On The Upswing

The winter season is definitely in our midst, but it's not all bad.

It's no secret that Winter is my fourth favorite season. I'm not a fan of extreme cold temps, psychotic wind, or the increasingly dark days. That said, the Solstice is getting closer, bringing with it (gradually) increased daylight! 

This week gave us "seasonal" temps, but not much in terms of precipitation (#Win). We also were gifted a few days with much-appreciated mild weather (#BigWin). My winter run streak is going well (#AnotherWin). And, I'm at a good place in terms of prepping for the holidays. I'd say things are on a definite upswing, given this busy time of year.

Before I dig in and share the deets from the week, 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 blog as well...please don't link-drop & dash ;-)

Anyways, here's what went down, this week, in my little corner of the universe:

Sunday Fun Run Day...

The forecasted cold temps were there, but the forecasted snow was not. I opted to start the day with an indoor bike ride (10 miles) and outdoor selfie (seriously, I highly recommend this strategy for a cool down). I gave the morning temps a few hours to warm up before knocking-out the daily streak run (wise move, by then the wind was MIA). Those two miles felt fabulous (title pic), and I even hit identical 9:44 splits without knowing, since I was simply running by feel. Later, I also got out for a 3-mile walk.

Never Miss a Monday...

Similar to Sunday, the early temps were chilly, and I just wasn't "feeling" the run, so I hit the indoor bike again. This time, I cued-up an exhilarating HIIT & Hills workout (Peloton app), followed by some core work and arms/shoulders strength. Yowza, that got the heart pounding and the heat flowing!

After work, I layered-up and headed outdoors. Nothing ground-breaking, and certainly nothing speedy, but two miles in the (already) dark late afternoon hours (when did it get SO dark at 5:00???).

Typical low-impact Tuesday...

The day started with 30 minutes on the elliptical (approximately four "miles"), and ended with a very cold and windy 1-mile streak run and a 2-mile walk.

Wickedly windy Wednesday...

This was a chilly #5at5 with Barb and Allison, we even altered our route to avoid as much of the wind as possible. After I made it back home, I did a short Barre workout (for a post-run stretch, of sorts) and some core work.

A thorough Thankful Thursday...

After a two week sabbatical, Deb and I resumed our weekly Thursday morning cardio gig. The morning started with Deb running and walking, while I (indoor) biked 14 miles. Later, she got out for a bike ride, and I took full advantage of the mid-50F temps, and ran a couple miles over my lunch break. It was a matter of inside/outside, dark/sunny, and running/biking, LOL, but we got a lot done!

I also found an intense 20-minute glutes/legs workout (after my morning ride), and got in a 2-mile walk after work.

 

Finally Friday...

Remember that intense glutes/legs workout from Thursday morning? Yeah, My glutes and legs were substantially DOMS-laden come Friday morning. Not a bad thing, but #ouch. I knew the midday temps were going to be a repeat of Thursday, so I stayed inside, upon wake-up, and did some upper-body strength and core work.

I kept Friday's streak run short (just the 1-mile minimum), but it was just enough movement to flush-out some of the grumpy DOMS distress. Mission accomplished!

Long run (sort of) Saturday...

After a very late night of rock concert shenanigans with Barb, we met at 8:00 for some fitness fun, via the running shoes. After the previous two days of mild weather, Saturday's "seasonal" temps (with requisite wind) were an unpleasant shock to the system. I'd seen there was a 10K Garmin badge up for grabs, so that was my makeshift beacon. Later, I hit the bike (for 15 miles of leg-flushing) and called it good.

...and what's on tap for Sunday?

The forecast is looking similar to Saturday, but with decreasing wind as the morning progresses. The odds are good I'll start the morning on the bike, and save the streak run for late morning (hopefully under sunny skies). This weekend was all about Christmas baking and knitting, so more of those are on the roster as well.

This week felt really good, and was pretty action-packed. The run streaking is certainly upping my weekly mileage a bit, but it's only for a short time and I'm keeping all the runs easy-paced (BTW, on Monday, I will already be at Day-20...halfway!). This week saw 19 miles (and change) of action (all outdoors, and some of those were in shorts!). Walking continues to take a backseat, but I'm not OCD'ing over it (just eight miles of "official" walking this week). Biking is holding its own (47 miles). I'm really happy with my strength work this week...major muscle burning! 

In case you were MIA this week, so was I, LOL. I only posted last weekend's WRD:

So, Here We Are...

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair. 'Tis the season for all kinds of red, green and holiday patterns, am I right? Add in a little bit of sunshine, and I'm totally happy.

Oops, I did it again, LOL. Apparently, on December 7th of last year, I also did some biking (left pic) in the same outfit as I did on December 7th of this year. I can't make this stuff up. At least I wore different shoes.

As mentioned, the holiday prepping is going well! My shopping is well underway (actually almost done!) and the sweet treats and baking got off to a decent start this weekend. 

So, yes, bring on the holidays! Despite all the hustle and bustle and busyness of the season, it's a joyous time of year. I just the weather was a tad bit warmer, ha! 

How are things in your household this time of year? Are you deep in the trenches of holiday fun and festivities? Is the fitness staying on task? Any holiday-themed races happening?

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