Talk about your Iowa weather reality checks.
Yeah. Although the calendar isn’t showing Winter’s official arrival for a couple weeks, Momma N had other plans. We’re talking January-like temps, wind, and weather conditions most of the week. Brrr!
And yet, I choose to live here, LOL.
Before I divulge the deets from the frigid 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 as I battled my winter-like reality in the (still) pre-winter season:
Sunday - How about some indoor action, for starters?
Since I’m officially run-streaking, there’s no need for anything longer than a single solitary mile to be run (most days, that is). I opted to start the day indoors (on the bike, for 20 miles), and followed that with some strength work (both upper & lower-body). Afterwards, I suited-up for a quick 1-mile streak run, then re-fueled with leftover pumpkin pie. It was all good, quite literally.
Monday - Whoop, there it is…
The local meteorologists had taunted us with “chance of snow,” and they weren’t kidding. The temps were crazy cold (sub-ZERO with wind), and weren’t looking to be any better after work. I decided to just get it done on the ‘mill. I did a quick 1.5-mile run and threw it back at Momma N back with an outdoor selfie amidst the snow on the ground and flurries in the air. The drive to work was a nightmare, and my usual 25-minute commute took almost an hour due to the slick conditions. Ugh. After work, I took Max out for a 1-mile walk, and we were really glad to be back inside afterwards.
Tuesday - Let’s make do!
The plan was to do a simple 1.5-mile run on the mill and maybe some strength work. That was until the treadmill refused to cooperate. It kept shutting off on me, maybe due to the sub-freezing conditions in the garage (?). I decided an elliptical workout would have to suffice (3-ish miles), and did the run (outside) after work instead.
Wednesday - Holy Wild Wind, Batman!!!
Egads, the forecast was looking frightful! Hannah and I met for the 4:45 3-mile run, and we were glad to have gotten it done at that early hour. The 34F temps (and 10mph wind) were the warmest the day would see, and the least windy. When I got home from work, my recycle bin was nowhere to be seen, LOL. Thankfully, I had not set out my garbage bin, or that would have been MIA as well.
A Thankful Thursday on many counts
I had a busy day (and evening) on tap, so my only option for streak running was in the very early hours. It was frigidly freezing, but I got out for a 1-mile run before the weekly meet-up with
Deb. Remember the missing recycle bin? I found a tipped-over lone bin,
five houses down from my driveway, so I rolled it back to my house (my apologies to the neighbors who heard all that noisy rumbling in the wee hours). Then, I got in 12 miles of biking with Deb, and finished with some upper-body work.
A free day Friday
After a fun-filled evening of wining and dining at my company’s holiday party, I was rewarded with Friday off (PTO for all of us, yay!). Not only did I get an out-of-the-ordinary sleep-in (6:30-ish), but also a mid-morning 3-mile run (hello, daylight!). Mind you, it still was windy, but the sunshine made it a wonderful run in the not-as-cold temps.
Saturday - Ahh, that’s much better!
Question: What happens when I receive an unexpected invite for a ride-along from a friend?
Answer: I promptly don the gear and mount the bike!
Such was the case when a text came in from Deb, shortly after wake-up. She’s working her way towards a big cycling mileage goal before years end, and invited me to join her if I was up and moving. It took all of 10 seconds to accept! I knocked out 20 miles as she was finishing her 50-miler. I also cued-up an upper-body strength sessions afterwards (via Peloton).
Despite the cold weather this week, Saturday blessed us with some spring-like temps in the afternoon. Well, I’m not gonna let such conditions go unnoticed! After wearing all the layers, it felt oh-so-fabulous to wear shorts outside! With plans for a Barb meet-up on Sunday (remember her?), I kept this run to only a 2-miler, but the pace was nice (9:12) and Garmin gave me a nod with a badge.
…and what’s happening on Sunday?
As mentioned, I’m meeting Barb for a morning run (YAY!!!), but there may also be some afternoon walking. We shall see; stay tuned!
Overall, most of the week played-out well, even with the crazy cold and windy weather. Running saw 13 miles. Biking had a decent 52-mile week; which was a nice upsurge from recent weeks. Walking, ugh, only had one mile of official walking. I blame the outside cold and faulty treadmill (it’s still not operational). Strength-training had a lot of work this week. I’ve been doing the 10-minute upper-body “light weight” workouts, but have been using 8-lb weights instead of the usual recommended 3-lb ones, and YOWZA! I can really feel a difference doing all those high-rep movements with ZERO recovery time.
In case you missed out, here’s what went down on the blog this week:
Friday Fashion Flair. It felt so good to have some mild temps! I opted for some green and distressed black, but added the cheetah-print booties for a little touch of funk. I could have gone with the basic black footwear, but where’s the sport in that?
As mentioned, Thursday evening I had a big holiday party to attend. It’s been awhile since I’ve had a glitzy event on the calendar, so this was a lot of fun! My green velvet dress looks black in the pic, but oh well.
Even the local TV peeps are excited for the return of more daylight! Earlier this week, this was posted on their Facebook page. Yes, bring on the Solstice so we can get back on our journey towards not only more daylight, but the Summer season!
So, that’s a wrap on the first week of December. I’m hopeful the seasonal temps will return, and the January stuff can take a hiatus until the calendar dictates its proper arrival. A girl can dream, right?
Enough about me…
How are things in your world? Did it feel more like January than December in your neck of the woods as well? Any psychotic wind to speak of? Ever have your recycle bin go missing on an especially windy day?
This week was rough! The cold, the wind, the snow--I'm so excited for temps in the 40s this morning! It's the little things...
ReplyDeleteYes it felt like January here with high winds and lots of snow. I'm also not ready for it!
ReplyDeleteWow - PTO for everyone is a great holiday gift! When we had our attorney retreat they gave our staff an extra work-from-home day — that’s as generous as they get!
ReplyDeleteI’m ready for some snow but we aren’t supposed to get much this winter.
Psychotic wind? Yes, Wednesday was windy, but Thursday morning was extra crazy. December has definitely been more January like in the weather department here in Virginia. I'm with your local TV weather station - let the count down to the winter solstice begin!
ReplyDeleteWe had our own dose of winter wild wind this week but back to normal today. You look great in your party dress. Glad your new job is going well. Stay warm and well!
ReplyDeleteLove the party look! It's fun to get all dressed up for parties. I haven't been to a fancy party since my husband left his job about 10 years ago. I do miss it! How nice for everyone to get the day off. That is a big morale boost!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun week of streaking, in spite of the weather! But what is up with your treadmill??? You're going to need that this winter! Anyway, We did have January-like weather down here, and by that I mean "Florida" January. It was nice. And, we have definitely had our garbage cans blow down the street! I don't think it's ever happened to our recycling bins though. Your neighbors probably didn't mind the rumbling in the wee hours- they were just happy someone got rid of that extra bin!
ReplyDeleteFirst, you look stunning in that velvet dress! I hope you had the best time. It's been cold (for us) here, but no awful wind of which to speak. We save that for hurricane season lol. And yes, people have lost garbage and recycling bins on those days.
ReplyDeleteSo glad things are going well for you! I love to see that radiant smile!
Oh I felt sorry for you about the snow, but I know... it's the season for it. We've had very mixed weather with very mild days, then a storm, now absolutely freezing. We've been lucky with rubbish & recycling bins so far even if it's very common that storms sync with the collection dates..
ReplyDeleteNice week with all that strength training!
I am so impressed with anyone who can survive cold weather. Here in Florida, December is nice because it means the end of hurricane season and some basically perfect running weather. I have absolutely lost my recycling bin on a windy day though. We currently have a dumpster rental outside our home from our remodel, hopefully that is safe from blowing away!
ReplyDelete