About Me

Saturday, March 25, 2023

Ready for Spring


Spring 2023 arrived this week, and not a moment too soon.

After the previous week's winter grand finale antics, this week's milder weather, increased sunshine and much more desirable temps were welcomed with open arms. 

'Nuff said.

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 during the first week of Spring '23:

Sunday - ready for sunshine!
After several days of dreary weather, it was so nice to be greeted with a blue sky and full sunshine upon wake-up. Granted, the 10F (with  a 0-degree feels-like) was still cold, it was bearable with the minimal wind. This was Day-6 of my Week of Pi fun, so 3.14 miles of running, followed by a 3-mile walk (mid-morning) with Amy and some core work in the evening.


Monday - ready for Spring!
The afternoon temps were looking warm, so I opted to start the day with a 10-mile ride inside. 


As promised, the afternoon was beautiful, so I got in a 1-mile walk at work. Later, I headed out for my final Pi run and ran into Allison, so she joined me for the final two miles. Afterwards, I got in two additional miles of walking.


Tuesday - ready for some low-key downtime.
Although my Week of Pi ended on a grand note (with my fastest and "easiest" run on Monday), I knew it would serve me well to leave the running shoes unoccupied for a day. I did 3-ish miles on the elliptical (about 20 minutes), and also three total miles of walking for the day. 


Wednesday - ready for a double workout day.
Nothing earth-shattering...a 10-mile ride on the bike in the morning, followed by some upper-body strength work.


After work, Barb and I met for a #5at5PM (five miles at 5:00PM). It had been awhile, but this run had been a long time coming. Hopefully, as the temps continue to warm up, and the daylight increases, we'll be resuming our regular early morning 5-milers.


Thursday - ready for a friendly chatter session
Deb and I resumed our virtual ride & chat routine (though I may have dozed briefly, after my alarm went off, and arrived at the party a few minutes late). I got in 15 miles of pedal power before heading to the office. Also, the temps were amazing, so Michele and I got in two (1-mile) walks during our work breaks, and I also took a 2-mile walk before dinner.


Friday - ready for the weekend.
Not only did I have the Cherry Blossom 10-mile happening in a week (April 2nd, in Washington DC), but the Fight for Air Climb was on deck for Sunday morning. I needed to keep things low-key. I started the day at the "Breakfast Barre, serving up some lower-body and core to ease some muscle tightness and keep things low-impact.
 

As the day wore on, the forecast was showing possible snow for Saturday morning. I had been contemplating a 15K run. Not only was this an optimal "long-but-not-too-long" distance (for the last "long" run before the Cherry Blossom), but there also was a Garmin badge up for grabs. All things considered, I'd much rather run those 9.3 miles in the late afternoon sunshine (and on dry streets) than on potentially messy streets in much colder temps. So, I made a command decision to just get it done. So I did. Even in the pleasant mid-50F temps, the wind was rather beastly at times, but it wasn't anything I wasn't used to, LOL. Despite the spontaneity, these 9.33 miles really felt good! I thought I was holding back on my pace, but the intermittent tailwind intervened (I guess?), so I was really surprised to see a 10:06 average pace when I finished. Needless to say, this gave me a huge boost of confidence as I taper-back, this next week, in prepping for next weekend's Cherry Blossom.


Saturday - ready for a recovery day.
Wouldn't you know? Despite the snow-encompassed forecast, there wasn't a trace of the white stuff, or hardly any wind, come Saturday morning. I probably could have ventured out for a short recovery run, but I opted for a 12-mile bike ride instead (and a quick 1-mile walk). I had a busy morning on the roster anyways (memorial service for a high school classmate, and a gathering with fellow classmates), so I didn't have a lot of extra time.


...and what about Sunday?
The morning will find me climbing 90+ flights of stairs in downtown Des Moines for the Fight for Air Climb. If the weather stays nice, there will probably be some walking on tap for the afternoon. And more NCAA basketball (the University of Iowa women's basketball team made it to the Elite Eight, and play Sunday evening).

So, this week was a nice one! It was so great to finally have real spring weather. That said, I know there will still be some intermittent winter-like weather mixed in for awhile (this is Iowa, LOL). My running mileage saw its highest number since last fall...approximately 20-1/2 miles logged this week, thank you very much! Walking made a decent effort with 17 miles, and biking flirted with a low-key 47. 

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

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair. As mentioned, Friday was a beautiful, sunny spring day...and who doesn't love that? Or random polka dots? With ruffled sleeves? And a punch-of-color cardi?


While I have seen a few robins in the past 10 days or so, it wasn't until this week that I was finally able to capture a picture of one of them.

This week also saw the emergence of my daffodils and tulips. I love how green they look!


So, YES! It does feel like SpRiNg has sPrUnG! Although summer is my favorite season, I cannot deny the joy it brings me in seeing spring arrive. 

Does it look and feel like spring has officially arrived in your area? Any fun workouts this past week? Weekend racing? Ever done a spontaneous long run a day early?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

30 comments:

  1. Looks like you got in some nice miles this week. It may be spring on the calendar but we had snow yesterday. And rain. And wind. I'm ready for the real spring to arrive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We didn't get any actual snow this weekend (it just barely missed us, though). There was a lot of sleet coming down on my drive to Des Moines yesterday, though, and it lasted most of the morning. YUCK. The wind has been nonstop and insanely rude here...

      Delete
  2. We had multiple seasons here this week - started the week with snow and winter again, yesterday was thunderstorms but warm, and today is cool again.
    Summer is my favorite season, too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was thankful for mostly a spring-like week! The week prior was so winter-like, it was annoying.

      Delete
  3. Lucky you missed yesterday's "snow event". We weren't so lucky here. It was fast and furious, o high winds, but the melting happened quickly too. I am more than ready for some spring-like weather! Nice week of workouts for you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I think we just barely missed it here, but eastern Iowa got hit pretty hard.

      Delete
  4. Hope your climb went well this morning! Can't wait to see you this week~

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice that you got your long run finished a day early and even better that you didn't get the forecasted snow yesterday. Hope your climb goes well today! Looking forward to seeing you virtually on Thursday and in person on Friday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was really thankful the snow missed us. We were at the cemetery, late morning on Saturday, and the sunshine was much welcome.

      Delete
  6. How wonderful for you with the spring weather!! You so deserve it. I heard about some snow storm in Iowa so that's great you didn't get any - you've had enough of that! And how great with your running mileage this week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, we had a pretty mild winter over all, but I'm DONE with all things winter.

      Delete
  7. spring is on hold here.

    glad to see how active you.ve been.

    Good luck today.

    And can't wait to hear how the Cherry Blossom 10 miler goes. You are ready!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm not sure what spring looks like in South Florida, other than "hot and getting hotter" but it did FEEL like spring, with my daughter on spring break and March Madness happening. Sounds like you had a great week- good luck on the climb today and the Cherry Blossom next week- you are ready!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hasn't the March Madness been full tilt?!? It's crazy that all the #1 seeds are gone!

      Delete
  9. Good luck on the Fight for Air climb!!! I can't believe that it's here already.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Climb really seemed early this year since it was almost two months later (the past two years) due to it being outside in '21 and '22.

      Delete
  10. Nice job on your 15k! You are more than ready for the Cherry Blossoms. LOL your Robin looks like my Eagle (sort of).

    We've actually had the shoots out from the bulbs for several weeks -- so they've survived a multitude of snowstorms. It'll be a bit before they flower. And it's super windy now -- luckily it wasn't as bad when I ran this morning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was glad how "easy" the 15K felt for me. I wasn't expecting that given the spontaneity of it after a long day at the office.

      Delete
  11. Spring still can't fully commit here. I hope you had a good climb this morning. Sounds like you're in good shape for Cherry Blossom!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel ready for the Cherry Blossom...we'll know for sure on Sunday ;-)

      Delete
  12. I hope your climb went well!
    A 15K is a long run for a 10M taper, but clearly you are ready for CUCB! I really hope I get to see you.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Polka dots forever! They're just so playful.
    So glad you had a great week and can't wait to see you

    ~ Cari

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm looking forward top finally meeting you in person ;-)

      Delete
  14. Another awesome week for you #KimTwin, and congrats on another successful Fight for Air Climb!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Summer. Is. here. It's been in the 90s all weekend. Gross. I am wearing a ton of bright green these days. It seems like that's just the color to have. I got the cutest pair of aqua earrings, too, that I just love. Excited for Cherry Blossom!

    ReplyDelete

  16. Great job on the Fight for Air climb! Sounds like such a great event. Glad spring has sprung for you!

    ReplyDelete
  17. So happy to see how active you've been - from Week of Pi to the Fight for Air, and all else in between! Also, glad Spring showed up in earnest for you!

    ReplyDelete