Winter Rewind?

A Winter Rewind? No, thank  you.

Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but I thought we were well into May. 

It seems as if Momma N's memory is a bit askew and she's wanting to relive the cold winter-like weather. Granted, it wasn't that bad of a winter this year, but that doesn't mean I'm eager for an encore.

Thankfully, she did keep the precip to a minimum, and did bless us with a lot of sunshine. But the temps? That's another story...

First things first, though...Welcome to the Weekly Run Down!

I love hosting 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 noon on Monday. We love reading about everyone's 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...please don't link-drop & dash ;-)

So, here's what went down in my little world of fitness this week:

Never miss a (windy) Monday

My morning walks have been going well. Monday's walk was no exception...and the sky was every shade of pink and purple at sunrise. I'm glad I didn't sleep through that!  

Since rain was headed our way, and I still had my Monday 5K time trial on tap, I switched up my routine and ran it over my lunch break. Of course, there was the requisite wind (again, I ask you, What's new?), but this 5K didn't feel as rough or tough as the previous ones. I'm not expecting to break any PR's with these weekly 5K's, but I am hoping to get to a point where I can run them "comfortably hard" and improve my times (slightly) each week. Finally, this week gave me hope. I was able to sub-27, and ran it with negative splits. Now, if Momma N could just grant me a few Mondays with a little (or a lot) less wind, that would be much appreciated. 

Dodging the rain Tuesday

In keeping with my daily walk's goal, I grabbed the umbrella and headed out, first thing in the morning. As we all know...if you bring an umbrella, the rain will stop, right? It was a recovery day, and I was glad to get the morning walk done sans treadmill. The 42F "spring" weather didn't feel too painful either.

Sporadic weather Wednesday

The temps were chilly and the air was damp (from the overnight rain) for the weekly #5at5 with Barb. Then, Momma N threw us a wild card and gave us bright sun and warm temps for most of the day...only to take it all back and give us more wind and clouds late in the afternoon.

Impromptu recovery day Thursday

I had a pretty intense HIIT workout all mapped out for Thursday morning. Unfortunately, my cranky back (I blame too much NetFlix on the too comfy couch), said, "Let's not." I got all twisty and things straightened out nicely (literally) for me. Never underestimate what a little bit of yoga and a sunrise walk (with the hubby and Max) can do for you. BTW, temps were in the low-40's, so I wore my winter jacket, I kid you not.

#IRunWithMaud Friday

I had not planned on running Friday morning. Social medial exploded, on Thursday night, with news of the arrest of the two men who had shot/murdered Ahmaud Aubrey. There was all kinds of talk about doing 2.23 miles (he was gunned down on February 23rd) in his honor on Friday (which would have been his 26th birthday). Well, I'm a runner; runners rise up and support their fellow runners. So I got out there, before work, and ran 2.23 miles in Ahmaud Aubrey's memory. It was so nice seeing his smiling face everywhere, all day long, on social media.

Long (hilly and windy) run Saturday

It was 40F (with a 30F feels-like, courtesy of the wind) when I left the house at 7:30 to meet up with Barb. Eager for a change of scene, we headed out on the bike trail, west of town. Remember the bike trail? The hilly one I'd ridden several times last summer/fall? Yeah, THAT trail. We were only going to run part of the way, then turn and head back...but it had been several months since we'd run the hilly part of the route. So, we spontaneously decided to do an out-and-back to the halfway point, which gave us two long hills and a short (but steep) one on the return trip. Oh, and did I mention the wind? There was that as well, but we had non-stop sunshine and the temps continued to rise as we ran. Amazingly, the hills didn't feel too treacherous, so that gave me confidence that all of my stair training was time well-spent. We'd planned on eight miles, but after parting ways (just before the 8-mile mark), I got an energy surge and looped around the college campus for a bonus mile on my way back home. So, nine miles on a mostly beautiful day. Can't complain about that.

Back-in-the-fleece Sunday

There had been rain in the forecast, but it came overnight and was outta here by morning. None the less, Momma N was still having attitude with the temps and the wind. Oh well, it wasn't snowing, so there's that. I got out for a quick 2-mile recovery run just after sunrise (well, even though it was hidden behind the clouds, I know the sun was there LOL).  

So, it was an interesting week, weather-wise, but all played out well in the end. Total running miles capped out at 22 and walking saw 16 (possibly a few more happening Sunday afternoon, weather permitting). As mentioned, I took a pass on my usual weekly HIIT workout...and the sun still rose. No sweat (literally), and no regrets. I did sneak in a short upper-body strength session Saturday evening, and have been staying consistent with the abs/core work on Tuesday/Thursday evenings as well as daily push-ups. As mentioned in my Friday post, I signed on with the UN-Canceled Project-2, and will be continuing the Monday 5K's for six more weeks. If this was a normal spring racing season, I would not be doing 5K's each week...but I think we can all agree this Spring is the polar opposite of normal.  

In case you missed out, here's what went down on the blog this week:

Upright and Vertical (sort of)

PR's: More than just finish times

Six Weeks of 5K Time Trials...a Few Reflections

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair. Believe it or not, we had a frost advisory on both Friday and Saturday mornings. It was bright and sunny, at least, though it also was windy (have I mentioned the wind...yet?) Anyways, I'm kind of done with my winter clothing, it it was too cold to reach for anything lighter...so, I was back in charcoal grey and army green. At least my cheetah print flats and lipstick were there for a little color punch. As always, you're welcome to join me on Fridays...post a pic on Instagram, grab the hashtag (#FridayFashionFlair) and be sure to tag me (@runningonthefly).

There was a lot of celebrating going on this week. There was Mother's Day (A sincere Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!). Our granddoggy, Lola, celebrated her 4th birthday (isn't she such a sweetie!). And, long before it was the Star Wars May-the-4th Day, it was my father's birthday... and this year was his 80th celebration!

      

                    

Finally, this meme came across my Facebook feed Friday evening, and it totally struck a chord with me. I have seen so much evil, hate, rudeness and self-righteousness in the wake of all the COVID-19 stuff going on. Apparently I'm not the only one disgusted by it...I shared this on Insta, and it almost went viral. We are all experiencing this in our own unique ways, and we all come from different upbringings with different "baggage." Let's be kind to one another, and respectful...I don't think that's too much to ask.

So, how did your week play out? Did the weather take a turn backwards? Any good workouts to brag about? Virtual racing, yes or no?

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