Grateful Heart, Lucky Timing, and Back into the Daily Routine 

Our epic four-week road trip came to an end on Sunday, and it feels good to settle back into our home routine. Looking back, we were so grateful to have stayed just a few steps ahead of the wildfires in Washington and Oregon, and equally thankful to miss some severe weather on the final leg home. In fact, while watching the news later, I saw a clip showing terrible flash flooding in Buckhannon, West Virginia—right at the very gas station where we had filled up just shortly before the storm hit!

Returning home safely after a month on the road makes me appreciate the small everyday comforts even more. It was a week full of catching up, reconnecting with clients, stepping right back into my regular training, and getting back into the rhythm of daily life.

 

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 29: Huntington, West Virginia to home

Stretching: Peloton 10-Minute Full Body Stretch with Adrian Williams

Our final day on the road saw little action, though I did keep my 10,000-steps-a-day streak alive, hitting day 165 of reaching at least 10K steps! One of the sweetest highlights of the day was listening to Gerry Rafferty’s City to City album during our drive—the very same album we had on cassette tape playing on repeat during our first road trip when we moved to Utah back in 1981.

 

Monday

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

Walking: 3.11 miles
• Average pace: 15:09 minute/mile
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 153 feet
• Start time: 10:12 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 82° and partly cloudy with high humidity, climbing to 84°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

Core: Peloton 10-Minute Spring Cross-Training Core with Emma Lovewell

Since I shared pictures and reviews of hotel gyms throughout our roadtrip, I thought I’d keep the tradition going with a tour of my home gym in our basement. It’s well-appointed with everything I need, and the temperature stays at a comfortable 68°.

During my walk, I was appalled by the humidity—even though it was only at 75%! I had to remind myself that 75% really isn’t bad for mid-August in Virginia, and that spending time out west has simply spoiled me with the drier air.

 

Tuesday

Walking: 3.06 miles
• Average pace: 15:15 minute/mile
• Surface: paced
• Elevation gain: 113 feet
• Start time: 9:31 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 78° and cloudy, climbing to 80°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

Cycling: 9.43 miles (Peloton 45-Minute Power Zone Recovery Ride with Christian Vande Velde)
• Bike: Peloton Bike+
• Average speed: 12.6 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 2:58 PM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 68° in the basement, 85° and cloudy outside
• What I wore: shorts and sports bra

Stretching: Peloton 5-Minute Post-Ride Stretch with Emma Lovewell

With a complete day off—since my only Tuesday client was out of the country—I enjoyed an unbelievable sleep-in until just after 8 AM! I must have been truly exhausted, because I honestly can’t remember the last time I slept that late. Once I finally got up, I had the ultimate luxury of working out whenever I felt like it. Other than watering and fertilizing my deck and front porch flowers and cleaning out a guest bedroom closet, it was a wonderfully chill day.

 

Wednesday

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

Strength: Peloton 10-Minute Pilates: Lower Body with Emma Lovewell

Walking: 3.06 miles
• Average pace: 15:11 minute/mile
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 144 feet
• Start time: 11:34 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 81° and sunny, climbing to 83°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

Back to the grind with several morning clients—just kidding! I truly love my job, or else I’d be fully retired by now. I kicked off the day with a weightlifting session followed by a core class (starting Emma Lovewell’s Crush Your Core 2 over again), trained my clients, and then squeezed in a walk before heading to a dental appointment.

 

Thursday

Walking: 3.13 miles
• Average pace: 15:03 minute/mile
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 5:56 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 68° in the basement, 70° and raining outside
• What I wore: shorts and sports bra

Core: Peloton 5-Minute Core Strength with Emma Lovewell

Cycling: 10.58 miles (Peloton 45-Minute Pro Cyclist: HIIT Training with Christian Vande Velde)
• Bike: Peloton Bike+
• Average speed: 14.1 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 2:55 PM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 68° in the basement, 80° with heavy rain outside
• What I wore: shorts and sports bra

Cycling: .90 mile (Peloton 5-Minute Cool Down Ride with Matt Wilpers)
• Bike: Peloton Bike+
• Average speed: 10.8 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 3:45 PM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 68° in the basement, 80° and cloudy outside
• What I wore: shorts and sports bra

Stretching: Peloton 5-Minute Post-Ride Stretch with Denis Morton

After four weeks apart, Kim and I were able to meet again for our weekly virtual cardio session! I had planned on walking outside, but woke up to rain that stuck around just long enough to send me to the treadmill—only to stop right after I settled in. Regardless, it felt so good to get back into our regular routine! Later in the afternoon, I jumped on the Peloton, bumping up the intensity significantly before rounding things out with a cool-down ride and stretch.

 

Friday

Strength training: 1 hour of total body

Core: Peloton 10-Minute Core Strength with Emma Lovewell

Walking: 3.11 miles
• Average pace: 14:53 minute/mile
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 128 feet
• Start time: 8:51 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 66° and mostly cloudy, climbing to 70°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

Balance and stretching: 45 minutes

Gardening: 1 hour

It was another fantastic, full day of movement! I started with an hour of strength training, added a Peloton core session, and headed out for a 3.11-mile walk. After rounding things out by teaching my 45-minute balance and stretching class, I tackled an hour of gardening – which flew by while catching up on the phone with my brother!

 

Saturday

Gardening: 4 hours

Core: Peloton 5-Minute Core Strength with Emma Lovewell

This was such a great day! Before heading off to some wonderful family time, I got up early and whipped through about three-quarters of the mowing and weed-eating that had gotten completely out of hand while we were gone. I’m so much in my happy place doing that kind of yard work that I don’t even have our lawn service touch that part of the property—I prefer doing it myself!

 

Garmin Badges Earned

Five 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 long does it usually take you to settle back into your routine after a vacation? ~ usually just a day or two
  • • Have you ever had a close call with wild weather or bad timing on a trip? ~ A snowstorm hit a day before we planned to leave for Florida a couple of winters ago when we were on a tight schedule to start  our cross Florida ride with Dawn Patrol. Luckily, it didn’t hit a day later!
  • • How was your week in fitness? ~ Excellent!

 

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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