COFFEE TALK!

It would appear that Winter 2021 has finally made its grand entrance.

After all, this Midwest gal knows what a real Midwest winter feels like. Even though January treated us to a (mostly) mild winter interlude, the real winter weather was bound to show up. 

With the arrival of said real winter, I've been craving hot beverages 'round the clock. I also enjoy hanging with my running and fitness cohorts. What say we gather (virtually, of course), and have some (virtual) chatter. Shall we? 

Allow me to go first...

If we were gathered, I'd first tell you how my January played out. With the running streak behind me, it was time to "just run for running's sake" and see how the post-stress-fractured foot would hold up. I've been doing 3-mile runs on Mondays, 4-mile runs on Wednesdays, and 5-milers on Saturdays, with a few recovery runs mixed in on occasion. The elliptical and indoor bike have been my BFF's on a lot of my non-running days. Also, I've been doing a lot of walking and enjoying the great outdoors (that is, before it turned so frosty LOL).

If we were gathered, I'd also share my little outdoor activity streak. Thanks to the running streak, as well as Judy's inspiring goal of 21 daily minutes of activity for 2021, I've been outside every day since Thanksgiving. Most of those outside minutes are from walking and/or running. Yesterday, though, I was able to add over an hour of heavy (wet) snow shoveling to the mix. Yowza!

If we were gathered, I'd tell you about all my upcoming races/events that have already had some changes. For example, there's the Leprechaun Chase. Due to Covid protocol, the Omaha venue had to change its location (now in Papillion) and, therefore, also had to change the start time (from 4:00PM to 8:00AM, also with wave starts). Then, DAM to DSM got bumped from June 5th to August 28th, but will at least be able to utilize its traditional point-to-point course. And, the Fight for Air Climb will now be happening in May (instead of late March/early April) and will be an outdoor venue at Principal Park Stadium in Des Moines. Oh well, at least these events are far enough out that I'm confidant they will all happen. And, I can still train for them, regardless. One thing I'm doing, before the heavy duty training begins for the Climb is doing bi-weekly stair workouts and doing 10 flights as part of my warm-up for all of my runs. Total win-win!

If we were gathered, I'd give you an update on the foot. Let's just say I had a successful appointment with the podiatrist this week, and he gave me the green light to return to my normal routine. I've been eager to do a little speed training, more for fun than for anything (since there's no races happening very soon). I'm also itching to get back to longer weekend runs, so I'm glad to have this stress fracture behind me. 

Finally, if we were gathered, I'd show you my latest creation. As much as I love these pretty Ravenna 11's, they just needed a little "something," in my opinion. I'd gotten these laces from the 2018 Jingle Bell Run, and have been waiting for just such an opportunity.  

Anyways, those are a few things I'd share. We have a very cold weekend in the forecast, so dear old (quite literally) Milly may be seeing some action. Ugh. Stay tuned. I'll let you know how well she and I get along. I have a feeling she's not any more eager than I am for a reunion.

How about you? Anything you'd like to chat about? Did Winter, in all its frigid glory, come knocking? How was your January? Do you have any races on the roster for 2021?

 Since it's the first weekend of the month, I'm linking this with Deborah and Coco for the Ultimate Coffee Date.

I'm also linking this with Michelle, Renee, Darlene, Jenn and Zenaida for the Fit Five Friday Link-up.

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