Saturday, February 3, 2018

Back in the Training Mode




Ah, it feels good to be back!

My off-season officially came to a close this past week, and my Back in the Training Mode season became a reality. Here's what all went down:


Monday
As part of the Buprees & Planks & Push-ups Challenge, Monday was the final day of burpees and it was a grand endeavor --> can you say 100 burpees? I did them in sets of 20, interspersed with planking, and felt absolutely giddy with excitement upon finishing that feat. That was workout #1 for Monday.
#giddy
Also on deck for Monday was my #nevermissaMonday run. The temps weren't terrible (but they weren't warm either). Although I weathered 40 continuous days of Streaking (in some frigid sub-ZERO temps), I am done with the extreme cold. I'm not gonna retire from outdoor running (ha! never!), but I really am ready for warmer conditions. That said, I opted to hang with 'Milly for a couple miles in the afternoon.
Nothing grandiose but the smile is actually genuine
Tuesday
Pretty much a rest day. I did the final plank for the BPP Challenge, and that's all she wrote.

Bed head planking...
Wednesday
It had been awhile since my friend, Barb, and I have knocked out a #5at5 (five miles at 05:00 AM). Lucky for us, the temps were ever so mild and the blue/blood moon was ever so bright. The 04:20 wake-up was a bit of a struggle, but the run felt great.
go bright or go home, especially in the wee hours
Later, that afternoon, I finished up with the final set of push-ups for the BPP Challenge. A lot of people think a workout requires a gym, or at the very least, workout clothes. Well, not so for me. With Max as my witness (and coach), I did those final 100 push-ups at home in my work clothes (in sets of 20).
that's 95, 96, deeper, 97, DEEPER, 98...99...100!
Thursday
How about another stair workout? And what say we add in some intervals of supermans and burpees, you know, just for fun?

How does this sound?
*10 supermans
*10 flights of singles
*10 flights of doubles
*5 flights of triples
*10 burpees
***repeat for a total of three sets**

This stairway circuit netted me 30 total supermans, 30 total burpees, 75 total flights of stairs, about 30 minutes of time, and a thoroughly productive sweat session. Mission accomplished.

Another stairway workout to add to the roster
Friday
Not a lot on tap for Friday, other than the 30 squats for the new SST Challenge (see down below). It also was Wear Red Day (in support of women's heart health), so why not honor that in my workout clothes?
30 weighted squats...dressed in red
Saturday
In addition to a 5-miler next weekend, and a 10K a month later, I also have a half marathon happening on March 17th. In other words, it's time to start upping my weekly mileage a bit and extending my long runs each weekend. Barb and I met up at 8:00 for a 7-mile adventure. My weather app showed it was 28F (feels like of 18F) when we started and it was 31F (feels like of 21F) upon completion. Granted, that's only an increase of 3-degrees, but with the lack of wind, it felt much warmer. I was blatantly over-dressed, but the run felt surprisingly effortless despite the massive sweat fest at play.
seven miles = 2018 distance PR! (It's the little things, right?)
Sunday
Winter certainly returned with a vengeance overnight. Since all I needed was a short recovery run, and was really craving a nice sweaty run in a tank top and shorts, I opted to fire up 'Milly and show her some more love. I even made it through those two miles without any music. Don't worry, my affection for the great outdoors still trumps any "feel good" feelings I have for the treadmill.
Image may contain: 1 person
We all know that treadmill miles count double, right?
So, that's my first week back in the "training mode". Total mileage (Monday-Sunday) clocked in at 16 miles. My January miles came in at 53, which was perfect considering it was my off-season and I intentionally scaled back on the running.  Over all, I'm quite content with the variety of my workouts. I think the variety of cardio has greatly enhanced my endurance, and the strength-training and stair-climbing are working wonders on my overall fitness.

In case you missed them, here's my posts from last week:

In other news:
***With a new month in the works, I have some new goals to help me keep my focus. I'm taking part in a new challenge, the Supermans, Squats, and Twists Challenge (also hosted by Rachel). I spent some time and tweaked my workout plan to include those particular exercises, as well as account for adequate rest/recovery time. As usual, this is more of a guide than a carved-in-stone plan...I plan to modify and/or switch some workouts around if need be. 
February is gonna be fun!
***Did you catch my #FridayFashionFlair post on Instagram? Friday, as mentioned above, was Wear Red Day, and I gladly played along. Besides, red is one of my favorite colors, why not highlight it on such a significant day? As we know, heart disease is rampant; a simple gesture of wearing red brings awareness to this reality. As always, you're invited to play along with me on Fridays...post a pic of your outfit, use the hashtag (#FridayFashionFlair), and drop me a tag (@runningonthefly). It's fun to see my fitness-minded friends in non-fitness gear.
Go red!
***Last of all, I officially registered for my seventh Fight for Air Climb this week. Affiliated with the American Lung Association, the Climb happens in numerous venues across the Untied States. I'll be climbing in Des Moines, IA on April 8th. Care to join me? Or donate to the cause (my fundraising page is HERE)?
six years of climbing and fundraising for the American Lung Association
How was your week? Were you as happy as me to see January come to an end? Any big plans for February? How's your spring training shaping up?

I'm linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap. This weekly check-in is such a great place to connect with fellow fitness-minded peeps. Please join us! 

By the way...are you following me on social media? You can find me at these various platforms:
Let's connect : Facebook Instagram  Pinterest Twitter

52 comments:

  1. Rachel wanted me back in training mode next week, but it just wasn't meant to be.

    That photo of you & Max is too cute!

    The weather over here this weekend has been pretty extreme. Very cold yesterday, super windy today, flurrying again -- yet we don't have much snow on the ground. I wish it would stay that way but I doubt it will.

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    1. We had a little bit of snow Friday afternoon, it looked really pretty but not much of it stuck around. We do still have the cold temps, though. Not fun.

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  2. Max is the cutest coach ever. Congrats on finishing that challenge, starting another and getting back into training mode. It's gotten hard for me to get up extra early on weekdays. Thankfully, I need to get up by 5:40-5:45 (on the street by 6:00) in order to run 5 miles. I'm not sure I could do 4:30. LOL. Very impressive! I'm sure you'll do great with your 7th Stair Climb. Thanks for linking!

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    1. Max just constantly keeps us smiling. Honestly, all the stars, moons, and planets perfectly aligned when we rescued him....I cannot imagine a more perfect dog ;-)

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  3. Yay for the kickoff of training and a 5at5! It's always exciting to get started! Max is super cute! :)
    and I love your go red outfit!

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    1. It was funny...I have done so many #5at5's, but when my alarm went off last week, I was like...WHAT??? Funny how soon we forget those early mornings, but how quickly we can jump back into the routine.

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  4. Your on season doesn't look much different from your off season, LOL! I'm sure it will be fun to get back into race mode. And yes, I am ready for winter to go away.

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    1. It does feel good to have some "real" distance events looming on the horizon. I always try to keep a good 5-6 mile base run as the norm, so upping the mileage for a 13.1 is not really much of an adjustment.

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  5. Looks like a good first week of training! Its definitely important to have some variety in workouts. Nice job with those 100 burpees!

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    1. Oh gosh, variety is the key for me! Not only do my muscles need it, but my mind does as well ;-)

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  6. Reading your weekly schedule for the challenge and my brain just clicked on how to adjust my plans to fit it in as well. I'm glad to have missed out on the previous challenge (never burpees) but looking forward to this one.

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    1. ha ha ha...I never thought I'd ever NOT hate burpees, but doing them for a month kind of got me to come around. I still do not love them, by any degree, but I do see the value in doing them now.

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  7. I still can't believe you called that your "off season"! You are so dedicated to those workouts!

    I too participated in wear Red day at work!

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    1. I guess my "off-season" was more in reference to running than anything LOL The weird tweak in my ankle feels much better due to the intermittent non-running days, so that deems my January a success ;-)

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  8. 100 burpees is no joke! I'm glad February is here - I hope it brings some warmer weather.

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  9. I have a maybe half in March so I guess I should be in training mode. But it just so fanned cold.

    I may do the challenge but I have so little strength.

    Kudos to you. I have never even tried a burpee.

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    1. I was surprised how much easier the burpees became as the month wore on. Mind you, they are NOT easy, but are not as difficult as I'd imagined.

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  10. Kudos to you for completing that challenge in January - you are a rockstar!

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    1. ha ha...those burpees were TOUGH. I think they may have put hair on my chest...

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  11. Yes, I was glad for January to end. I feel like the year got off to a rather slow (and incredibly chaotic) start for me. I'm ready to train for something...anything...and really just have fun running again. It's been a while. Good job completing your challenge in January!

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    1. I agree....it does feel good to just have fun running. Coming back from injury/aches/pains, fun-running is such a blessing.

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  12. I missed the blood moon. We had clouds, and I tried to look for it during my whole commute, but I didn't even see a glimpse of it.

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    1. The moon was so bright! We totally didn't need any extra lighting.

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  13. I am so impressed by all your stair workouts -- I'm sure that's why you do so well with that Climb! I feel pressure to run more/longer now, but I'm trying to hold back until my PF is more better. ;-)

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    1. I know the temptation to dive right back in....but it's worth it to wait it out a bit if you can ;-)

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  14. I would love to train for and do one of those stair climbs sometime. I know they are a lot harder than they look!

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    1. Well, miss Deborah...maybe you oughta consider visiting Iowa in April....

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  15. Congrats on finishing the BPP challenge - you totally rocked it! I'm happy with my January mileage but would love to add a few more miles in February.

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    1. Oh gosh...the BPP Challenge was intense...espcially the final week!

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  16. Does Max fish in your hair while you do pushups until he pulls out the hair tie? Or is that just Ozzy's jam? All the best with your return to training!

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    1. Max leaves my hair alone...but certainly gets all in my space when I'm trying to do stuff LOL

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  17. I am so ready to move on to warmer temps- I have been doing a lot of online videos and planks and pushups and squats, while waiting for these temps to get better- today is perfect, so I feel it coming!

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    1. And we're getting upwards of 6-7 inches of fresh snow in Iowa! UGH! I want my summer back....

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  18. Your coach is very cute...though I think he may be wondering why you don't just lay on the floor with him!

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  19. Another great week for you Kim! That January challenge was no joke but I finally got caught up. I'm enjoying this month's challenge so much more since it's sans burpees! Lol However, I will try to throw some in every now and then because, to be honest, they really got easier by the end of the month... shhh, don't tell Rachel I said that!!

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    1. Shhh! I agree...they got easier as the challenge wore on...

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  20. You started with a bang, great job! And those planks...I don't think I'll ever be able to plank longer than a minute, let alone 5!

    I"m starting to wish I had a treadmill at home for those super cold days...what a long winter we've had so far!

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    1. Oh, I bet you could plank longer than a minute! Just try adding 5-second increases every couple days.

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  21. I have to try that stair workout. And Max seems like a great coach :)

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    1. Max is a pretty good coach...but he certainly like dictating and NOT doing LOL

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  22. Way to go with your challenge! 100 burpees and a 5 minute plank! ! Awesome.

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  23. You are amazing! What an awesome week! I am tired just looking at all you have done!

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  24. You lost me at 100 burpees! I can't even ...

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  25. I love seeing your posts in the Facebook challenge! You have really inspired me to up my game! Keep up the awesome job!

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  26. Great first week back in training mode! Love all your stairs workouts. One day they will actually motivate me to do one of my own. :D

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  27. 100 burpees!!! That's amazing! I love it!

    And that red puffy vest is so cute, too. I always see vests, and then just don't know what I would do with them. I need to make one happen, soon.

    You had a great January. Mine went really well, and I am excited for February. I've already started off with a race, and I have two more this weekend. Can't wait.

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  28. Sounds like a great training week. I'm in awe of the 100 burpees. Honestly I always feel like I can do them but I fail miserably when I try. They make me so weak and tired! You even ran after them! I could never!

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  29. Doesn't it feel amazing to be back "in training mode"? I'm always excited about the start of a new training cycle. And if you're able to do 100 burpees, I have no doubt that you'll be able to crush any goals that you set for yourself.

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  30. I get up at 4:20 too. Goodness gracious, by Wednesday it's such a trouble!

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