Can You Say Daylight?

Can you say Daylight?

Somehow, over the course of the past couple weeks, it seems like the daylight has tripled in extended hours. And I'm not complaining.

Now, if only the temps would have a similar exponential increase...

All is well, though. Winter 2020 has been on the tame side, for the most part. It did get a little tricky this past week, though, even with the extra daylight.

Before we get into all 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 ;-)

So, here's what went down in my little world of fitness this week:

Not another Manic Monday
In keeping with my recent Monday ritual, I did some early-morning fasted cardio (hey, it's my coffee LOL, don't judge) and postponed the run until after work. The early morning saw a 1-mile power walk with Milly, 20 flights of stairs and 20 push-ups. After work - can I just say the extended daylight is intoxicating? - I did 20 flights of stairs, a 5K run and 20 more flights upon return. Oorah!

 Take-it-easy Tuesday
Just the minimums in the morning (20 minutes on the elliptical, 20 flights of stairs and 20 push-ups), but another outdoor adventure after work. I went for an exhilarating 2-mile walk around the college campus...the sky may have been a bit cloudy, and the air was a bit chilly, but the daylight was ever-so-bright.

Weekly #5at5 Wednesday
I met up with Barb for our weekly early-morning adventure. I sandwiched the 5-miles in between 10 flights of stairs before/after. Temps were cold (yes, I'm still in Iowa, and it IS still Winter), but there was another Arctic-ish blast headed our way, so we knew the single-digit temps were the warmest we'd be feeling for a few days.

Stuck Inside Thursday
 As forecast, the temps started a rapid decline Wednesday, and the snow fell all day. By Thursday morning, the air temps were at -7F (with a -32F feels-like). I managed a quick 20-minute snow-throw set outside (for a warm-up), and then got busy with a brick workout (inside) of 20 stair flights/2-mile inclined power walk with Milly/20 more stair flights. There may have also been some push-ups (for the cool-down). It also was #ThankfulThursday. Let me just say I'm quite thankful for the availability of photo filters in helping make another boring treadmill pic a little less boring.

Just-The-Bare-Minimums Friday
As I said on Instagram and Facebook, "From my heart to yours, HaPpY VaLeNtInEs Day!" I kept things to the bare minimum for Friday...inclined power walk (one mile) sandwiched between some stairs (two sets of 10 flights). And a few push-ups...can't forget the push-ups!

Fighting-the-Elements Saturday
Although the morning was still cold, the above-freezing temps were a good 60F warmer than Thursday's windchill. Also, just before race time, the sunshine broke through the clouds. That said, the wind was strong (20mph), my nose was like a running faucet (sorry for the TMI), and there was something "off" with my right hip (it felt like it was oddly out-of-joint?). All made for a hard-fought morning on what would have been a relatively fast, flat and easy race course. I did manage a 3rd place AG (and Barb got 1st place in her AG!), but it didn't come easy. Stay tuned, I'll be rehashing the race recap in a couple days.

Sunday-Sunny-Sunday
Although the hip (joint? flexor?) was feeling much better, my gut told me to take a pass on a recovery run in the wee hours. The hubs and I took Max for a 2-mile outing before church, and he was ever-so-exited! The sunrise was so beautiful, and the cold (but calm) temps felt quite refreshing. I may (or may not) venture out for a short run later...or I may just go for another walk. I don't need any specific mileage right now, so it's just a matter of how things are feeling later in the day. Kind of nice to have that flexibility!

So, there you have it! Another interesting week, but I'm good with all that went down. The running was kept on the light spectrum (13 miles), but walking is staging a gradual increase...13 miles this week (thanks to the increased daylight after work). As per usual, there was one elliptical workout (20 minutes), and a 20ish minute upper-body session Thursday after work. The stair workouts are my main focus this month, and 210 flights were knocked out this week. The daily push-ups are still going strong (20/day most days) as well. Onward!

In case you missed out, here's what all went down on the blog this week:
Outside Is Alright
Running & Racing; Then & Now

In other news:
Friday Fashion Flair! Did you don the traditional red on Valentine's Day? Red is one of my favorite colors, but there's a part of me that likes to funk it up a little...so I added the white/black cheetah print cardi and a multi-patterned scarf. Why not? As always, you're welcome to join me on Fridays...post a pic on Instagram, grab the hashtag (#FridayFashionFlair) and be sure to tag me (@runningonthefly).

Every year, I dig this pic out of the archives....I made it way back when I first launched my running page on Facebook. That's back when I was still wearing all things Nikey. Maybe I should make an updated pic featuring all of my Brooks kicks?

As mentioned, I'm doing a lot of training on the stairs this month. Not only have the stairs been a great asset to my fitness, they are a key part of the Fight for Air Climb. I've done the Climb since 2013, and it's an event that's very near and dear to my heart. I know a lot of peeps who  have successfully quit smoking, but there are many others who are still fighting that battle and/or lung disease. My late MIL suffered from COPD in her final years, as well. I have a fundraising page (HERE), for those who are interested in supporting my efforts with the American Lung Association.

Enough about me...

How was your week? Are you noticing a lot more daylight, too? Still able to get outside, or did you have to hibernate indoor a little this week? Any racing over the weekend? Big events coming up?

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