This was an odd week of training- not as much running, but a whole lot of paddling and portaging in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. If you’re curious about the BWCA, I hope to write a more detailed post about our adventures, but Dustin and I also went last summer and I wrote about that trip HERE.
On to the recap!
Monday: 6 miles with Christie, Sarah, and Ruth the vizsla pup! 9 min/mile average.
Barre at the Bar Method after work.
Tuesday: A longer run with some alternating marathon pace and tempo pace in the middle, (2:30 tempo, 4:30 marathon pace straight for 7 sets or 49 minutes of straight work), 9.4 miles total, 8:45 min/mile average. I had to modify the marathon pace a little to still be able to pick it up for the tempo, as it was pretty humid out there. But I got it done, and was happy to have that one behind me before we hopped in the car to head up the North Shore to the Boundary Waters!
I have 4 sisters (yep, there’s 5 of us total!) We’ve started a bit of a tradition when each sister turns 40 of taking a trip together. For the oldest, we went to NYC, then Napa for the next, then Florida for the middle sister, and now me! I don’t actually turn 40 until October, but it’s too cold to go to the Boundary Waters then, so we planned this celebration trip a little earlier. It was outside of the norm for most of my siblings and their spouses, but I think it’s safe to say it was a fun adventure that we will all remember for years to come!
One sister and spouse had to drop out, so there were 8 of us on this trip:
I plan to share more about our trip this week, but decided to just a short recap post for this week instead here, so I’ll gloss over the BWCA part.
Wednesday: Entered the BWCA bright and early. Paddling and portaging was my exercise!
Thursday: Day 2 in the BWCA, lots more paddling and portaging.
Portaging means carrying all your gear AND your canoe over dry land to the next lake. This isn’t car camping; everything you need, you carry with you.
I was proud of myself for portaging a canoe all by myself!
Friday: Day 3 in the BWCA. Guess what? More canoeing and portaging.
Saturday: We survived! We exited the BWCA around 10 am, made our way back to the outfitter to shower (after not showering for 4 days, that felt amazing!), packed up the car and headed back down south. We stopped in Grand Marais for lunch, then drove to Duluth for the night, as the two sisters/spouses who flew in had flights on Sunday out of the Duluth airport.
We had a fun final night in Duluth with dinner at OMC Smokehouse and beers at Bent Paddle.
Sunday: Dustin and I were up early to take one of my sisters and her husband to the airport. Then we headed out for a long run along the Duluth lakeshore path.
After 4 days of not running, I thought I’d feel refreshed, but I was pretty tired! I managed 15.75 miles, with a few sets of 2 miles at marathon pace, 1/2 mile recovery in there.
Hello Lake Superior!
After the long run, we showered and hit the road to go back to Minneapolis.
Summary: Only 31 miles of running, 1 barre class, lots and lots of canoeing and portaging. I’m tired!
I’m linking up with Running on the Fly and Confessions of a Mother Runner as part of their Weekly Rundown. Check it out!
Looks like a great trip! And I bet it was exhausting, even with less running. Thats a great tradition for when each of you turns 40!
I’m still recovering!
I’m tired just reading about your trip! Sounds like SO much fun though. I love the idea of a sister trip! Someone brought their Viszla to work the other day and “George” decided he’d take up residence right next to me. I couldn’t stop thinking about R&M!
George! I love it. How cute that he took up residence by you 🙂 He knows a dog lover when he meets one!
Awesome trip, and a great choice for your 40th! You definitely weren’t Glamping!!
Can’t believe you still get 31 miles in a short week! Rock star!
Thanks Eric! Ha, definitely not glamping…
One of my sisters and I started an annual sister trip when I turned 50–Naples was our first trip! The pandemic kind of killed that tradition, tho. We had talked about going to Miami this fall, but those plans are on hold.
“Only” 31 miles of running, lol! That’s still a nice total. Looks like you had a wonderful week of active rest. I’ve never been north of Duluth. I love the north woods. I keep trying to talk the hubs into a long weekend up there. No camping, tho. A cabin would be fine. :p
That sounds like a fun tradition, and sorry the pandemic put a damper on it. That’s part of why I picked a location where Covid wouldn’t really be as much of a concern, camping in the middle of nowhere!
What an amazing way to celebrate! It’s no surprise you’re tired, but I bet you made a lot of great memories!
So many great memories! I’m grateful we had this experience together.
wow that sounds like a really fun family bonding trip! I love all the canoeing but not sure about the no shower for 4 days! A fun tradition
Ha, the no-showering is not generally my thing, but I managed!
While I have never portaged, the hubby and our son have done it several times for Scouts. That is major work! I think one of their excursions was in the same place you were, but theirs was part of a week-long adventure. They came home very tired as well LOL
Kim, I bet your husband and son were in the Boundary Waters! It’s a popular place for Scouts. I think we saw a few scout groups on our way out.
I’m still so tired! Physically hard work, but also camping doesn’t allow for super great sleep at night, ha!
Serious girl power with the portaging of the canoe. Amazing.
Right on, sister.
I love how close you are with your family, especially your sisters 🙂 Such a great idea to do this trip when the weather is nice so you could really enjoy it. Looks like it was so much fun!
I am fortunate to have such great sisters! We had an awesome time.
So were your sisters mad at you for choosing such a hard trip? I’m guessing it was a bit more adventurous than the trip to Napa. I’m looking forward to your post about the Boundary Waters- I think I’ve heard of some ultrarunners doing some mega-long runs there (not sure how that works) to raise money to conserve the area. Anyway, sounds like a really fun week!
Ha! I don’t think they were mad…it was outside their comfort zone, but they all seem very proud of how they managed! You are correct that some ultra runners have done the trails (no canoeing) up there. One guy only drank lake water the whole time! We used filters, I wasn’t willing to brave giardiasis from the water.
Your trip sounds very fun and like my kind of trip! I had never heard of the word portaging, thanks for educating me! Happy very early 40th!
Thank you Debbie! Yes, I bet you would love the Boundary Waters. It is such a unique and special place. We must protect it!
That sounds like a whole lot of activity, even if not as much running — although LOL 31 miles a week was like my highest week ever and that seems forever ago.
Amazing job carrying in the canoe all by yourself!
I am still debating whether or not to even take running stuff on vacation. We plan some hiking, but not sure how much there will actually be.
Thank you Judy! I was proud of myself. 🙂
I suggest bringing your running stuff on vacay, you never know!
Wow, quite a lot of cross-training there! What a lovely idea for a sisterly trip!
It was very special!
I laughed when you said “only” 31 miles. That is still great mileage!! Looks like a fun trip with your sisters and their spouses.
It was so fun!