Gretch Runs

Hi friends! June was a heavy month- lots of awful and unjust things going on in the world, along with more restrictions placed with a rise in Covid-19 cases. There's a lot of negativity and hate right now, and I hope that posting about my goals and highlights doesn't serve to diminish any of those important things going on, but hopefully be a moment of levity in your day. I know posting about working out or little moments of joy is trivial right now, but keeping a balance of learning and growing while having creative/physical outlets and monthly goals to focus on is what's keeping me sane during this time. Starting out with my highlight of the month, it would have to be my camping trip last week. It was nice to get away for  days and be completely disconnected from the world and just talk  to Dan and enjoy our beautiful planet. The benefit of going in the middle of the week was not being around other people, and I highly suggest a little retreat to reset your mind. It's...

We made it through another week and are almost halfway through one of the weirdest years (at least in my lifetime). This was a different week- Dan and I went camping and got to be completely secluded for a few days (super nice), and I turned 30. Here's how the week looked with workouts- Monday 45 min Pop Fun Run with Olivia Started my week off on the right foot by waking up early for a pre-work run. It was SO humid (registered at 100% in my weather app) and I was really feeling it. There were lots of fast pickups in this run, and I did about half of them and just tried to keep moving. It was definitely a struggle bus run, but I made it through. 30 min WHM Celebration Ride with Leanne and Hannah One of my friends posted about doing this Women's History Month ride in the evening and I had nothing better to do so I joined in. It ended up being an uplifting and really fun ride with two super fun, British instructors. I love how Leanne and Hannah both picked each other up and were a...

It's already been a month since my first garden update, and there are lots of changes going on! I think most of the hard work is done for now, and we can just wait to start literally reaping what we sowed. Here's how the garden's looking and some updates we've made: Box 1 from back to front - tomatoes, beets, kale, arugula, spinach, calendula flower, radish, dill, Thai basil, cilantro. I swear- it's controlled chaos. Box 2 also from back to front - beans, peas, cucumber, zucchini, peppers, carrots, chives, potatoes, onion. We added a fence all around our plants- leaving plenty of room around to prune and water and allow for expansion. The bottom is chicken wire, buried about 2 feet under ground, and plastic fencing on top! For the gate, Dan built a simple frame, stapled on the chicken wire, and then added hinges and a latch. Our next enhancement was adding a hose stand with a spigot. Before, the hose was just sitting out and I would have to haul it over to the gard...

This week was definitely a different one for me- I finally ventured out to my first restaurant (outdoor seating and lots of precautions in place), and also took a little day trip. It was also the first time I celebrated Juneteenth- a day that celebrates the freedom and emancipation of those who were enslaved in the United States. This week definitely felt like a step in the direction of what the new normal will be, in more ways than one. Here's a look at how my workouts were this week- Monday 4.5 mile Bike Spin around the neighborhood during lunch. I've been tracking my rides, and I'm getting faster which is really exciting! It's nice to see some improvement. 20 min Restorative Yoga with Kristin My favorite, especially after having a particularly stressful day at work and a bad night of sleep the day before. This was definitely needed and felt so great to get into such relaxing positions. Highly recommend if you need to just chill . Tuesday 4 mile hike + 6 mile walk Dan...

This felt like a weird week for me- I was having trouble sleeping pretty much every day, so I would wake up exhausted. I did my workouts as usual, but I just felt off  the entire time. I go through this every once in a while- I'll have weeks when I'm feeling great and like I can take on the world, then a week where I just want to stay in bed and do absolutely nothing. Let's hope that a new week will bring me some energy back.  For now- here's a recap of my week of workouts. Monday 30 min walk Early morning walk with Selma- great way to get the week started (as always..this is starting to feel like a tradition now). 4 mile bike Headed out with Dan for an easy bike ride after work. Still working on standing while pushing up hills- getting there! Tuesday 1.5 hour kayak Got up super early so that we could go for a paddle around the lake before work. It was so calm and beautiful out- need to start doing this more often. Plus, it was a great workout. 20 min Rock Fun Run with ...

Hi everyone- I hope you're all staying safe. Here's a look at how my week of workouts went, which was full of really great content by Peloton, including one emotional bike ride.  Monday 20 min 80s Fun Walk with Matty Took Selma around the block this morning. It was a pretty chilly day so it felt great and refreshing! This was a fun playlist to listen to, and was a good way to start the week. 4.5 mile bike ride It was still nice and cool (and sunny) out later in the day, so Dan and I decided to bike around the neighborhood. I'm still practicing some skills on the bike, so today Dan had me go up some steeper hills and stand up while I pedal. It's such a simple skill but scary for me! If I want to do more triathlons in the future I know it's important to learn though, so I worked on it for this ride. Tuesday 30 min Pop Fun Run with Andy I don't do a lot of workouts with Andy, so this was a nice change of pace. He's much more chilled than some of the other instr...

Hey everyone! As promised in my monthly goals post, I'm here today to share the books that I read in May. They were all pretty good reads with a variety of subject matter! Be sure to let me know what you're reading- I can always use more ideas on my book shelf.   Open Book by Jessica Simpson Jessica tells of growing up in 1980s Texas where she was sexually abused by the daughter of a family friend, and of unsuccessfully auditioning for the Mickey Mouse Club at age 13 with Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling before going on to sign a record deal with Columbia and marrying 98 Degrees member Nick Lachey. Along the way, she details the struggles in her life, such as the pressure to support her family as a teenager, divorcing Lachey, enduring what she describes as an emotionally abusive relationship with musician John Mayer, being body-shamed in an overly appearance-centered industry, and going through bouts of heavy drinking. But Simpson ends on a positive note, discussing her bill...

Feels so weird to be typing out June- if March felt like it lasted a year then May felt like an hour. It went by so quickly and I can't believe that it will be officially summer soon (even if it feels like we're already there).   This was a pretty insane month, which I talked about in my weekly workout recap. Lots of highs, and lots of lows. Today I'll try to stay focused on the good things that happened, and see how my month went, starting with my highlight, which was getting back to trail running. I've always loved running on trails and started my running journey years and years ago (when I was around 10 years old) on the trails in Riverview Park. A few of my friends are doing the Rachel Carson challenge this year and have been exploring local trails, and now that my county is allowing gatherings up to 25 I've joined them for a few runs. It's so nice to be in nature, be surrounded by beauty, and get in an amazing workout. Now let's talk about how I did on ...