This week I had my second trip to Chicago of 2024. When I was packing, the weather forecast called for wind and rain, but it mostly cleared up when I was there, although I did have one run that reminded me I was in the windy city. Simply stunning! Back To The Windy City When I arrived on Monday afternoon it was gorgeous—sunny and in the upper 60s. The stars aligned to meet up with Erica for dinner, and we lucked out and got a table at Cindy’s Rooftop restaurant at the Athletic Club.  After dinner, we enjoyed the pastel sunset with views over Millennium Park and Lake Michigan. My best s ..read more

Whelp, as the saying goes, if it’s not one thing it’s another. This week I overdid it in a core class and ended up incredibly sore to the core.   Literally, I can’t get up! Sore To The Core It was a 15 minute class that felt easy in the moment that did me in. I think I must have engaged my core too much when I did the knee fold taps, because that’s what I absolutely can’t do now. It also is uncomfortable to walk, running hurts, but cycling is fine. While it sucks to be sidelined from running just as my hamstring is healing, I am honestly not stressed about it. I know this will pass soon ..read more

It’s hard to believe it’s April when I had to bundle up a few times this week, but the calendar doesn’t lie even if Mother Nature likes to trick us. A flowery kit for my Easter bike ride A Solid Start To April This week was boring in a good way. I got in a solid set of workouts and my hamstring was pretty well-behaved. The Breakthrough Crew challenge for April has an “ascend” theme—i.e., climb rides and tread hikes. My hamstring isn’t ready for steep incline on the tread, so I did the cycling options. Monday: Short strength workout at home before heading to my office gym. I took Leanne ..read more

Welcome to the April 2024 Ultimate Coffee Date! Can you believe 1/4 of 2024 is done and dusted?! Pour yourself a cup, pull up a chair, and tell join the linkup Deborah and I host the first Friday of every month. You know how this works—grab the badge, link your post, and comment on the other blogs in the link-up. <span data-mce-type="bookmark" ></span><div ><a href="http://www.got2run4me.com" title="The Ultimate Coffee Date"><img src="http://www.got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" alt="The Ultimate Coffee Date" /></a>< ..read more

Can you ever get enough of the cherry blossoms? If so, I haven’t gotten to that point—I hope you haven’t either. A rare peaceful moment at the Tidal Basin Cherishing The Cherry Blossoms The weather forecast for the week called for rain Tuesday and Wednesday, so I figured Monday might be my last chance to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom. My hamstring isn’t ready for my usual 5 mile Tidal Basin loop, so I plotted a shorter route from my office and stayed on the “far” side from the Jefferson Memorial. There are no blossoms at the Reflecting Pool, but the Washington Monument at sunrise is al ..read more

Here we are at the end of the first quarter of 2024–can you believe it?! Since it’s the last Friday of the month, it’s time to go marching to the runfessional hosted at  Marcia’s Healthy Slice so we can cleanse our souls soles before we head into April. You also may be joining the Fit Five Friday Link-Up with Darlene, Michelle, Renée, Jenn, and Zenaida. Marching To The Runfessional While my hamstring is healing, it is still frustrating me by being finicky—just like it was around the time of  our February runfessions. It was 100% fine after my 4 mile run on Monday, but grum ..read more

This week I got to enjoy two classic pink and green signs of spring—the D.C. cherry blossom trees in peak bloom and the Chicago river dyed for St. Patrick’s Day. Paddle boats at the Tidal Basin Pink And Green Signs Of Spring On Saturday, the cherry blossoms weren’t quite at peak bloom, but I knew it would be my best chance of seeing them this year. The weather was amazing for my first bike ride of the year, and because the trees weren’t fully out, the crowds weren’t insane. I never take as many pictures on a bike ride as I do on a run, but we did stop at the Jefferson Memorial to enjoy the vi ..read more

Ya’ll, I’m so excited my hamstring is finally really recovering. You’ve put up with months of mopey posts—now I may bore you with posts about how happy I am to be really running again—albeit cautiously. Saturday morning smiles! Really Running Again At my second appointment of my second round of shockwave treatments, my orthopedist encouraged me to keep nudging up the load on my hamstring. I did that in two ways—nudging up the distance of my runs with Scooby and nudging up my treadmill intervals from 2 min/1 min run/walk intervals to 3 min/1 min intervals. The truth is, I feel my hamstring a b ..read more

It was a hectic week with several changes to my usual morning schedule, but I was happy to get out for a few Scooby miles before we spring forward to dark mornings again. Friday’s fiery sunrise! A Hectic Week My hectic week started Monday with an 8:30 am shockwave treatment. Another sign of my hamstring healing is that it didn’t hurt so much as feel like a really intense Theragun session. Wednesday I had an absolutely crazy morning with an 8 am hair appointment I squeezed in before a 9 am conference call. I had another conference call at 10, and then had to take an 11 am conference call in an ..read more

I know it’s cliche to say, but I can’t believe it’s March already. I’m having a harder time believing my son turns 30 this week—how did that happen? Those cheeks! Moving On To March Now that we are moving on to March, I am trying my luck with the Breakthrough Crew’s February challenge. I like the variety of classes and encouragement to take yoga and stretching classes. I will have to screen Callie’s lower body class for my hamstring, but everything else seems fine. Speaking of my hamstring, I had decided to give it to the end of February to decide if I would undergo any more treatments. Whil ..read more