A cut back week is a normal part of a training cycle, but what am I doing taking a cut back week when I’ve already cut back my summer running miles? Because I felt like it! Or didn’t feel like it, depending on your perspective. 😉
Sunrise at the Tidal Basin
As you’ll see from the next photo I took, it wasn’t as dark as this photo makes it seem. I did pretty much have the Tidal Basin to myself, which was kind of eerie.
Taking A Cut Back Week
This week I scaled my workouts back a bit but still fit a lot in, except yoga. On Monday I took Scooby for a longer walk and didn’t hop on my tread afterwards. On Friday, I actually “slept in” until 6:30 after a late night at the office and barely squeezed in a strength workout after walking Scooby. I’m not making excuses or apologies for my cut back week. It is what it is and was what it was and it was enough!
I did finish week 4 of Peloton’s Pump Up The Volume 2 strength series (the last week), although every week I skipped the “conditioning” class that was burpee/mountain climber hell, and took upper body strength classes instead.
I barely got two bingos on my Breakthrough Crew bingo card. I really should do a 5 minute meditation class to get one more—or two if I do a Bootcamp class too.
Weekly Wrap
I got in three solid runs this week—two outside, including one with Scooby. <3
Sunday: 100 Snatches
OK, that wasn’t all I did, but it’s worth highlighting. I do love snatches, and honestly could have done more in this class. The first 10 min is not snatches. The last 10 minutes is 10 EMOMs, with a goal of 10 snatches (5 per side). I think I could do 12/6 (20lb wt) and still get 15 sec rest—maybe I’ll try that in August.
No bike ride, because I spent the afternoon in the kitchen baking blackberry cobbler and blackberry crisp.
My husband brought a gallon home from a friend’s house!
Monday: Core + 20 min FB Strength + 25 min Peloton Ride
I took Scooby for a longer walk than usual to check out the construction at the neighborhood school—or the demolition, to be more precise. Then I started week 4 of Pump Up The Volume 2. I was going to stop there, but my Schwinn IC4 looked neglected, so I hopped on it for one of Hannah F’s latest 20 min rides. The joke was on me because it was a HIIT ride with twenty-three intervals of 20 sec on /10 sec recovery. She broke them into blocks that focused on cadence or resistance, but there wasn’t the usual recovery between blocks. Phew!
Tuesday: 10 min Core + 20 min FB Strength + 3.25 Tread Miles
It wasn’t the 4:40 alarm that kept me from yoga, but the lack of energy the night before to pack my gym back and breakfast and lunch. I opted to workout at home and deal with traffic.
Camilla’s run was great as usual. Just when you want to quit an interval early she looks you in the eye and tells you to keep going. 😉
Wednesday: 5 min Core + 30 min UB Strength + 30 min Peloton rides
I really should have worked out at home because right after I walked Scooby, it started pouring, and driving into the office in the dark and the rain was no fun. I made up for it with a solid stack of upper body workouts and two Peloton rides.
Thursday: 10 min Core + 5.25 Miles
After walking Scooby I drove to my office to run from there. I did a “standing core” workout as a warm-up outside, and then headed out for a 5-ish mile loop around the Tidal Basin. There was a nice breeze along the river, but I was still dripping with sweat when I was done.
Friday: 10 min Core + 20 min FB Strength
After sleeping in until nearly 6:30, I took Scooby for a longer walk than usual, and squeezed in 30 min of strength workouts before jumping in the shower. I still started working by 8:30, since I only had to walk downstairs to my basement.
Saturday: 10 min Barre + 6.25 Scooby Miles
I did Hannah C’s Madonna Barre class as a warm-up for this run—it was very different from her other barre classes, so be warned. Instead of 30 sec of a given move, it was a fast circuit repeated a number of times on each side: 2 clamshells + 2 side-lying leg lifts + 2 leg lifts on your back. The last 2 min was more typical of her programming, with glute bridge variations. After that, I was ready to run with Scooby and the weather felt amazing!
After writing that all up, it doesn’t sound like much of a cut back week—maybe just a little trim here and there. 😀
A huge thank you to Deborah and Kim for hosting the Weekly Run Down link up.
Do you vary the intensity of your workouts from week to week?
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I was just going to say…it doesn’t seem like you cut back, lol! I do cut back after a race like I’m doing right now. This cutback is a little longer than I’d like, but I have to get my foot checked out before I pick it back up again.
I hope you figure it out sooner and it gets better quickly!
I was Also going to say, it is not much of a cut back week! That is what summer is for. Nothing wrong with sleeping in a bit and taking it easy. I plan to do more of that in the future myself. Have a great week ahead!
Yes, I would say it’s more of a trim! It sounds like you did a LOT. But everyone needs a trim now and then.
That run around the tidal basin sounds amazing. I’ve been wanting to mix up my running routes, but don’t want to take the extra time to drive somewhere. SIGH!
Hope you guys are enjoying those blackberry treats. I made a peach crisp this week and my family inhaled it in two days.
I’m the same way about not wanting to drive to run somewhere else, but I have to drive to the office eventually. 😉
Your central D.C. runs are beautiful! Great work balancing all the things- Scooby, runs, work, etc.
I need to make yoga a priority…it’s the first to slip away for me!
LOL, what everyone else says, that’s more of a trim than a cut. Still, even if it was a cutback week you got in some great workouts.
I think it comes down to not doing a strength workout on a day I ran. It felt like I was skipping something.
LOL, no, it doesn’t sound like much of a cut back week. 🙂 As long as you’re feeling good it’s all good. Even with the little running I’m doing, I do try to take cutback weeks. Like, cut back 1 mile LOL!
You sure got some nice photos this week, too!
As everyone else said you still had an active week. Cutting back is different for everyone. As long as you’re feeling ok, it’s good.
Unfortunately work or weather often has me cutting back even if I don’t need to.
That was still a pretty busy week!
Fresh blackberries sound amazing! I’m all into peaches, plums and cherries right now.
I am loving fresh peaches too! Those I devour before I have a chance to bake anything. 😉
OMG, those blackberries!!!!! Your week looks great! I know how a cut-back week can look busy to others, but we know when we’re lightening the load from what it usually has 😉 That Hannah Madonna Barre was tough to follow (for me, LOL).
I would choose upper-body workouts instead of burpees and mountain climbers, too! These high-cardio moves on the floor can make me breathless within seconds.
How far is your commute to the office? Around 20 minutes?
Yep, it’s about 20 min when I go in early, closer to 30 if I go later in traffic. Not too bad either way.
Looks like a full week of activity to me! I enjoyed the pics from your run around the Tidal Basin. So pretty!
It really is lovely!
a cut back week full of activity! not shabby at all. by the way it’s TOTALLY ok to do so, our bodies need it and we often benefit from it in the long run (um. no pun intended).