Sunday, March 17, 2019

Seeing Green!



Ahhhh, it was bound to finally happen...

Green.

Not only have I been guilty of wearing it (umm, hello, St. Patrick's Day!), but the dirty snow has been melting and there's ever the hint of green grass emerging! Call me crazy, but it's looking a little more like Spring!!!

But, first things first....

Welcome to the Weekly Run Down! I am so excited to host this link-up with Deborah (from Confessions of a Mother Runner). If you write a fitness-based blog, you're invited to join the party. The link-up opens at 1:00 (EST) on Sundays and remains open through Monday (noon). Please share your weekly fitness endeavors, training highlights (or low lights) and race recaps. We ask that you link back to both hosts, and we encourage you to read/comment on the other linked blogs as well.


Although the temps were still feeling a little more like Winter this week (and a little less like Spring), all in all, things definitely started to head in the right direction. With all the rain from the previous weekend, as well as a few intermittent showers this past week, the bulk of our snow has melted. Most of the streets are fairly dry (though there is a lot of residual sand). And, best of all, the stubborn ice has bit the dust.

And, best of all, I was able to log more miles outside than inside!!!!! My half-full glass has pretty much runneth over.

Never (ever) miss a Monday
With warmish temps forecast for later in the day (and some DOMS going on from the weekend's race), I opted for a 2-mile early morning walk outside. By the time I was off work, everything felt great, so I met Barb (Remember her? My fav running pal, who has been recovering from knee surgery?), and she and I knocked out four fabulous miles in the late afternoon sunshine. 
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It feels great to be back outside!
Take-it-easy Tuesday
Rain was in the forecast, and I was due for an easy day. I got out for a short walk, before work. Later, there was a break in the rain after work, so I was able to take Max, our dog, for a short walk as well. It's been awhile since I've been able to just go for a walk outside, and it felt great to breathe in all that fresh air. I also did some upper-body strength work in the evening before lights-out.
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Early morning walking...
Womp-Womp Wednesday
Temps were cold and rainy and foggy, not the best setting for solo miles, outside, at 5:00 a.m. So, hello (again), Milly. This was my 20th running date with Milly (for 2019). It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't exciting either. Four miles. Even with negative splits, it felt like each mile took longer than the previous ones. Oh well, I know my treadmill runs will be winding down....I think I can see the light at the end of this extensive treadmill tunnel.... 
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four more miles with Milly
A very thankful Thursday
For those who don't know, Thursday was my birthday. For the past several years, I've been doing a "Pi run." I'm not only celebrating another voyage around the sun, but also honoring the significance of the day (I was a total math dork when I was younger, but this National Day of Pi wasn't mainstream back then). Again, we had rain in the forecast for most of the day, so I headed out just before 5:30 a.m. and was able to complete those 3.14 miles outside.
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3.14 miles on March 14th

Finally Friday
Believe it or not, it was freezing (quite literally), again! Neither the 22mph wind nor the sub-freezing temps were beckoning me outside...so I did a quick 1-mile walk with Milly and called it good. I didn't even feel compelled to snap an outdoor selfie in protest...but I did embrace the challenge of making another routine treadmill selfie a bit less boring with some pic filter magic. It's the little things, right?
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back on the treadmill...

Super Sensational Sunny Saturday
After a bit of a sleep-in, the hubby and I took Max for a 2-mile morning walk. Actually, Max was so excited to be back on his leash (and not just doing his morning business in the backyard), he pretty much lead the way. Afterwards, I changed shoes and took it to the streets for eight miles of running bliss. Oh, how I have missed my outdoor running!
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8 miles for this green-clad lass
A Snowy Surprise on Sunday!
Guess what greeted Iowa on Sunday? A fresh layer of overnight snow! Well played, Momma N, well played. No complaints on my end because I really have not had many runs in the snow this winter. I ran a short, easy-paced 2-mile recovery run, which was quite tranquil in the snow-covered setting.  It's no secret I'll gladly choose a peaceful run in the snow over another monotonous tread on the 'mill.
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you can't make this #snow up
So, to say that I'm pleased with this past week would be a dramatic understatement. The running miles came in at 21 (my highest mileage week for 2019!), and most of those were run outside (total win)! There was a great deal of walking (12ish miles), and  most of that happened outside as well. I skipped the lower-body strength work this week, in exchange for those extra birthday miles, but did sneak in a brief upper-body session mid-week. All is well.

In case you missed out, here are the posts from last week:
Spring Ain't Here...Yet 
Favorite (new and not so new) Fitness Trends
A (very rainy) Leprechaun Chase 2019

In other news:
Did you catch my #FridayFashionFlair post this week?  The temps still felt winter-like, but the snow continued to melt, and there was all kinds of sunshine. I opted for a favorite sweater for warmth, but cold shoulders for wishful thinking of the warmer days ahead. You do what you gotta do. Anyways, as always, the invitation stands for those who want to play along...(1) post a pic of a featured outfit, (2) grab the hashtag (#FridayFashionFlair) and (3) give me a tag (@runningonthefly).

And, last of all, as mentioned above...I got to celebrate another voyage around the sun on Thursday. The day was full of all kinds of great things..... the 5:30 a.m. Pi Run, early morning messages from my kids, a fun day with co-workers, dinner with family, a rescued balloon from a very high tree branch (thanks to the hubby) and many, many texts and birthday wishes via social media. The day left me feeling quite humbled and so incredibly grateful.

So, that's another run down of another week. Talk to me....how was your week? Any brag-worthy fitness moments? Is it starting to feel like Spring where you are? Have you ever done any kind of a commemorative run for your birthday? Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?


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46 comments:

  1. I love the green outfits you wore this weekend - you were totally in the spirit! I can't believe it snowed there again today - that's crazy!

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    1. Actually, the snow happened late last night...I looked out the window, around 10:00 before taking Max out, and almost screamed at Momma N. She's got no business throwing more of that white stuff my way LOL Hoping that's the last of it!

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  2. I am so happy that you got to spend more time outside this week doing what you love! Happy birthday again looks like it was a good one

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    1. Thank you, Deborah <3 My bday was a great day....and getting all those outdoor miles was euphoric!!

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  3. hello Psycho Weather Iowa!! but hey, I would have traded you this past week as far as weather goes. At least today it finally started to shape up again (though the wind was still awful). SO glad you got most of those miles outdoors! I know how much you were missing it. And really glad you had a great birthday!

    we don't really celebrate St Patrick's here - well we have an Irish bar in town that does but most Dutch people haven't quite caught on to the whole wear green thing. I should have actually worn my green PC socks today but totally forgot about it! ugh!

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    1. Everyone brags about spring weather, but I'm not much of a fan. Yes, the snow disappears, and it does feel warmer...but all the rain and psycho wind are total buzzkills for me. Give me summer!!!!!! ;-)

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  4. I'm sure walking Max outside & running outside felt great this week! Bandit got one walk without a jacket this week, which makes him super happy. They hate their jackets.

    We had 2 super warm days, which melted almost all our snow (and unfortunately I was sick during them), but it turned blustery & cold again this weekend -- it did snow, but thankfully not enough to stick.

    Doesn't look like we have much snow headed our way in the future, but I'd be surprised if we've really seen the last of winter. I'd like to be surprised that way!

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    1. I think Max has missed all of his usual walks. This is the first year we've shoveled him a loop in the back yard to avoid being out on all the icy streets in such cold weather. I don't think he's gained weight from lack of walking, but those walks are great for all of us ;-)

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  5. We had snow in the forecast but so far haven't gotten it. That said there's nothing greening up here yet either. I will take the sunny days though. Glad your birthday was fun!

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    1. Thankfully, I think all of the overnight snow has melted. Ugh...it wasn't a pleasant sight last night. I'm really surprised how green our grass looks already; it's usually a brown and yucky mess for a couple of weeks when the snow first disappears.

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  6. Happy Birthday week! I missed our great weather and celebrating Pi(e) day because I was at a conference held in the basement of a hotel. I thought they might serve pie for dessert, but the chocolate mousse wasn't bad. You can keep that snow to yourself!

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    1. ha ha, believe me, I'm so done with all things winter. My mom brought me a piece of pie (from a local restaurant), so I did get some pie for my Pi Day ;-)

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  7. Happy Birthday!! You would love our town - we have a Pi race with ALL the pies at the end. I didn't run it this year, but I have in the past. Sooooo good. You have so many different colored clothes! Nice rainbow of choices this week. :)

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    1. Thank you!! That Pi race sound fun! It's no secret I have a small color fetish ;-)

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  8. Happy Belated Birthday! I love your green outfit, definitely fun and bright.

    We are expecting warmer weather this week. Race day on Sunday it is also supposed to be warm. Yay!

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    1. I think it's gonna be in the 40's-50's here...we're leaving Wednesday night for a few days in Florida, so I'm really eager for some real warm weather!

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  9. Happy belated birthday! Glad it was great. I love the leprechaun look
    While I don't mind the treadmill, I totally agree about the peace that comes with snowfall. It's just perfection. It's also the only time I don't enjoy the city -- goes to mud and slush all too quickly.

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    1. With my lack of outdoor running this winter, I didn't get much of the mud/slush until recently because it was just so cold and icy. I don't mind the snow, but it was too cold to enjoy it this year ;-(

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  10. It definitely felt like spring these last two days - I see some buds and flower stems starting to poke their way out of the ground. One of my favorite spells is mud and growth and that's how it was all day Saturday. Happy belated birthday!

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    1. I saw a few things poking through the ground this weekend, too. Our magnolia tree has its fuzzy buds...hoping they don't get frozen off (as is usually the case).

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  11. Happy Birthday! Sounds like a great week. I do love your cream outfit! We had a few days of Spring this week but then it was back in the thirties this weekend. Thank goodness we didn't have any snow. I am so done with Winter!

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    1. Thankfully, all of the new snow (from Saturday night) didn't stick around. We still have a few "piles" here and there, but they're shrinking. I am very much done with Winter, too!

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  12. Apparently, all the cool people celebrated birthday's this week. :) Looks like a great week of workouts with lots of outside time. Yay!

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    1. Yes, all the cool kids had birthdays this week ;-) It felt so good to get back outside!!!!!

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  13. Sounds like a great week! A belated happy birthday to you! Looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks!

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  14. I have a March birthday too! Mine is coming up this Thursday so HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you. Love that you were able to get outside and do your Pi run :-) Hope the weather is more good then bad for you this week!! I'm still waiting to get my bike outside...maybe this week?

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    1. Yay for March birthdays ;-) Although the weather is usually a little questionable, I LOVE that the bulk of winter is done and summer is just around the corner ;-) Happy Birthday to YOU!

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  15. Happy birthday! How fun that it is on PI Day. I love that you do a PI run. I am envious of your emerging grass. We still have a lot of snow left to melt here.

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    1. We still have a few random clumps of snow (form the huge piles that were everywhere), but I"[m playing the optimism card and am hopeful we've seen the last snowfall....

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  16. I love the way you label each day. The weather has been crazy. Ready for spring!!!

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  17. I'm glad you finally got some quality runs outside - and great pace on that 8 miler! Figures Momma N would throw some more snow at you...she has a wicked sense of humor, right?

    I'm glad you had a great birthday! My high school always celebrated Pi Day in a big way. I've never done special miles for my birthday or anything like that, but I will be hitting 33 which is kind of a fun number, lol!

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    1. I can't recall when your birthday is (though I'm sure I've seen you mention it), but you could do a 3.3-mile run on your special day ;-) Gosh, it feel SO GOOD to be outside on a much more consistent basis!

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  18. Happy birthday and hooray for outside running! No weekly update for me as was away and don't like to publicise the fact - I'll do a double next Sunday. Love your green outfit! This is Liz on a borrowed computer by the way!

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  19. Happy birthday! That's great that you got in more miles outside than inside this week but boo to the week ending with more snow. I feel like we keep getting teasers of Spring and then mother nature yanks it away. Hopefully it here for good soon :)

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    1. Thankfully, the overnight snow we had waiting for us Sunday morning didn't stick around. Most of it was already gone by the time we got home from church ;-)

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  20. Our week was pretty normal but I did get to run outside over the weekend and my body doesn't hurt nearly as much as the first few outside runs since winter. So I think that's pretty note worth right now haha.

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    1. That's great! I was wondering how my lungs would feel, since I'd had so much indoor air (via the treadmill), but it felt like I'd never left the great outdoors. I'm so glad to be back outside!

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  21. Happy birthday! That's great you got to be outside more this week! Our snow melted quickly and then warmer temperatures are returning, hopefully the same goes for you and you can get in more outdoor runs this week.

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    1. I'm eager to be outside exclusively...that's my gig ;-) The majority of our snow is gone, except for a few random piles...but those are shrinking...

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  22. Aww happy birthday! My birthday is in a couple of weeks :-) We had the bomb cyclone come through Denver, which was pretty intense. Most of the snow has already melted, though and I am so ready for spring!

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    1. That bomb cyclone was crazy! Our affiliate office in Denver closed and everyone was ordered to stay home. This certainly has been a winter to remember LOL

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  23. Happy birthday to you!

    What crazy weather all over the place! Ugh!

    I can't believe all the green you found! I find green (and red) activewear is the toughest to come by. So weird how certain colors just don't make the cut as often.

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  24. Here's hoping this past week was even more cooperative for you (weather wise) than the previous. It was so cold and blustery here today. I love your greens for St. Paddy's Day. I totally let it slip by...

    Thanks for the linkup; and even though I'm so late commenting, I appreciate it very much!

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