Wrapping up Easter week in Iowa

Here we go again...another week of unpredictable (and irrational) Iowa weather to deal with.

Theme? Maybe "buckle your seat belts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride."

Monday was kind of dreary, but I still wanted to get in my "nevermissaMonday" run, and since it wasn't raining (or snowing), I headed outside after getting home from work. Holy wind, Batman! I briefly considered doing a couple miles. Briefly. A couple minutes into my run and I turned it around and went a different direction, and finished the minimum mile and called it good.

One mile in the crazy wind...and my hair was a hot mess 

Tuesday brought with it much nicer weather and (dare I say it it?), a lack of wind. Wednesday's forecast looked less than desirable, so I elected to take it outside on Tuesday and postpone my stair workout to Wednesday. I met a friend after work, and we ran five glorious miles in the dry (and sunshiny) weather.

Happy to be back in a tank top and shorts!!!

Wednesday, as predicted, was just plain cold, damp, and nasty. I didn't even feel like leaving the house to drive to the downtown office building for my weekly stair-running excursion. Also, all of my stair-training has been pretty "fast," so I decided to slow it up a bit and do some triple-climbing (you know, taking the steps by three's). This I could easily do without leaving my house...so I did 50 "flights" of three-step climbing.

Three-step climbing is a different ball game than doing singles (or even doubles) because that third step really changes it up (no pun intended). It's a much bigger (longer? higher?) step and requires a lot more strength work in the hamstrings and glutes (because it's a much more slow and controlled motion), and it also utilizes a lot of balancing as you're making those slow, high steps.

Another challenge was my chosen wardrobe. Since I wasn't going anywhere, I changed into yoga pants and a tank top. Not usually a problem, except these pants are low-waisted, and after the first couple sets of three-stepping, the waste band decided it wasn't gonna stay in place any longer. Thankfully, Max (our dog) was the only one privy to my "posterior smile," as if the confusion of me constantly going up and down (50 times) wasn't bad enough.

Thursday was another cool and damp day. Ugh. I even had to dig out my boots and leggings. Not necessarily a fashion-forward thing to be wearing "winter" clothing during the "spring" season, but I knew it would be a chilly day at the office.

Yep, back in the winter leggings and boots

Ironically, I had a bit of an extended lunch break, so I decided to hop on the 'mill (speed set on 4.7 and incline on 4) and do some power walking with (intermittent) 12-pound hand weights.  That got my heart pumping!

Friday was another beautiful day, with ample sunshine. I also had an extended lunch hour, so I was able to suit up and lace up and get a couple quick miles done before heading back to the office.   I also was feeling a little restless in the evening, so I headed back outside for six laps around the block across the street form my house. This block is situated on the side of a small hill, so essentially, it's like doing two (small, but steep) hills each time I complete a lap around it. Three laps is equivalent to a mile in distance...so that mini workout got me two miles of hill work (and sore legs the next morning).

Being outside in the sunshine always makes me smile

Saturday. Oh boy, Saturday had me spending upwards of six hours with the two daughters...on a shopping excursion. The oldest daughter is graduating college in six weeks (HOW is that even possible???), and needed several new dresses for various upcoming events.

I awoke to some unexpected stiffness in my legs and lower back. Not especially eager for a long day on my feet, I did the unthinkable: I dressed like a runner (without having any running on my agenda). Typically, I'm not one to "dress like a runner" when I haven't even broken a sweat (or foresee any sweat happening), but since my legs (and back) were in recovery from the previous day....I made an exception to that self-imposed law of fashion.

Fashion no-no...dressing like a runner when you're not running

Sunday was Easter, one of the big holidays in the Christian faith. We went to church, and hosted my parents and sister for dinner. Later, after the two college kids left to head back to their respective schools, I met up with my friend, Barb, for some long distance miles.

As mentioned in numerous prior posts, I am coming off of my off-season. My last long-distance race (a half marathon) was in early November, and I had not run any farther than a 10K distance since (well, except for that somewhat spontaneous 15K on New Years Eve while on vacay in California). I have a couple of half marathons coming up (and an Ultra happening in July), so it's time to ease back into long-distance running on the weekends.

And we're back in fleece-lined tights and stocking hats

The temps weren't ideal (high 30's, with some wind and damp air), but we did have a little bit of sunshine. We ran seven miles, and those seven miles went fairly fast and felt great. So far, most of my running has been pain-free in 2016. Granted, there's that usual stiffness in the first mile or so, but it's only been lasting for one mile or so (and not the typical 3-4 miles) and the stiffness has been very minimal at that. Although the off-season was difficult (seriously, what runner actually WANTS to run less?), scaling back my mileage was one of the smartest moves I've done in my (almost) 11 years of running.  

What else? Well, I posted this funny pic on my Facebook page, Running on the Fly, and it almost exploded with numerous funny comments in support of my distaste of Peeps. I love all things sugar, but these did not make the cut. Even as a kid, I rejected them as "proper sweets." Crazy, huh.

I got a new haircut recently, and have been experimenting with different styling options. I don't want to be one of those gals who sticks with one "tried-and-true" hairdo for decades (believe me, we have a lot of that in Iowa LOL). My latest find is the straightener one of the daughters gave me (when she upgraded to a more expensive model). Did you know you can use a straightener to curl your hair? And the waves actually stay all day?

Curls from the straightener (#whodathunk)

Lastly, our dog, Max, is due for a grooming appointment, but I think his wavy hair looks so cute when it's long! 

Max loves having the brother and sister home from college

How was your week? Do you have any long-distance events on your spring calendar? What do you think of Peeps...Yay or Nay? Ever dress as a runner when you're not running?

As usual, I'm linking up with my gals, Holly at  HoHo Runs  and Tricia at  MissSippiPiddlin  for the Weekly Wrap. Lots of great blogs, and lots of great reading...head over and take a look!