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Skipping the Great Outdoors
As the temperatures start to drop below freezing, I am finding myself choosing to ride my spin bike (affiliate link) over riding outside. Last year, once October hit I opted to stay inside for any cycling related activity until May. I plan for this year to be different and hope to get outside at least once per week on my bike as long as the weather conditions are reasonable; i.e. no ice on the road or wind chill in the twenties or lower, even if it means a mid-day shorter ride just to stay on my cycling game.
Overview of the Week
Before discussing each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll down for daily details…
Sunday
Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to go out for a run less than 24 hours after finishing my 70-mile bike ride, but schedule and weather wise, it made the most sense. It was 63° when I headed out onto our neighborhood trails at 1:30 PM and I quickly discovered that I had lead legs, at least for the first mile. I eventually found my rhythm and finished my 4-mile workout of 5-minute run/1-minute walk intervals at a 9:54 average pace and feeling strong. My splits were 10:35, 10:03, 9:46, and 9:13.
Monday
With a crazy busy morning of training clients and giving my body a cardio break, I limited my workout to an hour of strength training.
Tuesday
At 6:30 AM it was 38° and quickly getting light when I headed out the door for my 4-mile 5-minute run/1-minute walk intervals. Worth noting, at a 9:40 average pace, I clocked my fastest run since last Thanksgiving morning’s turkey trot. I’m running on feel, not pace, so it pleases me that I’m finally rebounding to where I was prior to this injury, even if it’s taken me a year…
Wednesday
With a feel-like temperature of 28° I was happy that I had run on Tuesday and didn’t have to brave the cold. Inside my cozy basement, I lifted weights at 5:30 AM prior to seeing clients.
Thursday
As I hinted toward earlier, I opted to skip cycling outside at 6:30 AM in 25° when I had the option of riding my spin bike (affiliate link) in the 64° basement. My 20 miles at a 16.5 MPH average speed flew by and I was ready to tackle another busy day.
Friday
My 6:30 AM client overslept and didn’t answer when I tried FaceTiming and then texting so I took advantage of my newfound time and completed own strength training session before logging on with my next client. Later in the morning I taught my balance and stretching class which sadly was the only stretching I got all week.
Saturday
Bill and I met two friends from my women’s cycling club at 9 AM for an incredibly hilly gravel ride out of Leesburg. At 61° it was pretty fantastic weather for late November and even though rain wasn’t in the forecast, we encountered a few short drizzles. The hills and the gravel made it tough and we finished our ride with an 11.5 MPH average speed; however, we didn’t let the rain or difficult course dampen our spirits and we had a wonderful time.
I hadn’t planned on recapping this 30-mile ride, but we saw miniature horses, a fox hunt, and a trailer full of pumped-up howling hounds, all of which are worthy of mentioning in a short recap, hopefully later this week.
Here’s What You Might Have Missed
In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…
- • Sunday – Weekly RunDown: November 8 – 14 / 63 (and Then Some) Birthday Miles
- • Tuesday – Deb’s 63-Mile LoCo Birthday Tour
- • Thursday – Tracking Macronutrients: Choosing Complex Over Simple Carbohydrates
Questions:
- • Even though you know better, do you sometimes let your work schedule or the weather dictate your workout plans?
- • What’s the coolest animal you’ve seen on a run or ride?
- • Did you race this weekend?
And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!
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I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on the blue product link and then make a purchase, I will receive a small commission for referring you. You will pay no more or less for the product; however, Amazon will show their gratitude for my referral by paying me.
I’m getting very close to the point where I will need to take it inside on weekdays. I try very hard to at least do my long run outside year round by some weeks it just isn’t possible. I always say better to be bored on the treadmill than to get injured from falling in the dark or on ice outside. This time of year every outside workout is a gift.
Hooray for pain free running!
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It’s a bummer to have to move indoors in the winter. I’m thankful that my headlight is bright and I can run on my little neighborhood street (not the sidewalk) where there’s rarely a car and very little risk of tripping on anything.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I love the cooler temps for running bc I warm up so quickly. I don’t like biking outside under 50 degrees I don’t warm up as much. Great week of workouts for you
Yes, there’s certainly a learning curve in figuring out what to wear when cycling in the cooler temps after running in extremely cold conditions for years. We’ll see if I can stick to my plan. 😉
Great job this week! That’s great that you are back to your pre-injury paces. I’m going to be tempted to start running on my treadmill soon, especially when its dark, cold, and windy in the mornings.
Well I’m not quite back to those paces because I was slowing last December as the injury started creeping in. This morning’s run felt fantastic and I was much closer. Hopefully, once I’m no longer doing walk intervals I’ll be nailing those paces!
Sadly, I’m logging more biking miles indoors than outside lately…but Gustavas made it across the 1,000-mile mark this week (for the Streak), so all is well. This is Iowa, LOL, and those temps are frigid when the wind is blowing. I’m so happy to see how well your running is going! Nice job with those negative splits the day after that monumental ride!!!
Thanks, Kim! And congrats to you and Gustavas – you’re quite the team! 😀
Taking on a full time coaching job this winter will force me outside most likely for two days of running. I do like to make sure my long run is outside, but otherwise I’m completely happy with staying indoors! Last year we did indoor track for speedwork, but I’m not sure that will be an option this year so we might be running outside in the cold dark. Eeek! You saw a fox hunt? Interesting!
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Congratulations on your full-time coaching gig!
Yes, our county is well known for its fox hunting history. It’s really cool!
I’m one of those odd people that enjoy working out in cold weather. I don’t mind going out for a quick run when it’s cold outside, as long as it’s not snowing! I’ve been doing a lot more indoor workouts all year due to my love of the Peloton bike and app and I don’t see that changing much this Winter.
I normally run outside all year long unless there’s ice on the streets, but I’m finding that I get much colder on a bike. I’ll definitely still be running outside even if I have to bike indoors. How wonderful that you have your Peloton and love it so much!
Yay to getting back to where you were pre-injury! That’s a great feeling.
Biking in the cold is way more intimidating than running!
That looks like a cool route for your Saturday ride.
I’m not quite back to where I was because after the turkey trot last year my paces slowed dramatically as my back started acting up. Today’s run was at a 9:18 pace so I’m definitely getting there!
Congrats on seeing pre-injury paces again! That’s gotta feel good.
Yes, I can be a fair weather runner. Although I must say I enjoyed my run this morning in the low 30s. Just the first of many no doubt.
I did once see chickens on a path that I’ve run many times before & wondered where the heck they came from, but your ride sounds more interesting!
I think I remember you writing about those chickens. Did you ever see them again after that run?
You’ve been doing so good on your runs. That is so exciting!
I hope that when Winter is here I can still run outside since I don’t have a treadmill.
I mostly see dogs while out on my runs.
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Thanks, Zenaida!
I guess in the city dogs would be the most common animal sighting.
I bet it was nice to have some time to do your own thing when your client overslept!
I always let myself go by the weather. I hate running in the rain.
The coolest animal was probably a zebra. There is a nature preserve near me, so sometimes, the zebras are out in the front yard. That’s hard to beat.
Yes, a zebra is hard to top! We used to run past the DC zoo and we’d see the monkeys overhead. That was pretty cool!