A Whirlwind Week 

What a whirlwind week! We officially hit the road for our long-awaited cross-country adventure, logging plenty of miles as we made our way toward the Pacific Northwest. From squeezing in modified workouts and hotel-gym treadmills to making pit stops at quirky giant statues, iconic college campuses, and national parks, every day brought something new to explore.

Along the way, I received the fantastic news that the biopsy results from last week’s surgery came back with all clear margins! With that peace of mind and the wildfire smoke clearing just in time, we were treated to incredible blue skies as we arrived to hike through North Cascades National Park. Here is how this jam-packed week unfolded!

 

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

Road trip: Day 1: Drive from home through Maryland and Pennsylvania to Port Clinton, Ohio

Hiking: 1.46 miles
• Average pace: 22:27 minute/mile
• Surface: dirt, rocks, and roots
• Elevation gain: 110 feet
• Start time: 2:41 PM
• Location: Ledges Trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park
• Weather: 77° and partly cloudy
• What I wore: shorts, short sleeve shirt, and visor

Stretching: Peloton 10-Minute Lower Body Stretch with Selena Samuela

We kicked off our epic road trip at 6:45 AM—only 45 minutes past our target departure time! Our first official stop was Cuyahoga Valley National Park, where we enjoyed visiting the visitor center and chatting with a really nice park ranger. I suspect he judged us by our age because he kept suggesting extremely easy hikes. However, considering my recent surgery and my husband’s painful knee, he wasn’t too far off the mark… this time!

We heeded his advice and drove to the Brandywine Falls boardwalk for an easy stroll down to the waterfalls. Next, we tackled a gentle hike along the Ledges Trail, taking advantage of a side trail shortcut rather than doing the full loop.

After wrapping up our hikes, we hit the road again, eager for our dinner date with our good friend Chuck. By complete coincidence, he was staying in the same Ohio town as us during the home stretch of his incredible 58-day road trip to Alaska!

 

Monday

Road trip: Day 2: Drive from Port Clinton, Ohio through Indiana and Illinois to Madison, Wisconsin

Cycling: 7.57 miles (Peloton 30-Minute Feel Good Ride with Ally Love)
• Bike: Peloton
• Average speed: 15.2 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 5:56 AM
• Location: hotel gym
• Weather: 70° in the hotel gym, 64° and partly cloudy outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra

Stretching: Peloton 5-Minute Post-Ride Stretch with Ally Love

Strength training: 30 minutes of total body

Walking: 2.17 miles
• Average pace: 19:29 minute/mile
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 5 feet
• Start time: 11:41 AM
• Location: Norte Dame campus
• Weather: 77° and cloudy
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

After an early-morning trip to the hotel gym for a quick Peloton ride and a light, shortened lifting session, we got back on the road to head toward our next national park. We’ve always been Marriott loyalists, but after learning that Hiltons feature Peloton bikes, we booked a few Hiltons specifically for the rides!

Once on the way, we decided to make a detour for a walking tour of the Notre Dame campus. We made sure to hit all the top spots: Touchdown Jesus, the Golden Dome, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and Notre Dame Stadium. After the gross weather we had left behind at home, walking around in such delightful weather was a welcome treat.

Next up was Indiana Dunes National Park, where we stopped to take in the Lake Michigan beaches and the grass-covered dunes. Thankfully, we didn’t encounter the swarms of bugs Chuck had warned us about—though to be fair, we didn’t venture deep into the wooded trails like he did!

 

Tuesday

Road trip: Day 3: Drive from Madison, Wisconsin through Minnesota to Fargo, North Dakota

Walking: 3.13 miles
• Average pace: 17:47 minute/mile
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 5:46 AM
• Location: hotel gym
• Weather: 72° in the hotel gym,  68° and clear outside
• What I wore: shorts and tank

Stretching: Peloton 5-Minute Seated Adaptive Full Body Stretch with Logan Aldridge

I hit the well-equipped, but stuffy hotel gym for a treadmill walk, saving the room’s sole Peloton bike for my husband. It was a long day in the car, but we made time for a wonderful one-hour pit stop at Munsinger Gardens in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Later on, I even found a Peloton seated stretch class that I could do right from the passenger seat—because keeping that streak alive is what it’s all about! Am I right?

 

Wednesday

Road trip: Day 4: Drive from Fargo to Billings, North Dakota

Strength training: 34 minutes of total body

Hiking: .81 mile
• Average pace: 22:31 minute/mile
• Surface: gravel and paved
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 1:13 PM
• Location: Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library roof living prairie field
• Weather: 78° and partly cloudy
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

Stretching: Peloton 15-Minute Stretching for Longevity with Adrian Williams

After a modified strength training session—still carefully skipping anything that engages my upper abdomen—we hit the road early for another long day in the car. We broke up the drive with a couple of fun roadside stops, including Buffalo Thunder (the world’s largest concrete bison standing at 26-feet tall) and Salem Sue, a 38-foot tall fiberglass Holstein cow. We last visited Salem Sue two years ago, so it was super cool to see her again.

Later in the day, we realized a planning blunder: we hadn’t budgeted enough time for a proper tour of the recently opened Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. By the time we arrived, the last tour of the day was already underway, and we didn’t have the two-plus hours needed to do a self-guided tour justice. Still, we made the most of it by hiking along the rooftop living prairie field, browsing the gift shop, and admiring the building’s striking architecture.

 

Thursday

Road trip: Day 5: Drive from Billings, Montana through Idaho to Spokane, Washington

Walking: 3.18 miles
• Average pace: 16:49 minute/mile
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 5:41 AM
• Location: Billings, Montana hotel gym
• Weather: 70° in the hotel gym, 67° and cloudy outside
• What I wore: shorts and tank

Stretching: Peloton 10-Minute Full Body Stretch with Kirra Michel

After an early-morning walk on the treadmill in the tiny hotel gym, we hit the road for another long day in the car—a constant reminder of just how huge our country really is. Our goal for these first five days was to push across the USA as quickly as possible so we’d have maximum time to enjoy the Pacific Northwest.

The undisputed highlight of the day came over the phone: my dermatologist’s nurse called to let me know the biopsy results from last week’s surgery came back with all clear margins which was a massive relief.

 

Friday

Road trip: Day 6: Drive from Spokane, Washington to Burlington, Washington

Strength training: 32 minutes of total body

Cycling: 25.05 miles
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Average speed: 12.8 MPH
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 571 feet
• Start time: 6:40 AM
• Location: Centennial Trail in Spokane, Washington
• Weather: 69° and sunny with very low humidity, climbing to 77°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves

Stretching: Peloton 5-Minute Post-Ride Stretch with Bradley Rose

I hit the hotel gym early for a strength session—and loved that the AC was set to a crisp 64°! Afterward, we headed out for a bike ride along the Centennial Trail. We smelled smoke almost immediately upon stepping outside, and within a few miles, my eyes were burning. Despite the hazy air, we had fun and our ride took us past both Gonzaga University and Washington State University’s Spokane campus, where we paused to take photos of the bulldog and cougar mascot statues.

A quick check on local wildfire conditions revealed fires along our intended route through the Tri-Cities area, so we rerouted our drive toward North Cascades National Park. We drove through heavy smoke and haze most of the way, but miraculously, the air cleared just before we entered the park, treating us to brilliant blue skies and fluffy white clouds as we took in the beauty of the park from roadside vistas!

 

Saturday

Road trip: Day 7: Burlington, Washington

Hiking: .46 miles / 2.46 miles / .35 miles / 2.52 miles
• Average pace: 19:45 / 20:58 / 22;54 / 24:58 minute/miles
• Surface: paved / paved/ boardwalk and dirt / dirt, rocks, and roots
• Elevation gain: 266 feet / 205 feet / 99 feet / 997 feet
• Start time: 10:42 AM / 12:26 PM / 2:49 PM / 3:34 PM
• Location: North Cascades National Park
• Weather: 58° and sunny / 60° and partly cloudy /63° and partly cloudy / 62° and partly cloudy with a short drizzle
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor (wore fleece jacket for first half of final hike)

Stretching: Peloton 5-Minute Lower Body Stretch with Ally Love

Our goal was to see as much of the park as possible, and we managed to fit in four different hikes—two quick walks and two slightly longer treks. Even with an early start, that was about all we could manage given that our hotel was well over an hour away from the park entrance.

The weather mostly cooperated, serving up gorgeous clouds that perfectly framed the snow-dotted mountains and stunning, emerald-green glacial lakes—though we did catch a brief drizzle during our final hike. We wrapped up our first week completely exhausted, but so happy to add three new national parks to our collection!

Gorge Overlook Trail

Rainy Lake Trail

Happy Creek Forest Trail

Ross Dam Trail

 

Garmin Badges Earned

Four Garmin badges made their way to me this week…

 

Last Week’s Blog Posts

In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…

 

Questions:
  • • How do you keep your fitness routine going when you travel? I always bring my bag of exercise tubes and bands just in case the gym is lacking, but usually Marriott gyms are pretty good. Do you look for specific hotel gym amenities? We booked a few Hiltons on this trip just for the Peloton bikes.
  • • Do you like stopping for fun roadside attractions, or do you prefer making a beeline for your final destination? ~ Besides bringing our bikes along, the best part about driving is getting to see America up close—not just the national parks, but all the quirky spots in between!
  • • How was your week in fitness? ~ very fun and varied

 

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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