Winter (again) Reverts

 

We all knew it was coming, and Momma N made certain it arrived with a vengeance.

Winter! Yes, after two weeks of a beautiful reprieve from all things winter, we were brought back to the real weather of February. Alas, the fitness persevered, the #OptOutside streak was maintained, and I lived to laugh about it…

Before I dig into the deets of the week, welcome to the Weekly Run Down!

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Anyways, here’s what went down in my little week of winter weather whiplash:

A Sunny Sunday…

With a 40K Cycling badge on the line, I opted to start the morning on the bike. After finishing the ride, I stepped outside to take in the sunrise, and the mid-40F temps felt so refreshing  (pay no attention to the fact that the pic looks like I was on a beach, LOL). After lunch, I got out for a 3-mile walk, and soaked up even more sunshine. 

Never miss a Monday…

Since I skipped the weekly stair workout, for the bike, on Sunday morning, I took care of things on Monday morning instead. I didn’t do anything super fancy: 60 total flights alternating intervals of 20 flights (double-stepped) and 10 flights (single-stepped), with some push-ups mixed in between each set. 

After work, I simply had to take full advantage of the amazing weather. Just a couple of miles, but in summer gear? Yes, please!

Taking things easy on Tuesday…

It had been awhile since the foam roller had seen any action, and my body was craving some TLC. I did a Pilates session (Peloton) and some extra foam rolling afterwards. The day also featured the usual lunchtime walk, and two post-workday walks (one alone and one with Max).

Windy Wednesday…

Even with the warmish temps, we decided to take a pass on the 4:45AM group run due to the wind. I was already dressed and ready (at 4:15) when we decided not to meet, so I crawled back under my cozy blankets for a little longer. When I headed out on my own, an hour later,  Momma N had upped the wind and lowered the temps a bit. Good resistance training, right? I was cutting it close on time, so I finished the three miles and saved the strength workout for the evening.   

Thankful Thursday

Deb was still out of town, so I treated myself to a slight sleep-in before hitting the bike for 10 miles. I knocked-out a couple of miles of lunchtime skywalk walking, and came home (after a belated birthday dinner with a friend) to a nasty snow-covered driveway. The roads were terrible, the snow/sleet was coming at me sideways, and the temps had plummeted to the sub-freezing category. It took me a good 40 minutes to clear-off my driveway, and that was with a couple neighbors helping me. It certainly was not a cardio workout I had planned on!

Friday - it’s freezing (again)!

I had grand intentions of an early-morning longish bike ride. Then I looked out the window and saw most of my driveway had drifted back-in, I had to pivot and grab the shovel. After nearly 30 minutes of squatting, scooping, lifting and heaving the heavy snow, I called it good. I warmed back up on the bike (five miles) and added a short upper-body strength session (chest and arms).

Saturday - Keeping things in perspective…

Although there wasn’t any additional snow since Thursday night, there was plenty of drifting snow (with patches of ice hidden underneath). I had hopes of a 10K-ish run, but an invite for a virtual morning session with Deb was MUCH more enticing. She walked 5+ miles, while I biked 15, walked a mile (and nearly face-planted a couple of times while doing so), and shoveled (again). After we parted ways, I hit the weights for more upper-body strength work. 

…and a what’s happening on Sunday?

The forecast is looking the same as Saturday (sub-freezing temps and moderate wind). I will get out for some walking, but will probably hit the stairway (or the bike?) in the morning. I should probably do a little lower-body strength/mobility work as well.

So, overall, the week was decent albeit minimal with miles in the running shoes (a mere five miles, thank you very much). The daily lunchtime walking has kept steady, and I was able to get some bonus outdoor walking when the temps were warm (18 total miles this week). Biking was strong, due to Sunday’s 40K ride and Saturday’s 15-miler (55 total miles in the saddle). 

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

February Weather…say WHAT???

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair. A great thing about the suddenly cold temps is it gave me a chance to sport my American flag sweater in honor of Team USA (glass half full, right?). I haven’t caught a lot of the Olympics, but it’s been exciting watching some of the skiing (because that’s a sport I simply cannot do). A high school friend has a son on the men’s bobsled team, so I’m looking forward to seeing some of the bobsled events this weekend as well.

Garmin was generous in dolling out badges this week. The Super Strength and Year of the Horse were surprises, which is always a nice perk.

So, that’ll do for now. The recent warm-up was such a nice break from the winter temps, but my reality is Midwest living, LOL. We still have several more weeks of winter temps and conditions to face. I’m really thankful for the Des Moines skywalk, though, as the daily lunchtime 2-mile walks offer a nice break in my workday. It’s also wonderful to have all the extended daylight after work now, and that daylight keeps increasing. I’m totally on board with that!    

How are things in your world? Did you get hit with any back-to-winter-reality snow storms this weekend? How’s your winter fitness doing? Have you noticed the increasing daylight, both in the morning and evening?

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