Ending on a Bright Note

Warm, cold, rainy, hot, more rain, followed by more heat. I'm just glad all is well that ended well.

Such is this past week's story... not only for the weather, but also the running. There was all kinds of variety, and that's never a bad thing.


But first things first...

Welcome to the Weekly Run Down! I am so excited to host 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 Monday (noon). Please share your 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.

Anyways, here's the run down on what happened this past week:

#NeverMissAMonday
Temps were chilly upon wake-up (ummm, how does 38F sound?), but much warmer temps were forecast for the afternoon...so, I power-walked first thing, and postponed the run until after work. As I have said before, good things do come to those who wait. The after-work temps were perfection (in my opinion). My body was still feeling a bit sluggish from the weekend's 15-miles (courtesy of the relay)....but my #nevermissaMonday run was a success because (1) I had sunshine on my face, (2) the temps were fantastic, and (3) the workday lipstick was still intact.

#TakeiteasyTuesday
Nothing grandiose for Tuesday. I got out for an early morning walk and did some stretching. It is awkward, though, when you realize your post-walk stretch looks like a bad #raindance move. Spoiler - the rain DID come.

#WhackyWeatherWednesday
The rain had stopped,  but the temps were windy and cold. Barb and I opted to postpone our ritual #5at5 (five miles at 5:00 a.m.) until after work, so I did a short walk with the dog, and some upper-body strength work and planking instead.

As predicted, the after-work temps were more to my suiting....75F! Barb and I met up and knocked out a #5at5PM, and all was well. Even though my body was more exhausted than energetic, there was no way I was staying inside with those summer-like temps flirting with me.

#HIITmeUpThursday
It had been awhile since I'd done any focused lower-body strength work, so I incorporated a short, sweet, and (very) sweaty HIIT workout to get it done. This workout took less than 25 minutes, and there was plenty of #fastedcardio and #sweatequity banked first thing in the morning.

Three sets:
**10 flights of stairs (double-stepped)
**15 weighted sumo squats
**10 burpees
**20 plank jacks
**10 push-ups
**1-minute wall sit

#FinallyFriday
As predicted, the hammies and glutes were feeling a bit cranky as a result of the previous day's HIIT workout. Believe it or not, more rain was falling! I kept it inside and did some stretching, and later was able to get outside for a walk after work.

#SurpriseSunnySaturday
In keeping with the crazy weather, there was rain overnight and some showers early Saturday morning. My weather app showed a mid-morning window of "dryness," so I headed out for a run. There were a few light sprinkles falling, but they were gone before I finished the first mile. I had considered wearing a light jacket, but decided to leave the jacket at home. Smart move, as the temps continued to get warmer, the sun poked through the clouds and the humidity sky-rocketed (a result of all the recent rainfall). So, yeah. By the time I finished those seven miles, I was a major sweaty mess...but all that heat and humidity just got me excited for the summer season!

#SimplySunday
As for Sunday, we had more rain in the forecast! My app showed 40% chance of precipitation when I got up...well, that translates to 60% chance of  missing the rain LOL (#glasshalffull). I got out for a couple easy-paced recovery miles before church, and just enjoyed the quietness of having the streets/sidewalks all to myself. And, the flowers! I'm not recalling how many April showers we had, but the May flowers are looking pretty beautiful.

Despite the erratic weather, things worked out well in terms of variety of workouts. The running felt a little off (probably a combination of DOMS from last weekend's relay and the lower-body HIIT), but it got me 17 miles of fitness. Walking went well (on the dry days), with 14ish miles. It felt great to get back to doing HIIT and full-body strength training, as well.

In case you missed out, here's what happened on the blog this week:
Brrr...Brrr...Brrring on Spring, Please...
Walk Much?
Running Against the Wind - Market to Market Relay 2019 

In other news:
Did you catch my #FridayFashionFlair post on Insta? Cool temps, rain, and all kinds of gloom called for some bright colors, so I dug out a vintage sweater from my hand-knit stash. Turquoise and hot pink have long been favorite colors, because of their vibrancy, and they certainly canceled out the dreariness of the day.

I haven't talked much about this, but I have been on a "candy fast" for almost two full weeks. Mind you, there still is plenty of sugar in my diet, so this is merely a small step in scaling back. I inadvertently popped a peppermint Lifesavor (Thursday afternoon) as a breath-freshener measure...and didn't realize what I'd done until an hour later. My question...did this accidental breath mint incident count as candy? My local friends/family all say no, but what do you say?

Did I mention the crazy weather? Thursday afternoon, the temps got warm!

And, finally...if I may share a proud mom moment...this also happened on Thursday evening. The youngest daughter will officially graduate this summer with an AA degree, but her ceremony was this week. We're pretty proud of her for knocking out her AA in one year, and look forward to her next academic adventure...stay tuned...

So, that's a recap of all things fitness (and then some) from the past week. How was your week? Crazy weather, too? Great workouts? Any races? 

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