After two weeks of back to back long weekend vacations, I’m back into the swing of things and back to our routine. At least our summer routine that is! Summer is still more relaxed, even if we do have a routine, and after a few vacations, it was a little hard to get back into the swing of things.

The week started off in Toronto, but we came back Sunday night and then were home every day this week. We are between sports seasons and it was nice to not have too much going on besides nightly swim lessons and a weekend piano lesson. I am still hanging onto summer as long as I can!

This week also ended my July — which was a good month working out wise. Here’s how the month looked:

• Total Miles: 159.88 miles
• Additional workouts, including walking, hiking, planking, push ups and indoor cycling
• 2 vacations – which included working out on the vacation most days
• No injuries

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After last week’s adventures in Hocking Hills, we had a few days back to normal, and then it was off to another vacation — this time, Toronto, with my parents!

I didn’t get to work out every day on vacation this time, but it’s okay – I got in plenty of steps from all our walking around and exploring, and even better, got to spend time with my parents, whom we were meeting for our vacation. I feel so lucky to have gotten to spend the time with them, and celebrate my mom’s birthday.

So, here’s a bit about our week – a bit about our time in Toronto and of course, some info about the workouts.

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I was still feeling a little under the weather and stuffy to kick off the week, but I wanted to keep running because I knew the end of the week I would be out of our routine – we were going on vacation! We had plans to spend a long weekend in Hocking Hills, Ohio,  a beautiful scenic part of the state with so many natural hikes and a big national park.

With a few days at home and a few days out of town, here’s how the full week looked:

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Well, after last week’s 40+ mile week (a lot for me!) this week I had to tune it down somewhat as I was feeling under the weather. Who gets a cold in the summertime? Ugh – me, I guess! I started the week off feeling good, but as it went on felt a little worse and then couldn’t work out to my fullest extent. That said, I was still able to get in some running, exercise bike and walking. Here’s how the full week looked:

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Someone recently told me that the Fourth of July is the “halfway point” of summer and I’m not okay with that – as I keep preaching, I LOVE summer and don’t want it to end!!

If you’re experiencing deja vu, it’s because I am acting somewhat like a broken record and yes, I did start my last weekly recap post like that. So I’ll move on and instead share more about my week and month. Now that June is gone, here’s how it looked:

• 155.54 miles run
• Several days of other activities including walking, indoor biking and also some arm workouts, planking and pushups
• 1 race – a 5K with FW

I was very happy with the month – it was a high mileage month and I ended it on a strong note with a 10 miler! Okay, here’s how the full week looked:

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I’ve said this before – but summer is my FAVORITE season. I enjoy the warm (and yes, even hot) weather. I enjoy having the kids out of school and getting to sleep in. I enjoy the break in activities (right now we just have baseball, soccer and swimming!), the longer days, the vacations and really all of it.

So I’m here to say, I don’t want it to end! I hate that the first month is already over and as much as I love July, I don’t want summer to be over.

I also don’t mind summer running. Yes, we’ve had some hot days and had a heat wave where it was in the 80s at 6:30 a.m., but I’m always a morning runner and even when it’s hot and humid, able to get it in and then spend the rest of the day cooling off. My half marathons are typically in the spring or early summer, so I don’t have any big training runs and can run as I choose.  I truly enjoy the relaxation that takes place in all areas of my life.

That doesn’t mean I take the time off – it just means I keep my base and run, walk and do as I please.  Here’s how the week looked:

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Welp, it definitely felt like summer this week! It was HOT and HUMID, which made for some sweaty and sticky runs. Most days this week were in the 90s, but “felt like” 100+. We don’t get a lot of that in Cleveland, and honestly, I don’t mind it. I much prefer this weather than sub 20-degree temps, which it feels like we get more of!

I’ve always been a hater of the cold. If I get cold, I feel that with no matter how many layers, I can’t get warm. I’ll wear sweater after sweater and sweatshirt and blanket, and I stay cold. But for me, the second I step into AC, I cool down. I know not everyone is like that, and maybe I’d feel differently if I lived somewhere it was hotter and more regularly 90+ degrees, but I can’t complain about this week! I still managed to get in some runs and walks, just a little slower and sweatier than usual. AND we had swim lessons M-Th, so I spent some time in the pool (mostly holding GM, not actually swimming unfortunately) most evenings so I stayed cool that way!

Here’s how the week looked:

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Happy almost official start of summer! It feels like summer here and I’m loving it. We had some good sunshine this week, some warm days, but all in all, not bad running weather here.

Some highlights for this week –

I got in a long (for me) run on Sunday – 9 miles! I am not training for anything right now, and it felt good to get outside and run. I also felt good the rest of the week – no big soreness after completing the 9 miler.

I did a 5K race with FW! I didn’t get to truly race it (for me) because I wanted to run with FW the full time, but I also wanted to push him to run fast (for him). We haven’t run together in a while (since Christmas!) so it was great to get outside and run with him. He did great – and then after the race went to baseball practice so he was definitely tired!

Here’s how the week looked:

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Happy belated Global Running Day to those who celebrate! 

Cleveland had a fun celebration that included a run along a lakefront path right near downtown and more, but it was at 6 p.m., which conflicted with our existing plans. Now, if only someone would host a 6 AM (or even better, 5 a.m.) running celebration – I’d be in!

That said, I did “celebrate” the day by going for my own run, and internally, celebrating the fact that I run. It’s hard not to take for granted the fact that I can run — I know I’m very lucky that I have the resources to run, including the time to run, a place to run, childcare, job flexibility, access to running paths/routes near me, a supportive spouse, and of course, I’m lucky to have a body that let’s me run.

So this week, I’m celebrating the fact that I get to run, and am so glad that I can do it!

Here’s how the week looked:

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And just like that, MAYhem is over! May is always our craziest month of the year. As if it weren’t crazy enough with kids activities and end of school year, it’s also my busiest month of work with our annual meeting and then I travel out of town. 

May was a pretty good month – here were some highlights, both running and non-running related:

• Great month for work: After months of prep, I had a successful work trip to Orlando!
• Great month for racing: I completed the Cleveland Marathon Challenge Series for the half marathon, finishing the 5K and half marathon with times I haven’t seen in 5+ years
• Lots going on with the family: The month included a ballet recital for LM, GM concluding his first soccer league, FW’s first piano recital, FW’s first communion, plus plenty of other activities like weekly ice skating lessons for LM, baseball games starting for FW, plus wrapping up of soccer for FW (we end in June)
• LM’s birthday: We celebrated LM’s birthday with a fun day of mother-daughter activities, plus a birthday party with friends and then a get-together with family
• Total Miles Run: 140+ miles – despite everything going on, I had many long runs as I got ready for race day and had a great month of miles!

I’m not going to lie, I think it’s all been catching up with me because this week I found myself barely able to get out of bed and I was TIRED! That meant a little less than usual in terms of workouts because I snoozed too long and ran out of time. Also, LM was off school, so that meant not much time for mid-day walks. With that, here’s how the week looked:

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