Allowing for Recovery
This week was all about listening to my body as I recovered from the insane final push of the Great American Ride, where I logged 536 miles over the course of just 11 days. Going into the weekend, I knew without a doubt that I wanted zero time in the saddle, inside or out. Taking that complete break was exactly what I needed, and a relaxing ride with my friend Betsy on Tuesday turned out to be the perfect, low-pressure way to ease back into cycling. Later in the week, a long-overdue gardening session ended up edging out Thursday’s planned ride, so I made sure to get back out there on Saturday to hit my mileage.
With cycling taking a back seat, walking became my primary form of cardio this week—with napping taking a very close second! In much the way DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) sneaks up on you 24 to 48 hours after a tough workout, the sheer exhaustion of the last two weeks completely caught up with me. My body demanded the rest, and I was happy to give it exactly what it needed to rebuild and recover.
Overview of the Week
Before getting into each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…
Sunday
Core: Peloton 10-Minute Pilates: Lower Body with Greta Dopp
Stretching: Peloton 10-Minute Full Body Stretch with Ben Alldis
Walking: 4.06 miles
• Average pace: 15:30 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 99 feet
• Start time: 10:27 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 82° and partly cloudy, climbing to 84°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
There was absolutely no spin bike in my plans after the crazy high mileage of the final two weeks of the Great American Ride. Instead of cycling, I gently woke my muscles up with a Pilates and stretching session first thing in the morning. Later on, I headed outside for a peaceful walk to enjoy the fresh air and keep the legs moving. It was the perfect way to reset!
Monday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Core: Peloton 10-Minute Core Strength with Emma Lovewell
Walking: 4.18 miles
• Average pace: 16.58 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 183 feet
• Start time: 1:15 PM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 78° and cloudy
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
After a busy morning working with clients, I headed out to the neighborhood trails for a walk. I wasn’t expecting anything too intense, but this walk absolutely kicked my butt! By the time I got back home, my body caught up with all the recent fatigue, and I needed a serious nap to recover.
Tuesday
Core: Peloton 5-Minute Core Strength with Emma Lovewell
Cycling: 22.44 miles
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Average speed: 13.4 MPH
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 715 feet
• Start time: 8:56 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Leesburg loop
• Weather: 65° and cloudy, climbing to 72°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
Stretching: Peloton 5-Minute Post-Ride Stretch with Denis Morton
Gardening: 1.5 hours
After a fun bike ride with my friend Betsy, I finally tackled a tedious gardening project that I’d been putting off for weeks. The massive oak trees in our backyard always drop acorns that find their way into the pachysandra covering our backyard slope. They end up germinating into a sea of little oak sprouts, which means I have to hand-pull every single one of them!
Once my functional training on the slope was complete, I headed to the Wine’ing Butcher to pick up some chicken for dinner. It was the perfect excuse to get outside again and log an easy, productive mile.
Wednesday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Walking: 3.03 miles
• Average pace: 15:21 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 99 feet
• Start time: 11:50 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 81° and partly cloudy, climbing to 85° and mostly cloudy
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
Stretching: Peloton 10-Minute Stretch with Hannah Corbin
I made sure to head outside for a walk immediately upon finishing work to beat the afternoon storms that were headed our way. I was so glad I did, because the heavy downpours brought a massive wave of high humidity, making it feel downright gross outside for the rest of the day.
Thursday
Walking: 4.2 miles
• Average pace: 15:26 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 211 feet
• Start time: 6:00 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 71° and partly cloudy with high humidity, climbing to 75°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
Core: Peloton 10-Minute Core Strength with Emma Lovewell
Gardening: 2 hours
Stretching: Peloton 15-Minute Stretching for Longevity with Adrian Williams
Up early for our virtual cardio workout together, Kim and I were both trying our best to beat the heat. Unfortunately, there was no shaking the humidity, which was absolutely oppressive in both Iowa and Virginia! Later, I got out as early as my schedule allowed for some gardening, but even with a 10 AM start, the temperatures had already soared into the 90s by the time I finished.
Friday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Core: Peloton 10-Minute Core Strength with Adrian Williams
Balance and stretching: 45 minutes
I enjoyed a day of no cardio—though if I’m being completely honest, that’s not entirely true. Yes, there was no official cardio exercise on my training plan, but since I absolutely love a good cardio workout, did I really enjoy taking a break from it? 😉
I’ll tell you what I did love, though: my Peloton core class! It was such a fantastic workout that I immediately bookmarked it to keep in my permanent rotation for the future.
Saturday
Cycling: 35.36 miles
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Average speed: 13.8 MPH
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,453 feet
• Start time: 7:16 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Hamilton loop
• Weather: 70° and sunny, climbing to 81°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
Stretching: Peloton 5-Minute Post-Ride Stretch with Sam Yo
I really wanted to ride with the VeloPigs today, especially since I haven’t been out with them in ages! However, their ride wasn’t scheduled to start until 10:00 AM, and with the temperature forecasted to hit 80° by then, I knew it was going to get hot fast.
Instead, I opted to head out much earlier with my husband while things were still somewhat cooler. We rode my absolute favorite loop on the W&OD Trail and made it back home with plenty of time left to relax and enjoy the rest of the day.
Garmin Badges Earned
Five Garmin badges made their way to me this week, including a new badge for Global Wellness Day which was on my calendar, but I was surprised to see it recognized by Garmin for the first time…
Last Week’s Blog Posts
In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…
Questions:
- • Do you prefer active recovery or total rest after a big event? ~ active recovery
- • Do you prefer to beat the heat with an early workout outside or just head to the gym? ~ early and outside
- • Which workout did you enjoy most this past week? ~ Tuesday’s relaxing ride with Betsy was quite enjoyable.
And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!
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I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!
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I think your body definitely earned those naps after 536 miles in 11 days, Debbie! That’s a huge effort!
Great job on the “functional training” pulling oak sprouts! Gardening really is a workout sometimes! And the reward of an easy ride with Betsy and then your favourite loop on Saturday sounds like the perfect way to ease back into cycling.
Also, I’m with you on beating the heat. Why don’t the VeloPigs adjust their schedule in summer? It would be easier for them, too!
Thanks, Catrina!
The VeloPigs normally switch their summer start time to 8:30 AM and I assumed they’d already done that this year, but I guess not.
What active rest you had! Also for active rest days, but you are very active! It’s good you got in some sleep as well. I know it’s good for your body to rest, but I have a hard time laughing and something still. I get very antsy! Look at all those badges!
I have trouble relaxing (I’m always thinking of what projects I should be working on) so it’s a big deal for me to chill. It’s one of my current goals!
LOL on the naps — they were hard-earned!
I’ll need to figure out which Adrian core class you did. I’m always look for a fun class to keep on tap.
My husb went on a bike ride @ 10 am Thursday morning and the heat/humidity left him with a big headache. It was too much so early in the season, I think.
I just texted you a screenshot of the Peloton class I took. Hopefully, it gives you enough information so you can find it.
It’s hard to stay hydrated with the kind of heat and humidity we had last week. Hopefully, your husband acclimates quickly.
My butt and surrounding areas would not be happy after so much time in the saddle! Always good to take some days off with some active rest. I see you found the Pilates core classes-like them? It sure got hot this week! Ugh
Yes, I’ve really been enjoying Peloton’s Pilates core classes. I’ve taken Emma’s Crush Your Core 1, 2, and 3 programs plus Rebecca Kennedy’s Straight to the Core 4-week program.
I just ordered new bike shorts after finally finding a pair (wider chamois) that seem to really help with the hot spots and saddle sores I kept getting last summer.
I love that you got in some recovery and gardening this week! I know that has to be so healing for you!
I prefer active recovery, and I am also up and out at the crack of dawn. It’s too hot to do otherwise.
Look at all your virtual Garmin swag! Amazing!
Thanks, Jenn!
You definitely needed recovery after that huge effort! I would say you were still pretty active though. After my birthday race (my biggest effort ever) I think I took one day to lie around like a sloth- I probably didn’t do much more than walk to the kitchen and back. By the next day I was ready to move around again. Active recovery really is best.
I’m feeling so much better now that I’m a week out from the effort. I’m sure if I ran 60+ miles I’d take a complete rest day or two myself!
you got on the bike WAY sooner than I would have!! But I do prefer active recovery rather than doing nothing at all. And by that I mean a walk will do the trick if that’s all I can muster up.
My favorite workout this week was deciding on finally running a 5K with no breaks and then doing it :). I only started running again in March so I am really pleased about this progress.
I’m so happy for you and your successful return to running, Renée!
I agree with Deborah – I’m impressed with all that cycling! I don’t enjoy more than an hour on the bike for that specific reason, I get really sore in my lower areas (not legs!). Sounds like you had some good recovery while staying active. I definitely prefer active recovery, especially through (soft) walking, it kind of relaxes sore muscles and is a pleasant feeling when I’m fatigued in the body.
That acorn picking job sounds very tedious indeed!! What a good feeling it must be to get that done though.
Thanks, Susanne! And yes, I’ve battled hot spots and saddle sores off and on for a couple of years. I just found cycling shorts with a wider chamois which seems to be working well. I was developing friction where the chamois ended and was stitched to the shorts. Hopefully, this will be the answer I was looking for…
Sounds like a great week of recovery! I see a lot of people who do a tough race or challenge and don’t take time afterward to let their body soak in all the work. I appreciate that you did!
There’s no beating the heat here, lol, whether I’m outside or at the gym. My gym isn’t air conditioned, so we rely on a lot of fans to keep the air moving. I don’t know about you, but when I sweat like that, I feel like I really worked hard, lol!
Thanks, Wendy! You guys had a hot week last week as well? The heat and humidity was really bad for here for this early in the summer. Today’s not bad, though! I can’t imagine working out in a non air conditioned gym. Wow!
You know I’m a diehard active recovery gal 😉 That said, I crashed for about 20-30 minutes yesterday afternoon. I think the humid brewery run did a number on me. But, a 20-minute nap (for me)is equivalent to five hours of actual sleep, LOL.
Yes, I do know you’re an active recovery kind of gal! Glad you took the time for a power nap yesterday!
I bow down to you on your amazing feat of endurance with all of that cycling for the challenge! So impressive!! I’m glad you listened to your body and gave it the rest it needed after all of that activity.
I spent a lot of time pulling weeds this past weekend. The only bonus was that the weeds were very large, which made them easier to yank out compared to the little tiny ones 🙂
Thanks, Lisa!
Ah yes, when those sneaky weeds get big they’re usually easier to pull. I just found a HUGE one right next to our holly tree in plain sight. I was like, “How in the world have I not seen it with all the gardening I’ve done all spring?” But you’re right, it popped right out of the ground with ease.