...and out came the Sun!

Let me start by saying, "Holy Wicked Wind, Batman!"

Allow me also to say, "Thanks for the beautiful sunshine, Momma N. It made the psychotic wind a lot more bearable."

Whew! All things said, it was a CrAzY week of weather in Iowa (and, I believe, elsewhere). That which doesn't kill us, makes us ever so much stronger. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

Before I share all the sunshiny 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 went down this week in my little corner of the world:

Never Miss a Monday.

Originally, with the 70F temps in the afternoon forecast, I'd hoped to do my run in the morning and go for a bike ride after work. By morning, the forecast wind had increased to an expected 26mph, with wind gusts anywhere from 30-45mph. A big no thanks to biking in that. Instead, I cranked out eight morning miles with the indoor bike and saved my run for after work. Although the temps were pleasant, and the sunshine ever-bright, the wind had increased (even further) to 28mph by late afternoon. Yowza! Two thumbs up for some major resistance training and balance work LOL. Those three miles were character-building.

Typical Tuesday.

The wind had not relented any, and the temps had plummeted substantially from the previous day's taste-of-summer 70F's. Even though Tuesdays are typically a recovery day for me, walking is allowed. Two windblown miles, before work, and two more afterwards.

#5at5 for Wednesday.

Momma N's delayed rendezvous with Old Man Winter continued. Temps were 30F (with a feels-like of 21F) for the weekly early morning 5-miler with Barb. Little did we know, the wind would (again) be increasing throughout the day. Rising and running early definitely has its privileges.

 

All about the TLC on Thursday.

I had done some couch time on Wednesday and, consequentially, had also crashed for a few hours before making my way to my real bed. Alas, Thursday morning found me in a world of discomfort...still tired (from not being able to fall back to sleep) and a cranky back (from Wednesday's couch time). As a result, the morning's HIIT, strength work, and stair-climbing was put on-hold, and I treated myself to some stretching and five easy miles on the bike instead. Feeling much better, I also wound up walking a quick mile before work. Later, Max took me for a 1-mile lunch walk, and another 2-mile walk after work. 

Sub-freezing Friday.

Brrrr. I was planning for a long run on Saturday (actually, my longest long run -post-stress fracture), so I wanted to keep Friday on the down-low. I got out for a 2-mile sunrise walk, and that was it for the day.

Long run Saturday.

I had a dilemma. With the upcoming Drake Road Races Half Marathon, I have been building my long run distance. Last week, I'd run eight miles (with no issue). So, this week, I was scheduled to run nine miles, and then do 10 miles next weekend. Only, that would not give me any semblance of a taper prior to race day, on the 18th. Any other year, we would not be having this conversation. But this year, I have that stress fracture thing. Granted, I'm pretty much fully recovered, but I'm not quite back to prime 13.1 condition (if only this race was another two weeks later LOL). Jumping from 10-miles to 13.1 miles (with no taper, and just coming back from injury) seemed a bit aggressive. The idea came to me  to do a 10-mile run this week, then taper back to a shorter distance next week. 

How did that work for me? In a word: great! It certainly helped that the weather was nearly perfect.  There was a steady 12 mph wind out of the SW, but the sunshine was on-point. I met up with Barb, and the miles felt strong, but easy. Amazingly, all the splits were within a few seconds of each other, and we finished with 1:41 of running time (average pace 10:07). Afterwards, there was plenty of stretching and rolling, and several hours of afternoon garden squats. I also took Gustavas (my faithful bike) out for seven late-afternoon miles. Have I ever mentioned how great the bike is as a recovery vice?

  

A simply stunning sunshiny Sunday.

For the first time, in a very long time, I opted for a recovery walk instead of a run. The sunrise was on fire! I did a 2-mile walk, then saddled up Gustavas for a quick 5-mile ride before finishing up all the Easter prep...online church, dinner and an afternoon with family. If the wind isn't too crazy, there may be another walk and ride happening as well.

Despite the evil wind, and the (unplanned) 2-day recovery thing (Thursday and Friday), this turned out to be a great week. I'm over-the-moon with how well Saturday's 10-miler went; 18 total running miles this week. Walking saw 14 miles (probably more on tap for Sunday afternoon). Biking saw 25 miles of action (most of that outside!). No strength work or HIIT this week, but there were 30 flights of stairs...and I am totally alright with that. Onward! 

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

The Sun Will Come Out...tomorrow

Chocoholic Frolic 5K Race Recap

Grab you cup, Let's Huddle!

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair! As much as I love my bright colors, I do go with neutrals on occasion. This high/low top feels like a cozy sweater and it coordinates great with my open-weave booties. Win-win! As always, you're free to join me on Fridays...posts a pic on Instagram, grab the hashtag (#FridayFashionFlair) and be sure to tag me (@runningonthefly).

The hubs had a birthday this week! Yes, he's an April Fool dude.

The Illinois Criss Cross Virtual Challenge is winding down for me. The event itself ends on May 1st, but participants now have until June 1st to enter all their mileage. As of Sunday morning, I have completed 412 of the 435 miles. This was a great challenge! I'm active, on the daily, so it was fun to log all the miles (walking and running) since November 5th and see just how far I'd gotten across the state of Illinois.

Peeps. As much as I love all things sugar, I cannot tolerate these pretty treats. I came across a recipe on Instagram, though, where you can make Rice Krispie treats ala Peeps. So, I gave it a whirl, and it was a success. 

So, there you have it! It was a crazy cold and windy week, but there also was ample sunshine...almost on the daily. That, my friends, is what I'm choosing to remember.

How were things in your world this week? Wind? Cold temps? Sunshine? Keeping active?

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