This week was a busy one but at least I’m feeling better. A water main broke at work so I got to work from home on Monday. I love working from home but doing so sort of messes with lifting regimen which bums me out a little. Knowing that I was going to go to Twilight Tuesday with Mr. Wonderful, I needed to get through a run and a swim on Monday. So working from home offered me the flexibility to do both back to back. Mind you this is the first time back in the pool in a long time due to illness and lack of desire but hey, I did an hour swim!

Since I wasn’t able to lift Monday I doubled up on my lifting session over lunch on Tuesday. I didn’t have to worry about my run nor swim because I got it out of the way previously so Twilight Tuesday was go.

In case you don’t know what Twilight Tuesday is (which most people wouldn’t know), Twilight Tuesday is a FREE concert series that happens every Tuesday from 6-8pm during May and then again in the fall. It is in Forest Park in front of the History Museum and you can bring food and booze or purchase there if you want. Neither Mr. Wonderful nor Meagan (not pictured) had ever been before so it was a good night out with them and the dogs.

Wednesday was a hard day. A friend of mine lost her battle to cancer the week prior so today was her celebration of life. She didn’t want her death to be mourned, instead she wanted her life to be remembered. As sad as it was it was beautiful. A lot of laughs where had and stories shared. She was present all around and it was a beautiful day. I went on a bike ride that evening and reflected on how grateful I am for so many reasons. I will not bore you with all of the details but its always good to stop and reflect on all the good things that you have going on in my life because it could be so much worse!

Thursday night I had an event for my catering job (yes a part-time job because I have SO  much free time on my hands at the moment) so I knew I wasn’t going to get training in but I did manage to lift over lunch. Friday I worked from home because I was driving to Iowa for my oldest nephew Brody’s graduation party. I can’t believe he is 18 and now out of school! Time fucking flies!!

But since I was working from home and knew I had a long drive a head of me, I hit the gym and did a run and swim. I should have done an hour 10 run and probably an hour swim but due to time constraints, I did an hour run and a 30 minute swim. I told myself that something is better than nothing.

I brought my bike with me to Iowa so that I could do my long ride while there. I had a 4 hour ride ahead of me that I was supposed to do before I went to Brody’s party but doing so would make me late to his party also. I found a 90 mile trail that I could ride on but it was a 50 minute drive from my parents house.  I got on the trail and it was perfect for training. Relatively flat, mostly shade, lots of pretty scenery to look at and it was paved!

I recently had an epiphany and I don’t know why it seriously just hit me. I have a certain amount of mileage (swimming, biking and running) that I need to accomplish in a certain amount of time. I need to average 14 miles an hour on my bike to finish 112 miles in 8 hours. That means no breaks but a straight 8 hour ride. HOLY FUCK WHY DID I JUST REALIZE THIS! This is such an amateur move on my part. Guess who is now paying a lot of attention to this fact?? This girl!

That is exactly what I did for this ride, I focused on my mileage per hour. I couldn’t get lower than a 14 mile an hour ride. I did manage a 16 mile an hour average for 3 hours 12 but holy cow it kicked my ass!

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This is a really bad picture but me on the trail

I decided to cut my ride short so that I wouldn’t be super late to the party. Again, told myself that something was better than nothing and I did accomplish a decent ride at a good pace so I was ok with it. The car ride home though was very uncomfortable. My legs ached, my back hurt and I no matter how I sat in my seat, neither would let up.

I finally made it back to my parents to shower and get ready for the party. Walking around helped my legs flush out but standing talking didn’t help with my back. Going to these parties makes me feel so old. I did get to see a bunch of people that I hadn’t seen in years. Seems to be a theme lately when I go home which is always a pleasant surprise.

My favorite part was getting a picture with all of my brother’s boys. I do have one nephew from my other brother who unfortunately wasn’t able to make it so I didn’t get a picture of me and all my nephews. I love seeing those little and not so little turds!! ❤

Next week something is better than nothing can not be a theme!