Sunday, March 3, 2019

Sorry, Winter...You will not break me


I've never been a fan of Winter.
This particular winter has really been a piece of work. It's kept me inside far more than ever before, but you know what? It has not broken me or my spirit.

Anyways, first things first.....
Welcome to the first edition of the Weekly Run Down! I am so excited to host this new 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. Please share your weekly fitness endeavors, training highlights 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.

This past week, saw the end of February (one of the l.o.n.g.e.s.t. Februaries I can remember, in terms of nutzo weather), but also the start of March. We have Daylight Savings Time happening very soon, so things can only get better, right?
Here's what went down this past week...
Monday

Tired and somewhat achy muscles warranted a low-key morning. Thirty minutes on the elliptical (and some stair work) gave me my morning boost of mojo and all was well.
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After work, it was Milly time (again). Three progressive miles (with 400m surges) and the #nevermissaMonday run was in the bank. Honestly, I don't know what felt better...stepping outside afterwards, into the 10F temps, or tossing the snow into the air. Both felt pretty empowering.
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Tuesday

Not much on tap for Tuesday...After a brisk early morning walk (inside) and 40 quick flights of stairs (also inside), a short stretch (outside) was in store. Besides, the hubby was out of town and someone had to haul the recycling bin down to the curb.
Wednesday

Time to get real, and keep it real. Not all of my early morning runs are phenomenally euphoric. See that chick in the window (below, upper right)? She's good entertainment for maybe one mile and then I get bored looking at her. My 18ish year-old treadmill is loud, so I can barely hear my music. And, there are no tv screens to distract me from the monotony of running in place. That said, it feels pretty badass to conquer a treadmill run. Even when I cut it short (which happened for this particular run), I'm always thankful for the opportunity to move, breathe and sweat. Four miles at 5:00 a.m. (instead of the usual five)...and you can see the steam rising off of me in the 14F early morning air. I also did an upper-body strength workout in the evening.
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Thursday

I had not HIIT'd for awhile, so it was time.
~5 moves x 10 reps x 5 circuits~

*burpees

*push-ups

*stair flights

*jump squats

*jumping jacks
Doing the math, there were 50 total reps of every move. The stair climbs took the longest of each to complete, but they also acted as a bit of a rest period because I didn't do them especially fast. Total time commitment was just over 30 minutes, which included maybe 15 seconds between each circuit.
Friday

The temps didn't feel too bad when I took the dog out for his morning business. There was more frigid weather in the forecast, with more crazy wind (right? big shocker!).  What's an outdoor runner to do when she's been stuck inside too much? I bailed on the rest day, and got out for a couple of miles before work. There were some icy patches, but since I had daylight, I was able to avoid any slipping, sliding or face-planting. I knew I'd also be running on Saturday, but I wanted to take advantage and "bank" some outdoor miles. It happens. Sorry, not sorry.
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Saturday

Recently, I have been treating myself to the gift of sleeping-in on Saturdays, so when I finally crawled out of bed (yes, 8:00 a.m. is late in my world LOL), I had full daylight and all kinds of sunshine. I was hoping to knock out seven miles but was not looking forward to doing all of it on the treadmill. I made the command decision to layer up, lace up and head outside with the theory that even just a couple outdoor miles would mean fewer inside miles. Amazingly, the freezing cold temps didn't feel too bad....until I had a headwind. After four miles, and a near-frozen face, I headed back home. I don't know if I dawdled too long in shimmying out of the tights (and losing all of the layers of clothing), but my feet felt like lead and my legs didn't want to move once I climbed onto the treadmill. I was hoping for three Milly miles, but pulled the plug after two. My Ipod kept giving me the "low battery" warning (all morning, from the 1-mile mark), so I also felt like it was a race against the clock. So, six total miles (instead of seven), but I finished before my music did. I'm calling that a win! Glass half full.
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Sunday

Although I knew the temps would be cold, I awoke with the urge to go for an outdoor walk. Then I checked my weather app...and quickly changed my plan of early-morning-cardio action. I have been neglecting the elliptical a lot (in exchange for all the stair-climbing I'd been doing), so I spent 30 minutes with Ellie and got an awesome sweat session done. After that, I deemed it a designated rest day (and stayed inside after church).
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All in all, I'm satisfied with  my week. The running mileage wasn't stellar (15), but at least some of it was outside. There was a little bit of walking (5ish miles), a cumulative hour of elliptical, and 250 flights of stairs. Wednesday's upper-body workout left me feeling strong, and Thursday's HIIT really got the heart pumping. I'm continuing to love my early morning fasted-cardio routine.


In case you missed them, here's my posts from last week:

Let It Be

Let's March  Onward
In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair...did you see it on Instagram? Cold temps are still the norm. Ironically, the 30F temps don't feel so frigid in comparison to what we've had...not that I want them to stick around. So, I'm still wearing sweaters and scarves (and thick socks), but I am choosing to smile anyways.  As always, you're invited to play along...post a pic of a featured outfit, grab the hashtag (#Fridayfashionflair) and give me a tag (@runningonthefly).

Here's a running gear hack. I'm a big fan of compression sleeves. I don't wear them for every run, but often times I wear them for long training runs. I also wear them for recovery after long runs or races. I have some full compression socks, but am not fond of the way they fit my narrow feet. Compression makes them even more skinny so it feels like there's extra "room" inside my shoes. I don't know how I have not thought of this before, but wearing an extra pair of socks over the compression socks solves the problem (#duh). Compression seems to have a cooling effect on me, so I don't think there will be an issue of my feet being too warm (even in warm weather).

The stair-climbing challenge at work officially came to a conclusion this weekend. The challenge entailed the participants climbing 562 flights of stairs from February 3rd through March 2nd. Since I do a lot of stair climbing anyways, I upped my goal to 1,000 flights...and was able to surpass it. I treated all of that stair-climbing as my main lower-body work for February. It involved daily climbing (usually 20-30 flights at the minimum), so my legs and glutes saw plenty of action. Although I will continue with regular stair work, I have no plans of doing it on the daily (other than the random trips up and down for routine household stuff). I'm moving on to more focused ab/core work for March. Stay tuned.
So, that's the latest and greatest in my little corner of the universe. As I said, winter is not my favorite time of year, but it is what it is. And, it will not be here forever.
How was your week? Any great workouts? Crazy and/or cold weather? Are you as eager for Spring (or Summer!) as I am?
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38 comments:

  1. Nicely done on the stair challenge. Do you think you'll miss it, or are you ready for the increased variety in your workout?
    Your HIIT photo is awesome. Looks like you're about to explode out of the start. Love it!

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    1. I don't know that I'll miss all those (daily) stairs, but it will feel strange to NOT be doing them LOL Oh well, I'm sure I'll adjust ;-)

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  2. I can't believe you're outside in shorts! I am over our cold, damp weather. I can deal with the cold if its sunny, but we've had so many gray days. I am missing my Vitamin D! Thanks again for hosting this new link up!

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    1. Well, I'm outside in shorts for only a couple minutes to get those selfies LOL It probably looks rather sadistic, but it's my way of coping with the sub-freezing temps. Hoping I'll be able to get back outside more consistently as Spring approaches....

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  3. I love how you incorporate stairs into your workouts. I'm going to do your HIIT workout this week - it looks great!

    I think that CT has had a mild winter when compared to other parts of the country. That being said, we're expecting 6-10 inches of snow overnight. I guess Winter waited until March to really slam us with snow.

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    1. Our snowfall has ceased...at the moment. We just need the temps to shoot up a bit so our snow can (slowly) melt. I think most of the ice is gone, at least, so that's a HUGE improvement ;-)

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  4. Brilliant work and wonderful inspiring photos as ever. Thank you for taking over running the weekly run down - I'm looking forward to taking part every week still!

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    1. Thanks!!! You always have such kind words ;-) I'm glad you'll be joining us each week ;-)

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    2. Getting it done and rocking it as always! You know I love the stairs, and I am always so inspired by your positive, can-do attitude. Sometimes I get down on things, but I have to remind myself that there's always a silver lining.

      Happy to join in the Weekly Rundown! Thanks for picking it up!

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  5. You had a great week of workouts (as always)! Congrats on finishing so strong on your office's stair-climbing challenge.

    Thanks for the linkup!

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    1. I just wish more of my workouts (aka runs) could have been outside. Oh well, I'm thankful I can at least find things to do inside when the weather outside is so frightful and frigid.

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  6. Nice week! I am not a fan of compression. It's interesting that you say it cools you down. I have had the opposite effect, which is one of the reasons I don't like it. Thanks for the linkup.

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    1. I hear a lot of people say that compression makes them so warm, but for some odd reason I don't notice that with me. I'm a strange bird, though...I also don't like beer or coffee (and yet, I call myself a runner) ;-)

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  7. you had a great week! never mind that your mileage was low, you still got after it and that's what counts! and I'd have traded in my rest day to get out for just a bit as well.

    i wear compression socks all the time. they help literally keep my feet (my toes) together in the right way so that I have a longer time before my left foot actually starts to hurt. plus I have so many cute pairs :) ProCompression is medium compression so I don't mind how they feel even after a full day of wearing them (like if I'm travelling).

    spring is coming - it'll reach you soon I just know it!!

    Thanks so much to you and Deborah for doing the link up!

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    1. I'm learning to like the full compression socks more. Pro Compression had that pick your own grab bag sale, and it was too good to pass up. I'm ready for Spring and warmer temps (and no more ice or snow).

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  8. Thank you for doing the link up now! I use to swear by my compression socks and then all of the sudden my feet started hating on being compressed. Now I try and do sleeves but even those seem to irritate me. I think I need to try a different brand and see if that works.

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    1. I love the sleeves (I have more Pro Compression brand ones than any other). They have so many more cute full socks to choose from, though...and isn't that important? ;-) I think a lot of it is a matter of preference. We all have different shaped feet and some compression socks feel better than others, depending on the shoe and the length of time they're worn.

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  9. I think it's great that you have figured out how to mix up your indoor and outdoor runs. Seems to be working well for you. It is just hard to be inside so much when you are used to getting that fresh air everyday. Have a fantastic week!

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    1. UGH...it is SO HARD to be inside!!!!! I know I will look back on this winter and wonder how I didn't lose my mind ;-)

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  10. That's why I like the Mudgear (no association with them, just a happy customer) compression socks -- they are not tight around my feet. I hate having my toes squeezed in by compression socks, but I don't really like sleeves much either.

    Glad you were able to get outside. I did get outside for my run finally today. :) I'm ok with short treadmill runs -- and I do have a nice flat screen tv to distract me. Plus I'm not training for anything.

    We have some snow supposed to come in tonight, but they seem to have downgraded it to just a few inches, and Mr. Judy is here to man the snow blower now. Have a great week, Kim, & thanks for picking up the linkup!

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    1. Normally, a short run (2-3 miles) on the treadmill is not a big deal, but it was such a challenge yesterday trying to make it happen. I got to the 1-mile mark and decided I could get to 2 miles, but that would have to do it LOL Oh well, all I have happening for awhile are 10K's, so it's not like I need to go much farther.

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  11. You've done such a great job of showing Winter who's boss. We haven't had weather nearly as bad as you have and I know I am so done...and now we've got a huge snow storm coming, ugh!

    Thanks to you and Deborah for hosting the new link-up!

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    1. Thanks, Michelle ;-) This crazy thing called Winter can't go on much longer, right? ;-) If I could just get outside (more consistently) that would make things a little more bearable. At least that's my story....

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  12. So glad the Sunday community is continuing, Thank you for hosting! COngrats on the stair climbing - it's so impressive. What did your work say?

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    1. There were about 10 of us that did the challenge. Most made it to the 562 goal by Friday, so it went well. There was one guy (a major ultra athlete) who totally kicked buttocks and made it to almost 1700, I think. #overachiever LOL It was a fun challenge!

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  13. Whoa, that's a lot of stairs! Congrats on surpassing 1,000 flights.

    You know I love winter, so....I'll just slink away before everyone gets mad at me ;)

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    1. Although I don't "love" winter, I enjoy it (some LOL), but this year it's been so challenging! I'd rather be outside, enjoying the snow-packed roads, etc., instead of being cooped up with Milly inside ;-)

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  14. So happy to hear a weekly wrap/rundown is continuing on, thank you so much for taking the torch Kim!

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    1. Deborah is a pretty sweet-talker LOL I'm excited to co-host, it's always fun reading about everyone's adventures ;-)

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  15. I'm happy to see the Run Down continue! And I'm with you on the wind - GO AWAY!!!!

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    1. The wind is SUCH a deal-breaker. Well, the ice is a close second LOL

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  16. I'm so ready for spring also! As soon as the calendar turns to March, I'm just done with the cold and wind. But we got snow yesterday instead of spring!

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    1. We have some snow coming on Thursday, but not much. The extreme temps, though, and wind have been a major buzzkill.

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  17. I am there with you about the weather. Isn't it supposed to be warmer in March? I hope so. This week was barely any running but I know that will change since I just signed up to train again with my coach.

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    1. Yes, it is SUPPOSED to be warmer in March LOL. This winter has been (and continues to be) relentless....

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  18. Thanks for hosting the link up! Sounds like you had a great week of work outs in spite of the Winter weather. I'm with you, I can't wait for Spring to get here :)

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    1. Heck, I'm ready for Summer. WE can just skip right over Spring ;-)

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  19. You are rocking your workouts lady! It has been much colder here in Houston that normal! We were in the 20s this morning, and we are usually hitting the 70s consistently by now! I hope things warm up for all of us! I bet you are ready to do more outdoor workouts!

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