Windblown!

Wind, wind, and even  more wind!

Yep. It was a windy week, pretty much on a daily basis.

Thankfully, the temps were mild, and the precip was a no-show (in the daylight hours), so it wasn't all miserable. Just windy.

Before I give you the run down and all the 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 happened this week...

Never miss a Monday - Doubling Down
More of the usual Monday routine...stairs in the morning and running after work. We had 50 stair flights for breakfast, with a little creative mixing (alternating 10-flight intervals on the basement and  main floor stairways). Later, I ran a couple miles under the cloudy sky (with the wind), but the sun did poke through during the last mile.

 

Typical Tuesday - Elliptical and 20/20's
Recovery day ready, I knocked out 30 minutes with Ellie (my elliptical), along with 20 stair flights and 20 push-ups. Then, an evening of Big 10 basketball after work. Priorities.

Windy Wednesday - #5at5
Although I hadn't heard it, there was some overnight rain. The streets were wet (with a few spots of black ice) and the air was cold and damp. Oh, and there was a good breeze out of the West. Five miles with Barb for our weekly early-morning rendezvous.

A Thrillsome Thursday - Speed Work Reunion
I took a pass on the weekly HIIT and headed to the "sidewalk" for some early morning speed-training. I got there a little before 6:00, so I had almost full daylight! Anyways, a half-mile warm-up getting there (after 10 stair flights at home), 5 sets of back & forth (sprint/recovery) intervals, and the half-mile cool-down (heading back home) netted me three miles. Oh, and there was a rather spontaneous tuck & roll maneuver (on the cool-down run, as I was heading home), courtesy of my klutzy feet and a bad sidewalk. I'm not sure how my uncoordinated body instinctively executed that roll with such finesse, but a broken fingernail was the only casualty. I even did another 20 flights upon returning home. There was some wind, but the early morning wind was but a gentle breeze compared to the 30-mph wind that afternoon...glad I got the workout done bright and early!

Friday - (somewhat) Easy-Peasy Recovery
My legs were feeling a tad bit over-worked from Thursday's speed work, so 20 minutes of elliptical to the rescue (as well as a brief upper-body workout sandwiched in between some stair intervals). I've said this before, but I have doubts on how much of a "workout" I really get from the elliptical. I do get some serious cardio while flushing out the legs, though. I have yet to play with the settings much, so there's probably a lot more challenging stuff I could do, but this "recovery gig" works awesome for me.

Sunny Saturday - with a side of wind 
The hubby and I ran the Omaha Leprechaun Chase, which didn't happen until 4:00 Saturday afternoon. Have I mentioned the wind this week? It was a major force to be reckoned with at the Chase, which already blessed us with nonstop hills on a scenic course with numerous twists and turns and varied terrain (cement, grass, asphalt and gravel). It definitely was one of the hardest 10K's I've ever done, but such a fun event! Stay tuned...I'll be recapping the race in a couple days.

Sensational Sunday - International Women's Day!
This simple little 5K, with an hour less of sleep, encompassed three things: (1) recovery run from Saturday's hilly & windy Leprechaun Chase, (2) Day-1 kick-off for my Week of Pi Challenge, and (3) complete the ZOOMA Women's Day Virtual 5K. Mission accomplished! Would you believe there was more crazy wind to do battle with?

Despite the crazy wind, I'm alright with how the week played out. As we all know, we cannot control the weather, but our attitude is a different story. The running saw 19 miles. Elliptical had 50 minutes. 220 flights of stairs. One upper-body session. One speed workout. One tuck & roll episode. And a partridge in a pear tree (LOL).

In case you missed out, here's what all went down on the blog this week:
All is Well that ends Well
Marching and Racing into Spring
Coffee, anyone? Let's chat...

In other news:
This week's Friday Fashion Flair featured a favorite color combo...burgundy with the tried & true cheetah print. Not everyone sees things my way (and that's quite alright), but I treat cheetah print kind of as a neutral, so I'm not afraid to pair with almost any color. HOW about you? Cheetah-yay or no way? 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).

My March goals are going well, but I gotta runfess I've already missed a day (or two). With our whirlwind trip to Omaha (and back), and being in a strange place for the overnight, I kind of forgot to do the ab work. Oh well. You know what? The sun still rose (and the wind still blew LOL) the next day. No harm, no foul. Onward!

Finally, in celebration of my Pi Day birthday, I'm taking on the Week of Pi Challenge. I'll be attempting to do a "Pi run" everyday this week....essentially a seven-day 5K run streak. We'll see. I've done many run streaks, but they all involved more 1-mile runs than anything else. This is only for a week, and I plan to pull the plug if it feels like too much. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

So that's the latest and (somewhat) greatest.

How was your first week of March? Is it feeling like Spring where you are? Has it been windy? Any races happening?

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