Sunday, January 12, 2020

Yes, It Just Might Be Winter!



 Lest there be any doubt, I do believe Winter is officially here for awhile.

As much as I'd like to avoid it completely, it's my Iowa reality. At least now, after this week's crazy weather antics, I can just settle in for the season.

So far, it hasn't been too treacherous....


Before I get into the nitty gritty details, welcome to the Weekly Run Down!

I love hosting 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 noon on Monday. We love reading about everyone's 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...please don't link-drop & dash ;-)
Anyways, here's what went down this week in terms of fitness:

Monday - NMAM (#NeverMissAMonday)
As per usual, I started the week with a run. It had been awhile since I'd done a certain 2-mile route (that circled through the campus). The temps were cold (24F with a 15F feels-like), but the wind was minimal. The run felt good, and kind of flirted with a tempo-like pace. It would be great if all of those cold morning runs felt that effortless...but where's the fun in that?

Tuesday - ARRD (#ActiveRestRecoveryDay)

 I'm not sure how my Tuesdays morphed into a routine elliptical-themed day, but it's been working well. I usually stay out of the running shoes, but I still love a little (or a lot of) sweat to greet the morning. Twenty minutes with Ellie, and all was well.
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Wednesday - DWD (#DoubleWorkoutDay)
The forecast was showing really cold temps (with wind) for the early morning, and even more wind for Thursday morning. Barb and I decided to make our weekly #5at5 be a #5at4, and do it on Wednesday after work in the sunshine. Since I woke up early anyways (force of habit LOL), I decided to do a little HIIT workout on the stairway.

3 sets:
**10 flights of single steps
**10 flights of double steps
**10 flights of triple steps
**10 burpees
**20 inclined push-ups

If you do the math, that's 90 total flights of stairs, 30 burpees and 60 push-ups. The triple steps are done in somewhat of a slow motion, kind of mimicking a step-up...but instead of stepping back down, you continue upwards (for three additional "step-ups") to the top of the stairway. Ironically, the 20 push-ups act as a bit of a recovery move between sets. The three sets took me about 35 minutes, and there was plenty of sweat equity at play.
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Later...though the temps were chilly, and the wind pretty fierce, the sunshine was quite bright in the late afternoon. Somehow, that did make the frigid conditions a little less painful (except for the few segments when we did battle with the headwind). In my opinion, it still beats the treadmill.
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Thursday - NDNP (#NoDOMSNoProb)
After Wednesday's stair workout (and the 5-mile run later in the day), I anticipated there would be some DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) greeting me at wake-up...but they were a no-show. I still wanted to keep things on the easy spectrum, so I did 20 minutes on the elliptical. And planking. The daily planking is still a part of my morning routine, rest day or not.
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As the day wore on, the DOMS were still MIA, but the temps had climbed to the mid-50F's. I decided to lace up and head outside for a few miles, after work, to take advantage of the near-record high temps. Catching the full moon rising, just as I was finishing up, was a bonus!

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Friday - RFR (#ReadyForRest)
Guess what was there to greet me upon wake-up? The DOMS! They weren't crazy painful, but they definitely were present and accounted for. I knew a walk would help ease the discomfort, so I did an early morning walk around the campus...and caught the full moon on the other side of the sky.
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Saturday - LDT (#LetsDoThis)
Let me set the scene....(1) I'd let myself sleep-in (and I didn't wake before 7:30!), (2) the temps were bitterly cold and windy (and the streets were slick), and (3) I had my morning chai immediately after taking Max around the block (instead of doing my morning workout first). ALL the makings of a non-traditional morning for this chick. What's an out-of-sorts gal to do but an out-of-sorts expedition...on the treadmill. Mark the date (01/11/2020) as my first rendezvous with Milly for the decade. Five miles of running (with 1/2-mile walking for cool-down), check! I had to borrow the hubby's iPod and sneak in a couple of faster-paced intervals (miles 3 and 4), but I got it done. It wasn't beautiful, but it was bearable. I also had to commemorate the occasion with my own version of cryotherapy...because that's just what I do when I've served some time on the'mill. I don't have to embrace the cold to have a little fun with it, right?

Sunday - WII (#WinterInIowa)
Holy Brrr! The temps were still sub-freezing, but the air was pretty calm, so the hubby and I got out for a 2ish mile walk with Max before church. I don't have YakTrax (or spikes on my shoes), but this would have been one of the few times I would have benefited from them.  The streets (and sidewalks, everywhere) were still quite icy and slick. My legs got a great workout from the constant "stepping and gripping" required to keep oneself vertical. It did feel great to get back outside, though! After nearly 40 hours of being trapped indoors, that fresh air was euphoric!
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So, it was another active week and I'm happy with all that went down. Total running came in at 15 miles. Walking was meh (6 miles). Two decent elliptical workouts (40 total minutes). And, a pretty intense HIIT on the stairway (that also served as a lower-body strength session). I kind of bailed on upper-body strength...maybe I'll work that in later today (after our family dinner with all the kids). Yeah, maybe. Onward!

In case you missed out, here's what else went down on the blog this week:

Back to my Regularly Scheduled Winter
Five Fun Features from my recent Run Streak
Five 4 Friday - Current Hashtags

In other news:
Friday Fashion Flair! As mentioned, the temps did a major plummet on Friday. By the afternoon, it was sleeting and the wind was crazy. All the area schools let out early and all evening activities came to a crashing halt. Thankfully, I have a nice stash of keep-me-warm hand-knit items at my disposal...and this chunky grey infinity scarf served me well for the day. As always, you're invited to join the fashion party - post a pic of  your outfit on Instagram, grab the hashtag (#FridayFashionFlair) and tag me (@runningonthefly).

Did you know Wednesday was National Take the Stairs Day? I didn't realize what day it was until after my stair workout....I guess my subconscious was on-point!


Lastly, from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day, I not only run streaked but also participated in the #HolidaySweat challenge (affiliated with Fit Approach). Participants were encouraged to be active on a daily basis, for at least 10 minutes. It was a lot of fun seeing all the various ways we all keep active, especially during what can be a stressful and crazy busy time of year. My goody box arrived this weekend, and there's a lot of new-to-me products I received as a finisher in the challenge. FUN!

So that's a wrap! How did the week play out for you? Did you get hit with crazy weather, too? Any great workouts? Training for anything or maintaining? Upcoming races? Did you participate in the #HolidaySweat challenge?


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enter

48 comments:

  1. Thanks for taking winter this week, I believe it's headed my way now. I am stunned that you were on the tready yesterday while I was outside in 60 degree weather, how crazy is that!! LDT all the way.

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    1. Yes, I had to channel my "Inner Birchwood Pie" to get that treadmill thing to happen LOL I just hope I don't have to do that routine too much this winter...

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  2. Great week for you as per usual. Turns out our winter storm wasn't quite as ferocious as was forecast. We had the rain-ice-high winds and snow but nowhere near as much snow as they said. But yeah, winter is here, like it or not.

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    1. Ironically, our winter storm was worse than forecast LOL Honestly, I keep questioning why we live here with these psycho winter seasons :-)

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  3. I had no idea that Wednesday was as National Take the Stairs Day - that holiday has your name written all over it!

    Keep up the great work! You're killing it!

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    1. I know about Take the Stairs Day, but had totally forgotten it was already that time of year for it...until later that morning LOL Yes, it's a holiday I totally emulate :-)

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  4. You did not get the warm weather that we had on Saturday morning. 60 degrees. Crazy! Lots of rain though. Now we are blessed with a tiny bit of snow this morning to make everything look pretty and clean again. I like it! Good job on the workouts this week!

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    1. Our Thursday weather was really warm, albeit windy. I contemplated running in shorts (with my wind breaker) instead of the capris.

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  5. Love the stair work-out! Have you ever counted how many times you use the stairs on a normal day? It would be an interesting statistic. If you take 3 stairs at a time, you could add it to your HIIT program. ;-)

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    1. Taking the stairs 3 at a time is probably not doable for everyone, but I have long legs LOL I usually take the stairs 2 at a time for just routine trips up/down for household stuff...and I'm pretty absent-minded, so I do get a lot of stair-training done by default :-)

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  6. We had crazy wind yesterday and I had to wear my furry-lined trousers to volunteer at parkrun! OK today, not too cold, so I'm embracing that for the moment ...

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  7. That stair workout sounds super tough! Love the cryotherapy idea. I hate to tell you that it's 65 and sunny here and it's just odd. Especially bc we had snow a few days ago. Such is DC. Have a great week ahead

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    1. The cryotherapy thing started out as a joke last year, kind of a way to protest against winter LOL What I didn't foresee happening is just how refreshing it actually feels! And I'm the one who craves the heat LOL

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  8. Your weather takes a few days to get to us usually. We started out with freezing rain/snow, it got warmer, we had some more rain, then it got crazy warm (hello, mid 60s-- but also crazy windy).

    I thought I might miss the nice weather, since I was resting so much, but I was happy to get a long run in a skirt done today.

    I saw that Sweat pink haul! I should've participated! I think it's time to get more active there, I lurk a bit, but there are so many things to do, it's not easy.

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    1. I don't take part in every promo they do because, like you said, there are so many. This one was kind of a no-brainer for me, especially since I was already run streaking. It was a great challenge!

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  9. Nope, it's not winter here. At least not today. It's April or even May! I love your dedication -- even when you have to improvise from your usual plan.

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  10. Your Wednesday workout is crazy! In a good way. :) Temperatures got up into the 70s here in PA yesterday and the 60s today. My kind of winter!

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    1. I think I'd much prefer YOUR winter over what I'm currently experiencing :-)

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  11. Great job on all of your workouts this week!

    It's so crazy how it's super cold by you and we've been enjoying spring-like weather here in CT all weekend!

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    1. I think almost every post I've read has mentioned the crazy weather in some capacity. It's been unseasonably warm, crazy cold, mucho windy...all in the same few days!

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  12. Wow, from 50 to freezing, that's wild! Iowa weather is all over the place!

    Great job getting in 5 miles on the treadmill :)

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    1. Yes, Iowa weather is all over the place LOL That treadmill run...ugh. I know I can do them when I have no other option, but they definitely require a deep level of self-talk to get them started...

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  13. Our weather has definitely been up and down. Last week we had snow one day, regular weather the rest of the week and then it was spring-like on Saturday, which was great! We're back to wintry temps again today.

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    1. Isn't it crazy how much the weather has changed from day to day?

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  14. I would be happy if the mild winter we had continued! Not warm, but just chilly (not bitter) and not too much snow. Great job on your workouts last week!

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    1. I'm in total agreement with you...a mild winter would be ever so nice!

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  15. Funny, this might be the first week we've had something approaching normal winter weather, apart from being a bit dry! Do I spy an Altra top in your stair pic? I think I have the short-sleeved version...it's my favorite.

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    1. Yes, that is an Altra top! I had a gift card, so I got that a few years ago...I love it!

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  16. It's been a wacky winter so far! Yesterday and today saw 60 degrees for us. So weird! I'm sure we'll get your chilly weather within the next couple of days. I had to remind myself multiple times that it's still January and not April.

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    1. We had a brief April-like afternoon (Thursday), but it was short-lived....I just hope Winter 2020 is a little kinder to us than 2019 was...

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  17. The weather was so crazy this week! I was in Texas and it started out really warm and then got really cold. Meanwhile in Baltimore it got up to 70 degrees! The warmer weather is nice to help make it through the long winter.

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  18. I can't complain much about the weather--it's been a pretty mild winter so far!

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    1. ...until this weekend! It's snowing again, like crazy, as I type....

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  19. Another great week for you! Seems like the east coast had some mild weather while we had cold and icy. Well that was yesterday. Today it was pretty mild. How fun getting those fun treats for participating on the holiday challenge! Looks like you all got some great stuff.

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    1. Hasn't the weather been crazy? And we're not even halfway through January LOL

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  20. It was so funny to see your walk today with Max while I was in Central Park in a skirt and tee shirt. I'm not sure winter is here for real yet, but we're going to get a day or two. Love your vibrant colors against the winter. Any reason to push back

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    1. Yeah, the Midwest and East Coast were polar opposites, quite literally! Thanks, Cari!! That's my attitude exactly--to push back against winter. It's my coping vice LOL

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  21. I think National Take the Stairs Day is a holiday that was made just for you!

    The whole country has had crazy weather this week! Very cold in the midwest, my sister near Dallas had snow, while the east coast has been almost balmy!

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    1. I couldn't believe how warm it got on the east coast! I would have loved a taste of that in Iowa :-)

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  22. I love the photo outside in the shorts with that Winter weather! That definitely sounds like cryotherapy to me.

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    1. It's my coping vice LOL It's my subtle (?) way of protesting the cold weather...and it actually feels quite refreshing after a good sweat session :-)

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  23. It's so hard to believe it's winter with all the bright colors you wear. Surely does take away some of that bleakness! How does the pupper like the snow and the winter? Dogs can be funny with the weather.

    It was very cold here last week, but it's going to be in the 80s today. Florida has no idea what's going on lol.

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    1. Max loves romping in the snow, at least the first 10 times of the season LOL

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  24. Brilliant week as always! Your 10 flights of triple steps has given me a fantastic idea. I don't have stairs at home, but have lots of them at work. Thinking I could squeeze that in a couple of times a week!

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  25. good week! COLD but good! Not surprised the DOMS finally showed up though!

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