Weekly RunDown: October 4 – 10 / Rest, Recovery, and Easy Walks

Listening to My Body, Rest, and Getting Back on the Saddle 

Sometimes your body just demands a full pause! This week was a reminder to give myself grace, prioritize rest, and slow down when bronchitis decided to pay a visit. I’m so glad to be feeling much better and ending the week on a strong note—here is how it all went down!

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

Walking: 3.13 miles
• Average pace: 15:23 minute/mile
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 140 feet
• Start time: 2:30 PM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 64° and drizzly
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

Immediately after church, I rushed home to whip up a delicious casserole with eggs, turkey sausage, cheese, mushrooms, red peppers, and onions. We had big plans to cheer on the Washington Commanders from home while our son and daughter-in-law watched in person in London. The game didn’t go as planned, but we still had a great time watching!

Later in the afternoon, I started feeling crappy with a headache and body aches. I initially chalked it up to allergies, but after a sore throat developed overnight, I woke up Monday morning with a full-blown head cold – or so I though.

Monday

Walking: 3.02 miles
• Average pace: 18:04 minute/mile
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 166 feet
• Start time: 12:46 PM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 69° and cloudy
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

Stretching: Peloton 5-Minute Post-Run Stretch with Joslyn Thompson Rule

Since I mostly train older clients, I canceled all in-person sessions to keep everyone safe, and my main virtual client happened to be on vacation for the week. With an unexpected day off, I slept in until 7 AM and took a super easy day, even skipping my usual strength workout. I eventually headed out for a gentle walk to check out the lake dredging project below our house, but found out the trail to it is closed.

Tuesday

Walking: 3.04 miles
• Average pace: 15:22 minute/mile
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 128 feet
• Start time: 12:40 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 60° and sunny, climbing to 62°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

Stretching: Peloton 10-Minute Amy Winehouse Post-Run Stretch with Joslyn Thompson Rule

With another day off, I spent much of the day working on my blog, wrapping up a recap from our summer adventures and diving right into the next one. On the fitness front, I stuck to a walk for my cardio and once again skipped the bike ride I’d promised myself; however, this time I had a good excuse.

Wednesday

Core: Peloton 10-Minute Core Strength with Emma Lovewell

Having canceled my clients the evening before, I woke up with chest heaviness and a deep cough that told me this was more than just a head cold. I headed straight to my doctor’s walk-in sick clinic and learned I had bronchitis—though thankfully, we caught it early! Later in the day, I did a quick core class before calling it a day. More than anything, though, my heart was elsewhere: one year ago on this day, my dear, sweet mom passed away, and she was on my mind all day long.

Thursday

Walking: 3.05 miles
• Average pace: 16:11 minute/mile
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 130 feet
• Start time: 9:49 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 65° and sunny, climbing to 69°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

Stretching: Peloton 5-Minute Post-Run Stretch with Jermaine Johnson

I begged off from my early morning virtual cardio workout with Kim, choosing to prioritize extra sleep as I recovered. Later, after virtually training my one and only client of the week, I headed out for a walk. Thanks to the antibiotic kicking in, I was feeling much better overall, though I definitely tired out more quickly than usual.

Friday

Core: Peloton 5-Minute Core Strength with Emma Lovewell

Strength training: 13 minutes of core and stability (bicycle crunches, Pilates swimmer, birddogs, bridge pumps, dead bugs)

Balance and stretching: 45 minutes

Walking: 4.05 miles
• Average pace: 15:47 minute/mile
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 189 feet
• Start time: 2:29 PM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 74° and cloudy
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor

After being smart enough to listen to my body and sleeping in yet again, I woke up feeling much, much—those antibiotics had really started working their magic! Once up, I knocked out a quick core class and my own bodyweight routine. Later after teaching my balance and stretching class, I met Deborah virtually for a great 4-mile walk!

Saturday

Cycling: 25.19 miles
• Average speed: 11.3 MPH
• Surface: gravel
• Elevation gain: 1,529 feet
• Start time: 9:40 AM
• Location: Unison loop
• Weather: 54° and cloudy, climbing to 67°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves

Stretching: Peloton 5-Minute Post-Ride Stretch with Tunde Oyeneyin

One of our grad school friends was in town visiting his son, so we planned a ride to treat them to our local gravel roads through horse country in the western part of the county. There was a fox hunt getting organized with horses aplenty, though we were just a tad too early to see the hunt in action. I felt great during the ride and was so happy to be back on my bike—hopefully a good sign that I’m fully on the mend!