Sunday, March 7, 2021

Seeing Green


There was a whole lotta green going on this week!

We're talking emerging grass (courtesy of the melting snow). The MSU Spartans had a big victory Tuesday evening. And, there was a St. Patrick's themed (in-person!!!) race on the roster.  

After so much cold, in previous weeks, it was great to usher in an entire week of pleasant weather. March is a tricky and temperamental month, weather-wise, so this past week was a nice treat.

Before I give you the down 'n dirty 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 past week:

Never miss a Monday.
It was a new month, new week, and new day, and I didn't plan on sitting still. We started the day with 15 miles on the bike, and finished with a 3-mile post-workday run.  


Not my typical Tuesday...
While I have been doing some stair workouts in recent months, I have been going pretty light on lower-body work. I usually do lower-body work on Thursdays and keep my Tuesdays pretty easy-peasy. With a race on the schedule for Saturday, though, I didn't want to risk any DOMS issues, so I got busy on Tuesday instead. I do a lot of strength workouts outdoors in the warmer months, but never thought of taking them outside in the colder months. Well, that all changed this week. This workout was short (maybe 12 minutes?), but there was not one wasted second. 

Lots of squats, deadlifts and walking lunges happened:
**20 single-leg deadlifts
**20 basic "front" squats
**20 sumo squats
**20 sets of walking lunges
**20 more single-leg deadlifts
**20 more front squats
**20 more sumo squats
  

Back to the #5at5 Wednesday Routine.
I could feel the DOMS starting before bedtime on Tuesday, but they didn't give me any trouble on the early-morning 5-miler with Barb. By mid-morning, though, it was a different story. Every time I sat down (and, consequently, stood back up), my glutes and hammies were on fire. Like an inferno kind of fire. Hurts so good, but OUCH.

Another switcheroo for Thursday.
Having done the lower-body workout on Tuesday, I'd planned on doing some HIIT, instead, on Thursday. Only, the DOMS still had my body in a world of hurt. Honestly, Tuesday's workout had not felt that intense, but it sure came back to bite my buttocks (and vicinity). That's all good...the DOMS indicate there was some real work that went down. So, 10 miles on the bike never felt so fine. After work, I had just pulled into my garage, when Barb texted me with a post-workday run invite. Well, who am I to refuse a run with a friend? By then, the DOMS had pretty much moved on...so 15 minutes later had me out the door and on the street. What would you have done?


Low-maintenance Friday.
Confession: With the spontaneous after-work run with Barb, Thursday's upper-body workout didn't happen. Instead of my (recent) Friday morning short run, though, I opted for some presses, rows, pushes, and curls with the hand weights. There was a quick 1-mile lunchtime walk, and some core work in the evening, but that was it for the day.


Saturday's sunshiny Leprechaun Chase!
The hubs and I took a quick 27-hour trip to the Omaha, NE area for the Leprechaun Chase. This was the 11th year of this festive St. Patrick's themed extravaganza, and our second time running in Omaha. This event used to have an Iowa venue, in Des Moines, but now it only takes place in Omaha (where the race company is headquartered). Normally a 10K, taking place at the SAC Museum, it had to change its location and its distance (to 8K) due to the excessive snow melt and mud. But the temps were perfect (low-40F's at the start line, with no wind), the course scenic (with many twists and hills), and both of us were pleased with our finish times. There's a recap in the works, so stay tuned.


...and another beautiful SUNday
Although I'm a runner, I'm totally in love with my sunrise walks. And, when the sun resembles a heart? Well, all was good, even if the temps were still chilly. I got out for a 2-mile greet-the-morning walk, but there also was a 10-mile bike ride (during our live stream church #multitasking), and the odds are good there will be a short bare-legged recovery run in the afternoon.


All in all, this was a great week! I took a chance switching a few of my workouts around, and it was well worth it. The DOMS were no joke, so I'm glad I was prepared for them. How'd we do? 

Running - 17 miles (more on tap for later)
Walking - 11 miles
Biking - 35 miles (possibly some outdoor miles added later!)
Stairs - 30 flights
Other - 2 strength workouts and 2 core workouts

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

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair! With all the excitement for Saturday's race, I felt compelled to get in the St. Patrick's Day spirit. So what if I was a few (or 12) days early? Life is too short to wait around for ONE specific day. I say if you got the green, go ahead a start the celebration. Anyways, care to join me? Post a pic of your Friday outfit on Instagram, grab the hashtag (#FridayFashionFlair) and be sure to tag me (@runningonthefly).



On March 2nd, Dr. Seuss' birthday was celebrated. Dr. Seuss played a big role in our kids' childhoods. In all honesty, I don't know who enjoyed reading his books more...my kids or myself. I came across this passage from the book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish many years ago, and it spoke to me. 


Lastly, the second annual Week of Pi begins tomorrow! There's already a slew of runner friends joining me for some (or all) of it, so I'm looking forward to all the Pi fun! This involves running 3.14 miles each day, ending on March 14th...which is the National Day of Pi (also my birthday LOL). Last year's recap is HERE.


So that's a wrap! We're another week closer to Spring (and Summer), and the cold of Winter is (mostly) behind us. Onward!

How are things in your world? Feeling like Spring? Are you seeing green, too? 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

41 comments:

  1. Awww I love the heart-shaped sun! I also love that you were able to do an IRL race. Chicago's Shamrock Shuffle is virtual once again but I'm hoping some normalcy will be resuming soon. Love me some Dr. Seuss!

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    1. The sun was so beautiful this morning, and when I saw the heart shape in the pic...well, my heart swelled, too. The IRL race was SO nice!!!!

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  2. So glad you had a fun getaway and successful in person race.
    You and Barb seem to have some good radar in finding one another for a run. Isn't that great?
    Look forward to Pi-ing with you. Luck of the Pi-rish? :D

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    1. Ha ha Pi-rish! That's good! Yes, I'm really lucky that Barb is always in sync with me, and I with her.

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  3. A big yay for your in-person race!

    Nice idea to take the strength workout outdoors.

    Looking forward to Pi-ing with you this week :)

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    1. The outdoor strength workout was one of my better ideas. Not sure how I hadn't thought of that before (in the cold weather, that is). Glad to have you on Team Pi!!!

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  4. The pi challenge sounds fun - and doable! Also - yay for an in-person race!! That's amazing. Who would've thought a year ago that that'd be nearly unheard of?

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    1. This Leprechaun Chase, last year, happened and all Covid broke loose almost immediately following. It was nice to be able to return to it, albeit with several Covid precautions in place.

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  5. Love your Week of Pi Challenge - such a cool way to get in miles and celebrate your birthday as well :)

    Your outfit for your race yesterday was amazing! You always get into the spirit.

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    1. You're a fine one to talk...I see plenty of great outfits on YOU for the holidays! It's fun to get in the spirit ;-) (or is that just a Kim thing? LOL)

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  6. I've never been one to call sore hammies and glutes "a good thing", but I'm happy you can! :) Hooray on your IRL race! I've got one coming up on Saturday. Fingers crossed we don't get the predicted rain or snow.

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    1. Well, I'm not loving the DOMS when they make an appearance, but they indicate growth and (eventual) increased strength...at least that['s what I tell myself ;-)

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  7. Yay for your in-person race! I can't wait to read your recap!

    Enjoy your week of pi!

    Thanks for the linkup and have a great week!

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    1. I'm excited for the Week of Pi...hoping for decent weather because Milly shorted out on my sister yesterday...

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  8. That's great that you were able to do an in-person race! The snow has finally melted here too and its nice to see green again.

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    1. Isn't it great to have the snow gone! Most of ours is gone...still a few patches in the shaded areas, but not much.

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  9. Ha, that page from Dr. Seuss brings back memories!!! That's definitely us Floridians, running for fun in the hot, hot sun. Sounds like you had a great week- looking forward to the race recap!

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    1. I'm definitely one who loves to run in the hot, hot sun. Dr. Seuss had me in mind when he wrote that bok (even though I had not yet been born).

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  10. great week for you even with a few switcharoos! But you drove to Omaha for a 10K race??? Die hard! I bet it was super fun though! I may be joining your week of Pi but I might do it in kilometers. Not sure yet :) I can't run it but I can walk it. Only it's quite a lot of walking if I'm to fit other things in. Let's see!

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    1. Omaha is maybe 3ish hours away, but it was a fun quick overnight expedition. You can do whatever works for you on the Pi week; I'm just grateful to have so many peeps joining me ;-)

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  11. your Pi challenge sounds lovely! Especially with a celebration at the end. Congrats on a strong 8k, glad it was fun!

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    1. The Pi Challenge was a lot of fun last year. Since my bday is on the weekend (again), I thought it would be fun to make it an annual gig. The 8K was a lot of fun ;-)

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  12. ooh I am really jealous of your real race! I like an 8K for fun we don't see that many of that distance. I bet it felt great to get out and race looking forward to hearing more

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    1. I need to look through my "records," to see what my previous 8K finish times were (from other events). There have not ben very many.

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  13. I'm sure it felt great to do a RL race! Unfortunately the cold is not behind us yet -- but it will be soon. Although I don't think it'll stay behind us, I also don't think it will get quite as cold as this weekend was for a while.

    Nothing wrong with listening to your body & switching things up!

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    1. The race was fun! I did get a little teary-eyed at the start line...the emotions of overcoming the stress fracture AND being back in a live race were pretty strong!

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  14. I'll be running my first St. Patty's race next weekend and I am way too excited about it. I've got my Shamrock Shuffle shirt and St. Patty's shoes so I will be appropriately dressed. I'm looking forward to your race recap.

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    1. Have fun at your race! St. Patrick's Day is such a fun day to celebrate...and having a race with that theme is just even more awesome!

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  15. no it's still icy and snowy in places and the temps are freezing. Hopefully there is a warm up on the way.

    So nice to hear someone running a real race.

    I will do 3.14 but not every day.

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    1. Thanks so much for joining the Pi party!! Whatever you feel like doing is wonderful ;-)

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  16. That's the first time I've heard of a race distance being changed due to snow melt, lol! Was there flooding? Looks like you had a good time!

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    1. This race venue would have had a lot of muddy trails (some with gravel) that were not runner-friendly, so they eliminated them (and cut the distance a bit short as a result). How can one not have a fun time with a St. Patrick's theme ;-)

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  17. Yay on the race! LOL on the course being changed due to the yuck. I do believe the NYC Half I ran a few years ago had some course impact like that — but I think they just changed the post-finish line configuration because the curb lanes were full of plowed snow.

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    1. I had a winter 5K, a few years ago, that had to be altered last-minute due to overnight freezing. The Des Moines Leprechaun Chase, a few years ago, as well, had to be cut to a 5K (from a 10K) due to a spontaneous overnight ice storm. Crazy! It's nice when they can keep the race on, even if they have to alter the course or the distance.

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  18. My students and I also enjoy all of the books by Dr. Seuss. Wait, how close are you to Omaha? I want to participate in the Pi Challenge but can it be more than 3.14 miles? Now that I think about it I guess not since the whole point is to run that distance.

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    1. Omaha is about three hours from my driveway. It's not drastically far, but too far to drive up the morning of LOL As far as the Pi Challenge, I invite you (and anyone) to do what works for you. Many are just running one day of it. I'm just grateful to have so much support from my tribe ;-)

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  19. I'm so glad you got to do a race how exciting! Can't wait to read the recap! I love Dr. Seuss. We used to read his books as kids and I loved them. Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat were my favorites

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    1. I didn't really appreciate Dr. Seuss as a kid (my parents didn't read to us much, at least I'm not recalling it). But we read a lot to our kids, and the Dr. Seuss books were always their (and our) favorites!

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  20. I love your green outfit, and your heart-shaped sun, and your in-person race! That's crazy they had to alter the course for weather! Wow!

    It as feeling spring-ish and then we had frost again this morning. I give up.

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  21. Love your pics and a race, yay!

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  22. Wow! The amount of fitness activities you do in a week is always so impressive. I always feel like I need to up my game after I read your Sunday posts! :) I am excited to read your race report. Isn't it wonderful we can look forward to some real-life races on our calendars again!

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