Outside Is Alright

Winter outside? It's alright with me...at least it was this week.

It was a cold week, no doubt. At times, the wind was crazy. We also got snow (again) on Friday (it was our fifth consecutive Friday with the white stuff coming down in some capacity).

More importantly, it was my third consecutive week of winter running exclusively outside (Sorry, not sorry, Milly). In my book, that's a victory.

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 ;-)

Anyways, here's a look at what down in my fitness world this week:

Never miss a Monday
The past few Mondays, it's been kind of cold and damp in the wee hours. I've done a stair workout in the morning, and postponed the run until after work. So, why mess with a good thing? This Monday's stair workout was the same as in Mondays past - 40 flights (done in sets of 20) with 40 push-ups mixed in (also done in sets of 20). I also did 1-mile (inclined) walk on the treadmill.

After work, the temps were still quite frigid. The sun had disappeared and the wind had taken on a life of its own...but the daylight was ever bright! Instead of the usual 2-miler, I changed things up and did a 5K for my #nevermissaMonday gig. All was well!

Another tri-Tuesday
In keeping with the theme of repeating, I did the same workout as the previous Tuesday. Kind of a triathlon of sorts, I started with 20 minutes on the elliptical, followed with a 1-mile (inclined) power walk with Milly, and finished with 20 flights of double steps.

Weekly #5at5 Wednesday
Holy Brrr, Batman! Momma N sure seems to be basking in the wind. I met up with Barb for our weekly early-morning 5-miler. We were quite jovial, enjoying the cold (but not too uncomfortable temps) until we made the turn at the halfway mark on our course....and had to fight the headwind for the final (almost) two miles.

Strength & Stair-work Thursday
Although I'm doing daily stairs (20 flights of doubles, daily, for February), I've been doing more focused stair work on Thursdays. I came up with a challenging circuit this week, mixing in some upper-body strength moves:

 4 sets:
*5 flights of doubles
*5 flights of triples
*15 upper-body (shoulder) reps
*5 flights of doubles
*5 flights of triples
*15 upper-body (arms) reps
*5 slow-mo push-ups

Doing the math, four sets of the circuit netted me 80 total flights of stairs, 8 sets of upper-body strength, and 20 total slow-mo push-ups. I ended with a 1-mile walk outside for a cool-down, literally. I also did a couple more (walking) miles on the treadmill in the evening...because, why not?

Just-the-minimums for Friday
Feeling the need for an active rest day, I did the bare minimums upon wake-up. My February Challenge had me doing the 1-mile power walk (with Milly), 20 stair flights (doubles) and 20 push-ups...all while my manicure dried.  I was totally fine with that.

Super Sunny Saturday
Another especially cold morning, Barb and I decided to wait until we'd have sunshine before meeting up for a run. And, sunshine we had! We joined forces at 7:15 and knocked out seven miles under the bright, blue sky. It's a good thing we had that sunshine, too, because the wind picked up in the final three miles, and blessed us with a nasty headwind for the final stretch. Thankfully, it "warmed up" to the mid-20F's by afternoon...I went for a 2-mile walk, and it almost felt Spring-like. Yeah, almost.

No sun Sunday
I'm especially thankful for Saturday's daylong sunshine, because there was thick cloud cover on Sunday morning. I headed out for an easy 2-mile recovery run only for Momma N decide to dump a bunch of precip on me, after I'd gotten 1/2-mile out. Nice! Well, the joke's on her because I decided to morph my run into a feel-good tempo endeavor instead. Glass half full, even with messy #rainhair to recoup before church. I guess my daily walk will be with Milly later (I know, first world probs).

All in all, a decent week. The running mileage was still pretty minimal (17 miles), but the walking had a slight boost (10 miles). There was one upper-body session (Thursday) and daily push-ups. As mentioned, I'm doing more focused stair-work this month, which is serving as my lower-body strength work. These are actual "intentional" stairs climbed, not the random ups-and-downs during the day. This week, I climbed 230 flights, mostly double-steps, but there were some triple-step climbs from Thursday's workout. Onward!

In case you missed out, here's what went down on the blog this week:
Winter: We Got This!
Not a setback, but a lesson in Gratitude
5 Fitness Hacks, Courtesy of the Stairs

In other news:
Friday Fashion Flair! Being it was National Wear Red Day (in support of women's heart health), and also a frigidly cold and snowy winter day, I was bundled up in a red t-neck sweater and a cozy plaid scarf. Pay no attention to the black flats sans socks LOL (I typically don't wear socks unless I'm wearing boots OR decked out in workout gear). 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).

Did you know Wednesday was National Girls and Women In Sports Day? I hope you celebrated!

Lastly, in the Good News category...this weekend, I learned that I was accepted into the ROAD iD ambassadorship program for 2020! I've owned (and worn) a ROAD iD wrist band for several years, so I'm excited to represent the company and help encourage others to take safety precautions when they're out and about. Stay tuned, I'll have a discount code to share soon!

#TeamROADiD

Anyways, enough about me....tell me something about YOUR week! 
Winter weather? Cold temps? Opting outside or keeping it inside? Did you wear red on Friday? Any racing over the weekend? 

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