On October 7th I will be running the Chicago Marathon as a member of Team Ronald McDonald House Charities. Please consider visiting my fundraising page and supporting this worthy cause. Thanks!
The summer heat and humidity was most certainly present last week. Like always, summer running was a challenge, and last week certainly tested both my physical and mental strength to push forward despite high heat and humidity.
Monday, July 9th
I kicked off the week with a walk to and from two different playgrounds with little man. Altogether I walked just over two miles. That evening I headed to the gym for cross and strength training. I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical and then did 40 minutes of full body weight training.
Tuesday, July 10th
Tuesday morning little man and I headed out the door for a stroller run. The morning humidity made it extra challenging, and while running up a hill at the 4.15 mile mark I told myself that I was done. After calling it quits with my run I walked another 1.52 miles.
Little man and I make a great team, especially on challenging runs.
Wednesday, July 11th
Little man and I started our day off with a walk to the grocery store. He loves being able to push the little shopping cart around the store and by us going early in the day it helps with preventing having him run into anybody with his cart. We returned home with the stroller loaded up with our purchases. Our round trip mileage was just over two and a half miles.
Little man loading up his shopping cart
What the stroller looked like on our way home from the store.
Thursday, July 12th
Thursday morning was the first time all week when I finally felt a break in the morning heat and humidity. Even after running 5.25 miles with the stroller I felt like I could have pushed myself to keep running, except that little man and I had to get to the library for toddler story time.
The break in the heat and humidity was much appreciated, especially on a morning when I ran with the stroller.
Friday, July 13th
Knowing that I had a double digit run the next day I opted to take a full rest day in order to allow my body to rest up for the challenge that I knew that the long run would prove to be.
Saturday, July 14th
Hills plus wind made for an incredibly challenging long run. I opted to run on one of my go to out and back long run routes that has several grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and convenience stores along it so that should I have needed more water than I left home with that I’d have options available. The one downside to this route is that it is incredibly hilly. My average pace was much slower than I would have liked, and got slower the further that I ran, but I didn’t give up and that’s what is most important. After running 12 miles I completed a 0.76 mile cool down walk.
The steep hill on the left was one of the countless hills that I ran during Saturday’s long run.
Sunday, July 15th
A busy day filled with lots of errands and family time resulted in an unplanned rest day. It happens.
Total Weekly Mileage – 31.09 miles (7.75 miles more than week 5)
Total Chicago Marathon Mileage – 155.51 miles
QOTD: Do you ever walk to complete your errands?
I’m linking up with Holly from HoHo Runs and Wendy from Taking the Long Way Home for the Weekly Wrap link up. Be sure to check out their posts as well.
Awesome week of training! I love that you are able to do a lot of your workouts with your son 🙂 That photo of him with the tiny shopping cart is just too cute!
With him home with me for the summer and not at daycare, I don’t have a choice but to do a lot of my workouts with him. Otherwise, I’d have to wait until after my husband gets home each day which isn’t realistic.
Looks like a great week of training! Living here in the ‘burbs, you really can’t walk to anyplace to do errands. Well, you could, but it would be a challenge–lack of sidewalks, traffic….
That’s a shame. The DC area suburbs must have a lot more sidewalks than the Chicago ones do.
Nice job on your 12 miler! The humidity has been bad here in NH too making running a little more challenging. I love your son pushing the mini shopping cart. Too cute! I wish my kids were still that little!
He absolutely loves to help with the shopping, and letting him push the little cart definitely helps with avoiding some meltdowns at the grocery store.
Well done on your 12 – sounds like my 14 of yesterday! I was happy with your average mile pace for my first and last miles, messed up remembering to stop my watch for some rest breaks. Of which there were many. We had to do the canals are cooler but the bridges are horrendous compromise!
I walk to all errands that are walkable as we don’t have a car. I get the bus to any further ones, or get the bus there and run back. I love how your lad is learning to walk a lot – brilliant training for a future not sat in a car!
We try to spend as much time outside as possible. I’m very thankful that we live with several stores in a 1-2 mile radius of our house. It makes it much more realistic to be able to walk to run errands with the stroller.
I live in NYC so walking is the best way to do errands — and sometimes the only way. Such an adorable little helper you have.
The only time I ran short on water was a South Florida “winter” afternoon. So my Strava segments were to/from the Walgreens where I bought more. I was internally and externally sloshing that run. Ronald McDonald House is such a wonderful cause – good luck!
Thanks for the support, Cari.
Sounds like a great week! I love that high five photo of you guys, so adorable 🙂
Thanks!
I wish I was still in the stage where walking to errands was easy! With 3 kids, walking to the store with a stroller isn’t as easy anymore. But I love the idea.
Oh gosh, I can’t imagine trying to walk with 3 kids to run errands. Some days its hard enough with just one.
Sadly I don’t live close to anything except a grocery store. I load up too, and would have to carry everything back. Cat litter can weight a lot!
Oh yes, it certainly can.
Pushing your little guy in the stroller must add a whole different dimension to your walks/runs! There were a few people pushing kids in strollers at the Napa to Sonoma half yesterday and I just couldn’t imagine it. I could barely walk up some of those hills by myself!
Running with the stroller definitely slows me way down and forces me to have to take much more frequent walk breaks. But it is great resistance training and it allows my son and I to spend quality time together outside.
I walk downtown all the time if I need just a few things (it’s about a 2-mile round trip). I don’t have a stroller to load up with numerous bags anymore 😉
So that just means that you can do some weight training on your walk back home.
There are some great malls just a couple of km away from my house. So I have no excuse. I will need to start doing that again. I remember as a student I used to walk everywhere!
Can I just say Little Man has grown so much since i started following your blog!
Its amazing how much he’s grown over the past two and a half years!
I wish I had some more places that I could walk to from my house but no such luck!
That’s a bummer.
Great job getting those miles completed in the heat and humidity! It appears Little Man is serious about his shopping. He is so cute! Although I have a variety of stores nearby, I can’t walk anywhere. We live in a quiet neighborhood, but it sits just off of a very busy highway…with no sidewalks! Thanks for linking!
Oh yes, he’s very serious about his grocery shopping.
It’s hard enough to run in the heat nevermind pushing a stroller. Kudos to you on 12 miles. I struggled to complete 8.
Running with the stroller is definitely hard work, that’s for certain.
I wish we could walk to our errands. Our nearest shopping center is about 2.5 miles from our driveway, but with the heat, it’s nearly impossible to get anything back safely. We will ride our bikes sometimes, weather permitting, and that’s fun because we can grab a bite to eat, get stuff from the store and ride home. It would be nice to be in more of a main street/town center kind of place, but we have other benefits to where we live, so I guess I can’t complain.
There are pros and cons to all neighborhoods.
Looks like another great week for you! I think it’s great you can walk to the grocery store – your son with his cart is so cute!
Thanks Michelle, I think so too. 🙂
I miss walking to the grocery store with my little. She’s too big for the stroller now. He is absolutely adorable. Looks like you had a good week!
Its going to be a sad day when he’s too big for the stroller. Thankfully we have some time until we reach that day.
I wish I could walk to get some errands done. I think the closest shopping center is over a mile away. We used to walk for fro-yo, but it would be hard to bring stuff home.
I can’t imagine walking to the grocery store without having the stroller to load things up into.
It’s definitely been way humid over here too–great job on getting those miles in anyway!!
I try to walk whenever I can when I’m running errands! :]
I’m with you, walking is much more preferred than driving everywhere.
Another great week, Kathryn! Way to go!! I love the little shopping cart at your local grocery store! Ours doesn’t have them but I wish they did!
Oh no! I’m sure that your little guy would love to be able to help you with the shopping too.