Monumental Moments (no thanks to Momma N)

What a monumental week!

Someone (ahem....ME!) had a milestone birthday, and Momma N did her damnedest to put a kink in the celebration. Care to hear what some of her antics were? Read on.....


Monday morning, we awoke to several inches of heavy, wet snow on the ground, and streets were a mess. School had a 2-hour delay and the snow plows were out in full force.  Having done a 9-mile run the previous day, I only needed a short shakeout run...and since it was Monday, well you know my routine:

#nevermissaMonday

Leaving snow prints.....

Tuesday, March 14th, was the big day. The milestone birthday. Without giving you any unnecessary (condemning) information, I'll disclose this much: This birthday had a big "0" on the end of it, and there may have also been a "5" in there as well (and not necessarily in that order).  Suffice it to say I am now in a new age group (in terms of running-related lingo) and we'll just leave it at that.

In recent years, March 14th has become known as Pi Day....you know, a tribute to that number (3.14) used to compute the area of a circle. Having been a total math dork as a kid, I would have really embraced that notion. Now days? I'm a runner dork, so I do a 3.14 "Pi run" every year on my birthday. This year was the coldest birthday I've had in several years (Thank You, Momma N), but there was ample sunshine and the wind was calm.

Another successful Pi Run

By Wednesday, a lot of the snow had melted and the temps were climbing into the upper 30's. I had the afternoon free, so I headed over to the outdoor stairway and got to work.

*30 flights of single-step running
*10 flights of side-step climbing (5 "facing" left and 5 "facing" right)
*20 flights of single step running
*a very s.l.o.w. walk back home

Yes, you can do outside stair work in the snow...

Thursday arrived, and the temps were still chilly, but the wind was very calm at 5:00a.m. My friend, Barb, met me for our #5at5 and we got it done under the bright moonlit sky.

Hopefully my last snow run for several months

Friday was St. Parrick's Day! I'm not Irish (well, maybe I'm 10% Irish), but I always dress as an Irish lass for the day. It's all about the green, right? My #fashionFriday post was a bit on the casual side, but it was a great opportunity to showcase the new hoodie (from the previous weekend's Leprechaun Chase). Side note--are you following me on Instagram or Pinterest ? Post a #fashionFriday pic and tag me!

go green or go home

Saturday (after a 4-1/2 hour roadtrip Friday afternoon) found me in Chicago, running the Wintrust Lakefront 10-miler with none other than Wendy (from Taking the Long Way Home). Momma N was having attitude (again), blessing us with 25mph wind (with occasional gusts), chilly temps (low 40's) and a cloudy  sky. Wendy and I ran the entire race together and we ran it consistent and strong (despite the fierce head wind in the final miles). Stay tuned...the recap is coming!

Yay for awesome running/blogger friends!!!

Sunday was still a bit chilly, but the sky was clear and the sun was shining. What's not to love about that? I met up with Barb and we knocked out three easy miles before church. Life is good!

Doesn't everyone wear the event jacket for the shakeout run the next morning? 

So, all in all, the week went over well, despite Momma N's efforts to rain (or snow or blow wind) on my parade. My weekly mileage (Monday - Sunday) came in at 22.14 miles. With this 10-miler behind me, I can officially say that marathon training has begun! The weekend long runs will be progressively getting longer, and there will be some periodic speed work (gulp) just for kicks and giggles.

My stair training will continue for a few more weeks as I prepare for the Fight for Air Climb (April 9th in Des Moines). If you're interested in donating to the cause, my fundraising page is HERE.

In case you missed them, here are last week's blog posts:
Back in the fleece
Leprechaun Chase-the 2017 Edition
High Steppin' in the SpRiNg

So, talk to me! Are you eager for spring to really arrive (bringing it's appropriate weather with it)?  Do you look forward to advancing into "new" (older, UGH!) age groups? Do you celebrate your birthday with a significant run?

As usual, I'm linking up with Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap

and Ilka and Angela for the Sunday Fitness & Food Linkup

Please, do your self a favor, and head over and check out these fabulous ladies and their blogs, and

join the link-ups!