The Meltdown

Ahhh, let the spring commence...

Well, technically, we still have another week to go (according to the calendar). Also, there is some more winter-like "precip" in the forecast (thanks, Momma N). But we've "sprung-ahead," and all of the residual winter snow has melted away...so onward!

This week saw daily action with the Week of Pi taking place. For the most part, there was ample sunshine and pleasant spring-like temps. No complaints, no regrets.

Before I share 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 ;-)

Anyways, here's what went down in my little world this week:

Never miss a Monday!

Even though the Week of Pi was due to begin on Monday, I Pi-fess that Barb and I snuck out Sunday afternoon, for a 4-mile run because the weather was so sunny and glorious (wouldn't you have done the same?). Having run those mid-afternoon Sunday miles, I thought it best to give my legs a little more recovery time come Monday...so we started the day with 10 miles on the indoor bike. After work, I got the Day-1 Pi run done, as well as some ab/core work in the evening.

Triple-Pi Tuesday.

On Renee's cue, I was inspired to do an early-morning walk...but in kilometers. According to Siri, 3.14 km is equivalent to 1.95 miles (you're welcome). The highlight of the day, though, was a quick Pi ride with Gustavas (remember him?) over lunch! Oh, it felt so good to get reacquainted after his winter hibernation. Day-2 Pi run then happened after work, in the crazy wind.

Weird weather Wednesday.

Both my weather app and Barb's showed rain happening in the 05:00 hour. We set our alarms, and double checked things at 04:30, and the rain still showed...so we decided to stay home and I desperately tried, unsuccessfully, to go back to sleep. Finally, an hour later, I decided to just get up and do some indoor biking and throw in some laundry. As I was cueing up the bike, the weather gal (on TV) said that the rain actually wasn't arriving as early as predicted. Well, that was enough for me...I promptly got dressed and was out the door by 6:15 for my (solo) Day-3 Pi run. There was some mist, and the streets were wet (from the overnight rain), but the wind wasn't too bad (16mph). Had I waited until after work, I would have been battling 26mph wind, so this spontaneous run was a good move. This run felt really good , even with only 12 hours of recovery time from the previous day. After work, I did a 2-mile walk, and (yep) the wind was a bear.

Not my typical Thursday.

Thursdays are usually my strength days (lower-body focused), and often include stair-training or HIIT workouts. With the Pi streak underway, though, I opted to keep things low-maintenance (though I had continued the routine 10 flights of stairs, as part of my warm-up, for all of my Pi runs). Sebbe and I did 10 easy miles upon wake-up, and I took a quick 1-mile walk at lunch. After work, I met up with Barb for the Day-4 Pi run. Also, there was an evening upper-body strength and core workout.

   

A very "chill" Friday.

Even with the unexpected drop in temps (upper 30F's felt pretty cold in comparison to the warmer temps we'd been entertaining), the sunrise was pretty spectacular. A 2-mile walk to start the day, a shingles vaccine (my second dose) at lunch, and a post-workday Pi run for Day 5.

Shingles vax hangover for Saturday.

As expected, I awoke Saturday morning in a world of discomfort from the vaccine. My arm was on fire (at the injection site), my body achy, and my brain in a fog. Fun times! Barb and I had plans for a run, and I had considered doing a couple of bonus miles, but opted to call it good at 3.14 miles. Amazingly, even with my compromised energy level, this run actually left me feeling much better than when I'd first arisen. I spent the majority of the day on the couch, though, intermittently napping. Any guesses on Barb's and my alma mater?

It's my birthday and I'll Pi if I want to...

Sunday greeted us with rain! Woot! The thing is, I still had a Pi run to do. What I haven't told many is that Milly died last weekend (when my sis was using it), so it was outdoors or the run wasn't happening. Oh well...if I can run a marathon in torrential rain, a 3.14 mile endeavor is pretty manageable, especially in fairly light rain. So, I laced up and headed out. I even wore my Mission Accomplished hat (from the rainy MCM). Surprisingly, I wasn't cold nor did the rain annoy me. And, it felt like most of the vax hangover was history, so WOOT on that as well.

What can I say? This week was all about the Pi, so not much of anything else happened, which was the plan. Total running miles came in just shy of 26 (including those four "jump-start" miles from last Sunday). Walking was meek, with nine miles. Biking only saw 23.14 miles, but 3.14 of those were outside! With Gustavas! And, there were a couple of abs/core workouts and some upper-body work. All is good.

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

Seeing Green

Leprechaun Chase 2021

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair! With the Big 10 Tournament in full swing, I felt it most appropriate to rep my Iowa Hawkeyes. Look closely, I'm wearing capri pants and sandals! The good news? The Hawkeye basketball team had a 2-game by, and beat Wisconsin on Friday evening, advancing to the semi-finals. The not-so-good news? They lost to Illinois on Saturday afternoon. Oh well, they had a great season, and it'll be fun to follow them in the NCAA tournament in the next few weeks. Do you ever dress in your team's colors? 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).

Good news! This week, we received word that the Drake Relays Road Races in-person events are on! I'd registered a few months ago, to take advantage of the early-bird pricing, knowing the race(s) may have to be virtual. Scheduled for April 18th, that gives me five weeks to prepare for 13.1 miles. I've done a few 6-mile runs, and a 7-mile run. Adding a mile, each week, will get me to the 10-mile benchmark easily and still allow for some taper time. Let's do this!

 And, the Brooks company sent me some funky socks for my birthday! I'm not really a fan of crew-length socks, but these were too pretty to NOT wear for my birthday run. Wouldn't you have done the same?

So, here we are, approaching the official start of Spring! We have some snow in the forecast (???) for later today, and possible tomorrow. I'm not worried because I know it will not linger. Besides, the hubs and I are headed to Florida later this week, so snow will be the last thing on my mind. About Milly...she crapped out on me a few years ago, but came back to life after a few weeks. Maybe that will happen again (?). I can assure you, I'm not in a world of despair over it. Stay tuned...

How was your week? Are your temps feeling less like Winter and more like Spring? Has all your snow disappeared (if you had any LOL)?

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