Lately, my workout plans is to run every other day, plank and follow my PT exercises in between those days. A big piece of my current recovery plan is to run outside! I’m super thankful I have a treadmill but LOVE to run outside. I knew I was going to be in the office all day Monday so I packed my bag so I could “runch”. I love having evenings free and by “free”, really I mean having time to get shit done around the house/blog/email/phone people and maybe relax a little 😉

The plan was 5k on the trail and then hit up the sidewalk, a.k.a. hills for the return route back to the office. Around noon, I got my running gear on and hit the trail. It was sunny, hot and there was a perfect breeze  – best running weather you could ask for! I was a little worried I forgot my sunscreen but hoping that I could hide away a little in the shade on the trail.

I’m not going to say this run was easy because it wasn’t. My pace is slow (for me) and I’ve accepted that for the time being. All my runs seem to be hard lately and I am okay with that. I need to build up my fitness and strength again and that’s going to take some time. Hard runs are good runs.

Running on the trail was great, I could smell that scent of “hot summer trees” and felt the sun on my face. I’d dodge over into the shade every so often and then crossed the main road to the sidewalk and faced my first HILL. Of course, the longest slowest incline ever! At one point I had to walk because it was a big struggle in the direct sun going up that hill.

I kept trekking along, glided down a long hill and then faced my second hill that I ran all the way up….then walked again 😉 As I ran back towards my office, I picked up my speed and finished off with a last fast kilometre. Again, my pace was slow for me but I averaged a 6:17/km pace which I can’t complain about with my fitness level, the hot sun beating down on me and the hills.

Oh, that feeling of a good run, an accomplishment achieved, a sense of the runners high. I ran 6k and it felt great. So far, I’ve been pain-free in my hamstring unlike last week I had some minor pain about 24 hours after running. Today I did my 1:50 plank, will walk 4k (getting car work done and walking home/to the shop) and will follow-up with my PT exercises later today.

Speaking of planks, they are still hard but I haven’t given up yet. It’s not easy at all and I’m finding I need to distract myself from my timer which is challenging to do when planking. Maybe I should put music on next time and focus on a song. I much prefer to do my planks first thing in the morning before the girls get up. It’s nice to have a few minutes to myself and it’s so much harder doing planks later in the day when my body is exhausted.

What time of day to you work out?

Plankers – what time of day do you plank?

Runners – how’s your pace lately? Slowing in the heat or speeding up because of training?