Sunday, January 15, 2017

Because Runners Walk, Too


This week's theme? More walking (and that's alright).

Although I did more running (in terms of mileage) than walking, I did spend more time with 'Milly than I did outdoors. By the way, do you know who 'Milly is? She's my nemesis and she's a treadmill (more info on last week's blog post, I Named her 'Milly).

The polar vortex temps continued, and so did the icy road conditions. As I have said, the freezing cold temps are downright evil, but not having any snow to show for it makes it feel THAT much colder.

On Monday, I had no grandiose plans for mileage (via running) since I had run both Saturday and Sunday....but I still have that #nevermissaMonday ritual to oblige. I decided to get creative (sort of) and power walked a mile, ran a mile, then power walked another mile...all in the company of 'Milly  (and it wasn't totally awful). But...a word of caution...setting the incline on 3 for the warm-up will make your 10-minute "easy" running pace not quite as easy as when the incline is (usually) only on 1 or 2) ...just saying.


I stayed inside both Tuesday and Wednesday, cranking out over 90 total minutes of glute work with 'Milly. How is it glute work? When you set the incline on 4 and 5, and have the speed on 4.3 (which is just under a 15-minute pace)...your glutes will work. Oh yes, indeed, and you will feel it for the next several days.



...yes! you can plank on the 'mill!
Finally, I got my booty outside on Thursday. I met up with my friend, Barb, at "our" lake after work. There was still some wind, but we were pretty well sheltered from it on the trail. And, there was quite a bit of ice (that's what happens when you get a crazy rainfall the day prior and the ground is too frozen for any of the water to absorb). There not only was ice on the cement path, but also in several patches along the trail as well.

Can you see the ice on the trail behind us?
Friday(late afternoon) had us scurrying to a swim meet to watch our son and support his team. The meet went long, and we stopped for pizza on the way home. We rolled back into our driveway around 10:00. Not wanting to shirk from my #30minutesofdailycardio, I changed clothes (before I could change my mind), and fired up 'Milly for almost 40 minutes. Mission accomplished.

Sometimes it's not "Do or Die," but "Get It Done"

Barb and I met up around 7:30 Saturday morning and rekindled our 5-mile route. We'd spent many early mornings (meeting at 5:00AM), while training for Route 66, and running this route. It felt great to be back doing our thing, but also a bit eery to be doing it without a big race on the horizon.  But, it was so liberating to be back outside, running "long" on a Saturday morning.

And I ended with a Chataranga plank
Sunday, we were on the lookout for a big ice storm to hit. All the power walking on the 'mill (with that high incline) has made my glutes and hammies a little angry. Since there was no "need" to run (and a few sore muscles craving some recovery time), I elected to head out for a walk after lunch. The air was cold, but calm. It's amazing how much of a game changer the wind can be.

Because runners can walk, too...and a little hint of lipstick can't hurt
So, how did the week pan out? A total of 13 miles run, and many days I surpassed my goal of 30 minutes of cardio. Not bad, huh! I'm also doing 5-minutes of daily planking. Not necessarily 5-minute planks, but 5-minutes (cumulative) of planking each day.

...and I have a few others joining me. Tricia (from MissSippiPiddlin) taunted me with this pic on Instagram.... so I responded LOL




In other news:
Our little Max had his first-ever (we believe) dental appointment. We rescued Max almost two years ago, so we don't know his prior dental care...but our vet recommended some TLC and attention to his teeth. So, Max's smile has been "cleaned and brightened."

How about those pearly whites?

My #FridayFashion post on My Instagram page was well received! Post your Friday outfit and tag me!

burgundy and chevron? Yes, please!
I'm working on building my My Pinterest account and my followers, and sharing most of my Instagram posts as well as blog posts. Are you following me on Pinterest? Also,be sure to check out last week's other posts, Working out...at Work? and Five recent #HASHTAGS.

So, talk to me! Do you do a lot of walking (when you can't run)? Care to join us on the #plankwithme challenge (if so, be sure to tag me!)? Have you ever had your dog's teeth cleaned?

As usual, I'm linking up with Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap. Do head over and check out the hostesses and all the awesome blogs to see what everyone has been doing!



51 comments:

  1. You had a very successful week of meeting your goals! I need to return to walking my dogs. They love it and I do too. I've just been slacking. As the days get longer, it should get easier. You chose a very appropriate name for the old TM. I never named mine (except maybe The Dust Collector?). Maybe the new owners have. LOL. Thanks for linking, Kim. I do love that Chevron scarf!

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    1. Thanks, Holly! Poor old 'Milly has collected a lot of dust in her day. This is the most action she's seen in a long time....maybe ever!

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  2. Oh, I don't follow you on pinterest. What is your name on there?

    I've been trying to mix things up on my treadmill as well. Running on the TM is not easy for me and I feel like I am always going at a slower pace than what I would do outside!

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    1. I think the treadmill is actually harder than running outside! Yes, you can set the speed (and incline), but that does not allow for fatigue setting in,etc. and I don't think it's good to be forcing oneself to run at a faster-than-what-feels-good pace if you're already tired...that's gonna mess with your form, etc.

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  3. Another great week for you! I'm going to put a Pinterest follow thread in our Fitness Blogger group on Tuesday, so you should get a lot of followers then! I need to learn more about Pinterest. One of my posts from December was repinned a lot, and that is now my most popular blog post ever! I have no idea how that happened.

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    1. I agree, I'm trying to figure out Pinterest a little better. I simply cannot do Twitter (other than "sharing" what I'm already posting elsewhere). Facebook is really screwing with most of us page admins (unless we pay for ads...which I refuse to do LOL)

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  4. Just followed you on Pinterest! I am also trying to work on using Pinterest and its a slow process to learn and get it right i think.
    Great job keeping up with your workouts! If I had a treadmill I would probably walk more, but not sure about that. Running with a high incline sounds really tough!

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    1. The high incline is tough,but it does not simulate "real" inclines because it never gives you a decline. But, it does make for great glute work LOL

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  5. I thought about you the other day bc I had to use the mill due to ice. I hate to admit it that it wasn't as bad as I expected. Love that you are still going strong with the planking. I kind of fell off the wagon with that but could jump back on!

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  6. I love all your outfits - so coordinated. Blue's my favorite but that purple looks good to. We had to get our Beagle's teeth cleaned once or twice but our boxer's teeth never needed it. I'm going to the dentist myself this week. :-D

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    1. I had no idea dogs' teeth needed dental care! We have been brushing Max's teeth, but not super consistently. We're gonna be a lot more disciplined about it now.

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  7. I'm already a Pinterest follower. Go me! I was all set to follow your lead and head out on a nice walk today (cuz it was gorgeous yesterday!) alas we are iced over. WTF?

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    1. We're iced over, too. I did a wicked slip & split with Max....of course it was my questionable hammy that got super-extended. UGH. It feels better now, but I was afraid to stand up after it happened. Max just sprinted back to the door.....

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  8. Yep! I had knee problems over the summer, and I did a lot of biking, but I also met up with our run club 3 times a week and walked. Just gotta keep moving!

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    1. I'm not much of a treadmill fan, but I can handle speed walking on it (with a hefty incline). And, yes, walking is so good for the body!

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  9. Ice is the worst!

    Gizmo's teeth were cleaned many years ago, but I think both he & Lola could use a cleaning. So darn expensive & nerve wracking, though.

    We (that's me and the dogs) walk most days. Sometimes it's too cold for them, though. Although apparently it's not too cold for Bandit if he's running!

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    1. I was amazed how white Max's teeth were when we picked him up!

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  10. Great post! Did the ice storm hit? We didn't get anything in MN - yet at least. :) But the roads continue to be icy anyway. Lots of slow miles around here.

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    1. Yes, the rain finally started around 8:30 last night, and we have ice everywhere now. And, it's gonna be in the 40's on Wednesday LOL

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  11. I've been trying to get creative in engaging my glutes. I will definitely be using your incline trick!

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    1. The glutes certainly get some decent action with the incline!

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  12. Holy Planks, Batman! I love that you have a weekly meet-up with a runner friend; I gotta try that. I'm usually a solo runner, but I think I'd love one day a week running with my buddy.:)

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    1. My friend and I do a lot of races together, so it just makes sense to do a lot of our training runs together as well. Of course, we always have to have a lengthy chatter session while we're in motion ;-)

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  13. Great job on your miles and planks! I'm glad you got to run outside with your friend too! I do walk some and did a little power walking this morning. I do need to plank more! Hope you have a great week!

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    1. I'm glad I discovered the magic of planking! I"ll do planks over crunches any day!

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  14. It just looks terribly, bitterly cold there ..I would just die ...and would also be doing all of my miles indoors on Milly too! You inspire me to bundle up and head outside when it's cold ..although, right now, we're in the 70s! Whoop whoop!

    I'm enjoying this 5 minute plank challenge and going to continue it ...I can tell it's helping to strengthen my core ..which needs it terribly!

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    1. Thanks for planking with me! It's great to see everyone knocking out all those minutes "on the floor!"

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  15. Your Instagram planking posts with Tricia and Karen were fun to watch. I may not have been posting, but I was planking with you guys!

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    1. awww...you should join the party! Post a silly planking pic and tag us ;-)

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  16. I have to confess I don't like walking unless I'm actually going somewhere. Thankfully I have other indoor workout options, so I hit those up when I'm not running.

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    1. ha ha ha....I'm kind of the same way with running! The 'mill is such a series of repeating moves...that take me nowhere...

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  17. Awesome week! I have to say that I love my 'Millie :) More boring than outside, but you can get a serious workout, not to mention I love being able to control the timing and intensity of my mills :) And you guys are hysterical with your planks! I'm trying to be better about those this year!

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    1. Oh, the 'mill is definitely much more boring than outside! It makes me feel like I'm being forced against my will to conform to the "programmed" speed, etc. Ugh. It's just not my gig, but I do my best to tolerate it (in small increments) ;-)

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  18. That's a pretty successful week. I'm starting to do a little more walking since I have to take it easy on the running at the moment. Oh Pinterest - so addictive some times!

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    1. I go in phases with Pinterest...but I'm trying to get more consistent with it. It's a great resource for almost everything!

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  19. Walking is what got me started on this whole fitness thing! I love power walking, and it's a lot less stress on my joints and feet than running. But I was proud of myself for doing half and half on Sunday. I fast walked 30 minutes and then slow ran 30. Outside because it wasn't too cold. Have a great rest of the week!

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    1. We're supposed to get warmer temps on Wednesday (which will melt all of our ice), then I can head back outside ;-)

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  20. Aw, what a great week! I did a nice walk this week, but we don't do it often. The pugs hate going for walks (could they BE any lazier?) and when we are all home, it's too hot. In those cases, we'll just ride our bikes.

    I'm working on my planks, but I haven't managed 5 minutes in a day, yet. That feels like so much, but I guess a few of the planks I'm doing on a normal day wouldn't be too hard? What's the harm in trying.

    Keep up the good work with milly! You are definitely committed!

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    1. I don't get much cardio time with Max...although he can speed walk, he also loves to stop & sniff every 20 seconds. I bet you could easily get 5 total planking minutes!

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  21. Girl, I have ZERO shame in walking :) Sometimes my legs just don't want to run.

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  22. I love walking and often when coach has 30 minutes of cardio on my plan i just get out there for a power walk! It does use different muscles than running. Great week! Love the Friday fashion posts!

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  23. I enjoy walking but I have to admit that I don't do it nearly as much anymore, especially since I live in a neighborhood that's a lot less walkable. Still, it's no excuse!

    I can only get to 2 minutes planking...but I'm still thinking about working my way to 5! Every minute is still a struggle!

    Those workouts on the treadmill sound great. I need to take more advantage of the incline!

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  24. Another great week for you! Kudos to you for staying active even with how cold its been outside. Its always hard to stay motivated when its super cold.

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  25. Walking is still a great form of cardio! No shame in slowing things down sometimes! Especially when conditions aren't ideal for running. Seems like you had a great week!

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  26. Ha I do this hurry up and change clothes or roll out of the bed not giving myself time to talk myself out of it! It's the little things we do to not break our dedication right, no matter how silly! I followed through with the 5-minute planking I committed too. Even when in the RV traveling. I told ya but it is quite the core workout holding a plank in a moving vehicle! Thank you for the shout out! My trainer at the gym got tickled at me coming in with my sign I had made for you! She doesn't get the whole social media motivation thing, but I'm forcing her to learn lol.
    I'm back at my favorite local campground and will be doing lots of walking around the loops some with my dogs some without. I always get in more steps when I'm out there. Have a great week Kim!

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  27. Always love your pictures! Max's smile does look lovely! And hoepyou have another great week. You always inspire me with how much you pack in.

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  28. I just followed you on Pinterest! Interesting to pin your IG posts. I need to consider that, I think.

    Wow! You really got creative with your workouts with 'Milly! :-)

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  29. Ooh next time I'll join in on a plank challenge, I didn't know you were doing one! I need to get in better overall shape- I tend to run a LOT and neglect other kinds of workouts. This time I've started doing CycleBar and OrangeTheory Fitness so hopefully those cross training workouts stick for me. Can't blame you for staying inside- if I had that cold of temps I would too!

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  30. Great week! I need to get to planking. I usually walk a lot in the summer when the days are longer and I can walk the dogs after work.

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