Saturday, April 9, 2022

Waiting It Out


It was another week of Spring in Iowa...and it's left me (still) waiting for Winter to take a hike.

We did have an itsy bit of sunshine, so it wasn't all gloom and doom. But there were falling temps, rain, non-stop wind, and even some of the white stuff (I refuse to call it by name this time of year).

Sigh.

There's a lot to be said for being #IowaTough, so I wasn't completely stuck inside. But I'm eagerly waiting for some warm spring weather to arrive (and stay).

Before I dis on 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 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 in my little world of fitness while "in waiting:"

A Sunny Sunday
After a semi-tough weekend of lingering DOMS, I felt the urge to do a short 3-mile run, amidst the sunrise. Wow! Talk about setting the mood (and the mojo) for the day! Afterwards, I pedaled for 12 miles with Sebbe (my indoor bike), and met Amy for a 4ish-mile walk (late morning) before the sprinkles set in.


Another Never Miss a Monday 
The forecast was showing warmer temps, less wind, and full-sun by late afternoon, so I opted for a breakfast of biking (10 miles) and saved the run (two miles) for after work. There also was some core work and a 1-mile mid-morning walk at work.


Tuesday Toner with Tunde
The day started with a 2-mile power-walk with Tunde (Peloton app). Basically, I stack two of her 10-minute arms/shoulders toning workouts and continue walking (on the treadmill) until I reach the 2-mile mark. In all honesty, this has become a weekly favorite, and I'm considering keeping it in rotation after it warms up (because I'm not too excited about taking the hand weights on an outdoor walk). There also was another 1-mile walk at work.


Triple Threat Wednesday
The forecast rain got pushed back a few hours, so the usual #5at5 with Barb was on...but we ran our route in a counter-clockwise pattern to avoid some of the wind.


After work...
Remember last week's 50 flights/50 push-ups interval workout? Well, this week, I upped it to 60 of each. That was followed by 10 miles on the bike and a quick core workout with Matty (Peloton app).

Thankful Thursday
More rain in the forecast (this was Day-3), but I was able to get out for a fast and furious 2-mile walk before work. Originally, I'd thought this was Day 500 of my #OptOutside Streak, but later realized I'd miscounted and that magical day would be Saturday. Oops.


After work, I got busy in the Glistening & Glowing Den Down Under (my basement, LOL). I stacked a couple of strength workouts, both of which wound up being more intense than I'd anticipated. The lower-body (courtesy of Andy) was very lunge-focused, and the upper-body (with Rad) had me chest-pressing to failure (Holy OUCH!). I followed those up with another 10-minute toner with Tunde (this time on the bike, for six s.l.o.w miles) and a repeat of Wednesday's core workout (with Matty).


Finally Friday
The rain had left the premises, but we were greeted with snow at wake-up instead (see pic below). I started the morning with 15 miles on the bike and ended with a windy 1-mile walk after work (20-30mph wind all day, thank you very much).


"Long Run" Struggle Bus Saturday
Ugh. I played the procrastination game, thinking by waiting-it-out (a couple hours) the slightly warmer temps (and slightly less wind) would be beneficial for my 10-mile run. The thing is, my body and my mind much prefer the early-morning routine. Waiting around, until 8:15, did reward me with slightly more desirable weather conditions (and full sunshine!), but it also threw off my mojo. Also, the DOMS (from Thursday evening's lower-body workout) had two bonus hours to really make their presence known (and felt). None the less, I plodded along with a better than expected pace, but I could feel my feet starting to shuffle (a lot) around the 6-mile mark. I realized pushing on for another four miles was not in the cards, so I headed back towards home and finished with eight miles. This run was a very exhausting endeavor, but I felt quite accomplished when I reached my driveway. While this run was a tough one, I was thankful for the privilege of being able to run those eight miles. After all, there was a time, way back in my early days, when a 5K felt even tougher. It's all about perspective, right? Later, I did a short core workout and rode 10 miles on the bike (for recovery, and as an aid in flushing out some of the DOMS). 
   

What's on deck for Sunday?
We have another nice day in the forecast, so I might do a short (very short, LOL) recovery run in the morning and some biking (indoors, due to the wind). There will also be some afternoon walking in the sunshine.

So yeah, it wasn't a great week, weather-wise, but I'm happy with all the sweat equity banked. I'm thinking of bailing on the lower-body strength workouts until after the Fight for Air Climb (May 7th) since I'm doing extra stair-training right now. I also have the Drake Road Races 13.1 on April 24th, and those lower-body DOMS are kicking my buttocks, literally. 

This week's totals:
Running - 18 miles (in the ball park)
Biking - 63 miles (borderline high)
Walking - 11 miles (crappy weather, again)
Stairs - 100 flights (40 of which were from pre-run warm-ups)
Strength workouts - upper-body (3 sessions), lower-body (one session), core (4 x 10-minutes)

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

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair. While we finally had some warmish weather on Friday, we still had crazy wind. I'm glad I have numerous layering options at the ready. I'm also grateful for this basic denim shirt that goes with everything.


As mentioned, we woke up to a fresh layer of "white" Friday morning. Seriously, I think Momma N is on crack. At least this white stuff was history by mid-morning.


Finally, it is nice to see a few colorful signs of Spring. The crocus just bloomed this week, and the daffodils are emerging!


So, that's the latest and (somewhat) greatest from last week. We have more rain in the forecast this next week, but temps are looking better (in the 50F-60F range). Fingers crossed this upward trend, in the temps, continues!

Your turn...What's been happening in your world? Is Winter still holding strong, or is Spring pushing through? Any great workouts that bear bragging about? Upcoming races?

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34 comments:

  1. Winter weather here, too!.we had snow a few times last week and I forgot it was spring! Hopefullu your 60s/60s stays and you get in some great workouts this week!

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    1. SO far the temps have been nice...but we have sketchy weather on tap for tonight...

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  2. We had rain all week with snow as well, and yep, wind. THere's sun today and I'm looking forward to soaking it up on my run!

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    1. The sun definitely makes all the wind/rain/snow worthwhile...sort of, LOL

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  3. It's been very variable here, quite a lot of hail, fortunately not when I've been out. I missed my two main running partners this week but still got my miles in.

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    1. Great job knocking out the miles! It's not always easy doing them solo when you're used to running them with friends.

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  4. I guess I cant complain about our constant rain since you still have snow! Nice job this week. Sunny skies ahead this week!

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    1. Thankfully the snow was very short-lived. But still. It has no business even making a quick appearance...

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  5. Yes winter hung on tight this week and it was most unwelcome. The birds are busy though and the sun is strong if and when it decides to emerge from all the cloud cover. Nice week of activity for you!

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    1. Thankfully, it's feeling more like Spring this week...rain and all, LOL

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  6. On our long run yesterday we did have snow! It was funny because it was just lightly falling down, enough to hit our eyeballs but not much of anything at all. My son was a soccer ref for the first time this year and he had a whole day of wind, snow, and hail!

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  7. Sounds like we all had a wet week! At least we didn’t have snow, but we did have thunder storms which are unusual this time of year. It’s funny how a workout routine grows on us and we actually crave it!

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  8. Wow, your weather was all over the place!

    Love those Tunde classes. A recent one I just took felt like a whole level of burn- I alternate between weights and I had to drop to the 3 on several moves!

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    1. Tunde has really been working my over recently! I love that feeling of the after-burn, but ouch!

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  9. Ugh, your weather!!! But I do remember that from living in the midwest- sometimes we had snow on Easter. Blech. Spring just comes so slowly.
    I think it would be good to cut back on the lower body strength till after May 7th. You're getting a lot of strength work from the stair climbing, and that DOMS is no fun- I had it too this week.
    One last thing I was thinking about while reading your post- what did we ever do before Peloton???

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    1. Yeah, I'm having ZERO reservations about bailing on the focused lower-body stuff for the time being. I'll manage just fine, thank you very much LOL

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  10. We had lots of rain and with no sun most of the week. Mom got a couple inches of snow yesterday which makes me extra thankful for the sun we finally got.

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    1. We've had more sun (so far, though it's only Tuesday) this week than was in the forecast. I'm hoping the Wednesday rain holds off for a few hours in the morning so I can get my #5at5 done...

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  11. Thankfully no snow here, but usually in April it's gone so quickly. Still never fun! Not much sun though. Why do you think I want to move away? ;)

    Sounds like a good week, Kim. Some runs are really just hard, long or short, good weather or not, and we'll just never know why!

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    1. Oh I know all about those mysterious "bad" runs, ha! In a way, I kind of look forward to them because they do build character...though I don't always appreciate that lesson while it's happening.

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  12. Not that I don't always love your fashion flair, but Friday's hot pink with the snow might win. Something about that combo
    We're having all the seasons today and I'm tired so I'm over it.

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    1. ha ha...yeah, that is a good contrast with the stark white snow along with the bright pink. I probably won't win any photography contest with that composition, though ;-) I'm just ready for full-on summer...the soring season is always kind of miserable here.

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  13. Perspective is so key. I took all winter off running, and it has been a bit...demoralizing to start running again. I'm slow, it's hard, my distances are short. BUT...I can do this. To have the ability to access safe places to run. That physically I'm able to start ramping this area of my physical fitness back up, etc. When I think of it that way, it becomes part of the journey and not so frustrating <3

    And what's with the weather?! We had a snow day last Monday and lots of rain since and I am just READY FOR THE SUN!

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    1. You have the best attitude with your running! It truly is a journey ;-)

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  14. I've given up trying to figure out what Momma N is up to - we started rainy and cold and then flirted with shorts weather before the wind crashed the party today. Looks like you had a great week in spite of the weather - sorry about the lingering DOMS on Saturday.

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    1. The DOMS are just part of the game, LOL I should probably be doing these tougher lower-body workouts earlier in the week...but Thursday just fits my schedule best. The last two weeks, though, I've done them in the evening...and that's just delayed their appearance (and extended their longevity) into my weekend...

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  15. Ugh we had snow this weekend. It didn't get very cold and it didn't stick but it's the principal of the thing. Boo!

    Is that the shirt from the half that you did in FL back in Jan in your Monday pic? I love that shirt!

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    1. Ooh, good eye! Yes, that's the shirt from the Key West 13.1. It's a definite favorite ;-)

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  16. We had a lot of rain this week, mixed in with some pretty intense wind too. One night the wind was so loud I had to close my window!
    Sorry about the DOMS - that can be so annoying when it lingers for a while.

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    1. The wind has been just insane here! We had 20-30mph sustained wind all day today...

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  17. We are getting all sorts of crazy weather. No snow, but storms and tornadoes. Ugh. I'm not a fan.

    You're doing great. You seem to be able to get through the DOMS and on to the next thing, which is super amazing. Proud of your grit and determination.

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    1. Yeah, we have storms and possible tornadoes in the forecast tonight. Yuck.

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