Weekly Wrap-Up: Busch Gardens & Busy Weeks

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

Welcome to this week’s wrap-up! It’s been a very busy one and there is another week even busier coming up.

This past week, I spent two full days training teachers for the coming school year and then I still had about 5 days of work to fit into three days of work. Talk about crazy. I managed to fit in laundry in small breaks over my days at home, but I was still up super late Thursday night trying to tie up loose ends so that we could get on the road by midday on Friday and I still did more work Friday night while we were vacationing. I’m almost caught up, but I’ll feel better after this week is behind me!

Saturday, we went to Busch Gardens with my side of the family. My nieces are awesome cousins to Penelope so we knew we would have a ton of fun! Penelope went on her first “big girl” ride and we managed to squeeze in a couple of roller coasters. Unfortunately, we got rained out for the first time ever! We were hoping the coaster fans would be able to come back later in the evening after the rain stopped, but by the time that happened, it was so late that we decided that we would rather stay dry and get some rest for our long runs on Sunday.

What impressed me most was the way that Busch Gardens handled the whole thing. Before the first wave even hit, a park wide announcement was made that severe weather was approaching, they were ceasing operation of most attractions, and everyone should seek shelter. When the weather hit and everyone starting moving into shops and restaurants, staff members circulated talking to people and ensuring people were okay as they waited it out. I talked to one staff member who told me her shift was supposed to end right as the storm started, but that company policy dictated that all staff continue to work in these situations for safety reasons. I thought that was pretty awesome!

As we exited the park, there was a long line of people waiting for handstamp for re-entry but since the rain was still falling, we had a toddler in tow, and we weren’t even sure we were going to come back, we decided to skip the line and just let it go. But, once we were back at our condo, my brother-in-law called customer service and found we could still re-enter the park with our one-day passes. Ultimately, we decided against it, but it was so nice to have that option. Busch Gardens has always been my favorite theme park and this latest trip just solidified that.

On Sunday morning, we found a greenway close to the resort where we were staying to do our long run. The Powhatan Creek Trail started about a half mile from the resort and connects about a mile from the starting point of the Virginia Capital Trail. The run started out super hilly through the woods and we negotiated our way over some pretty wet and slippery wooden bridges before the paved trail popped out of the woods where it ran along the woods on one side and fields on the other. After running past the back entrance of The Church on the Main, the greenway cuts through the middle of a corn field before meeting up with the Virginia Capital Trail. I only had a short distance to go by the time I got to the second trail, so I turned toward the terminating point at Jamestown Settlement. At this point, the trail got a lot busier and I was able to see the front entrance to The Church on the Main which is also where the Battle of Green Spring historical marker is located. The run was slow and humid, but it is always nice to explore a new spot.

Fortunately, even though my week was busy, I still managed to get in all of my regular workouts! I”m still using run-walk intervals and I’m still keeping my weekday runs at about the same distance, but I increased my weight a little on my lower body day this past week and I still felt good. Unfortunately, I was so busy, that I did absolutely no midday walking. We made it to the playground on Wednesday night, so that ended up being my only extra walk.

Here is how my workouts played out this week:

• Monday – 3 mile run
• Tuesday – 10 minutes cardio and 25 minutes upper-body strength
• Wednesday – 3 mile run, 1.4 miles walking
• Thursday – 10 minutes cardio and  25 minutes lower-body strength
• Friday – 30 minute run
• Saturday – Walking around Busch Gardens
• Sunday – 5 mile run

In terms of progress, I cheated on my nutrition more than usual this week, so while I lost 1.4 pounds from last week’s weigh-in, I’m still not quite back to where I was two weeks ago. However, the scale moved in the right direction so I will take it. When I’m under stress or over-tired I just have a tendency to turn to snacks. That is something I’m really going to have to work on.

All in all, though, it was a really good week. After one more of these super busy weeks, I’ll be enjoying a full week of working from home before Labor Day weekend. I can’t wait!