Saturday, December 3, 2022

Weathering Another Wild Ride


If we were to talk about this week's weather, I'd have to compare it to a wild roller coaster ride.

We had cold temps (no surprises there), and we had out-of-control wind (much more than usual, and we usually have a lot). Oh, and there were a couple days that had unseasonably warm temps, with oodles of intoxicating sunshine and barely even a slight breeze. Then, within hours, those very temps plummeted 60+ degrees, and the wind (again) took on a life of its own.

 Alas, such is the reality of Iowa. Thankfully, I'm #IowaTough so the #OptOutside streak lives on (now over two years strong).

Before I disclose the deets, 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 past week in my little chilly corner of the fitness universe:

Feelin' 22 on Sunday...
I don't know about you, but I was feelin' 22 (at least in terms of indoor biking). I can't remember, but it was probably that "warm" outside as well. I've been loving my early Sunday morning bike rides, and each week I've been adding an additional mile, thus 22 miles (and another Garmin badge popped up upon completion). Afterwards, I added a layer and a puffer, and got my streak run done (just one mile). And, there also was a 2-mile walk in the evening.


Never Miss a Monday.
The morning was cold and chilly, but the forecast was showing better weather conditions late in the day. I started the morning with some HIIT cycling, and added some arms, shoulders and core work (all via the Peloton app). At the office, my friend and I got in two miles of walking (on our breaks). After work, I was able to get in a solid 3-mile run in the balmy low-40F's temps.


Typical Tuesday.
Nothing out-of-this-world crazy or intense...just an easy-paced 1-mile streak run and 3ish "miles" on the elliptical (just over 31 total minutes of sweat equity in the wee hours). Also, there was another 1-mile walk at the office. And, as forecasted, the afternoon temps hit rock bottom and the threat of precip was real. Yuck.


Wednesday's triple-treat workout day...
What a morning! I had a couple of Peloton cycling workouts on deck, and had made it through the first 20-minute session. About seven minutes into the second one, the bike's batteries putzed-out on me. UGH! I had to make a mad dash upstairs to get replacement batteries, and I was already on a time crunch because I had a PT appointment before work. I'd remembered finishing the first workout with almost seven miles on the bike, but all those numbers and stats were wiped out. The bike showed 4.25 miles in the final 13 minutes of the second workout, after I'd replaced the batteries. Soooo, for those first seven minutes (of the second workout), I'm guesstimating there were 2+/- miles that went missing. Therefore, I'm going with approximately 13 miles for the morning. And, that's gonna have to do. BTW, my bike does not have a power cord, it's four D-size batteries or nothing.


After the early-morning bike fiasco, I hustled to to my 7:30 PT session (and it was a doozy). I wanted to get in a 2-mile streak run and surmised the lunch hour would be my best option, especially in terms of sunshine. There was a wicked wind out of the west, so I kept my route mostly in a north/south direction. I even ducked into some alleys, which blocked the wind pretty well. So, yeah, my first official runch for the '22 streak is in the vault, complete with a lucky penny found near the halfway mark.


Thursday's pivot...
Ugh, it was one of those mornings. I had fallen asleep on the couch and woke up around 1:30, and then could not fall back to sleep for a couple hours (at least). I had a couple of strength workouts cued-up for the early morning, but knew my body and mind were far too fatigued. I also had some DOMS (courtesy of the previous day's PT session). On a whim, I found a 20-minute yoga class instead, and m-a-g-i-c. I still felt fatigued, but energized as well. Later, I got in another 1-mile runch over the noon hour and an invigorating 2-mile power walk in the evening (14:53 pace, thank you very much).
 

Full-on Fitness Friday!
What say we start with 14 miles of cycling (including a 20-minute HIIT ride) and add some bodyweight strength work. There also was a 1-mile walk at work and a 2-mile walk over lunch (the temps were in the 50's, what can I say?). After work, I headed out for a fabulous 2-mile run (title pic, above), wearing shorts none the less (9:56 and 9:59 splits).


Saturday - chilling, quite literally.
And, just like that, the overnight temps plummeted almost 60-degrees and the wind turned evil. I opted to start the day on the stairs (because it had been awhile). I did 100 flights, and tried to time the workout on my Garmin, but when I went to sync it to the Garmin Connect app, nothing showed. Ugh, another technology fail? Or just impatience? It turns out, I just needed to reboot my phone. I pinky swear, though, I really did 100 flights in 21 minutes, 24 seconds. By late morning, the temps had "warmed up" to above-zero feels-like conditions, so I layered up and headed out for two miles. That bright sunshine was much appreciated!


...and what's on deck for Sunday?
Well, in keeping with my early morning Sunday long rides, I'll be saddling-up with Sebbe in the wee hours. While I'm not much into the Garmin badges, there is a 40K cycling badge up for grabs this weekend. Hey, why not? It's 24.9 miles, and that's not too far out of reach from last week's 22-mile ride. Also, there's a 5K running badge for this weekend...so, again, why not? The temps will still be cold, but will feel much warmer than Saturday's by mid/late morning.

So, it was quite the week, in terms of weather. It seems like it was one extreme or the other, but I refuse to let it dictate my livelihood. After all, I don't have to love the weather to get outside and move on a daily basis. Anyways, running logged 12 miles this week; walking had only 10 (I blame the crazy cold temps); biking had 58 miles. Strength training was minimal (three sessions, including PT...which actually was quite intense, LOL). The elliptical has been a nice alternative, and it felt oh-so-good to be back on the stairs this week!  

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

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair. It's the time of year when I wear an obnoxious amount of red and green. It's also the time of year when I wear a puffer vest almost on the daily. With the holiday season underway, it would be a shame to not be donning the festive apparel, right?


On a fun note, this meme totally made me think of myself and Barb. Although it's been a few weeks since we've met for a #5at5, we usually are up, dressed and ready well before 5:00 on those cold winter mornings. 


So, that's the latest. It seems like time is really flying...hard to believe I'm already 11 days into the Streak, and we're closing-in on the Solstice. Not to mention, 2022 is almost history! 

How did your week play out? Did you get a nasty, frigid cold spell as well? Have you ever worn shorts for a December run? Are you wearing any festive gear for the holiday season? 

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31 comments:

  1. Great week Kim, lots of fun variety! You dabble in all things Peloton now :)

    Way to go on the opt outside for two years straight!

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    1. I can't stop this outdoor streak now! I've made it through some nasty winter weather, so #noexcuses LOL

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  2. I am all for the holiday apparel & pulling some out today myself. We had way more wind than we are used to this time of the year as well. Always feels good to get out and get it done though. How interesting that your bike just runs on batteries. You use it a lot! How much time does it give you? Have a great week!

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    1. I'm not even sure how old the bike is because I never touched it until a few years ago. I don't even know if we bought it new or used...

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  3. It was crazy windy this week and last week and the week before that...anyway, I don't remember this much wind and we get a lot of wind normally! Hoping for a shift in the weather.

    I agree with Deborah about the batteries and your bike--and where do you find D batteries anymore? Good thing you had some on hand.

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    1. Oh, D batteries are easy to find, it's just really odd this bike doesn't have an "electricity" option, LOL

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  4. We had some ups and downs too! And super windy Friday and Saturday. Ha I love that meme. Winter running is just harder - so much easier to hibernate!

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    1. The hibernation is definitely tempting! I always feel like I accomplished something significantly beast-like when I face the winter face-on (because I detest it so much).

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  5. Of course on the fest gear. I order 2 new airs of compression calf sleeves LOL

    Weather has been up and down and windy... RAIN for my race BOO!

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    1. Rain is such a BOO this time of year because it's so cold!

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  6. Yes the wind has been horrible and frigid. Ugh. My wooded trails are a nice wind break. Love your festive Fashion Flare!

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  7. Did I read it correctly that your temps dropped over 60° in one day? Yikes, that sounds awful!

    You know I love my bright Christmas tights. I need to pull them out for my run today!

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    1. Yes, that was not a typo, LOL It was mid-50's Friday after work, then sub-ZERO with the wind by Saturday morning. Absolutely ridiculous!!!!

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  8. I say, wear as much red and green as possible this month! Nice job on the run streak, and keeping up with the PT. About your Thursday- I remember at the beginning of one of Matty's strength classes, he says if you didn't sleep well last night, don't take this class. Getting enough rest is more important than forcing your way through a strength session. So, yoga was the perfect choice for you.
    I'm going to take a cue from you, and instead of complaining about the heat here, I'm going to start calling myself "Florida tough." I need a mindset shift!

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  9. You really did have some crazy weather! The forecast is looking pretty rough for us this week :( Great job with your run streak!

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  10. Wearing shorts in December doesn't happen very often, but when it does it's one of those special things. There's no such thing as too much red and green this time of year!

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    1. It IS really special wearing "warm weather" geat this time of year. Gotta capitalize on that opportunity!!

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  11. I've worn skirts for December runs -- but not in a while. If our temps had plummeted 60 degrees, even on our warmer days this week, we'd be talking negative numbers -- for real! it was not a nice week weather-wise and the sun was often absent. There were some super windy days, too. But it is what it is. And I'm usually out there at some point.

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    1. As much as I detest the weather (most days) this time of year, it is what it is. Whining doesn't tame the wind, so I just grin and grit it out.

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  12. Obviously, it's mostly shorts here. Even at our coldest, it's not *that* cold. Although I'm usually far more underdressed than J. I just get hot all the time. Ick. I am wearing festive gear and loving every second of it.

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  13. Nice work this week!! And well done keeping up your running streak. Going out in shorts in December is like another planet (or possibly Australia) to me! But it's not uncommon here in Ireland, even if the weather isn't particularly warm... for the moment we're in a cold spell and I can't wait to get back to what we had before the weekend.
    I'm super boring and don't have any fun coloured training clothes, otherwise it would be fun to go out running or to the gym with festive colours!

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    1. Well, I'm a color freak ;-) I have plenty of black gear, but I usually grab the colorful stuff instead.

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  14. You had crazy weather! Have you lived in Iowa all of your life? We did have a lot of wind on Saturday, but didn't get any really warm days. Or maybe it was because I was sick and didn't want to go outside! I did run in my fleece tights for the first time for this season this week.

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    1. Yes, I've been in Iowa all my life, except for a 7-year jaunt in Michigan (which I dearly LOVED).

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  15. Mother Nature is so confused this year. We had a lot of rain and wind this past week, but thankfully no snow or ice. I'm actually surprised we haven't had our first snow yet.

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    1. Knock wood, we haven't had much snow ((yet)) this season. I know it's coming, but it's been nice Momma N procrastinating the snow fall.

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  16. I'm working my way back, slowly and carefully, to where I "should" be this time of year. I'm not in a big hurry, but it is a buzzkill how much lower my yearly mileage will be for 2022.

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