Because Runners Walk, Too

This week's theme? More walking (and that's alright).

Although I did more running (in terms of mileage) than walking, I did spend more time with 'Milly than I did outdoors. By the way, do you know who 'Milly is? She's my nemesis and she's a treadmill (more info on last week's blog post, I Named her 'Milly).

The polar vortex temps continued, and so did the icy road conditions. As I have said, the freezing cold temps are downright evil, but not having any snow to show for it makes it feel THAT much colder.

On Monday, I had no grandiose plans for mileage (via running) since I had run both Saturday and Sunday....but I still have that #nevermissaMonday ritual to oblige. I decided to get creative (sort of) and power walked a mile, ran a mile, then power walked another mile...all in the company of 'Milly  (and it wasn't totally awful). But...a word of caution...setting the incline on 3 for the warm-up will make your 10-minute "easy" running pace not quite as easy as when the incline is (usually) only on 1 or 2) ...just saying.

I stayed inside both Tuesday and Wednesday, cranking out over 90 total minutes of glute work with 'Milly. How is it glute work? When you set the incline on 4 and 5, and have the speed on 4.3 (which is just under a 15-minute pace)...your glutes will work. Oh yes, indeed, and you will feel it for the next several days.

...yes! you can plank on the 'mill!

Finally, I got my booty outside on Thursday. I met up with my friend, Barb, at "our" lake after work. There was still some wind, but we were pretty well sheltered from it on the trail. And, there was quite a bit of ice (that's what happens when you get a crazy rainfall the day prior and the ground is too frozen for any of the water to absorb). There not only was ice on the cement path, but also in several patches along the trail as well.

Can you see the ice on the trail behind us?

Friday(late afternoon) had us scurrying to a swim meet to watch our son and support his team. The meet went long, and we stopped for pizza on the way home. We rolled back into our driveway around 10:00. Not wanting to shirk from my #30minutesofdailycardio, I changed clothes (before I could change my mind), and fired up 'Milly for almost 40 minutes. Mission accomplished.

Sometimes it's not "Do or Die," but "Get It Done"

Barb and I met up around 7:30 Saturday morning and rekindled our 5-mile route. We'd spent many early mornings (meeting at 5:00AM), while training for Route 66, and running this route. It felt great to be back doing our thing, but also a bit eery to be doing it without a big race on the horizon.  But, it was so liberating to be back outside, running "long" on a Saturday morning.

And I ended with a Chataranga plank

Sunday, we were on the lookout for a big ice storm to hit. All the power walking on the 'mill (with that high incline) has made my glutes and hammies a little angry. Since there was no "need" to run (and a few sore muscles craving some recovery time), I elected to head out for a walk after lunch. The air was cold, but calm. It's amazing how much of a game changer the wind can be.

Because runners can walk, too...and a little hint of lipstick can't hurt

So, how did the week pan out? A total of 13 miles run, and many days I surpassed my goal of 30 minutes of cardio. Not bad, huh! I'm also doing 5-minutes of daily planking. Not necessarily 5-minute planks, but 5-minutes (cumulative) of planking each day.

...and I have a few others joining me. Tricia (from MissSippiPiddlin) taunted me with this pic on Instagram.... so I responded LOL

In other news:
Our little Max had his first-ever (we believe) dental appointment. We rescued Max almost two years ago, so we don't know his prior dental care...but our vet recommended some TLC and attention to his teeth. So, Max's smile has been "cleaned and brightened."

How about those pearly whites?

My #FridayFashion post on My Instagram page was well received! Post your Friday outfit and tag me!

burgundy and chevron? Yes, please!

I'm working on building my My Pinterest account and my followers, and sharing most of my Instagram posts as well as blog posts. Are you following me on Pinterest? Also,be sure to check out last week's other posts, Working out...at Work? and Five recent #HASHTAGS.

So, talk to me! Do you do a lot of walking (when you can't run)? Care to join us on the #plankwithme challenge (if so, be sure to tag me!)? Have you ever had your dog's teeth cleaned?

As usual, I'm linking up with Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap. Do head over and check out the hostesses and all the awesome blogs to see what everyone has been doing!