weights or taking an extra rest break. All effort makes progress!
Sorry you didnāt do the race ā or maybe not sorry since you were on the fence about it anyway. š
As a regular Rover user Iād be interested to hear your thoughts from the other side.
Every day will get easier, right!
I think Rover is a great starting off point. It makes it very easy for me to schedule, vet clients, and collect payment. Obviously, there is a cost for that (20%) which is fine. I like how it can help me filter out people who are too far away and I like the actual calendar feature. That being said, I have built up plenty of clients outside of the app as well, so it’s time to prioritize a more individual approach. The app doesn’t have a form that we can provide to clients to collect all their data and I think I can make one. Also, I would like a little more flexibility with pricing structure and how I categorize my services. It’s also hard to publicize my personal policies, and that would be nice. I have plenty of word of mouth clients now and I’m actually booking into November. So I’m doing something right.
And the answer to your question is yes-anything worth having takes work and is always rewarding. I have not doubt you will get back there Have a fab week ahead and stay cool!
Hoping for cooler days for sure!
Yay for the gym- I know how hard it is to get back into it! I’m intrigued about this farm- what other animals are there? It sounds like a fun gig!
Nope, not doing anything for the 4th. I’m off work (it’s one of the few holidays we’re closed) and I refuse to go see fireworks. Too hot and crowded! I think my daughter is going with some friends though- fine with me! I’ll stay home and read.
There are some horses and cows. And then snakes, turkeys, deer, and who knows what else.
Yeah, fireworks are just not my jam. We used to have a really great local show that was easy to access and easy to get home from, but they stopped doing it a few years back and it just hasn’t been the same. Meh.
A is going to hang at home with his girlfriend and Mr PugRunner is going to Uber.
Yay for getting back to the gym! The lighter weights are great way to get back at there and re-into the routine. You’re doing great! I’m not sure what we’re doing the fourth! We may go to my husband’s cousins house (they have their own fireworks) but i prefer a fireworks show/and am scared of shooting off fireworks in real life/on my own with my kids!
Congrats on getting back to the gym! I bet youāll find it wonāt take long to get back in a routine š
I have to go very early to the gym or it’s crowded. I only use the machines and I hate to wait.
I was lax last week but went today..
I do plan to run a race July 4th.
Yay for getting back to the gym! I feel like I’ve lost strength (although it’s probably more momentum and oomph rather than actual strength) in only 2 weeks so I know the feeling. You’re doing great!
The only thing that makes me feel stronger is to keep showing up consistently in the gym and push myself to failure. Also making sure I’m fueled enough for good performance. Then the rest will come. For me I have to feel I did my best and didn’t chicken out from those extra reps at the end. After some time away from the gym it takes a while to get back into the swing of it.
Good for you for getting back to the gym! I am hit or miss on my gym visits these days. I really do want to go twice a week, but sometimes I just don’t get there! It’s hard to fit it all in. But you sure did – Go you!!
It really is. And some days I just don’t want to LOL. We do what we can.a
What is it about strength training, its so much harder to get the motivation vs. running, right? But I’m always glad I did it. Its so important. Well done you for getting it done š
I never used to have allergies but have been having some symptoms and the allergy meds seem to be helping.
Love an espresso martini!
It’s so BORING! I hate it.
I never had allergies until the last few years. It’s freaking miserable. Glad you are getting some relief.
I am all on board with the espresso martini. It’s my fave.
It’s so good that you’re back in the gym, Jenn!
How fun to host a birthday party for your stepdad. Ordering platters in so smart. We have a grocery store that makes the best sandwich, fruit, and veggie platters. I ordered them for our d-i-l’s baby shower and they were delicious!
The platters are so easy. At this point, it’s really not much cheaper to buy and prepare everything separately, and I am all about making life easy.