Is anyone else tired of these “once-in-a-lifetime”, “unprecedented” events? Well, we just had another one… a monster Category 4 hurricane, Helene, just ripped up the west coast of Florida, causing catastrophic damage to a large part of the state. Please send love and good vibes to all those who were in the path of this storm.
Sunday
- Cardio: 3.16 miles, running
I was up and out super early for the Ponte Vedra 5K + 10 Miler, presented by Alter Ego Running. We had a 7:30 AM start time, and I liked getting things done nice and early.
When I finally got home, I wanted a shower and a nap. It was also the first day of fall, so I made a big pot of soup and we watched Twisters. On a sad note, I had two loaves of sourdough fail terribly, which made me pretty sad.
Monday
- Cardio: 5.04 miles, running
- Strength: Chest + Shoulders, 20 minutes
It was an absolutely beautiful morning. The calm before the storm, if you will. I had a fabulous run and started feeling a little bit better.
Mr PugRunner spent some extra time at the gym, so I found a chest and shoulder workout online and performed it with some dumbells I had. Not perfect, but what can you do?
Tuesday
- Cardio: 6.19 miles, running
I started the day by running with J, and then I met up with A for breakfast. I was super happy to get my hands on this iced cafe con leche. Perfect.
I ran some errands, and got home as fast as I could for a meeting. My evening was spent at another meeting. That’s Tuesday for you.
Wednesday
- Cardio: 6.07 miles, running
I really didn’t want to run… my legs and hips were tired and maybe a little sore, but a hurricane was coming and I wasn’t sure when I would be able to run again.
In the meantime, everything was out of sorts. Our county hadn’t made any decisions about if school would be open or closed, but they did move our varsity football game to Wednesday night from Friday. This meant the band was performing.
We still hadn’t seen a full run of their show, so Mr PugRunner and I went to dinner and headed over to the stadium. It started raining the minute we parked, and I’m furious to report there was lightning. While I’m not a weather expert, I think they should have called a delay long before there were four minutes left in the 2nd quarter, but what do I know? At any rate, they released the band at the delay and we called it a night.
Thursday
- Cardio: 5.49 miles, walking
- Strength: EGym Training Session, 20 minutes
School was canceled for Thursday, and J took the morning off, so I headed out on my own. I was expecting lots of wind and rain, but instead had a fairly decent morning.
I did get some bad work-related news that sort of threw me for a loop, so I was out of sorts for the day. There was a reprieve when I headed to the gym to get set up and trained on their new EGYm system. I’ll have to report back on that – it’s ok, but I think I might just stick to the regular machines. And then we had margaritas and Mexican food for a late lunch and ice cream for dinner.
Hurricane Helene was also on her way. We had about an hour of tornado warnings, with funnels all around us, lots of super high winds, a little rain, and loss of power for an hour or so. We were so lucky. Due to the winds, the district canceled school for Friday at 8PM.
Friday
- Cardio: 5.34 miles, walking
It was way too hot and humid (and windy) to run, so after a half-hearted attempt (pictured), we just walked it out. There wasn’t a ton of damage in our neighborhood, minus some small limbs and roof shingles, but out on the main road was another story. Still, none of it compared to the catastrophic damage along the direst path of Helene. We were so lucky.
A and his girlfriend hung out here and took advantage of a down day. And we even rescued a dog! A saw it outside our fence line near the water, just bopping around, and managed to corral it in our yard. We found the owner, and got him home, but look at this cutie.
Saturday
- Cardio: 4.46 miles, walking
I got up super early to get in my miles.
And then it was time for our home marching show! We all spent the day at the school, volunteering and enjoying the event. We swept our division and came in third overall!
Thoughts + Goals
This week was hard. First, our state was absolutely crushed by this storm. We all know that hurricanes are a way of life, but the surge from Helene was like nothing I’ve ever seen. The west coast, panhandle and big bend areas are still recovering from past hurricanes, and this was just salt in the wound. Add to that, another system is brewing in the exact same spot that spawned Helene. Not good. I think this will forever change the shape of our state.
More damage followed through Georgia and the Carolinas. The Asheville area is reeling. There are so many floods and compromised roads and structures. It’s really hard to watch, and my hearts breaks for all those who are dealing with the aftermath.
Of course, we will all build back, but it will take time, and patience, and the strength of human spirit.
What You Missed On The Blog Last Week
- It’s Time For Autumn Vibes! (Weekly Rundown)
- Things I Miss About Racing (Tuesday Topics)
- Race Report: PV 5K + 10 Miler (Runners Roundup)
- Let’s Get Into September Runfessions (Fit Five Friday)
How was your week in training? Were you in the path of Helene?
Weekly Rundown
I am linking up with the Weekly Rundown, with Confessions of A Mother Runner and Running on the Fly! Check them out!
The ferocity of these storms is truly frightening. The winds even reached us yesterday, which really demonstrates how big this thing was. I’m glad you were mostly spared, but that Gulf Coast–I can’t even imagine how defeated everyone feels after just getting back on their feet after that last big one.
Congrats to A and the band!
And there are two more out there. One may head along a similar path, which… I just can’t even think of it.
The human spirit endures. It always does. But this is just so awful.
It was so scary watching the hurricane form and then devastate. We’ve had really bad weather here with more flooding yet again – not on the same scale but something that also didn’t used to happen this often. Glad you and yours are OK and well done for rescuing the little dog!
I’ve never seen flooding like this. And bizarrely, I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that mountain towns are flooding. Because mountains. I live 8′ above sea level, so I get the risks for me, but people in elevation? It just doesn’t compute for me.
Wow, I’m so sorry to hear about all the damage from the hurricane. Glad you are okay. Those photos are something. Good for you for rescuing that cute dog and finding its owner!
It’s surreal to see actual homes be washed away and so many areas are literally cut off and only accessible by air, like Asheville and Banner Elk/Beech Mountain area, among others. It’s heartbreaking. They will rebuild, they always do, but not without so much loss and grief.
So happy to hear that your region didn’t get hit hard.
Iced cafe con leche. Yum.
You’re doing great getting out there everyday.
I just can’t find much time during the week.
It’s hard to be happy because it just means someone else did get hit, and I hate that.
The iced cafe con leche is delicious.
I am glad to read you were spared the brunt of the storm. The damage looks truly scary in some places. Super scary indeed! Hang in there.
I always feel so guilty saying that. Being spared and hoping the storm goes somewhere else means someone else gets hit, and that’s no better. We were lucky this time, but my heart is broken for everyone in Appalachia. I have friends in and have been a frequent visitor to place like Boone, Banner Elk, and Asheville, and to think of the loss and destruction is just too much. My loved ones are ok, but I know that’s not true for all.
I was thinking about you! Your conditions were worse than ours here, but we were both lucky. Those poor people up north… yes they will build back, but it sucks right now. And there’s another one brewing? Well, they said it was going to be an active season, and so it’s been mild. I guess we’re going to get everything in the next month.
Congrats to A and the band!!! Sounds like they did great. I hope the weather doesn’t interfere with Bandtober!
And I was thinking about you! I’m glad you’re ok. There are two more storms out there but they seem much weaker to start than Helene. Not that that means anything at all, but it does offer some relief.
They were wonderful! I’m not sure what’s going to happen to our season. We hosted one season opener in our organization but the other one was canceled for the storm. We also had five bands pull out last minute because of the weather (understandably). WCU is probably a no go (which is totally fine -they need to focus on rebuilding in their community), but the kids will be disappointed.
You did have a rough week — although yay on the race and thank you for rescuing that dog!
My mother-in-law had some damage to her house in Bradenton, and I’m not psyched my daughter wants to move from Colorado to the Tallahassee area — they were mostly spared this time, but ….
LOL! I would NOT be moving anywhere near Tallahassee or the Big Bend region. Another direct hit like that will put the entire west coast under water.
My daughter, in Charlotte, was telling us of the damage they had…not even close in comparison to the severity elsewhere, but it is truly frightening. It brings back memories of our derecho of 2020.
It’s just awful. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it all. We’ve been through it and we know how the devastation can be, but these people in the Appalachian area just weren’t warned, didn’t have the means to prepare and I’m just so scared and sad for everyone.
I was going to say you had such a pleasant start to your week (look at those sunrises) but then the end of the week was devastating. I know quite a few people that were in Helene’s path – or otherwise affected – and I feel for all of you. This is so hard to watch from afar but there’s also so little to do when the force of nature does its thing .Ugh. I am glad you’re ok. Other’s have lost so much.
I was shocked at the level of damage communities around the farm saw from this storm – roads looked like flowing rivers and trees (and power lines) were down across the roads everywhere. Yet, their damage was nothing compared to the little town of Damascus not terribly far away which was devastated.
I haven’t seen Damascus. It sounds like progress is being made, but it’s going to take years to get everything back in place. So sad.
oh gosh, what a week. Sorry about the rough work news, that always messes up the mood 🙁 Combined with the scary weather. Glad you are okay.