WRD: Week 25 Summer Starts
Deborah and Kim are the amazing hosts for the Weekly Run Down! Feel free to join in as well to wrap up your week in fitness!
Summer is truly here, the temperatures are higher, the rain is a bit less and we’ve officially had the longest day on Thursday! The heat is supposed to increase as well in the next week … good thing I’ve started my summer holiday so I can wear as little clothes as possible around the house and outside! Work clothing can be challenging for me during a fairly hot Dutch Summer – either I’m overdressed and the a/c doesn’t work, or I’m underdressed and the a/c is on “freeze everyone to death” setting.
This Week In Fitness
Plan vs. Actual
- Monday – Pilates, done!
- Tuesday – RPM, done!
- Wednesday –
Run and maybe XC0 at the gymnothing - Thursday REST (concert in Amsterdam), did walk quite a bit + bike ride to /from station
- Friday – Run, 10KM in the evening
- Saturday – Gym; Cardio and Strength 1 hour each
- Sunday –
10KM Run, New Release RPM, 7.5KM run/walk
Highlights
So I worked 3 days this week, not without stress or complete and utter exhaustion (not sleeping well, what’s new?), by the time I was done Wednesday I was toast. It was so good to be home knowing I didn’t have to get up early the next morning. Or, in fact, for the next couple of weeks I don’t have to! Monday and Tuesday were “regular” work days, I went to Pilates as per plan and RPM on Tuesday with Ron and Vincent.
On Wednesday I finally managed to get outside at lunch for a little walk – it was gorgeous out! On the grounds where I work we have a little area that’s filled with flowers and plants for the bees to be able pollinate and eventually give us some tasty honey. Last week was rough at work and this week was also challenging, but getting out and enjoying the surroundings really made my day. Just outside the perimeter of our area is a large pond where there are lily pads in bloom. I’m glad I took the opportunity to shake off work for 20 minutes.
Thursday – my first vacation day – I went into Amsterdam and met up with my friend Sam; we went to see Garbage last year together in Utrecht and took the opportunity to see them again now in Amsterdam. The show was brilliant. I absolutely LOVE Shirley Manson!
I had such a great time with Samantha. We don’t see each other often enough but that is the case with most of my friends.
On Friday I finally went out to run in the early evening after pottering about the house a bit and doing some cleaning that needed to be done. At the last minute i decided to just run the 10KM I had planned for Sunday, in case it’s either too hot Sunday or I don’t manage to get the full distance. It was slightly warm but there was a nice breeze and while I didn’t run 10KM in one go, I still enjoyed this run very much. I ran over the Sacharov bridge, along the dike and then up onto the John Frost bridge before heading home. On the dike I also “ran into” several cows – gotta love the city that is still a bit country!
Saturday was gym day – Ron and I went for cardio and strength and it was a lot easier than the week before. 1 hour cardio and and 1 hour strength in the bag.
Sunday – up (too) early for the new release of RPM! It wasn’t as tough as the past couple of weeks (with the mix) but I always have that feeling the first time I do a new release. Also the last couple of weeks had an extra song making the workout a little bit longer. Afterwards we came home, ate something and then eventually I decided o go ahead and try to run. Pretty hot out today, and only going to get hotter this upcoming week! Admittedly it was a run/ walk, which is fine; I have no intensions on trying to be fast this time around, only to train properly, get the KM’s in my legs and complete the marathon in October.
This Week In Numbers
Biking 33 KM (almost 21 miles – all commuting)
Running 2 x total 17.5KMS
Gym RPM 2x, Cardio + Strength 1x
AM Workout nada
Steps *86,584 or around 12.3K steps average per day
Side note about my weight: again I logged everything the entire week and basically tinkered a bit until I found what I think is the right amount of calories per day (TDEE) -600 calories for weight loss and … I lost nothing. My weight is the same today as it was last Sunday. *Sigh* It’s fine, it’s just I’d like to see the scale move a bit downwards and it’s frustrating – especially when I really am doing 100% here. (The chocolate experiment worked, I was able to ration and not go overboard or even feel like the chocolate was calling my name). So yeah. I’ll keep trying.
Coming up Next Week
- Monday – Yoga in the morning with Wendy, Pilates PM
- Tuesday – Easy Run (40 min)
- Wednesday – Intervals 600/200 4x + last SocialMile run at “our” Cafe (not sure yet if I will run)
- Thursday – Cross Training (Fitness Blender @Home)
- Friday – 45 min Fartlek Run
- Saturday – Rest Day
- Sunday – 10 -12 KM Run
Ron is off to India and I have two concerts to go to next week, on Tuesday and Thursday evening so it will be challenging. It’s my FIRST official Training week for the Chicago marathon. I already switched my Saturday run to Friday because I’m picking up Ron in the morning from the airport AND we have a BBQ to go to in the afternoon and a goodbye party in the evening. Good thing I don’t have to work this week…
That’s a wrap!
How was your week? Is it full on summer where you are? How did you spend the longest day? Have you heard of Garbage and do you like them? What is the last concert you attended?
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Woohoo! Hooray for vacation from work! I’m taking off a week from work in August and I hope I can make it until then, lol.
Solid week of workouts for you, especially your runs. Super exciting that you start training tomorrow. Looking forward to being virtual training buddies with you and Michelle this summer.
All you biking inspires me…the hubs and I are headed out in a bit for a 13-mile (round trip) HILLY ride out to a park (and back). gulp. I have not mounted my bike in a l.o.n.g. time…I hope she still likes me LOL Thanks for linking with us, Renee…always great hearing about your workouts!
Around here we celebrated Friday as the longest day[light]. Is it because of where we are or just different views of when to count it? Those lily pads are lovely – I’m glad you saw them and shared a photo with us! Losing weight can be so frustrating. I don’t think fat cells always do the math correctly, but in my experience the results pay off eventually if you can stick it out — which is even harder when the results are showing on the scale.
So jealous that you are on summer vacation! Sounds amazing. And you are certainly kicking it off with lots of fun activities (and plenty of exercise too!)
Amsterdam is such a fun city to visit! Looks like you had a pretty solid week of workouts enjoy your days off. Thanks for linking up
Enjoy your time off! I love how Europeans prioritize holiday. Here, we get ridiculed for taking time off. As if working hard should be glorified!
Have fun during your time off! So nice that you can begin your training for your fall marathon now. Looks like you had a really good week! :)
We have had pretty crappy weather the past couple of months and now…rain. The temperatures have finally risen, but it has been pouring for the past few days. That is so awesome that your work has the beautiful garden area where you can escape reality on your breaks. We have something similar, but I never have the time to get out there or just never think about it. Enjoy your time off of work. It sounds like you have some fun things planned!
Ha – summer my arse, it’s pouring with rain today. Again. A great week and lovely to see you back on it. Love the flowers and lily pads, too! Happy mara training!
Ah, those European vacations! Why can’t we learn from that? Seriously, working all the time doesn’t benefit anyone. And those water lilies are AMAZING! Your trail by the river also looks very pretty (never had to wait for cows yet, but every once in a blue moon we’d get cows in our neighborhood in TX — not too far from farms).
As to the weight — you know that sometimes it just doesn’t release like it should. Just keep on with your healthy habits. That’s the most important thing! Not having chocolate call your name is a big deal — it took me a long time to get there!
Enjoy your time off! Summer is here in fits and starts. This week we’re finally hitting 80 but like Linda said, it’s so so stormy. All the best with your marathon training!
Enjoy your time off! That pond by your office looks beautiful. Excited to follow along on your marathon training. The number may or may not go down but what matters more is how your clothes fit. Well, at least that is how it is in my experience.
Sorry work’s been so stressful – sounds like your vacation has come at a great time! Enjoy!
And, yay for starting marathon training…I need someone to whine with ;)
I have been to Copenhagen — many years ago — literally for 24 hours (same with Delft). We had a great time — we saw the Little Mermaid & pretty sure we ate somewhere at New Harbor, it looks very familiar. I know we saw some government buildings, too. We were on our way home from Greece (well, I was going home, Mr. Judy was off on an epic work boondongle).
No vacation here. Yay for Yoga! Good luck with all those massages this week!
As to the endurance, it will come back. Be patient. Be slow if you need to be. You’ll get there (pun intended).