Sunday, March 20, 2016

A Festive Week of Pi, Color, and Running



Another week, another wrap.

This week had a very festive theme, complete with lots of color, yummy treats, festive fun and several miles in the Iowa weather.

My Pi run...I kinda hit the wrong button on the watch and accidentally "ran over" my Pi distance

As most people know, Monday was my birthday.  I had 127 greetings on Facebook alone, as well as numerous texts and other messages throughout the day. It was a great day! In recent years, there has been a lot of focus on March 14th being Pi Day. I was (actually, still kinda am) a math dork in my younger years, so this would have been such a neat thing back in the day.

The past few years, I have made it my own personal tradition to run 3.14 miles on my birthday. This year was no exception. I also may have indulged in a few sweets (hello, heavily-frosted cupcakes).

These little beauties were almost too pretty to eat (almost)
Tuesday was kind of a chilly day, so it was the perfect excuse to stay indoors....so I headed to the office building and did some stair work. It's becoming more of a challenge to capture this weekly endeavor in pictures because one can only get so creative in a boring stairway. All went well, and I conquered 17 sets of the five story-building, for 85 total flights of stairs. It's no longer a challenge climbing the stairs, but I am trying to increase my speed.

Another session on the steps (in some of my birthday-gifted gear)
Wednesday was somewhat of a rest day (some strength work, and some speedwalking on the 'mill). The weather was chilly and the wind most fierce. The husband and I had a Chamber reception/awards presentation to go to after work. I had considered going for a short run afterwards, but decided to catch up on some blogging and reading instead.

Thursday was another busy day at work, but I was able to get everything done and was home by 4:30. It also was St. Patrick's Day, so I suited up in green and knocked out five miles in the windy sunshine. I'm not kidding about the wind, either. Once I hit the turn-around, and made it to the corner, I was hit (smack dab between the eyes) with 30mph-wind gusts for several blocks until I changed direction and had some trees for shelter.

Go green or stay home...running a few miles on St. Patrick's Day
Friday arrived, and I finally was able to leave work earlier than I had in the past couple weeks. Eager to start upping my mileage (slowly), I was planning to run long on Saturday (and spend Friday afternoon watching basketball). The weatherman told us we'd have rain, snow and cold temps on Saturday, though.....so I elected to head out and do another (somewhat) long run in the Iowa wind. I'm not an advocate for consecutive long-runs, but I know it's harmless once in awhile. Surprisingly, my legs felt great (even after the previous day's battle in the wind), and the six miles left me feeling invigorated.
More miles in the Iowa wind
 Saturday arrives, and the weather was like a sudden flashback to winter....temps in the upper 30's, some wind, and white stuff falling from the sky. Say WHAT???? I didn't plan to run in it, but decided to layer up and head out for a brisk power walk. A friend met me, and we knocked out four miles at a very fast pace. Although there were intermittent showers of snow and sleet, nothing really stuck to the ground.
Yep...back in the puffer vest and fuzzy headband & gloves
However, Sunday morning brought with it a dusting of snow to greet the first day of Spring. Either a cruel twist of fate, or a nasty joke on behalf of Momma N and Old Man Winter, this was uncalled for. So, what to do? I laced up and slid on my shorts and headed out anyways (#springbedamned).Take that, Momma N!

You're only cold if you're standing still (or taking a selfie)
Other happenings? Well, it is March, after all, and that means March Madness. I love basketball (watching, NOT playing), and this year Iowa has three teams repping the state....the Iowa Hawkeyes (my Alma Mater), the Iowa State Cyclones (our big inner-state rival, also where our daughter is enrolled #badparenting), and the University of Northern Iowa Panthers (usually a Cinderella team, but they played a tough first-round game against Texas). We lived in the East Lansing area for seven years, and underwent a green and white blood transfusion while there...so the MSU Spartans are always a NCAA tournament favorite (but they royally destroyed my bracket this year).



So, there you have it. I've added a couple of half marathons to my "paid-for" roster, am ready to ease back into a training schedule. Stay tuned, there's more races to come!

How's your racing calendar looking? Did you get any unexpected snow this weekend?


I'm linking up with the fab gals, Holly at  HoHo Runs  and Tricia at  MissSippiPiddlin , for their Weekly Wrap. This weekly "accountability check" has been so much fun the past few months that I've been participating. Lots of great blogs written by some great peeps! Head over and check them out!!






















49 comments:

  1. Happy belated Pi birthday! I hope you had a wonderful day. I'm so impressed with your stair climbing. Last week, Tricia and I were talking about how we should try it. You make it look easy and I'm sure it is NOT. We had some cooler weather today that will last through this week, but that'll probably be the end of it. It's always straight to summer. Which half marathons did you pick? Thanks for linking with us Kim.

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    1. I am registered for Dam to Dam (Des Moines, June 4th), Quad Cities Marathon (half marathon AND on a relay team for the full, Late September), a small (local) 5K on April 9th (the day before Fight for Air Climb LOL)...and I am planning on running the half marathon at Drake Relays (also Des Moines, April 30) and am contemplating Rock 'n Sole half in Milwaukee, June 11). And, let's not for get my 12-hour endurance ultra in July! (stay tuned...there's more to come) ;-)

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  2. Wow, crazy weather you are having. I admire you for running in shorts. It has to be over 65 for me to even think about it. I did have to go out and buy 2 pair while I was in Florida, due to the heat & humidity but I won't put them on here for a while.

    Have you seen a change in your muscles since you started stair climbing ?

    Have a great week, I hope the weather cooperates !

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    1. Yes, Iowa's weather is usually pretty roller-roaster-ish. Funny thing about all this climbing, I have gained a few pounds, but all of my clothes fit the same....I think I have gained some "density" LOL

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  3. I swear these wraps seem to make the weeks fly by. No snow here but it was 28 degrees here yesterday. The same temp it is right now. Enough already.

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    1. This is crazy...warm week, followed by a chilly weekend, a couple warm days, and the temps are supposed to nose-dive tomorrow...again. Yes. Enough already.

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  4. Happy belated birthday! I love your birthday tradition - to run 3.14 miles on your birthday. How many people can say that they have a perfectly valid excuse to indulge in all the sweets on their birthday because its also Pi Day?!?

    This week's weather has just been absolutely nuts. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw snowflakes out the window Saturday evening. Where is the gorgeous Spring weather that we just had about a week ago?!?

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    1. Our spring keeps coming and going....it's supposed to retreat completely tomorrow ((yuck))

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  5. Thank goodness no snow here. It was chilly yesterday for my bike ride, tho, but the sun felt great!

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    1. Our temps are supposed to "go south" again tomorrow, so I'll be "taking it to the stairs" tomorrow (#inside)

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  6. Cute idea to run 3.14 on your Pi birthday - and what a fun birthday! I didn't have any pie on Monday. :-(

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    1. I din't have any pie, either...but did have a couple cupcakes ;-)

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  7. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! For March Madness, I'm rooting for the Tarheels, as I'm here in Chapel Hill. Have a great week!

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    1. Thanks!! Iowa State is the only Iowa team remaining.... There were a lot of upsets and busted brackets this year

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  8. Your outfits make me so happy! I love bright and matching workout wear.

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    1. Thanks!!! I love color...."blending in" is so overrated ;-)

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  9. Love the bright and colorful workout gear!! It snowed ever so briefly both Saturday and Sunday but mainly rain and cold. It's creeping back up now so I'll take it!

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    1. We had a couple nice days after the chilly weekend, but it's supposed to get chilly agian tomorrow...and snow on Easter Sunday. UGH.

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  10. Sorry I missed wishing you a Happy Birthday last week. Your outfit on St. Patty's Day for running was perfect. Our arrival of spring was also rather cruel with coldish temps and wind and rain for our race. Not exactly what we had hoped for.

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    1. Our spring has been here and there....at least the snow we had was short-lived, although there's a chance we'll have more of that white stuff for Easter Sunday.

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  11. Happy belated birthday!!! I love all your colors! I can't believe how cold it got over the weekend. I thought spring was finally on it's way!

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    1. We're supposed to get snow on Easter Sunday! My poor crocus and daffodils may be in trouble...

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  12. Hope you had a blast on your birthday!

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  13. OMG--you are all of those bright colors. Just too adorable. You seem fun to get to know!

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    1. Ha ha! I jokingly say, "go bright or go home" is my mantra ;-)

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  14. Happy belated birthday! Always love your workout style such great colors

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  15. Happy belated Pi birthday!!! Love all of your bright workout wear!!!

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  16. I can't believe you guys have snow! The temperatures definitely dropped over the past few days - from the 80s into the 40s - so spring ended pretty quickly, but that's about it.

    Great week!

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    1. Our spring is supposed to nose-dive (again) tomorrow...and they're predicting snow on Easter Sunday! Crazy!!

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  17. We were supposed to have flurries but they passed us by.

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    1. Our snow didn't stick around for very long on Sunday....but more is on the way...

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  18. Happy happy birthday! Looks like a fun week for sure! You and those stairs- amazes me! You must have sent some of that cold weather here- I thought we were half way to summer and then it was a windy 50 degrees this morning- brr! Have a great week and enjoy March madness!

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    1. March Madness has certainly been maddening! Busted brackets all over the place!

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  19. Thankfully the snow missed us! Like it did almost all year. Snow storms on the first day of spring are pretty much the norm here, and while we've certainly been getting those cold temps and wind, no snow. I'm a happy girl.

    Those cupcakes look divine!

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  20. We were worried about some snow here, but got lucky and the precipitation moved out.

    My legs are cold just looking at you running in shorts in that weather! Brr... I'm a big fan of back to back long runs on occasion. They really teach you how to run on tired legs. I do it every other week or so when I'm in training.

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    1. The back to back runs really felt great. I should do them more often, at least once in awhile during the week (when the miles aren't crazy).

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  22. Happy belated birthday! I love all of your fun and colorful outfits. The socks from Tuesday are so fun!

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    1. Those socks were a bday present, so they have a lot of sentimental value ;-)

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  23. I loved this colorful post!! I always love seeing your pictures :) Happy belated Birthday and Pi day, I honestly don't know how I missed it :( I hit the dam steps this past week only once it's 103 steps and I thought of you. I do not know how you do all those flights!!! I need to incorporate more in my regular routine! Thanks lady for linking up with us!!

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    1. Yes, get your buttocks on those stairs. Even just once every other week would be a great addition to your training (they are like hill work on steroids!)

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  24. Such fun to have your birthday on Pi day! I love the idea of running 3.14 miles for Pi day! Love all of your festive colorful outfits!

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    1. Thanks! I have always liked the time of year when my birthday happens...the change of season, daylight savings time, and now the whole Pi Day thing ;-) Lots to celebrate!!

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  25. happy belated birthday! love the tradition of 3.14 on your birthday :) For me it would have to be8.13...maybe I will start doing that!

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    1. I got the idea of 3.14 because I have seen so many Pi Day runs (real and virtual)...and I thought being it was also my birthday, well...it was a no-brainer ;-) I usually try to work in a "9-11 run" of some sort every year as well, whether it's 9.11 miles or 9.11 minutes.

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