Seeing Green

There was a whole lotta green going on this week!

We're talking emerging grass (courtesy of the melting snow). The MSU Spartans had a big victory Tuesday evening. And, there was a St. Patrick's themed (in-person!!!) race on the roster.  

After so much cold, in previous weeks, it was great to usher in an entire week of pleasant weather. March is a tricky and temperamental month, weather-wise, so this past week was a nice treat.

Before I give you the down 'n dirty details, 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 ;-)

Anyways, here's what went down this past week:

Never miss a Monday.

It was a new month, new week, and new day, and I didn't plan on sitting still. We started the day with 15 miles on the bike, and finished with a 3-mile post-workday run.  

Not my typical Tuesday...

While I have been doing some stair workouts in recent months, I have been going pretty light on lower-body work. I usually do lower-body work on Thursdays and keep my Tuesdays pretty easy-peasy. With a race on the schedule for Saturday, though, I didn't want to risk any DOMS issues, so I got busy on Tuesday instead. I do a lot of strength workouts outdoors in the warmer months, but never thought of taking them outside in the colder months. Well, that all changed this week. This workout was short (maybe 12 minutes?), but there was not one wasted second. 

Lots of squats, deadlifts and walking lunges happened:

**20 single-leg deadlifts

**20 basic "front" squats

**20 sumo squats

**20 sets of walking lunges

**20 more single-leg deadlifts

**20 more front squats

**20 more sumo squats

  

Back to the #5at5 Wednesday Routine.

I could feel the DOMS starting before bedtime on Tuesday, but they didn't give me any trouble on the early-morning 5-miler with Barb. By mid-morning, though, it was a different story. Every time I sat down (and, consequently, stood back up), my glutes and hammies were on fire. Like an inferno kind of fire. Hurts so good, but OUCH.

Another switcheroo for Thursday.

Having done the lower-body workout on Tuesday, I'd planned on doing some HIIT, instead, on Thursday. Only, the DOMS still had my body in a world of hurt. Honestly, Tuesday's workout had not felt that intense, but it sure came back to bite my buttocks (and vicinity). That's all good...the DOMS indicate there was some real work that went down. So, 10 miles on the bike never felt so fine. After work, I had just pulled into my garage, when Barb texted me with a post-workday run invite. Well, who am I to refuse a run with a friend? By then, the DOMS had pretty much moved on...so 15 minutes later had me out the door and on the street. What would you have done?

Low-maintenance Friday.

Confession: With the spontaneous after-work run with Barb, Thursday's upper-body workout didn't happen. Instead of my (recent) Friday morning short run, though, I opted for some presses, rows, pushes, and curls with the hand weights. There was a quick 1-mile lunchtime walk, and some core work in the evening, but that was it for the day.

Saturday's sunshiny Leprechaun Chase!

The hubs and I took a quick 27-hour trip to the Omaha, NE area for the Leprechaun Chase. This was the 11th year of this festive St. Patrick's themed extravaganza, and our second time running in Omaha. This event used to have an Iowa venue, in Des Moines, but now it only takes place in Omaha (where the race company is headquartered). Normally a 10K, taking place at the SAC Museum, it had to change its location and its distance (to 8K) due to the excessive snow melt and mud. But the temps were perfect (low-40F's at the start line, with no wind), the course scenic (with many twists and hills), and both of us were pleased with our finish times. There's a recap in the works, so stay tuned.

...and another beautiful SUNday

Although I'm a runner, I'm totally in love with my sunrise walks. And, when the sun resembles a heart? Well, all was good, even if the temps were still chilly. I got out for a 2-mile greet-the-morning walk, but there also was a 10-mile bike ride (during our live stream church #multitasking), and the odds are good there will be a short bare-legged recovery run in the afternoon.

All in all, this was a great week! I took a chance switching a few of my workouts around, and it was well worth it. The DOMS were no joke, so I'm glad I was prepared for them. How'd we do? 

Running - 17 miles (more on tap for later)

Walking - 11 miles

Biking - 35 miles (possibly some outdoor miles added later!)

Stairs - 30 flights

Other - 2 strength workouts and 2 core workouts

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

Outrunning The Cold, Literally

Things That Made Me Go Hmmm

Coffee Talk? Anyone?

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair! With all the excitement for Saturday's race, I felt compelled to get in the St. Patrick's Day spirit. So what if I was a few (or 12) days early? Life is too short to wait around for ONE specific day. I say if you got the green, go ahead a start the celebration. Anyways, care to join me? Post a pic of your Friday outfit on Instagram, grab the hashtag (#FridayFashionFlair) and be sure to tag me (@runningonthefly).

On March 2nd, Dr. Seuss' birthday was celebrated. Dr. Seuss played a big role in our kids' childhoods. In all honesty, I don't know who enjoyed reading his books more...my kids or myself. I came across this passage from the book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish many years ago, and it spoke to me. 

Lastly, the second annual Week of Pi begins tomorrow! There's already a slew of runner friends joining me for some (or all) of it, so I'm looking forward to all the Pi fun! This involves running 3.14 miles each day, ending on March 14th...which is the National Day of Pi (also my birthday LOL). Last year's recap is HERE.

So that's a wrap! We're another week closer to Spring (and Summer), and the cold of Winter is (mostly) behind us. Onward!

How are things in your world? Feeling like Spring? Are you seeing green, too? 

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