May Goals + Week 18 – Now We are Planning

Week 17 recap is here;  I’m not certain it was seen and it’s not important that it’s read, but just in case. (Mainly running woes, getting a tinnitus masker/hearing aid, feeling a bit crappy, then having a good run despite falling after only 1 mile.  Oh and pizza.  Yummmm).

 

 

This week my intention was to really FOCUS again and plan out my week without making myself nuts or cutting my time too short for myself.  Self-care is everything right?

 

First, let me tell you about May Goals.  I have only a few and they should be reasonably easy to achieve:

  1. It’s the Running Around the World Challenge at work again, so 10,000 steps a day
  2. Each day at the office, minimum 1 time a day take the stairs (I’m on the 7th floor and we have “double” stairs to each floor, i.e. 24 steps)
  3. Schedule and then do AM workouts.  I’ve looked at my whole month of appointments and figured out the days I can do an at home AM workout. Goal is to do ALL the AM workouts I schedule for myself. NO EXCUSES
  4. Get back to the gym and spinning!  Plan when I’m going and then GO.
  5. Get my food shit and weight together.  Broken Record.  I know.

 

So this was the plan for the week:

Monday – AM workout at home, running in the evening (test out new shoes again)
Tuesday – massage clients (no workout)
Wednesday – dry-needling AM, possibly spinning in PM if not too sore
Thursday – Osteopath AM, spinning alternative (or running)
Friday – AM workout at home, massage clients in the afternoon
Saturday – spinning
Sunday – Running, around 14KM or so.

 

 

Let’s see how it all worked out:

Monday – I prepped all my food Sunday night and got my clothes and workout items ready.  And though I still found it was early enough to be grumpy about it, I did get up and do my morning workout! Whoo hoo!   I did however not run in the evening.  Instead I prepped food for the next day as it was going to be another early start and a long day.

Steps  7,892
Stairs  3m50s (I chatted with a colleague for a minute in the stairwell)
Biking 4.4KM (work commute)
AM Workout 30 min

Oh yeah. Today was the day to sign up for the London Marathon.

 Tuesday – up early again as I needed to be at work by 7:45 (end of month).  It’s May 1st and that means it’s the start of Running Around The World again at work.  Each year hundreds (thousands?) of colleagues participate in this challenge to not only get more fit but we plant trees for so many thousands of steps made.  It’s a great initiative and I enjoy participating.  So this month I’m tracking ALL activity! biking, steps, cardio, everything!

I had massage clients in the evening and finished pretty late.  Then I had to do a coffee beans run and go to the supermarket to get food for the next days to prep.

Steps 9,696
Stairs 2m28s
Biking 15.8KM

the weather is not so promising.

 

yes, I’m still wearing gloves at this stage (to be fair it’s also to protect the wound on my hand a bit)

Wednesday – dry needling in the morning so another early start.  She did my gluteus medius and then hit up my peroneal muscles and around the ankle to try to alleviate the pain/ pressure in my toe.  It wasn’t pleasant but hardly as painful as last week.

In the evening I finally made it back to RPM with Vincent!  I was a tad nervous for the new release but it was fine.  Only not my favorite instructor but you can’t have everything, right?

Steps 11,530
Stairs 2m26s
Biking 5.9km

 

hey! there’s the sun the weatherpeople promised!
yeah! good to be back at spinning!

Thursday – well, guess what?  another early start and off to the Osteopath.  This was my first of a planned 4 sessions.  He seems to think that the issue is really coming from my back since I already have issues with L5 – S1.  He worked on my foot for a bit as he said it was really, really stiff, like range of motion was really limited (I don’t feel it really myself since I’m so used to it) and then he did a lot of stretching of my left leg (think acrobatics leg-over-head action, that’s what it felt like anyway) and a lot of manipulation on both sides of my psoas (think heavy pressing on your intestine).

 

Afterwards I went to work, had a fairly busy day but still made it out for a walk at lunch.

Once I was home I put on my running clothes and attempted a run in my new Altras.  Third time now trying – these are unfortunately NOT the shoes for me.  Ron found the same Torin 1.5’s that I have now on ebay and ordered them for me.  Problem solved.

Steps 17,198
Stairs 2m28s
Biking 11.9km
Walking: (incl in steps) 3KM
Running: 4KM

gorgeous lunch walk

 

my new running shoes are now my new everyday shoes…

Friday – AM workout planned and DONE!  So that’s 2 for 2 this week.  Not bad.  I had clients in the afternoon.  It was a gorgeous day out so on my biking back home I took the long way home along the Rhine.  So beautiful.  I love spring!

Steps 5,548
Biking 11.8KM
AM Workout: 45min

At the John Frost Bridge (aka The Bridge Too Far)

Saturday – No RPM this morning.  It’s Liberation Day in the Netherlands and on holidays at the gym you have to sign up for classes since they are not open the whole day.  I was too late with signing up and Vincent had to work so I opted to go for a run instead.  It was SO gorgeous out!  I didn’t really have much of a plan, no real km’s in mind (now that I’m not *really* training I’m just running when I can and going a bit willy nilly), but we were already planning on running Sunday so I didn’t want to overdo it, especially after dry needling and the osteopath visits.  I pretty much headed out when I normally would go to the gym, because I had plans for the afternoon!

I headed out towards the Rhine again with Central Station in mind as a destination.  I was feeling good though so by the time I had a choice to turn right and end the run around 5.5KM I decided to go left instead, a little bit up the hill, then over towards GCE (where I do sport massage) and then down the hill again to the station for a perfect 7KM.  It was just enough.  I had time enough to stop in at Starbucks, get an ice cold Cold Brew and jump on the bus home.

I do love a good run on a sunny morning!

I ate something, showered and got dressed and then headed into town again.  I was meeting up with my friend M-J.  She recently was voted into local government in the party that I support and she had mentioned to her friends that if she did get voted in, she would show here appreciation by visiting the glass balcony at the Eusebius Church (even though she is deathly afraid of heights).  She asked me some time ago if I wanted to go with her as support and I’ve not been (the balcony is pretty recent but I’ve never been up in the church in all the time that I’ve lived here!) so I figured why not!

The view was absolutely incredible, but the balcony was a bit nerve wracking.  Even though I was up in the Willis Sears Tower back in October in Chicago, it still makes my stomach flip a abit!   It took her awhile before she could step on the glass floor but she finally did it.  Afterwards we enjoyed the sun a bit and had a drink and then I went home to hang out with my two boys (my stepson came over while I was away).

view from the terrace

 

 

she did it!
The John Frost Bridge from the top of the Eusebius Church

Steps 18,470 (includes running steps)
Biking 7.8KM
Running 7KM

Sunday  – The 7th Edition of the Cheesecake Run was on the plans for today!  I believe it’s every quarter that my running group does a Half Marathon distance Cheesecake Run, that is to say, from Starbucks Arnhem to Starbucks Nijmegen OR the other way around.  It was perfect weather for it and, although neither Ron nor I wanted to run that full distance, we wanted to see our running friends anyway.  So the plan was,  we would bike/run to the station and then he would run the first half of the run with the group and we would switch at the train station in Elst.  And that’s exactly what happened.  I ended up running in between two groups (there were 3 in total) which in the end was fine.  The second group was too fast for me and the 3rd group was taking it easy.  Normally I would be fine with this but I wanted to give myself a bit of a push to just do the 10KM with little or no stopping.

 

Crew Love
the speedy group
the middle group
the 3rd group – slow ‘n sexy!
shiny and sweaty

Of course once we arrived at Starbucks we ate all the cheesecake they had in the shop haha!  (side note:  I did not have cheesecake as I fancied their yogurt cup with nuts and fruit instead).

It was too gorgeous to take the train home, so I cycled home with my friend K.  Such a fabulous morning and afternoon!

Once I arrived home I had a little bit to eat, showered and got ready to go out (again) so that Ron, The Boy, and I could go out to dinner.

the Boy’s beer is 0% alcohol, don’t worry haha!

It was one of those weekends that you just didn’t want to end!

Steps 17,298 (includes running steps)
Biking 34.60KM
Running 10KM

Totals
Steps  87,632
Stairs 4/4
Biking 92.2KM
Running  20KM
Walking 3KM
Gym/ RPM  1/2
AM Workouts 2/2

 

So even though I was busy and there were quite some early starts I still had a good week.  I have to admit my food was basically shit the first few days, I have been stressed about making certain decisions and also over my foot (and not sleeping well just makes for a short fuse).  I’m never going to lie or pretend that I’m not an emo-eater;  I definitely am and I’m definitely trying to stop these situations sooner rather than later.

 

How was your week?  Have you ever had such a perfect weekend – weather, sport, friends, family-wise – that you just didn’t want to end?

Do you work out at home?

Are you also having amazing weather these days?

Comments

  1. kookyrunner says:

    I love your May goals! I laughed so hard at your edit to the London Marathon entry LOL. I think I’ll try entering through the lottery for a few more years but if i don’t get in, I may try to do a charity entry. I just get nervous about raising the minimum amount!

    1. Renée says:

      Thanks Kim! and yeah, it’s every year the same rejection, you know? you gotta have a sense of humor about it :) Í am really nervous too about raising minimum amounts, but I did indicate that I would be interested in Team PAWS Chicago for a fund-raising entry. just have to see how much I would have to collect!!

  2. Good luck with London fingers crossed for you! I love that your office has the stairs challenge what a fun way to get everyone more active.

    1. Renée says:

      Thanks :) and it’s actually all activity for the Running Around the World challenge. The stairs thing is my personal May challenge on top of that :) But yes it’s great that so many people participate worldwide!!

  3. I wish my office had a stairway….. ;-) It’s nice when the weekends go so smooth like that! Ours was pretty nice, too. I’m so glad we finally have warm weather!

    1. Renée says:

      funnily enough my city is on the small side and there are only a few tall buildings around here. But Of course I would work in one of the tallest! Let’s just say I don’t know that I would give myself this challenge if I worked on the 12th floor :)

  4. The Around the World Challenge sounds like a good one! Good luck with London – when will you hear?

    1. Renée says:

      thanks! I think early October. But if all goes well in Warsaw end September I will come up with an alternative for spring if I don’t get into London.

  5. akepolito1 says:

    Great monthly goals! It looks like you had an exciting week! I’d be scared to death to walk on a glass floor – so kudos to you!!! Have a great week!

    1. Renée says:

      thanks! yes it was slightly nerve-wracking!!

  6. Wendy says:

    How fun that your office has a stairs challenge!!! I’ve been in the Sears Tower glass balcony–I didn’t realize that there would be another. I’m not afraid of that kind of stuff.

    Have a great week!

    1. Renée says:

      oh the challenge is for all activity – steps, running, walking, other sports. the stairs is my own challenge :) to get more steps in and try to take the stairs more often in general.

  7. runswithpugs says:

    So fun! I love that you can just bike and run everywhere!

    We often have those perfect weekends. I love them but it’s hard to let them go.

    Weather here has been ok. It’s starting to warm up and summer will be with us soon. It was nice while it lasted.

    1. Renée says:

      oh, does it get really warm in the summer where you are?

  8. Marcia says:

    Aaah! Cheers to an amazing weekend! For once the weather here has been glorious too. I don’t mind skydeck kind of stuff and when we were hiking in the San Jacinto mountains recently, I don’t mind the cliffs FOR MYSELF, however the mom in me really REALLY does not like having my kids around the edges. I’m in for London too. Pfffft.

    1. Renée says:

      yeah I think I’d freak out even more to see my stepkids near cliff ledges,etc!!

      would be kind of amazing though if you, me and Kim all got into London!

  9. agsignor says:

    What a great week! I hope you get your entry into the London Marathon. :-)

    1. Renée says:

      Thanks :) I’m not really counting on it since they had record numbers for the lottery again this year, but you never know!

  10. Your May goals are awesome! I love going you my Osteopath – always great results!

    1. Renée says:

      Thanks! I hope he can help me!

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