Pictured above- keeping social distance for a virtual 1 mile race!
Another week of sheltering in place…here’s my recap of how I stayed sane via fitness!
Monday: 8 miles, 9:05 min/mile pace before work, Discover Strength after work.
It was pouring pretty heavily on this run, but was relatively warm (58 degrees) so not the worst run, but was definitely drenched at the end!
Tuesday: Another rainy morning run, this time with a workout. This workout was a tune-up to for Saturday 1 mile virtual race!
3 miles easy, 7x(1 minute at mile effort, 2 minute easy jog), 3 mile cool-down. 8.3 miles total at a 9:15 min/mile average.
I went home to grab Ruth for a few miles on the cool-down, but she was not that interested in running in the rain, so that was a short-lived attempt! I didn’t want to push her; I want running to be a fun thing, and apparently running in the rain is not fun for Ruth. I get it!
That evening, I did virtual trivia with my sisters; it was 90’s themed and so much fun! We played through Quizmaster Trivia and just set up a zoom to chat while we play.
Wednesday: 9 miles at an 8:50 min/mile average, last 2 miles with Ruth. I ran into my friend Christie (from this post) and we stopped to chat from a distance; I miss my running friends!
Discover Strength 1:1 virtual training session after work.
Thursday: Technically today was a rest day, but I’m keeping up with my covid run streak, so I took Ruth for a 3 mile run before work, 8:55 min/mile average.
Friday: 6 miles before work in my racing shoes with strides, prepping for the 1 mile on Saturday! Discover Strength 1:1 virtual session over lunch (just 30 minutes).
Saturday: “Race” day!
I convinced Dustin to do the McMirdy Mile Series with me. We ran 4 miles easy to get to the Cedar Trail where we planned to do the race. It’s a flat straight-shot path that worked well for a 1-mile race. My friend Christie was “nearby” but definitely kept her distance, which was actually pretty easy since the Cedar trail has three separate paths.
4 mile warm-up
1 mile at 6:47
3 mile cool-down to home
8 miles total
My 1-mile PR is 6:19 from last summer’s Raspberry Run; I think that I can get faster over the next three races and hopefully beat that time, but the 6:47 was a good baseline. I usually feel very ‘puke-y’ and can’t stop coughing after a 1 mile, and I didn’t feel that this time. Need to get that puke feeling back!
The next race in the series is in two weeks.
Dustin predicted that he would run 5:25, but ran 5:15, so he was pretty happy. Even though it was only a mile, having this race to look forward to was really fun; it brought back a lot of the joy of a hard effort that was missing. I didn’t feel as anxious as I would have for a real 1-mile race, but it was still a fun event to look forward to. I’m glad I signed up!
My sister Erin also raced it from her home in Illinois; virtual high fives! My coach Esther is with McKirdy Trained, so is Erin’s coach, Jack (though the race series is free and open to anyone!)
Sunday: Since I had a shorter run on Saturday, I did my long run Sunday morning. My coach had said anything from 90 minutes to 2 hours of easy running, so I headed out around 7:30 am for 13 miles easy.
I listened to the Armchair Expert podcast on the first 10 miles solo, then picked up Ruth from home for 2 miles with her. Tilda was looking at me like she also wanted to run, so I added one more walk/jog with her for 13 total.
I had to start my run pretty early, as I had a zoom catchup with some college friends, one of whom lives in London. Another positive of the quarantine is the way that Zoom meet-ups have become the norm! I hadn’t seen these girls in awhile, so it was a lovely catchup.
Today marked day 50 on my covid running streak! I can’t believe it’s been 50 days…
Summary: 57 miles of running, 3 virtual strength training sessions.
Overall, it felt like a good week. I think the “race” helped. I have to admit that a benefit of working from home is the extra time in the morning; no more alarms in the “4:XX” or head lamps necessary. I’ve enjoyed that part of quarantine!
Netflix binging this week included Unorthodox, which I loved. I even watched the “Making of Unorthodox” to learn more about the Satmar sect that the woman in the show is from (which was based on a book!) So good
I’m not a big basketball person, but I have been watching “The Last Dance” with Dustin as well, which is better than I would have expected.
I really hope all of you are staying healthy and safe during this stressful time. It’s great to have the ability to stay connected virtually and support each other; this link-up hosted by Running on the Fly and Confessions of a Mother Runner ‘s is a great way to do so! Check it out below:
Wow, that is a blistering mile!! And, you ran that AFTER a 4-mile warm-up? Good gravy, you’re fast!!!
I agree with Ruth on the whole running in the rain thing, especially if it’s pouring rain. Hard pass. lol
Good gravy- I like that saying 🙂 Going to have to steal it!
Haha, yes, Ruth might have been thinking pretty straight there. Sunshiny runs are much better!
I’ll have to check out the trivia! Maybe I can get my husband to play. We need to mix things up! I’ve never done a mile race. It’s actually been a really, really long time since I’ve pushed myself running (damn nasal breathing — I’m still at it!). Congrats to you & Dustin for great races. We’ve been watching Longmire, but not bingeing, just mixed in with our normal shows (which there are not much of, which got me to wondering if there ever will be new shows — probably not! That is really weird, another sad first. I’ll have… Read more »
Oh, interesting thought- you’re right, they aren’t filming anything new during this quarantine, so new content is not limitless, though I suppose we could rewatch some old favorites!
wow that’s a fast mile time! Fun to do the virtual with your sister. Need to check out the quizmaster
Thanks Deborah!
We are enjoying The Last Dance as well! That was a very sweet era for us Chicagoans. I don’t blame Ruth one bit for not wanting to run in the rain. That is such a sweet pic of R and T together. Bless Tilda’s heart she still wants to run!
Great job to all of you on that virtual mile!
I’m sure that Last Dance was a fun way to reminisce as a Chicagoan! It was interesting to look back on it all.
Thanks for reading!
I hope to continue the Zoom chats with friends and family even after quarantine is over. It’s been so nice to actually “see” people more often and connect.
I have two virtual races this upcoming week that I’m pretty excited for because both are donating money to great organizations.
Awesome Kim! Good luck on the virtual races!
Thanks for the Reminder on Unorthodox. I’m hoping to get started on Little Fires …. tonight. You are doing so great with your running. 50 days! I wish we had trails wide enough for social distance runs. Some people are managing it in quiet neighborhoods where they can run in the street.
I haven’t watched Little Fires yet, but loved the book!
I love running in the rain. I loved Unorthodox and this week I listened to the book on Audible. The book and the show are very different but both are really good. Congrats on your race and I’m sure the pukey feeling will be back by the times the series is over (sorry that does not sound right at all but you know what I mean).
Oh good idea! I’m going to listen to the book.
Haha, yes, I’ll get the puke feeling back by the last race!
I’m almost interested in testing my mile pace…almost. 🙂 Nice work on getting it done. And how fun to see your friend! I saw one of my running buddies this past week and it made my day. We’ll get back to our group runs one of these days! We’ve been watching The Last Dance too. I’m not the biggest basketball fan anymore but I was all in back in the 80s and 90s. I was a Pistons fan so it’s interesting that their hatred for each other was for real and is still strong.
Do it! It’s fun- a different challenge when there aren’t races going on.
Yes, the Pistons hatred was intense!
Nice work on that mile! That’s crazy fast! Heck, I had that pukey feeling this morning on my 6 miler and I wasn’t even going fast.
Tilda’s face is too cute! She’s smiling at the camera!
Matilda is the sweetest 🙂 Love her so much.
Awesome job on the 1-miler! I have never gotten to the “puke” thing…not sure I”d want to LOL My 1-mile PR is 7:23, which is crazy fast for his old gal (who never was fast , ever), and I could not stop coughing for a LONG time afterwards. My quads were majorly DOMS-laden for days as well. Crazy how one little mile can have such massive after-effects. Awesome week for you!!
Yes! The coughing fits are real when you push that hard!
Congrats on the running streak! I loved unorthodox as well. Such a good series and perfect lengths with 4 one-hour episodes. I hear the book is quite different though and I’m kinda intrigued now…
Oh, good to know about the book!
Wow! Look at you go! Awesome mile!
I loved Unorthodox. It was such a powerful and poignant story.
Tilda is a doll baby, too. <3
Haha, thanks Jenn! Tilda is the sweetest lady.
That’s a pretty impressive mile time! I haven’t done a mile time trial in forever. May be time for me to give that a shot!
It’s a fun challenge!
Lovely to see the dogs and well done on that mile! I also love your distanced inclusion of your friend and your sisterly virtual hi-five!
Thanks Liz!
I keep thinking about all of the extra time I’d have if I didn’t have to still go into the office! That would be nice 🙂 Good job on the speedy mile! My latest Netflix binge has been “You”. Have you seen that? It’s good!
I do love not having a commute and wearing sweatpants 🙂
I watched the first season of You, but not the second yet!
I also watched “Unorthodox” and loved it. I got the ebook from the library and am liking that as well. Congrats on your 1-miler! That is pretty fast. Mine is somewhere in the 8:xx years ago and doubt I will ever do it again.
Racing a mile is a fun challenge!
Have you read Unorthodox? Such a good read. I really need to watch the series. Congrats to you and Dustin on the mile times. Yay oN Tilda wanting to go out and play too. Such a cute pic of them.
No, I haven’t read it, but it’s on my list!