Tis the Windy Season

Holy hyper wicked wind, Batman!

It was a week to hold on (tightly) to one's hat! The temps were a bit all over the place, but the wind was constant. Oh joy!

None the less, I was able to continue my daily "outdoor action" streak. The RW Run Streak continues, as does the (new) Peloton streak. Call me crazy, but it beats sitting idle (don't worry, I'm being careful and am not over-doing it with my #sweatequity). Rest assured (literally, LOL), I'm having fun this holiday season.

Before I share all the wind-blown 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 8:00AM (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 week in my windy fitness world:

Sunday: Just "brickin' it"

After a slight sleep-in, I spent 12 miles on the bike (spinning and grinning with Cody, courtesy of Peloton), ran the day's streak run (just a 1-miler) and finished with another 8 miles on the bike. Are you ready for this? The second ride was all on my own...no Peloton workout required. I don't want to have every moment on the bike be a specific workout...sometimes it's nice to just do your own thing (or, at least it is for me).

Later, that evening, I decided to give Milly a kick-start. She'd been out of commission for the better part of nine months, but the hubby had found a reset button (about a month ago)...and guess who came back to life! I cued up a Peloton 15-minute walking workout, and all was well. Milly made a lot of noise (she's 20+ years old, for heaven's sake) and the workout was kind of meh...but it was 15 minutes of action and I felt revived. 

Never Miss a (windy) Monday!

Amy and I resumed our ritual 1/2-mile walk--3-mile run--1/2-mile walk routine. The temps were almost pleasant (emphasis on almost) with the single-digit mph wind. Later, a co-worker and I were able to get outside for two different 1-mile walks in the sunshine. After work, I was summoned for 90 minutes of pickle ball. Finally back home around 7pm, I felt like a train wreck. Did I mention I'd gotten my Covid booster that morning? I'd felt fine all day, but the pickle ball session must have been the wild card that set every possible discomfort into motion. At least I slept well that night.

Day-1 of the 12 Days of Fitmas -1 push-up

A tricky Tuesday

Still feeling the effects of a nasty vax hangover, I kept things on the down-low with a short 6-mile ride inside. Later, at work, there were a couple of 1-mile walks in the windy sunshine. By end of day, I finally was feeling mostly back to normal, so I took my streak run to the town square for two miles of holiday lights, and did a core workout after returning back home.

 

Day-2 of the 12 Days of Fitmas - 2 jumping jacks added

Double ride Wednesday

While I was feeling better from my booster hangover, Barb was now under-the-weather, so we took a pass on the #5at5. Instead, I did a Peloton ride (and cool-down), for 12 total miles. I knocked out my streak run (just a 1-miler) and finished off with the 12 Days of Christmas Day-3 set: three bicycle crunches, two jumping jacks, and one push-up). I walked another 1-miler at work. Then, after work, I cued up a couple more cycling workouts, for 10 bonus miles, while dinner was in the oven. Then, the weather took a crazy turn with dangerous wind (30+mph), wind gusts (upwards of 70+mph) and thunder storm conditions for most of the night (see below).

Day-3 of the 12 Days of Fitmas 

Thankful Thursday!

Honestly, there's plenty to be thankful for on a daily basis, but this particular day had me praising Peloton for a fun early-morning strength session. Full body, upper-body and an ABBA-infused core workout...does it get much better in the wee hours in one's basement?

 

Day - 4 of the 12 Days of Fitmas - 4 plank jacks added to the mix

Later, after a long day at the office, Barb and I arranged for a #5atTwilight run. We saw the last few minutes of a beautiful sunset and got our five miles done in the midst of mild wind and cold temps. Sometimes it's not a matter of when the run happens, so long as it happens. 

Finish strong Friday

I'd only been home a few minutes from my Thursday evening run when a text came in from Allison, asking if I was up for a #5at5 run Friday morning. Remember Allison? I've known her for several months. We've done several full moon runs, but we haven't done a lot of other running together (due to our schedules). She runs a lot more weekly miles than I do (and she's a lot younger, LOL), but I agreed to run a few miles with her. She ran to my house, we left my driveway around 5:15 and ran about three miles together, and she was able to get her five total miles in by the time she returned back to her house. Hmmm...this may be a new routine! Aren't running friends the best!

Day - 5 of the 12 Days of Fitmas - today we added five burpees!

A bit of a struggle bus Saturday long run...

Brrr...another cold morning (18F feels-like with the 9mph wind). Barb and I had decided to wait until 7:30, so we'd have some sunshine working in our favor. I had 6-8 miles on the agenda, and this run was one of those that just felt tough from the get-go. We ran kind of a hilly route (to avoid the headwind), so that didn't help matters. My right hamstring was feeling grumpy, and my right shin started moaning and groaning after the first few miles. Ugh. My energy was a bit compromised as well. Even though the wind wasn't particularly strong, it still was cold. We parted ways just after the 6-mile mark, and I had enough mojo to loop around the college to finish with seven miles for the morning. That said, I finished this run feeling more victorious than defeated. I did a post-run stretch session (Peloton) and rode five easy "flush-out-the-legs" miles on the bike and felt much better afterwards. 

 

Day - 6 of the 12 Days of Fitmas - how about six curtsy lunges (each side)?

What's on tap for Sunday?

Believe it or not, there's another full moon already! A group of us will be #FullMoonRunning Sunday evening, so I'm planning on a long bike ride in the early hours. My body is really feeling fatigued, so I'm keeping the action on the low-impact side so my legs can have some recovery time. There may be an afternoon nap happening, as well as some yoga and/or stretching.

So, yes, there was all kinds of wind this week! A friend told me she'd heard (on tv?) that Iowa is the country's most windy state. Well, I will not argue with that, whether it's fact or just speculation. Honestly, I'd have a much better attitude towards the winter season if the wind played a little nicer, just saying. Despite Momma N's cruel antics, this wound up being a pretty strong week for me. I finished with 22 miles of running, 8 miles of walking, and 51 miles of biking. Let me just say, Monday's pickle ball (some of which was singles play) came with some serious cardio and exertion (12 hours post-vax, LOL). Also, this week had some solid strength workouts, a couple of core workouts, and some yoga! As for the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge...it started out pretty easy, but has already picked up momentum, and that will continue on through most of next week. 

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

Merrily We Streak Along

2021 Highlights: The Bling

5 Holiday Fitness Gear Hacks

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair! Cheers to the holidays and company parties! My place of work had its official Jingle and Mingle Friday afternoon, so I sported another festive swing dress, this one in a mad red plaid. After work, the hubs and I hosted a small dinner party, so the party dress stayed on for several more hours. Does your place of work have a company party this time of year? 

Iowa's second derecho (in 16 months) swept across the state on Wednesday.  The temps were massively warm...like, in the 70F's! Unfortunately, it was far too windy and dangerous outdoors to enjoy the warmth. We had increasing wind all day, we were under a tornado watch most of the afternoon and then had storms in the evening. It sounded like a severe blizzard was raging outside, overnight, but no snow.

as a point of reference, my town (Grinnell) is an hour east of Des Moines, and about 30 minutes southeast of Marshalltown, so our conditions were very similar to theirs.

How about some good news? Tuesday, December 22, is the Winter Solstice!  We've just about made it, my friends!!! Getting past the Solstice is HUGE for me, every winter, because it means we will be on the other side of the darkness. Brighter days ahead, literally! 

Finally, this meme made me laugh out loud. Let's hope 2022 plays a little nicer than it's "big sister," 2020.

And that's a wrap! How did your week play out? Any new workouts? Crazy weather? Are you excited for the Winter Solstice?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter